‘Moody Radio Speaks to Your Soul’
After years of arguments and abuse, Buki Abioye’s marriage had ended, and suddenly she was a single mom with four children and little income to support them.
“Sometimes I would work at my father’s Nigerian restaurant in Chicago,” Buki said. But that wasn’t enough to make ends meet. When a friend suggested she become an Uber driver, she balked. She didn’t want strangers in her car. And there was something else.
“I never saw myself being someone else’s driver,” she said. But providing for her children was her first priority. She took the job.
Those were difficult times for Buki and her kids. Her youngest, a toddler, was in daycare, and he was often sick.
Introduction to Islam and Christianity
Buki is no stranger to hardship. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, she and her sister were left with their grandmother when their parents moved to Chicago in the late 1980s to earn a living. “My grandmother was a devout Muslim,” Buki said. “She prayed five times a day. She had been to Mecca. She registered us to go to Islamic classes where you learn how to read the Quran. But it was so strict, and I did not want to go.”
Fortunately, Buki’s grandmother didn’t require her to attend the classes, so Buki started visiting different churches with Christian friends from the neighborhood.
“I didn't go because I wanted to go to church and wanted to know Jesus. I went because it was a better atmosphere than going to that Islamic school.”
Buki and her sister moved to the US in 1992, joining their parents in Chicago. She soon made new friends, some of whom were Christians, and often attended church with them.
“I even got baptized. But I don't know why I did it,” she said. “It wasn't because I knew Jesus. In the Muslim household, we recognized Jesus as being a prophet but not as the Son of God. So anytime the church pastor would talk about that, I just rolled my eyes.”
Difficult home life
Buki loved the sense of family that she experienced at church. At home, her family situation was chaotic and traumatic. Buki’s father worked long hours at the restaurant and was not a dependable presence in the family. Her mother suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that would not be diagnosed until years later.
Though she attended a church for several years, Buki didn’t stay. In 2003 when she was 26 years old, she met and married a man who was not a Christian. But the relationship devolved into more patterns of abuse and finally ended in divorce.
An offer she couldn’t refuse
By that time, Buki hadn’t attended church for several years. A friend often invited Buki to visit her church, but she declined. Finally, the friend made a new offer. She would pick up Buki’s children and take them to church even if Buki did not want to come along.
Reluctantly, Buki agreed to bring her children and visit the church. “I decided to go just to shut her up,” she laughed.
Something wonderful happened on their first visit. “I loved the church! My kids loved it!” Buki recalled. “We got to the car after service, and they wanted to know when we were going to come back again.”
Buki got plugged in to some small groups, professed faith in Christ as her Savior, and was even baptized again. “This time, for real!” she noted.
‘Moody Radio speaks to your soul’
Over the years, Buki had heard about Moody Bible Institute and Moody Radio, but she didn’t know much about either one. She began listening to Moody Radio in the car while she drove for Uber.
“I don’t know exactly how it happened or how the radio landed on Moody,” she said. “It's so amazing that, sometimes, whatever I'm going through will be the topic that one of the pastors will be speaking on. It could be about peace, or it could be just encouraging words. I listen to Moody, and I hear exactly what I need to hear. It’s so encouraging and nurturing and godly. Moody Radio speaks to your soul.”
For Buki, one program stands out as particularly special to her—Open Line with Michael Rydelnik on Saturday mornings. “He had a lot to do with my spiritual transformation,” Buki says. “People would call in asking about the Bible with the same questions that I had and the same doubts and everything.”
Uber-exciting evangelism opportunities
Though she kept the car radio volume down to avoid offending her Uber riders, she said Moody Radio was often an open door for spiritual conversations. “I tried to fight (the Uber job). But the more I think of it, it really became like a ministry for me.”
In her native Yoruba language, Buki’s given name, Oluwabukola, means “God has added to my wealth.” Though Buki and her family have been through difficult times, God has always provided.
“If someone offered me $20 million and said, ‘I don't want you to follow Jesus anymore,’ I would say, ‘You can keep that money because I don't need it!’” Buki said. “I tell my kids that I’ve done life without Jesus. I know the difference. I’m doing life with Jesus. I know what Jesus did for me. God said, ‘I want people to be with Me.’ He sent us Jesus. I wish everybody could really know that.”
The gospel changed everything for Buki. As a Moody Radio supporter, and through your Share gift today, you’re a part of that transformation.