Jonathan Menn-ECLEA director

It is my sad duty to report that my friend and ECLEA-Tanzania's national coordinator, Dickson Laizer, died at the end of July. He was sick for long time since 2020, suffering from chest ailments, and in May this year he was admitted to hospital due to serious changes of his health. From that time he remained at hospital where he was taking treatment until his death on July 31.

Dickson Laizer

Dickson leaves a widow and children. ECLEA-Tanzania leaders will be meeting to fill this great loss. If anyone would like to contribute to help his family, please contact ECLEA (https://www.eclea.net/contact.html). Dickson was a good man, a good teacher, and an uplifting friend. He will be missed.

Joram Ibrahim, ECLEA-Tanzania’s national secretary, adds the following:

Joram and Dickson together

On my arrival at Arusha I met Julius Shevorogwe, Emmanuel Sanare, and Paul Mdimi; all of us as ECLEA team sat down with the widow for short discussion about the matter. The four ECLEA representstives discussed with family members and together with the TAG host Pastor we arranged the burial service plan for the next day. On Thursday the burial service involved a number of pastors and Bishops from different Church Denominations, hosted by Pastor Ngereza of TAG local church of the area where Dickson used to attend together with his family members. Pastor Sanare, of ECLEA leadership team from Arusha led the service liturgy and Pastor Mdimi also ECLEA leader from Magugu officiated the burial. More then twenty five Pastors were among the multitude who attended the burial service. I was given a chance to speak on behalf of ECLEA.

One day after the burial of our brother, We had a meeting of four of us and came to the following conclusions.

1. We will have a transition period of one and a half year leading to election, During this transition I will lead the ECLEA leadership team and we will work on:
   A. Setting a proper leadership structure that will not give the coordinator a chance to behave like a king in his own domain.
   B. Formulating a secured method for funds management including working on opening ECLEA account, so that ECLEA money will only go to ECLEA account.
   C. Setting ECLEA coursed to a credential awarding, through affiliation with an accredited education institution
       - For this will prepare our teachers for the same through TOTs
       - Do vision and mission casting to all regional centers, giving a brief explanation about each course, what should a          student expect to become through transformation, and also by credential.

We will now on be talking with biblical institutions to include ECLEA courses into their curriculum module and our teachers go and teach, Also running mobile biblical schools at the local areas instead of conferences, whereby in all cases students will have to write exams.

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Dickson Laizer, ECLEA-Tanzania national coordinator

January-February 2021:

We have been proceeding with our training in different places as we had scheduled for and our training team are doing well which we divided in two groups: (1) Sanare, Paul and Lukumay; (2) Julius, I, and Kaaya. Both teams doing great impact within the communities through ECLEA's teaching and here are some of the reports:

(1) ENGUTOTO, NJIRO, LENDANAI and BALANGIDA
These places have been taught Forgiveness and Reconciliation. About 32 participants. They gave the testimonies saying, “ECLEA's ministry is different from other ministries—it is like a school. We learned things differently from our own Bible we have been using but the main theme like the we taught in these three days. I never thought of unforgiving heart is like just taking and drinking the poison waiting someone else to die.” Some said, “I am sure we have been keeping the problem in our congregation and people are dying with bitterness in their hearts because we lacked the solution, but through this course am going to teach using material because it's carried enough revelation of the truth from the word of God.”

(2) ENDASAKI, BASHAI, ENDABASH, OIMOTONYI
The people of these areas are cattle keepers and crops growing but there's big congregation gathering together as the church. You can't imagine someone is leading without even attending any Bible training. Here's where ECLEA's teaching is required the most. Here we had more than 45 to 63 participants where the book of 1 Timothy and Biblical Stewardship for full three days.

Many overseers gave their testimonies saying “we didn't differentiate false teachers who are within the church and those without, such as Jehovah Witnesses, Catholic Church, and other religions. Also, we always appointed church leaders who are close to us (e.g., family members) without looking at those qualifications from the Bible which is the real basis for our ministry. I have been transformed by this teaching and am going to apply it soon to our congregations to our all zones.”

(3) LULEMBELA, MBOGWE, NYANGUGE, IGUGUNO
These places were different in learning or catching up with teaching. We had about 25 to 30 people who attended the course where we taught on Biblical Stewardship and Forgiveness and Reconciliation. We were engaging with questions and answers, especially about false teachers saying, “Why are they proceeding and look like they are getting rich than who are suffering in teaching the truth, why people are flying to them, and what we must to stop them?” In answering those questions, later they said, “ECLEA's ministry is the best messenger of God in healing the church.” As to Forgiveness and Reconciliation, people said, “We weren't teaching the whole counsel of God. We did not expect this course to be so new to us as it's now. It's the truth that set us free from teaching false teaching.”

(4) KARATU in exchange to KIOMBOI, MANYARA in exchange to GABADO, MTO WA UMBU in exchange to OLDONYOSAMBU.
In these places we taught Forgiveness and Reconciliation. About 33 to 38 participants were at the end. Some overseers said "this course should be repeated because it's very important according to the gospel of Christ and here we're few and days are short." One bishop said, “We have been blind and ignoring our people to staying long days with the bitterness hearts and not being able to forgive others. We discovered through this course that it's our responsibility to help our people to live Christlike on the earth. Thank God for ECLEA's ministry for coming to help us.”

(5) Minjingu, Basuto
Here we had about 17 to 21 participants where we trained on Expository Preaching course where many said it is good way of preaching but it needs to be repeated several times to become familiar with it because we are not used to it. Finally, they all agreed to recognize themselves next on June to be trained again on the same course.

(6) Kamwanga, Same, Ngarenairobi and Maji ya Moto
These places we taught Forgiveness and Reconciliation. About 33 to 38 participants which many bishops said we didn't know that forgiveness is the heart of the gospel but knew it is God's love, but now learned things which is new powerful teaching that changes our lives. Another bishop said, “We normally teach this in light way while we are holding unforgiving inside but this teaching helping me to know the importance of releasing my offender.” ECLEA'S ministry is doing a great impact to communities.

(7) Gidas, KCMC, MACHAME, and KITENDENI
Here's where we training about 34 participants on the book of The Church: Its Nature, Mission, and Purpose. This people had a different view of the mission of the church but at the end they said, “I knew when we plant a new Church that is a mission, but now I have learned the first mission is to worship God in living worthy lives that represent him on the earth and equip the church to be Christlike. Thanks for ECLEA'S ministry for coming to help us. We are going to arrange another class for you to come and teach us again.”

Again we want to thank all people of God for your love and support in reaching out to us. May God bless you all.

Dickson

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