Many times Ivan was led to hold open air services in city parks. In those days he had a full beard. When he was talking about the saving grace of God, a godless man tried to set fire to his beard but he was unsuccessful. Back home Ivan wondered if hair doesn’t burn but the Lord pressed upon him not to try to set his beard on fire. (Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Matthew 4:7 NIV)
We all admired Ivan’s patience. One time during an open air service, an annoying guy kept holding a stick to Ivan’s nose but he just kept on speaking as if he had no distraction.
The main theme of Ivan’s messages was always based on Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” ( KJV). Conviction and confession of sin is a recurring theme in the Bible. Ivan would spend hours in prayer before a service, to be in touch with the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit that convicts people of sin. Many accepted this message; some didn't.
A man and his family had come to the town where Ivan was holding special services. The whole family came under the conviction of God's Spirit. They searched their hearts and confessed their sins. Back in the assembly in their own town, the pastor noticed that this proud, insensitive and impatient family was totally changed. The man shared his experiences at the special services telling how they had cleaned up their lives. The pastor immediately invited Ivan for special services at his assembly so that they also might be prepared for the Kingdom of God.
Ivan would often attend conferences in Pretoria for his own spiritual strengthening. (Translator's note: Pretoria is the capital of South Africa. In the text of this biography, Pretoria refers to the main church of Members in Christ Assemblies located in Pretoria, where customarily most annual conferences take place). At one of these conferences, the Lord spoke to him and sent him to Canada to start a work for the Lord. The Lord led him to visit a certain assembly when he arrived in Canada. The anointing of God was strongly on him. The pastor of the assembly asked him if he had a word to share and invited him up to the platform. Ivan was prepared and started speaking of the one thing that will keep a person out of heaven, which is sin. During the service, Ivan turned around and revealed the pastor’s sins. The pastor denied everything and chased Ivan from the building. However, a number of the assembly members were aware of his relation with one of the younger woman in his church although he was married. They had been praying that his actions would come to light. They started house meetings and invited Ivan to come and tell them more about the gospel.
Ivan paid for his own travel expenses in those days and he had just enough money to rent a room. The Lord laid on someone’s heart to give Ivan a loaf of bread but the person thought this was too insignificant a gift for a man who travels all over the world and whom she assumed must be rich and therefore gave him nothing. Fortunately someone else was obedient to God's leading and gave Ivan a bottle of Milo. Every day the Lord provided his needs. (Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Matthew 6:31-32 KJV).
Canada gets quite cold in the winter and Ivan relied mostly on buses for his transportation. People just couldn’t get enough of his testimonies and one time it had gotten late before he left for home. He had to wait a long time before a bus showed up. He got tired and sat down to lean against a pole. When the bus arrived he couldn’t get up as he was completely frozen stiff. The bus driver realised the seriousness of the situation and tried to help him onto the bus. His legs wouldn’t cooperate. There were icicles on his mustache and eyelashes. The bus driver explained that you should never sit down in this cold weather but to keep moving around. It’s not unusual for people to freeze to death. By God’s grace Ivan didn’t suffer lasting effects of his ordeal. (And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV)
Ivan's life consisted of fasting and praying and sleeping on the floor. During the winter he had a gas burner in his bedroom and he slept on the floor. He didn't realize that when he turned around the blanket had extinguished some of the flames. He had already breathed in a lot of gas when the Lord woke him up. In his misery he crawled on hands and knees towards the bathroom. His lungs, already weakened by tuberculosis, were badly affected and when he started coughing there was a lot of blood in the bathtub. The next day people wanted to take him to a doctor but he didn't want to go, as he wanted to trust the Lord. (Translator's note: later on in the biography, Martie shares how Ivan received his healing from tuberculosis).
He often visited the assembly in Tulsa, Oklahoma so he often crossed the border between Canada and the United States. At one time the customs officer asked him for his bank account details because they wanted to make sure that he had enough money to support himself. Every time he would answer: “I am well provided for.” They asked him how he came to be in Canada and where his home was. The night before on this occasion he had felt led to stay in a very expensive hotel frequented by millionaires, although it meant that he used the last of his money. When the customs officer heard where he had stayed the night before he assumed that he was a very rich man and they let him pass through. From that day on he often sang the song: “I am a millionaire.”
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