Celebrating God's Victories
by Rita Langeland
The sky was a beautiful shade of blue on the Sunday morning set aside for the church dedication. An arch of purple and white balloons covered the entryway of the church in celebration of the big day. After much prayer, a tremendous fight of faith, and many battles against obstacles both natural and spiritual, the Maasai church building in Esilalei village Tanzania had finally been completed. The white cross on the pinnacle of the building spoke to the surrounding community that this was a place where God’s people would gather, His Word would be proclaimed, and where His miracles would be demonstrated.
There was excitement in the air and the rich colors of red, purple and blue in the Maasai people’s traditional clothing added to the celebratory atmosphere. A symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony was held and Pastor Dave and Rita Langeland joined Pastor Zablon Laizer in cutting the ribbon that was stretched across the door of the church building. Inside the newly painted building was a beautiful double-wide wooden pulpit which had been custom made and presented as a gift to the church.
A choir from the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home sang and danced at the dedication service blessing all those in attendance with their joyful enthusiasm for the Lord. Afterward, everyone stood outside enjoying bottles of Coca Cola and Fanta brought in for this special occasion. Having crates of soda for all the people attending a special event is a tradition in Tanzania for any major celebration.
While the people were enjoying the sodas and fellowship, a Maasai man brought his young son to the visiting team of ministers for prayer. He explained in the Maasai language through Pastor Zablon, that his son was an epileptic. He experienced multiple seizures every day for as long as they could remember. He desperately wanted his son to be healed. It reminded us of the story found in Matthew 17:15 of the man who said to Jesus, "Lord, have mercy on my son, He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.”
We were happy to pray for the boy’s healing as we knew that God had great compassion and love for the child and that He is the Great Physician! We prayed for the boy and his countenance seemed to visibly relax. His father thanked us for the prayer and left. One week later, just as we were about to leave Tanzania to return to the U.S., Pastor Zablon told us that he had spoken to the family, and they reported that the child had not had a single seizure since the day we prayed for him. He had gone a full week without a seizure, a first in the young boy’s lifetime. God had miraculously healed him!
 To us at Hidden With Christ Ministries, that boy’s healing is symbolic of all that God wants to do for the Maasai people. God desires to prove to them beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is the one true God, who loves them and gave Himself for them. The Maasai have seen spiritual power demonstrated from the realm of witchcraft because it permeates their culture. But to see genuine miracles of healing, deliverance and even changes in the weather (see article on page 1-2) and other natural circumstances (see article on page 5) brought about by the hand of God are signs and wonders that point to the reality of the God of the Bible.
Please continue to pray for Hidden With Christ Ministries as we work among the Maasai tribe in Tanzania. We are seeing victories among these precious people whom God loves so much!
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