On the occasion of the 7th anniversary of THE BUD FAMILY INTERNATIONAL, I asked the convener of the group a number of questions. Be blessed by this inspiring one.

Chief Editor: Please introduce yourself and state your affiliation with The Babes of Unique Dynamite Family.

Mrs. Yaks: My name is Lizzy Oyebola Yakubu. I am a child of God and a staunch believer in the Power of the Will of God. I am happily married to an amazing man, Michael by name. He is such an amazing leader to me. We have both been blessed with two wonderful children (edited).

My affiliation with the BUD? Well, by God’s grace, I am the founder of The BABES of Unique Dynamite International. Simply an instrument that the Lord used to found the family. Nothing more.

Chief Editor: When was The BUD Family founded?

Mrs. Yaks: The BUD Family was founded in the year 2016. The exact date is not known but it was between the beginning of February and March. So, we have decided to celebrate our anniversary on 2^nd February of every year.

Chief Editor: Will you consider BUD a calling?

Mrs. Yaks: Hmmmm, such a deep calling, sis! A calling that I keep receiving and understanding each passing day. When I look at where The BUD Family is today, sometimes, I shed tears. Each realization pulls me into deeper consecration with the Lord. How can I be sure it is a calling?

1. Because I am not the best vessel for this job

So, by personality, I could tend to be introverted, especially in relating with strangers. I was and am always someone who would prefer to stay indoors and do my thing from there. But all of a sudden, the Lord decided to pull me out of my comfort zone when He gave this assignment to me. I was one person who never believed so much in herself as a leader. I remember God giving me Exodus 4:12 many years ago while I was at the university when I complained that I lacked the ability to speak with fire. I would go for Bible studies and Sunday school classes and see my mates interpret the Scriptures with fire. They’d lead prayers with fire. They’d talk about the Lord passionately. I told the Lord that I couldn’t even do that. I would go back to my prayer place with a heavy heart. I could tell that He wanted me to do something for Him but I felt so inadequate. So He led me to Exodus 4:12. He said He would be with my mouth and teach me what I would say. I must confess without any doubt that He fulfilled and is fulfilling His promise!

When someone who is inadequate for a job is put into the job, fire supplied to the heart, unction supplied to the head, words imputed to the mouth and the person does what he or she knows she wouldn’t be able to do normally, it is more than that person! It is God!

When someone who is inadequate for a job is put into the job, fire supplied to the heart, unction supplied to the head, words imputed to the mouth and the person does what he or she knows she wouldn’t be able to do normally, it is more than that person! It is God!

2. Because He always foots the bill!

Also, you need to see how the Lord comes through for this family. We have had a series of spiritual programmes of different types and each time, He would always foot the bill! The majority of the family members are students who would probably give their five hundred naira, one thousand naira and so on for programmes and projects but as soon as the day of the programme draws near, you would suddenly see the Lord dropping hugely on us financially and in all areas. He has been faithful to the ‘If it is my Will, I will foot the bill’ statement He gave me sometimes ago!

For instance, we were to have a Three-day camping programme one day and I was telling the Lord ‘Father, would the parents of these ladies release them to me? Who am I?’ I was so scared that the programme was not going to succeed. But He proved that it was His business and not mine! My ladies even came to Ibadan all the way from the north!

What of our first movie project? Oh my! The way the Lord supplied the fund for that movie shoot was too marvelous! I was still a very tender girl at the time. I was always crying in awe at the way the Lord shocked us! Right now, we have a movie project ongoing to commemorate our seventh anniversary and the budget was too huge for us. I asked the Lord severally to be sure He was the one asking us to produce the movie and He said yes each time- well, He has footed that bill also! He did not just supply the whole budget, He added more! This God!

3. Because it functions even without me!

This is one lesson the Lord had to teach me from the onset of the whole thing. He realized I was becoming over devoted to the business He had given me more than to He who had given me the work! So, just a few months after founding the group, I was serving in Nasarawa state. He told me one day to stay off my phone for two weeks to seek His face. ‘Who would be in charge of BUD?’ I had asked. ‘This cannot function if I am not there’ I complained. ‘What if people leave the group before I come back?’ I tried to make the Lord reason with me but He insisted I obey! So, I handed over to a number of people and had a very great weaning off of self that period. I came back and the group was flourishing. They said they did miss me, right? My absence was felt but God’s Presence filled the whole place. That right there is a calling! Even without me being there, the owner of the garden would do His thing! I am but an employee!

My absence was felt but God’s Presence filled the whole place.

4. Because ladies are being birthed for God!

Another thing is the growth I keep seeing in many of the family members. My sisters are not ordinary. Many of us are seeking after God passionately. Many of us are getting to know the Lord more. Many are also being called into His vineyard. It is like a School of prophets but ours is a School of Marys! Mary who said to the Lord ‘I am at your disposal, Lord, do with me as You please!’. I see the growth that many of my sisters are recording on a daily basis and I know that it can only be God!

‘I am at your disposal, Lord, do with me as You please!’

5. Because we receive answers to prayers.

If there is anything you will need to know about this family of God, it is that we pray! Oh yes, we pray! Many of our programme revolve around prayers. And oh, how sweet it is when we all raise our voices together on a particular issue and the Lord listens and answers! You know, one big proof of God’s Presence in a place is ‘Signs and wonders’. Yes, the Lord supplies us with a great abundance of those and we are only just getting started by God’s grace! One of our mantras in the family is ‘If there is a BUD to pray, there is a God to answer!’ and ‘If prayers go up, answers must definitely come down!’. I am grateful to the Lord for loading us with great benefits each time we call on Him!

You know, one big proof of God’s Presence in a place is ‘Signs and wonders’

Chief Editor: What led to this vision and how has it evolved over the years?

Mrs. Yaks: I had always known that the Lord wanted to use me. I had always been having this pull and this drawing into the place of prayers. I could be busy seeing my Korean movies those days when He would subtly pull at me. I could resist at first but when the pull on my heartstrings wouldn’t let me be, I’d just give way! He would pull me off interesting talks. He would pull me from tasting the food I had just prepared. He would pull me from having that planned activity- into the place of prayer! Into the place of dying to self! So, that was my relationship with God from 2011 when I handed my life over to Him.

So, when I started to write online in 2016, I made sure to get my writings in the place of prayer. Before you know it, in a few weeks, He had advertised the writings and started to glorify Himself in me. That exposed me to a number of popular people. One of them had a group. She reached out to me and said she wanted me to join her Facebook group as she believed I could have a thing or two to contribute. I didn’t even know how groups worked those days so I agreed. However, when I got there, I met a crowd- a mixed multitude! I was so shocked and my heart burnt from within for the Lord’s sake.

One particular post was shared of a man who had tribal marks with the caption ‘What would you do if God asked you to marry this man?’. Oh gracious me, you needed to see the comments! I couldn’t believe I was in a Christian group! Well, with each jestful comment, my heart burnt within me. I couldn’t sit still. I decided to reply BIBLICALLY. If you hadn’t put ‘GOD’ in your statement, that would have been okay. But you talked about the Will of the Lord! You talked about the leading of the Lord! Just shabbily like that?

You needed to see the way the Christian sisters stood against me that day. Haha. Things like ‘Who be this wan?’ ‘Where is this one coming from?’ ‘Sit down and let us see the road’ and so on were fired at me. But those were not the painful things for me. I was seeing innocent, young girls ‘learning’ passionately from their ungodly discussions.

I left the group, my heart burning jealously for the Lord. I searched on Google about how to create a Facebook group and well, I started one. I called the name ‘Ladies Worth a Ruby’ and I started writing to a few sisters to join. Hahaha. I was burning with excess zeal. I knew there was a problem somewhere. I knew the Lord needed me somewhere. However, I took laws into my hands and started before He asked me to. So, it did not grow! I struggled. I tilled the ground. I sprinkled the seeds but the Lord did not add the increase.

I struggled. I tilled the ground. I sprinkled the seeds but the Lord did not add the increase.

So, I went to the Lord. I confessed to the sin of overzealousness. I asked the Lord to forgive me for getting ahead of Him. I asked Him to take the desire and passion away from my heart if it wasn’t from Him. But that if what I was feeling was divine, He should back me up and tell me what to do and help me to obey.

Well, He forgave me. And over the next few days, He taught me about taking a step at a time, one day at a time, after Him! He later told me there needed to be a change of name and that my own area of functioning wasn’t on Facebook but on WhatsApp. Then, He emphasized that I should be contented with quality over quantity. That was how it all started, summarily.

And we have grown! We have evolved in so many ways. We are not just made up of single ladies alone anymore. We now have the married women’s club (The Dynamite Wives’ Club) and we have the BUD babies. We are not restricted to online programmes alone but even offline and internationally. In short, God has been faithful! One lesson this has taught me is that when we have a zeal or passion for something, it might be the Lord that is putting it in us. But even then, we should tread softly. We should submit our zeal to the Lord and have Him guide and contain the burning fire, if not, we will burn to ashes instead of burning to flames!

Chief Editor: What type of ladies did you hope will come together when you had this vision?

Mrs. Yaks: I wanted just a few numbers of sisters who have genuine disinterest in self and a great desire to burn for the Lord, deny self and follow Him. Sisters who are or desire to be given to prayers and the Word of the Lord, not to the dictates of this world!

Chief Editor: Can you describe what BUD does on the platform on a regular day?

Mrs. Yaks: We do different activities each day. On a regular day, we’d have our morning prayers, today’s tips would be sent into the house, the discussion for the day would follow, and night prayers basically. The discussion can be a Bible Study or about food, health, relationship and so on. We have two free days for people to read up on pending discussions, however.

Chief Editor: What types of programs hold on BUD?

Mrs. Yaks: Several! Juicy July is one of our special programmes where we fast through the month of July. We have the Dynamite December and the Dynamite Hour. We have The Beulah Conference and the Bridal Showers. We also have weekly programmes, like Salvation Experiences, Moments of Truth, Health Talks, Let’s Talk about it, Character Studies and a host of others.

Chief Editor: It seems the BUD has a majority of Deeper Life denomination sisters. Is this intentional or simply based on your sphere of influence?

Mrs. Yaks: Not intentional at all. I am not a denominational person. Even though I belong to DL, I know the Lord is too big to be confined to just a single denomination. I for one have and am being fed by trusted Biblical preachers from different denominations, so, my scope is beyond DL. It could be as a result of my followership. My followership is made up of many DL members. The BUD family members that are non-DLs were always feeling left out those days but not anymore I guess because we have many non-DL members now.

Chief Editor: Has the Deeper Life Bible Church affiliation posed any Challenges? If yes, what and how did BUD overcome?

Mrs. Yaks: Yes, at the inception. Haha, you know those days, many of our leaders saw being on Facebook as a sin. Asides from that, because there were other ladies’ groups that were teaching heresies, preaching feminism and so on, they assumed that BUD was also one of them. And because our name has the BABES thing in it, they assumed it would be a worldly group. But the word BABES is an acronym and it also can refer to a young damsel and also someone who desires the milk of God’s Word as seen in 1Peter 2:2. I am certain they know better now though, haha.

I remember some of my ladies literarily crying because their leaders told them to exit the group in 2017. The daughter of one of our DL state overseers at that time came to lament in my DM about how her father had asked her to go leave the group also because the news had gotten to him. But thank God, we overcame it!

They that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits! A few of the leaders went through the discussions we were always having in the house, they followed the ‘ring leader’, Lizzy on social media and saw what she stands for and maybe that calmed them down a bit.

I definitely took the case to the Lord that period and He told me that it was going to pass and it did pass! So many of the leaders now even want BUD to raise their girls. Isn’t God faithful? Haha

Chief Editor: In the first three years of existence, what were the major challenges the BUD experienced?

Mrs. Yaks: Well, as I said, the Lord gave me an emphasis on quality over quantity. But as soon as the Lord decided to announce the group for His glory, there was an influx of people. I remember clearly how a few of those people who were fighting and ridiculing God’s Will in the first Facebook Group I joined suddenly joined BUD. They tried to lay low at first because we had firm rules of compliance but at every given opportunity, they were always ready to mumble against the Word of the Lord. It was difficult to remove them but thank God for His wisdom.

Also, when we removed some erring members or the ones who were inactive, we got backstabbed and insulted. But each negative reaction we got only proved that we made the right choice of uprooting them from the family. I remember one of our secretaries in the past telling me that after removing one erring member, she reached out to her to say ‘You are the one holding that family together. If you are not there, it won’t stand. Let us go and start our own’…haha. They were wrong though. In this calling, no one no matter how useful she is, is indispensable! Even me! Many years have passed, and many secretaries and excos have passed, but the family is still up and flourishing! It is built on Christ, the Solid Rock, not on any man whatsoever.

Chief Editor: What has been the most hurtful incidence to you in the 7 years of the BUD journey?

Mrs. Yaks: Well, it is difficult to hurt someone whose confidence is in God! Who derives strength from the Lord! Who terribly wants God or nothing else! However, there have been a few incidents:

1. When I see a BUD not living up to the standard of the teachings we dish out. Ah, it hurts so deeply like pepper on a fresh wound. When I see a BUD dress ungodly or post something insulting or unbiblical, it feels so hurtful to me. Like, isn’t the Word sinking?
2. Also, it hurts a lot when any BUD hurts. For instance, when one loses her mom, dad or sibling, especially after we had prayed fervently for the person, it hurts me to the bones and I just cry to God and surrender to His Will.
3. Then, early last year was the most hurtful part for me. I was inconsolable for days. That was when we lost one of our dearly beloved Ruth Okafor. I wept and was shaken. I felt so disappointed that God would allow death to snatch one of His beloved ones away like that. As I type this, it still hurts. Oh, how glorious it would have been to be celebrating this day with one of the best, most supportive ladies ever! But, all the glory to God!

Chief Editor: Why didn’t you give up or did you actually give up at any time?

Mrs. Yaks: For BUD, I know this is God’s work! I know it was God that gave me this assignment. So, even when I get discouraged, it doesn’t cross my mind to give up. At the inception of the group though, after the influx of some of the members of that former group, I wanted to close down The BUD Family because those few were majorly standing against the Truth. One day, I suddenly got a call that one of them was fighting and insulting someone in the group. It felt so strange and unheard of in BUD. I came directly to the group and behold, I was so sad. I decided rashly ‘You know what, let us just stop this here!’ There were so many pleas. Someone asked me if I had asked God and if He was the one asking me to do that. Haha. I had to calm down to see clearly. And when I weighed the majority who were willing against the minority who were causing scenes, I instead called for a revival session for a few days. It was so marvelous! God pruned us Himself.

That doesn’t mean discouragement hasn’t come after that time but many times when I wonder if being a ‘minority voice’ in this world even really pays, if people are getting blessed or something, I could just get a very emotion-laden email of appreciation or a message of commendation etc from a BUD, a follower or even friend. I would lay the messages to the Lord and just cry gratefully. ‘God, You wouldn’t even allow me to give up a bit?’ The Lord has definitely been on our side.

Chief Editor: Who are the Babes you can mention that truly understand/understood the BUD vision and have been true to the calling and how have they been vision bearers?

Mrs. Yaks: Awww, this is deep. To be frank, I am thankful for all BUDs who truly love the family from the depths of their hearts. If I should mention names, I know I will leave out the majority because I do not even know them all! Some come publicly to carry the vision but some are on their knees, in the corners of their rooms, laboring in prayers, unknown, unheard, unfelt. I am grateful for the two categories. Some give huge sums of money for our projects anonymously, some do so publicly. I sincerely appreciate the two categories. The truth is that this calling has never lacked the gift of men! So many people have keyed into this calling, have carried these burdens on their heads, having given their widow’s mites- I am grateful for every single member of The BUD Family International. My heart prays for you every now and then.

Chief Editor: Has BUD grown the way you envisioned it? Or you didn’t even envision any growth and simply hoped one day at a time?

Mrs. Yaks: Exactly! The latter part of your question is the right answer. Haha, I never had a vision. I never had a plan. I was simply overzealous for the Lord, jealous for His Name, and rushed out to ensure I scream at the top of my lungs the glorious wonders of doing the Will of God. Then, I jammed a roadblock until I surrendered it to Him. When Khemzy Nita was saying The BUD Family was going to go international those days, I would just smile sheepishly like ‘This sister likes to dream’ but look at it. If I should count the teardrops that have fallen from my eyes or the quivers of my heart since it crossed my heart that we would be 7 years, it would be innumerable. I simply cannot believe it! It is too marvelous that the Lord God Almighty has brought us this far! Ah! I can’t believe it, sis! I can’t!

CHIEF EDITOR: BUD has a sub-group, The Dynamite Wives’ Club. What can you tell us about this group?

Mrs. Yaks: Hmmmm…marriages keep dying every day. Biblical marriages are becoming a rarity. Ladies are being taught to be Eves rather than Marys. I got married and discovered Biblical womanhood, Biblical submission, and the joy and peace they bring. Oh, how could I keep these from my wonderful sisters? All we do in this club is measure out our wifely duties against the straight edge of the Scriptures. We only relaunched last year in August, but the Lord has been faithful to us! He keeps grooming us daily!

CHIEF EDITOR: What hope do you have for every BUD?

Mrs. Yaks: That each would love the Lord so much that they would hate self, renounce self, deny self, and allow self to daily shrink at each deliberate exposure to the burning rays of the Word of God!

I want BUDs to be the doers and not hearers or teachers only of God’s Word!

I want each to build a godly marriage and be a fiery, prayerful woman, raising firebrands for the Lord.

Most importantly, I want us all to meet in Heaven, which is the ultimate goal!

CHIEF EDITOR: If the vision had not been BUD, what would it have been?

Mrs. Yaks: A biblical womanhood club. Hahaha. I had always had the desire to influence women who are willing to build godly, happy marriages. That was all I thought God would have me do until BUD intercepted. But as you can see, The Dynamite Wives’ Club has been birthed also. So, the vision is still being fulfilled. You graduate from being a BUD to being a Dynamite Wife. That’s incredible!

CHIEF EDITOR: Where do you think BUD is heading under God?

Mrs. Yaks: Sis, I don’t know, haha. But I know that as long as we are continually yoked together with Him, He will lead us to better days, an expected end of His!

Thanks for reading through. We hope you have been blessed. Ask questions below and we will get Mrs. Yaks to answer them all. Leave comments below also. God bless you.

-Mrs. Adeyoola Ojemola

Chief Editor, The BUD Family International