Water for a Dry Land

by Rita Langeland

Drought had plagued the Maasai areas of Tanzania with a ferocity that had not been seen in recent years. Cattle were literally dropping dead from starvation due to a lack of pastureland. A local newspaper headline grimly told the story of despair being felt by many people in the region: “MAN COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER FINDING ENTIRE HERD OF CATTLE DEAD.”

We arrived in Esilalei village to find bone-dry conditions and carcasses of cattle which had died as a result of the drought littering the landscape. In my years of working in the area, I had never seen such a pitiful sight. Very few Maasai men were around, as they had taken their herds far away in search of vegetation. The few cattle that were left in the area were so anorexic looking that they brought to mind the story in Genesis chapter 41 describing Pharaoh’s dream of the gaunt, thin cows. This was the setting for our first Pastor’s Conference in Maasai Land.

Pastor Clement Au Yeung, an Associate Pastor at Safe Harbor Church in California, had accompanied our team to Tanzania. In a time of prayer before our two Pastor’s Conferences began, the Lord gave him a very simple yet profound prophetic word that would resonate deeply with those who heard it. We had him share the word publicly at both conferences, but it was in Maasai Land that we would see its miraculous manifestation.

When My land cries for the rain… I send it. When My land receives the rain… it rejoices. When My people cry for My rain… I will send it.

We knew that this word had a double meaning – a reference to both natural rain - so desperately needed, as well as spiritual rain - also in short supply in the area. Pastor Zablon, our host for the Maasai Pastor’s Conference, wanted to pray for rain immediately upon hearing the prophetic word declared. I restrained him from doing so, being quite confident that if we prayed we would see the rain begin right away. This would pose quite a logistical problem for the conference since all the cooking for the meals was being done outside in the open air, and we had no way to shelter the workers or the food from a downpour. Plus I knew that the river of mud that would result from the rain would pose a problem as well, and asked him to wait until the end of the conference to pray. As for myself, I silently asked the Lord to withhold the rain until the day after the conference so that everyone could be on their way home when the rains began.

So we started the conference in very hot, dry conditions, with a fierce wind that swept across the savannah blowing a fine red dust into the church building. Both the pastors in attendance and the conference speakers were being sandblasted each time the wind picked up. It made me resolve to pray for sufficient money to put glass in the windows. Originally, when the building was being constructed by a HWCM team, we thought we had budgeted enough for the windows based on a quote we had received. But we later found out that the quote was only for the custom made wrought iron window frames and not the glass. Many churches in Tanzania have only wrought iron in the windows and no glass. But as the conference began, and the wind continued to pelt us all with that fine red sand, I knew that having glass in the church windows was a genuine need, not a luxury, in Maasai Land!

The Pastor’s Conference had been advertised on the only Maasai language radio station in Tanzania, as well as through the church “grapevine.” We expected only Maasai pastors and evangelists to attend. So we were quite surprised when we discovered that there were 17 different tribes represented at the conference. The majority of the ministers attending the conference were laboring in Maasai areas, essentially functioning as “missionaries” to the Maasai tribe, having learned the difficult Maasai language, though it was not their own mother tongue. Their dedication and love for the Maasai people touched our hearts deeply.

But even more surprising, was our discovery that we had in our midst, about 20 pastors and evangelists serving among the most unreached people groups in the nation of Tanzania. The Maasai tribe lives in both Tanzania and Kenya and has grown to number in excess of 4 million people by the most recent population estimates. But the tribes that these precious men of God were trying to reach, were quite small in comparison and much more primitive. They included the Ndorobo tribe, who are hunters and gatherers, living on nuts, roots and berries and hunting animals for meat with bows and poisoned arrows. We knew that serving these dear missionaries was a great privilege that God had entrusted to us.

During the conference, Biblical teaching was presented on many practical issues facing these men and women of God, and the attendees were rapt in their attention. Marriage and Family issues were among the subjects addressed from a scriptural viewpoint during the conference. Many cultural traditions of the tribes with regard to the marriage relationship are in direct conflict with the Bible and so it is a subject in great need of teaching. Many expressed their appreciation of this focus.

One of the conference highlights was a time of prayer and prophetic ministry to each and every minister in attendance. The testimonies given by the participants were priceless. One man said, “I have never been in a conference with white people before. For me, this is a miracle!” Another said, “We have considered ourselves to be a forgotten people. But this conference shows me that God has not forgotten us!” Others referenced specific teachings that encouraged them to carry on in the work of the Gospel and gave them answers that they desperately needed for situations they were facing. Many begged us with tears to return next year and hold another conference. The very last item of business on the agenda was to pray for rain - both natural and spiritual - for the nation of Tanzania.

The Pastor’s Conference ended on a Wednesday evening. On Thursday afternoon, well after all the participants had left the area, thunderclouds rolled in. In a short time, rain began to fall, pelting our windshield, just as we were driving away from Esilalei village. The rain was intense and it continued for several days. The word about the rains quickly made its way out to the far flung places that the Maasai men had taken their herds. They began the long trek back to their homesteads, rejoicing that green grass, so desperately needed for their cattle, would soon blanket the area. God had truly answered prayer!

When My people cry for My rain… I will send it.

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