Humility in Faith: Olakunle Babalola and Oluwadamilare Alade

November 2, 2019

Olakunle Babalola and Oluwadamilare Alade both emigrated from Nigeria to the United States and have found a spiritual home in the Celestial Church of Christ, a global evangelical denomination. In this conversation, the friends reflect on their journey to the Celestial Church and consider the power of praying to God in the Yoruba language.

This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.

This story is a part of the American Pilgrimage Project, a conversation series that invites Americans of diverse backgrounds to sit together and talk to each other one-to-one about the role their religious beliefs play at crucial moments in their lives. The interview was recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.

Oluwadamilare Alade: Can you tell me about the role religion and spiritual played in your upbringing?

Olakunde Babalola: After I graduate from school, during the time I was looking for a job, a friend of mine that we graduate together, came to my house. He was a Celestial member, he was born in the Celestial Church. And, then he just said, you know what? Let's just take a stroll. So, we're strolling down the street, and we saw this uncompleted building. It's a Celestial church. And, he said, you know what? Let's go to consult the prophet and see what's going on. I was like, what are you talking about? Consult the prophet? I don't understand it. So, he said just follow me.

We met with the prophet and the man ask us, what do you want? So, my friend answered that, okay we want to seek the face of the Lord. And, this man started telling me everything about my life. What has happened to me when I was younger, what is happening to me right now, what I'm experiencing presently. He was talking about what is going to happen to me in the future. And, at that moment, I felt something in my spirit that connects with what was, and I was like, I want to hear more. And, I was just crying. Actually, that was what made me join Celestial. I was wondering how could this man know this about me? You know I've never had such an experience before, and the man prayed for me. And, he said, okay, from now, just start coming to church. And, that was how I became a Celestial.

My religion has really taught me to be humble and to be kind, especially my doctrine right now, being a Celestial member. It has really helped me to live a simple life. When you are in Celestial, when you come to Celestial, we are all one. We all wear the same garments. Leave $10 million clothes are home, when you're coming to church on Sunday, you put on your garment. It humbles you. What about you?

Oluwadamilare Alade: My religion has taught me, especially Celestial has really brushed up my faith life. Because, I never believe I could have this kind of faith that I'm having right now. Because, back then I'm like, even when I'm praying, I usually have this thinking at the back of my mind that, oh, do I believe this prayer is going to be answered? So, ever since I joined Celestial, it has really helped my faith. Even to the extent that if I don't pray, I just have to believe that, this thing's going to happen.

Whenever my mind struck there, that this thing that I'm supposed to do, or this thing I'm expecting from God, I just have to believe that, it is going to come to pass. It is going to work out. You know? So, my religion has really, really helped me in light of faith.

So, how do different aspect of your identity, such as ethnicity, culture, and gender influence your faith?

Olakunde Babalola: Actually, my ethnicity being a Yoruba man and my culture, the Yorubas we have respect for ourselves, for elderly people. So, that's helped me to blend in the doctrine I am right now as a Celestial—respect each other. We respect ourselves, we respect our leaders, our elders. So, coming from a Yoruba background that, you know, teach you to be respectful in every aspect, helped me in the doctrine I am now to relate with everybody, to respect everybody, both young and old. Both my mates and the ones that are even younger than me, I respect them. I help them.

And, also secondly, my culture, being a Yoruba helped me in this church. Because, if you really look at the way we conduct our service mostly is from the language, which helped me a lot. I can communicate with my God, with my local language, talk to him right away from my heart. So, it makes it easy. It flows. It's not as if I have to borrow the other language, to pray to God. I'm not saying praying to God in English is bad, but there's some particular prayer that you pray in your own local language, the dialect that you feel okay, I'm communicating with my God, and God hears all languages. So, that's how it has helped me.