Monday 27 January 2014

Mount Zion Film Couple: “I can’t stop calling my husband Brother Mike” – Gloria Bamiloye

The Bamiloye
 
In a recent interview with PUNCH, Gospel Film producer, Mike Bamiloye of Mount Zion Film Productions and his wife, Gloria, happily talked about their 25-year-old marriage.
How they met: We met in 1983 after I graduated from the College of Education in Ilesha. I saw her during one of my visits to the campus Christian fellowship drama group. The Lord is the attraction. I knew it was the will of God. We didn’t just start talking because of marriage. We were already working together in the Christian fellowship. I was the drama director and she was a member of the fellowship.
 
How he wooed her:
It is a normal thing for any Christian that has the spirit of God in her to pray first in a situation like that. She said she had to seek God’s face and I agreed because that was the normal thing. After some time she knew it was God’s will and told me. We were working together in the ministry till we got married in 1988. We started the ministry in 1985 with a few brethren. We had been working before then in the Christian fellowship.

Challenges they encountered:
Mike: Yes there were. The oppositions were based on the fact that I was involved only in the drama ministry, although I taught in a school briefly.  My parents were opposed to the fact that I wanted to marry even though I was not working.  Her parents saw that we didn’t have tangible jobs. But we believed that we were working. We were doing the work of God. But the opposition didn’t last for long. They all reasoned with us, when we were about to get married.
 
How he proposed to her:
Mike: I just told her that the Lord led me to speak to her. I prayed about it first.  She said she would pray about it.  There was no kneeling down or giving of flowers.
Gloria: He asked me to marry him,  I told him I didn’t know whether to say yes or no. I said I had to pray about it. He agreed.
 
Their Honeymoon:
Mike: No there was no honey moon. We did not even have money to go for any honey moon.
 
How would you describe each other?
Mike: She is a woman of faith and prayer, with great understanding. She is hardworking and relates with people better than I do. She is sociable.
Gloria: He is a man of God. He likes to do the right things, and he loves God. He is always ready to say sorry. He doesn’t like to hurt people’s feelings.  He has his ego as a man, but he is very humble.
 
 How would you describe your marriage so far?
Mike: Our marriage has produced great ministers. Our children also are in the ministry, my first son is a drama producer and director of Christian movies also, my second son is into music and our third child is studying English in the university. She is a scriptwriter. The marriage has been fantastic. It has been very good. It has been highly productive and successful, and has given birth to many fruits.
Gloria: It has been very wonderful and beautiful, because we got it right from the initial stage. I thank God because I have been enjoying the benefits. That is why I advice singles to seek God’s face and pray for the right person.
 
 How do you settle differences?
Mike:  Once in a while there has been disagreement in principles, but we always come together to agree. When there is a disagreement, one party approaches the other, depending on whoever see reasons first. There is always an agreement when there is a disagreement. We work together and sometimes we disagree during film productions but at the end of the day, we still have to reach an agreement.
 
Gloria: We are children of God, and we cannot sleep without forgiving each other. I do not want to miss rapture. We are able to cope because we fear God. The fear of God has sustained our marriage.
 
 Do you pay your wife to appear in your movies?
Mike: I do not pay people. In drama ministry, we don’t pay. We give honorarium to the cast as the Lord provides. We only pay the crew and hired hands. We work together, so I don’t pay her.
 
 Do you operate a joint account?
Mike: We use the same back account and we are both signatories to it. It is the major family account. But we still have separate bank accounts.
 
 How do you spend time together as a couple?
Mike: The ministry takes us around, so we travel together, spend time together and we go out together. We also spend time together with the children
Gloria: We travel together, and we always have time for each other.
What pet names do you call each other?
Mike: She calls me Brother Mike. She calls me that because that was what she used to call me when we were in the fellowship before we got married. Even the children call me Brother Mike sometimes. Other ministers get surprised when she calls me Brother Mike. I call her Mummy Daniel.
Gloria: I have tried sometimes to stop calling him Brother Mike, but I couldn’t.