Pastor Mundia Liywalii (SID stewardship director) interviews Elder Floyson Muleya and Brilliet Muchindu Muleya. Elder Muleya Floyson is married to Brilliet Muchindu Muleya, and they have 10 children. They were baptized by Pastor S. H. Chileya II on June 4, 1994, and May 8, 1996, respectively.
Director: Elder and Mrs. Muleya, when did you start returning tithing?
Answer: We started giving tithe in-kind of our maize in 1997 and of cattle three years later in 2010.
Director: What prompted you to start tithing?
Elder Muleya: We started returning tithe in-kind after Pastor Faxon Shangala taught us to return tithe in-kind. At the time, we had no animals, so we gave what we had [maize]. When harvest time came, we would count the number of rows in our maize fields and give every tenth row as a tithe to the Lord. This is the best we could do at that time.
After five years, we bought two cows in 2002; these animals were multiplying at a rate that shocked us. By 2010, they reached 10, and we called Pastor Ocean Mwiinde to help us count them so that the tithe animal could go.
From then, we count our cattle every year. Today, we have over 275 animals, because after every time the counting is done, our animals multiply heavily.
Mrs. Muleya: Pastor, allow me to interrupt my husband. From the time you came to count the animals last year in November, 15 have already calved. We see a lot of miracles after giving God what rightly belongs to Him.
Director: What makes you continue being faithful in tithe returning without waiting for promotions or reminders from the church leadership?
Elder Muleya: Tithe returning has become part of our life; we can’t wait for people to promote it, because we have come to understand who God is and how faithful He is to us. Last year we harvested more than 200 bags of 50 kilograms of maize when there was a terrible drought. Rains left our maize at knee-high, but we managed to collect the harvest. How can one explain this? This year [2019-2020 planting season], we did not apply any basal fertilizer in our maize fields, but one cannot tell the difference. Thankfully, out of all the 267 bags of 50kg fertilizer that we bought, only 164 were used; 103 bags are still there because God applied His basic fertilizer to our crops. We don’t know how to explain this, Pastor.
Director: What can you share with others relating to the goodness of being faithful stewards?
Elder Muleya: Tithe returning is the sure way of seeing God at work in your life and possessions just as the book of Malachi 3 puts it. You can see that God is blessing you. Withholding tithe is merely bringing a curse on yourself; you cannot prosper by cheating on God.
Speaking from experience, before I started returning tithe, the animals I had all died. When I began returning tithe, you can see that from two animals, we now have 275. Animal diseases affect all the neighbors within the vicinity without affecting ours.
We learned that God speaks to us in blessings when we do not forget Him. He speaks to us through withdrawing the blessings. Just to clarify my point, we forgot to have our goats counted for two years, and all the big ones died. We realized our mistake, confessed our sin to God, and stopped selling and eating our goats before tithing. We did not use any vaccines to treat them apart from confessing our sin to God and promising that we would get back to the right path. As I am talking to you now, the goats are ready for counting.
Therefore, I encourage all the church members to test God and see if He will not fulfill the promise that He made in Malachi 3:10,11.
Like the Pharisee of Jesus’ time, we have resolved to return the tithe of everything we possess.
Director: Is there anything else you want to say?
Elder Muleya: Nothing apart from thanking the Lord for the excellent health, peace, and harmony we are enjoying. Our family does not know the hospital; God keeps us. This season [2019/2020] also began with a dry spell; many people did not plant at the right time, but my faithful God gave me rains to plant at the right time.
Our last encouragement to others is that they should remember that it is not a loss to return tithe; it is investing in God’s unfailing bank.
Director: Elder and Mrs. Muleya, thank you very much for the time and the sacrifice you’ve made to come over. May God keep blessing you as you continue being faithful to Him.
Elder Muleya: It’s our pleasure, Pastor.
For more information about offering, visit: www.adventist.org/giving.
