December 2008 Update - Transformation In Maasai Land
When Pastor Zablon was a 21 year old Maasai warrior, he made a decision to give his life to Christ. In the Maasai culture, such a radical break with tradition was equivalent to death. He was completely ostracized from the community and for over 20 years Zablon lived far away from his family village.
But God in His great love has brought everything full circle. Pastor Zablon now lives near his family’s homestead and the church building that HWCM recently built, now serves as a place of worship and transformation for the very people who once rejected him. Pastor Zablon has become a very respected leader in the Maasai community and the Lord continues to use his influence to expand the kingdom of God.
The church building itself has become a center for people who desperately need a miracle. One man, whose case appeared hopeless to his own family, is named Rumunde. Rumunde had been a terrible drunkard for many, many years. His father took him to different witchdoctors and paid many cows in an attempt to get him “healed” from his addiction to alcohol, to no avail. The family also took Rumunde to a number of hospitals hoping to see him cured of alcoholism, but all their efforts were in vain. Rumunde only got worse.
Finally, Rumunde’s 20 year old son, Lamayan, insisted on taking his father to Pastor Zablon, because he had heard of other miracles of healing that had taken place when Zablon prayed. The church building was only partially finished, when Lamayan arrived with his intoxicated father on a Sunday morning. Zablon laid his hands upon the man and prayed, and Rumunde was totally set free. The father and son, now both born-again Christians, worship together at the newly built HWCM church in Esilalei village.
Another healing miracle took place in the life of a young Maasai warrior named Sabore. An enemy paid a local witchdoctor to put a “curse” on the 19 year old young man. Sabore became violently ill. He had horrible stomach pains and felt as if he were dying. Eventually he was taken to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in the town of Moshi, the largest hospital in the region. The doctors there performed exploratory surgery on his stomach, and found that it was filled with what appeared to be black sand. The surgeon removed it, cleansed his stomach and stiched him up. Seven months passed, yet Sabore remained an invalid. He was in constant pain, he could not eat and the site of his surgical incision continued to bleed and would not heal. His family was desperate and decided to bring Sabore to the church for prayer. They had to rent a vehicle and driver to carry Sabore there as he could not walk. Pastor Zablon prayed for him and he was instantly healed. Two days later, Sabore discovered that the scar from his surgical incision had completely disappeared. It was a true miracle! Sabore has become one of the most dedicated believers in the church. And his joyful countenance testifies of his gratitude to God for the miracle he had received in his life.
These stories of real-life transformation are just a tiny sampling of the many miracles and salvations taking place in Esilalei village in Tanzania. The investment of both prayer and finances in the building of this church has already yielded tremendous fruit. We want to thank every single person who has given toward this project. Your giving has not been in vain!
November 2008 Update -
Giving Thanks In Maasai Land
We are giving thanks to the Lord for the near completion of the church facility in Esilalei village in Tanzania. The church walls are up, the cement floor has been poured, the roof is on and at the time of this writing, the doors and windows are being installed. But more exciting than all of that is the fact that 178 people attended a church service last Sunday in that building! They no longer have to meet under a thorn tree but are now protected from the elements by a sturdy iron sheet roof! People have been saved and healed and encouraged in that place already.
The response of the Maasai people in the area where the church building is being constructed has been tremendous. They find it amazing that someone would care enough to build a church building just for them. That very tangible sign of love has really touched their hearts. Most of the residents there live in mud and dung huts with thatch grass roofs. They have no running water and no bathroom facilities whatsoever. The construction team built a very nice double outhouse and a bathhouse. Previous to the construction of the bathhouse, the people would come to the well (which HWCM drilled last year and is located right near the church building) and strip down completely and bathe out in the open, because they had no where else to go. They are so extremely grateful for the “his and her” bathhouse facilities. Now instead of giving themselves a “bucket bath” in public, they take their water bucket to the bathhouse and bathe privately. They are filled with gratitude for this blessing! The double outhouse is also a “modern convenience” that they do not have access to in their villages and again they are so thankful for the provision of this simple gift. (Are you grateful for the indoor plumbing in your own home?)
Here at Hidden With Christ Ministries we are thankful to everyone who has had a part in this project to bless the Maasai people in Esilalei village. Thank you for praying and thank you for giving financially to see this project completed. Whether you gave toward the blocks for the walls, the doors, the windows, the roof or the benches in the church, your gift was a life-giving one!
October 2008 -
Building With Eternity In Mind
The king should know that we went to the construction site of the Temple of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being rebuilt with specially prepared stones, and timber is being laid in its walls. The work is going forward with great energy and success.
EZRA 5:8 (NLT)
When the four young boys wandered up to the church building site, their thin bodies and hollow eyes told a story of hunger. They looked to be no older than six years of age, with the youngest appearing 3 or 4 years old at the most. Missionaries Mark Stevens and Steve Stimson and the construction work crew had stopped for a lunch break. They were eating a meal of beans and rice when the boys appeared, herding the family cows. The children were dirty, barely clothed, and had no food or water with them as they walked over the dry and dusty ground. Mark quickly shared some of their beans and rice with the children, who wolfed it down hungrily. It broke their hearts to see children so young out herding cattle and obviously not attending school.
But as the missionary builders watched the famished children devour their food with the unfinished church building in the background, they had hope springing up in their hearts. Soon this place would be filled with families who would have the opportunity to hear the Good News of God's love for them. The children would be able to grow up learning the Word of God and hearing of His good plan for their lives. And soon, a medical clinic and school would spring from the ground as well, bringing a practical demonstration of the love of God for the Maasai people. Their hard fought efforts were not in vain. They understood that they were building with eternity in mind.
One day two women appeared at the construction site. They had walked for nearly two days from their village to reach the place. They heard that God was building a church for the Maasai people and they wanted to see it with their own eyes. One of the women was a Christian and her friend was not. Pastor Zablon spoke to them along with the missionaries and together they led the non-Christian woman to a faith in Christ. They pledged to remain there until the church building was completed so they could attend the dedication ceremony!
The missionary construction team has been busy building lives as well as a structure for the church to meet in. They have prayed for the sick and seen healings. One day an older woman came to the construction site and inquired about having someone pray for her healing. She had seen the results of prayer in her village when Pastor Zablon and missionary Mark Stevens came and prayed for a young woman who had given birth to a baby and had not come out of her hut for several months. She was in a severe state of depression and no one could do anything for her. After they prayed for her, she came out and was laughing and smiling and she had even come to the well the next day, the first time she had ventured anywhere for months. This older woman asked, "Can the God who healed that girl, heal me too?" She was assured God could indeed heal her too. She received prayer and her physical healing and went on her way rejoicing!
Even the witchdoctors who had originally been so opposed to the building of the church are beginning to soften. One of them actually stood up for Pastor Zablon and the church building project during a town meeting saying the building should be allowed to go forward. Another witchdoctor invited Pastor Zablon to his boma (homestead) and asked for Zablon to pray for all the people and told them they had his permission to attend the church services! Zablon invited him to come also and suggested he bring all his witchcraft fetishes to be burned. The witchdoctor laughed and declined the invitation. But we know that God is moving on his heart to allow his people to go and hear the Gospel preached. So pray that the day will come that this witchdoctor will renounce his witchcraft practices and receive the love and forgiveness of Christ into his own life.
Already this church construction project is impacting lives before the roof is even on the building. Pray with us for the funds to complete it and for money to build a parsonage for Pastor Zablon's family. It will make a huge impact to have him live right by the church building so he can minister freely to people as they come to the well. Currently he lives approximately five miles away in the nearby town of Mto Wa Mbu.
Thank you for your heart for the Maasai people - God is doing wonders in Maasai Land Tanzania!
September 2008 -
Raising The Walls
Contractor Mark Stevens and missionary Steve Stimson made the long journey from California to Tanzania to spend nearly three months helping to build a structure in Esilalei village, which will become a center for worship, Bible training and evangelism for the Maasai tribe. After the strenuous work of digging the foundation with hand shovels, removing rocks and fighting off scorpions, they began the task of raising up the cement block walls.
The process has presented many faith challenges! The water well pump that had been repaired after vandals sabotaged it, broke down again. And since water is an absolutely vital component for cement work, the team had to drive daily to a muddy watering hole. There they filled large buckets with as much water as they could hold, and then drove back to the construction site very slowly so they would not slosh out the contents. This was water shared with an abundance of cattle who had fouled it long before the builders arrived.
By the grace of God, the well pump was completely repaired AGAIN by our friend from Living Waters Ministry, Lance Whyle, who arrived on the scene in the nick of time, just days before catching a plane for his home in the U.S.! He had been sitting in a hotel room in Arusha (less than 2 hours from our well) asking God why the two well projects he had been scheduled to work on had been cancelled. When he received a phone call from Pastor Zablon telling him of our well problem, he knew God had answered his question! After the repair was completed and the team was preparing to leave for the weekend, they saw that over 30 Maasai had gathered at the well and were once again drawing water and washing clothes with the fresh water from the “Well of God’s Faithfulness.” Good news travels fast!
On Sunday, Pastor Zablon gathered his church to meet at the building site instead of their previous location under the thorn tree. There was a surprise guest in the group who had gathered for the church service that day. It was one of the witchdoctors who had cursed the well last year when the drilling company told us it was a dry borehole. He had seen that his magic did not keep the well from producing water, nor did it stop the church building from being built. Pastor Zablon had been witnessing to him and invited him to attend the service. This man, and his father, also a witchdoctor, had been the subject of special prayer by our contractor, Mark Stevens. The Lord had placed the salvation of those two men heavily on his heart. He spent the month before arriving in Tanzania in intercession for them. He was thrilled to see one of them come to attend the service. Though the young witchdoctor did not surrender his life to Christ that day, it was obvious that God was reaching out to him. Please keep both of these men in your prayers!
As the builders began to raise up the block walls, they stopped long enough to place a Bible in the foundation. Cemented into the threshold over which many people would pass as they entered the building, it was a symbolic act. They prayed that as far as the eye could see the Maasai would come to this church and hear the Word of God preached, receive salvation and embrace God’s Word as their foundation for living. It was a powerful moment.
Another healing miracle took place in the life of a young Maasai warrior named Sabore. An enemy paid a local witchdoctor to put a “curse” on the 19 year old young man. Sabore became violently ill. He had horrible stomach pains and felt as if he were dying. Eventually he was taken to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in the town of Moshi, the largest hospital in the region. The doctors there performed exploratory surgery on his stomach, and found that it was filled with what appeared to be black sand. The surgeon removed it, cleansed his stomach and stiched him up. Seven months passed, yet Sabore remained an invalid. He was in constant pain, he could not eat and the site of his surgical incision continued to bleed and would not heal. His family was desperate and decided to bring Sabore to the church for prayer. They had to rent a vehicle and driver to carry Sabore there as he could not walk. Pastor Zablon prayed for him and he was instantly healed. Two days later, Sabore discovered that the scar from his surgical incision had completely disappeared. It was a true miracle! Sabore has become one of the most dedicated believers in the church. And his joyful countenance testifies of his gratitude to God for the miracle he had received in his life.
When the four young boys wandered up to the church building site, their thin bodies and hollow eyes told a story of hunger. They looked to be no older than six years of age, with the youngest appearing 3 or 4 years old at the most. Missionaries Mark Stevens and Steve Stimson and the construction work crew had stopped for a lunch break. They were eating a meal of beans and rice when the boys appeared, herding the family cows. The children were dirty, barely clothed, and had no food or water with them as they walked over the dry and dusty ground. Mark quickly shared some of their beans and rice with the children, who wolfed it down hungrily. It broke their hearts to see children so young out herding cattle and obviously not attending school.
