Pastor Deus Elias used to work in the gold mines in Tanzania. He was married to his wife Elizabeth, and he had a big house and money. Then, the Lord called them out from the gold mines to preach the gospel. They sold everything and began their new work for the Lord. As they continued, they soon had no money, and very little possessions. His wife only had two pieces of cloth to wear, one to wrap around the top of her body, and the second to wrap around the rest of her body. Between the two of them, the only footwear they had was a pair of house slippers. He let his wife wear them.
His wife became pregnant, but they couldn’t afford to go to the hospital. They delivered the baby themselves. The baby was born, but later died. Having no other way to bury their first child, Pastor Deus’ wife took one of the two cloths she used for clothes, wrapped the baby in it, and then they buried their baby. She used the one remaining cloth to wear during the day as clothes and at night to cover herself. (While Pastor Deus was telling me this, he said that sometimes in ministry we can lose our way and our purpose. “When I left the gold mines, things were very bad. But, all I had was the love of God, and that was everything to me. I was happy and started ministry. Today, I am remembering that that is what ministry is all about – the love of God.”
Pastor Deus heard about an area full of witchcraft. Pastors were running away from this area. He prayed and asked the Lord to send him there. The Lord granted his request, and he and his wife left for the village without any money. They found a house that no one wanted to rent because the witches used it for their conferences. The owner told them, whoever entered the house to live, died within 2 – 3 days, or went crazy within a week. Since Pastor Deus had no money for rent, the owner told him that he could pay for rent with his life (the owner figured that Pastor Deus would die like most others, so there would be no need for him to pay rent). In a short time, 60 people were saved. People burnt their witchcraft and turned to the Lord. Pastor Deus suffered two serious illnesses because of the demonic attacks initiated by the witches. Both times, he fasted without food and water (the first time for three days, the second time for 7 days) and afterwards the Lord healed him completely. After the second healing, one of the witches came to Pastor Deus saying that he must be using a stronger power (than what they were using) from evil spirits because whatever they tried to do to him was not working. They were surprised to see him perfectly well. He told him that he didn’t have demons. He is a servant of God, and that they needed to depend on Jesus. The church in that area continued to prosper. Today it’s a big church, and is going strong.
Later they moved to Mwanza with their 3 children. They lived in a very small room without windows, it only had a doorway. They didn’t have anything, so he started selling ties for food and to support his ministry. One day their 3 year old daughter, Neema, died. Pastor Deus said that he knew the Lord called them into ministry, and that this wasn’t God’s plan for his daughter. “If you want to bury her, you can come down and bury her yourself,” he told the Lord, “I don’t have any money. I’m not going to bury her.” For three days, he and his wife, Elizabeth, fasted. They didn’t eat, drink or sleep for 3 days. At times they held their daughter underneath her arms and walked around the house proclaiming that she was alive and walking (although in reality she was dead). On the third day, suddenly their daughter rose from the dead and was completely well. There was nothing wrong with her whatsoever. Their daughter told them that she saw Jesus smiling at her. Jesus came and picked her up and began to carry her. Today, Neema is 13 years old. I met her while in Mwanza. She loves the Lord and worships Him with her whole heart.
Though faced with many hardships, Pastor Deus and his wife never turned away from what the Lord was calling them to do. Because they had no money, he and his wife delivered 3 out of their 6 children themselves. One was delivered by his wife’s sister and the last 2 were able to be born in the hospital. During one of the hospital births, his wife had a C-section. She started to have a very painful infection, but couldn’t return to the hospital. She lay in the bed in great pain, unable to move or talk. People fearing the worst, sent for Pastor Deus, who was in the mountains fasting; but he refused to come back to the house because there was nothing he could do for her. He decided to continue to fast before the Lord for her healing. Suddenly, back in the house a bright light appeared. Elizabeth thought it was a robber, but had no strength to cry out for help. Instead, an angel came out of the light saying, “Do not be afraid. I’ve come to heal you. He rubbed something over her belly (like the hand tool used for ultrasounds), and said, “Now you are healed.” He then left. She wanted to test her body to see if she was healed. She immediately went down the hill to carry up a bucket of water. Then, she took all the clothes in their house outside and started washing them by hand. She found she was completely healed, and hasn’t had a problem since.
Today, Pastor Deus lives in his own small house. The house has two bedrooms. He and his wife sleep in one bedroom. In the other bedroom are his own 6 children, 3 orphans, and 1 widow and her baby (there were only a few beds in the room). He and one of his young sons made the mud bricks themselves by hand. He can’t afford electricity or city water. His family, along with many others in the community, buy water by the bucket and carry it back up the rocky hill. The water is used to drink, cook with, wash clothes, and for the bathroom. Such things like toilet paper (49 cents per roll), cookies (less than $1), juice and toys are too expensive and aren’t purchased. Tanzania is much different than the U.S. and many people struggle to find any kind of work or enough food to eat. Pastor Deus sells dirt from a termite hill to people who make bricks. He uses this little money to help buy food for his family and continue ministry in the churches. At times, his wife also works early in the morning and late at night, sewing clothes and selling them to help buy food for their family. Even so, they don’t always have enough food to eat 3 times a day. Many times, the children wake up and go to school from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. without breakfast or lunch. When they come home, they carry water up the rocky hill to their house, and do other chores. If dinner is available they will eat, but nothing like what many of us are used to in America. Then, the next day, they repeat the same routine. I watched his children, who were full of joy, help around the house, and serve the Lord in and outside the church (even the little ones around 5 years old). They are learning from their parents, that Jesus’ love is everything, and He is worth living for no matter what - even when one has very little or nothing.
Pastor Deus was commissioned to start Iris Ministries in Tanzania in 2000. Today, Iris Ministries has 55 churches throughout Tanzania. He has founded some churches himself, and other churches joined Iris as the Lord directed them. He and his wife choose to depend on the Lord. They love Jesus, and desire Him at all and any cost. He often told me and the other pastors, “We don’t have a choice. We must do whatever the Lord wants.” He and his wife remind me of a passage concerning the Apostle Paul’s ministry, “…as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way; in great endurance, in troubles, hardships and distresses; …in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity;…in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;…known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on;...sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” (2 Corinthians 6:4-10, NIV).
He and his wife, Elizabeth, asked for prayer that God would continue to provide the means for them to take care of their family, to continue ministry, and travel to the churches to help support them. Their heart is to continue to bring the gospel to areas of Tanzania where few or no people know Jesus.
Photos: Pastor Deus and wife, Elizabeth, with their 8 children (1 baby from widow). (missing widow, newest orphan)
- Their 8 children (missing: newest orphan)
- Pastor Deus' uncompleted house
- The ant hill and the bricks people make from the dirt
