Eyewitness to a Miracle
by Pastor David Langeland
This is a firsthand account of a miracle witnessed by Pastor David Langeland that happened at the “Well of God’s Faithfulness.” This well is located on the property that was given to Hidden With Christ Ministries in Esilalei Village in Tanzania and has been the subject of several previous articles by Rita Langeland. The well was dug to provide water for the Maasai people living in the area around Esilalei Village. Without this well, the local people must walk many miles for very poor quality drinking water. The significance of this well for the people of Esilalei Village cannot be overstated.
I was part of the conference team that ministered at the Fire Conference that was held in the church building of Pastor Zablon, located in Maasai land. When we arrived at the church, Pastor Zablon informed us that the well hadn’t been producing any water for quite some time which he estimated to be about three months. Although deeply saddened at this news, we weren’t able to do anything about the well because we immediately became busy with the “Fire Conference”. During a break in the conference schedule, I tried the pump myself, and no water came out, just as Pastor Zablon had reported. I also noticed that during the whole time the conference was going on, I never saw any of the locals even attempt to use the pump. It became very obvious that for whatever the cause, the well was no longer working and everyone in the area knew it. Pastor Zablon had attempted to contact the man who had installed the pump and repaired it in the past. He was told that he had been in an accident and had returned to the USA. We realized that a natural solution to the well problem was not going to be possible at this time.
Thursday morning, the day after the conference had ended, we bid everyone good-bye and only Pastor Rita, Pastor Geoffrey Kioko and myself remained. We ate lunch and then purposed to stop and pray for the well as we left the area to return to our base in Moshi. When we arrived at the well, there was no one was around. All the conference attendees had headed for home and we were completely alone at the well. We laid our hands on the well pump and began to pray that the pump would start working and that water would once again begin to flow. After a time of intense prayer, Rita said we should start pumping the handle in anticipation of receiving the answer. Pastor Kioko started pumping the pump. He kept at it for a long time with no obvious results. A lone Maasai man came wandering over to see what we were up to. Pastor Rita told him he was there to be a witness to a miracle. He watched for awhile and then gestured that he would take over pumping so Kioko could rest. This went on for awhile.
I started thinking, “Ok, we’ve prayed, so now let’s get out of here and trust God to find somebody who can fix the pump.” Pastor Rita and Pastor Kioko kept praying and then felt led to rebuke any curses of witchcraft that had been spoken over that well. I started to realize that I was doubting that the well would be fixed miraculously and that if Jesus were here, he would “put me out of the room” (Matthew 9:23-25). So I “put myself out of the room” spiritually and asked the Lord to not let my natural way of thinking affect their prayers. Then Pastor Kioko took over the pumping again and we kept at it in “the Spirit” and in “faith with action.”
 Pastor Rita had her hand in the pump spout and as I watched, I saw a few drops of water come trickling down her hand and then the water started to flow. She started to scream with delight! I have to admit that I was really shocked when I saw the flow of water. We all started to shout and praise the Lord and the Maasai man started grinning and saying, “Bwana asifiwe!” (“Praise the Lord” in Swahili). To test that the well was really working, we let the pump rest for awhile and then we tried it again and once again water flowed freely. Before we left the well, our Maasai witness was already spreading the news that there was once again water flowing from the well. I am so thankful that I was able to see God change a natural situation through His supernatural power.
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