Pastor Oloise in Chatu region
Pastor Oloise is over the 5 Iris churches in the region of Chatu. He and his wife have 6 children. The church he pastors cares for about 25 orphans.
Like other Iris pastors, Pastor Oloise went where the Lord sent him even without knowing how and where his family would live. One day Pastor Oloise prayed for a woman who was near death. The Lord miraculously restored the woman to life. She was so grateful that she offered the pastor a place to rent on her property for $18.75 U.S. a month. The house has two small bedrooms and a sitting area. This was a blessing, since the house provided the pastor and his family with a place to live in the area the Lord sent him. But, till this day, the pastor doesn’t have enough money to pay for the monthly rent. The Lord’s favor allows him to stay.
The pastor and his wife began a church that grew very quickly. Then, for some reason, the owner of the land chased people off the property, and refused to allow anyone to meet in the building. When anyone came, he told them that it wasn’t a church anymore. Confusion arose and many people left the church. At the same time, the pastor lost his garden (the means to provide food for his family) which was on the same property. Today, he rents a poorly constructed mud house for church meetings for about $5.25 a month. Some people help him with the church’s rent because he’s unable to pay for it. The church is full of God’s love. In the midst of having so little, the pastor continues to trust in the Lord for what He called him to do, and thanks the Lord for the opportunity he has to serve Him.
When we arrived in Chatu the pastor didn’t have any food for his family, for the visiting pastors, nor for us. I found out that two of the pastors traveled for 2 days by bicycle taxi just to reach the seminar we were holding at the church. I noticed that one of the pastors wore the same clothes for the 3 days we were there. The Lord provided, and I was able to provide food for people to eat during and after the seminar.
The Lord gave me a word for Pastor Oloise. Now, he is walking through a time where he is testifying of God’s love for him while living without many basic things his family needs. One day, he will have his own house and a lot of property. He will have to have servants tending to his house and property because he will have so much, and because the Lord wants to release him to travel around to other areas to teach people about His goodness and love.
Pastor Benedictos Sipiriani of the village of Kimbumba in Matofali-Buselesele
Pastor Benedictos was saved in 1987. He gave his life to Jesus after hearing someone preach the gospel. Formerly he was a drunkard, did drugs and went to prostitutes. He had a garden to support his family, and if possible, to sell vegetables to others. After fasting for 1 week in 1990, the Lord spoke to him in a vision appointing him to be a pastor. He began his work in Kilobelo.
He and his wife began to go house to house, preaching the gospel and praying for the sick. This is how the church started. The Lord healed a crazy person, and also delivered another from demons. People who made home-made alcohol came against him saying that he came to their village to destroy their business. These men had him thrown into jail. The church helped the pastor by writing a letter and talking to the people in the village. After 7 days, he was set free. He continued ministering in the same place for some time. He didn’t have shoes or a good house, and only had 1 shirt and 2 pairs of pants. He lived in a small grass hut with his wife and 5 children. One day, their grass hut was burned down, and they lost everything. The church helped him rebuild his house, and was able to provide him and his wife with 1 change of clothes. His children were naked and remained at home. People began to insult and mock him. “You call yourself a pastor. If you were a pastor the Lord would take care of you. But, you are poor and your children are naked,” they said. Pastor Benedictos felt a lot of pain in his heart, but he continued in the Lord’s work.
When the Lord sent Pastor Benedictos to Kimbumba village in 1997, he went without having a house or anything. They all walked by foot. They had no money, so Pastor Benedictos would ask people to let him dig in their gardens for a little pay. Today, he continues to ask people to let him work in their gardens. He uses the money to help support his family. His wife also works in their own garden to help support them. He lives out in the “bush”, because he cannot afford to live close by the church in the central area of the village. To visit his churches, he tries to borrow someone’s bicycle. Some of the churches take 2 – 4 hours to reach by bicycle on dirt paths. In the village where pastor Benedictus lives we witnessed a powerful move of God in the community. I’ll share testimonies about this in the next blog.
With love in Jesus Name,
Tyren and Tiffany Haynes
Photos: Church at Chatu (along with vistors and visiting pastors)
- Pastors, elders and Director of Iris while at the church at Chatu (left to right: Pastor Oloise's wife, Pastor Oloise, Elizabeth (Pastor Deus' wife), Pastor Deus (Director of Iris Tanzani)
- At Pastor Benedictos' house (left to right: Pastor Benedictos' wife, Pastor Benedictos, Elizabeth, Apolo (worship leader who traveled with us to all the villages), Pastor Oloise, Pastor Deus, some of P. Benedictos' children)
- Worshipping in Pastor Benedictos' church of mud brick and grass
