A Tale of Two Witchdoctors

by Rita Langeland

Our work among the Maasai tribe in Tanzania has been very dear to my heart. Though I am aware that some have questioned the wisdom of “befriending” witchdoctors, my goal in doing so has been very simple – to see them come to know the truth and the love of God. Jesus became the “friend” of prostitutes and sinners for the exact same purpose. And I have not done this lightly or without much prayer. Instead, I have followed the leading of the Holy Spirit in all of my interactions with them. I share the following story with you, from my recent trip to Tanzania.

After much prayer, I felt that the time had come to sit down and share the Gospel with the Witchdoctor (Senior) known as Olemapi, and his son (Junior), Mshamgama. I made plans to take the long drive out to Esilalei village from Moshi, and meet with the two men. I asked our Maasai friend, Pastor Zablon, to set the meeting for Thursday.

When Pastor Zablon called Mshamgama to set up the meeting, we found out that God had already prepared the way. Pastor Zablon was told that Mshamgama’s father, “Senior,” had not been able to sleep because he was shaken up after having a vivid dream of an angel entering his homestead. Later, after he was told that I was coming to visit him, he told his son, “She is coming as that angel.” He readily agreed to meet with us.

Accompanied by missionaries Warren Oberst, Jodie Schooley and student volunteer River Bryant, we made the trek out to Maasai Land. It was dusty and dry, the ground once again aching for rain. When we walked into the homestead, we saw that manure from the huge herds of cattle owned by the witchdoctor and his many sons covered the ground and drew flies that were plague-like in numbers.
As usual, there was a contingent of men standing around the witchdoctor. The Lord had instructed me to speak to him alone, without his entourage. So I had Pastor Zablon ask him for a private meeting, just him and his eldest son Mshamgama, and Pastor Zablon and me. He agreed and we moved to sit under a nearby tree.

I began by telling him that I had been sent from Almighty God to give him a message. He nodded and told me to speak the message. In the simplest terms, I began to share of God’s love for him and for all mankind, but how since the days of Adam, man had been separated from a close relationship with God because of sin. I explained how over the centuries men have tried to atone for their sins before God through blood-sacrifice (something the Maasai understand as they have a form of this in their culture). Then I shared how God had sent His own Son to be the perfect blood-sacrifice to wash away the sins of man. We talked of faith in Jesus, the reality of heaven and hell, and the fact that God gave each man a free-will to choose to accept God’s love and forgiveness and to be restored to relationship with God, or to reject it and live life without God.

Then I told them “A Tale of Two Witchdoctors,” an idea that the Lord had given me the night before while praying. Using two Biblical stories from the book of Acts, I told them about Elymus the sorcerer who tried to prevent the government official from hearing the true Word of God that the apostle Paul was trying to share with him. And I described how he became blind for a season for trying to stop the will of God. Then I shared the story of Simon the sorcerer who listened to the Word of God that Philip preached in Samaria and believed the truth and was baptized. (Little did I know how prophetic that story would be) I told them that I believed that they were like the sorcerer in the latter story – ones who would be willing to hear and receive the truth of God.

Finally, I asked both men if they wanted to receive this love and forgiveness that God was offering to them and begin to learn to walk with God. They both enthusiastically said, “Yes! We believe your message is true!” So together, in one of the most poignant moments of ministry that I have ever experienced, they both prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior.

When they lifted their heads after praying, the change on their faces (especially Senior’s) was stunning. His countenance had been transformed from hardened to child-like. I looked at him in amazement and said, “Olemapi, God loves you so much!” He replied with a very enthusiastic, “Ndiyo!” (YES!) Junior’s face was joyful, but he had been changing every time we met with him and he had also been attending Pastor Zablon’s church. He prayed the prayer of salvation with passion, but I felt certain he had already made a decision to follow God in his own heart prior to that moment.

I began to talk to them about putting aside the witchcraft practices which had been a central part of their lives. Mshamgama had no objection, but Olemapi said, “This is a hard thing, as my parents had this position in the tribe and I have had it all these years, and the people come to me for help. I know now that I am not supposed to curse people, but why do I have to put aside these things?” “Can you come back and teach me why I am to put aside these things?” I told him yes, and we agreed to meet again on Saturday for a time of teaching from the Word of God.

Then we brought out the TREASURE (pictured holding the Treasure on right) - the Maasai language solar powered audio Bible - and told him, “God wants you to begin to BLESS people (instead of curse them) when they come to you, and you can do that by sharing the Word of God with them.” We demonstrated it and they were thrilled to hear the Bible being read in their own language!

A special meal of roasted goat, had been prepared for us. As Junior escorted us over to the area where we would eat together, I noticed that Pastor Zablon and Olemapi had lagged behind, and now a group of people had gathered around them. I wondered what was going on. Later, Pastor Zablon told me what happened. Olemapi had announced, “I am a preacher now! Come and hear the Word of God!” Then he pressed the “play” button on the TREASURE and the people had gathered around to hear the little “box” that was speaking their language!

After our meal (and an advanced lesson in fly swatting), we prepared to leave, agreeing we would see each other on Saturday. We knew that there would be a war over these two men’s souls and prayed for God to protect the good work that He had begun that day.

On Saturday morning, as I was packing to leave, I felt a strong warning in my spirit that someone was going to try to steal something from me. So I did something I have never done before. I removed my passport, airline ticket and some money from my purse and left them at the missionaries’ house. I should have prayed more about it, because it wasn’t my purse that was going to be stolen.

We were planning to stay overnight in a guest house in a town near Esilaei, so I packed an overnight bag. I put the ministry’s camera inside the rolling duffle bag along with my clothes, shoes, Bibles, and toiletries. As we passed through the city of Arusha on the way out to Maasai land, someone stole my duffle bag out of the truck. Interestingly, my bag was the only one taken.

Determined not to let the very purpose of the trip be stolen along with the bag, we proceeded to go and meet with Olemapi. What we did not know at the time, was that he had received some surprise visitors the day before. The Maasai grapevine is very effective. After we left on Thursday the word had spread quickly. “The witchdoctor now loves salvation!”

On Friday, a committee of Maasai elders descended on Olemapi’s boma like flies. They put serious pressure on him to not leave the traditions of the Maasai and bring shame to the community. They told him they needed him to remain as a witchdoctor for the sake of the community. He relented and promised them he would continue in his “profession.”

On Saturday, when we arrived, he greeted us, but looked sheepish. He explained that he would not stand in the way of anyone in his boma attending church, but that he had to continue in the traditions handed down to him from his father.

Mshamgama was not there, so we did not know exactly where he stood. He had sent a message to Pastor Zablon apologizing for not being there, as he had moved his cattle to another area to graze. He promised to be in church the next day.

We left Olemapi’s homestead with heavy hearts, grieved for this old man to whom God had given a chance to receive eternal life. We committed ourselves to continue to pray for him. But we were not giving up on his son, Mshamgama. I was certain that God had a great calling on his life, and I was willing to fight to see it come to pass. We drove all the way back to Moshi without spending the night as planned, due to my lack of clothes and other necessities. We got up early in the morning and repeated the long drive out to Esilaei to participate in the Sunday service at Pastor Zablon’s church. The service began without any sign of Mshamgama.

Near the end of the service, he appeared, and slipped into the back of the church. I finished preaching, gave an altar call and saw many Maasai respond to God’s offer of salvation. We told them that we would have a baptism immediately following the service, and later had the joy of seeing these new believers take that step of obedience.

After the service was over, we walked outside to speak with Msahmgama. The heat of the sun was bearing down intensely, and he had sought refuge under the only shade tree around. We joined him and sat down to talk. I told him that I knew of his father’s decision to remain with the Maasai tradition of witchcraft and not continue to follow the Lord. I encouraged him not to do likewise.

He told me that he knew that the message I spoke from God was true and that God had sent me to them. He said the very first time I visited their boma, that God had touched his heart. He went on to say that he was making his own decision to follow God’s way without his father. That was no small decision for him, as the pressure from those Maasai elders extended to him as well.

He promised he would be faithful to be in church every Sunday and that Pastor Zablon could report to me. I asked him if he was ready to be baptized that day and he gave an interesting reply. He told us that he felt his baptism should be a public event and he wanted his wives to be together with him in following the Lord. (he has 2 wives...which we will deal with later!) He said he wanted to talk with them about salvation and bring them to church. He knew I was returning to Tanzania in October, and asked if he could be baptized with his whole family then, and he would prepare a big celebration. He also thought he could win half of his father’s boma to follow him in serving the Lord. I smiled at his evangelistic zeal!

I was a bit hesitant about waiting until October to baptize him, but he (and the Lord) convinced me that all would be well. He saw my hesitation and said, “This time between now and October will be my test. And Pastor Zablon will oversee the test. And you will see that I am not a liar. When I say YES, it is YES, and when I say NO, it is NO. I am a believer and will not leave following the Lord.”

I told him that the Lord had spoken to me the night before, and said that He was giving him a new name. “Junior?” he asked. I had to laugh. He had overheard me refer to him as Junior and Pastor Zablon had told him that I had given him that nickname. We later found out that he was so pleased that I had given him a special name that he had actually told other people to start calling him Junior!

“No!” I told him. “A better name than that. The Lord is calling you ‘Joshua.’” I explained to him about the Biblical character Joshua, who was a great warrior and a great leader of his people for the Lord. I explained that the Lord had shown me that He was going to raise him up to be a great leader of truth among the Maasai. His solemn reply was priceless, “I thank God for choosing me.” We prayed for him before he left and promised we would be together again in October.

I have shared this lengthy story with you to ask for your continued prayers for both Joshua, and his father Olemapi and his extensive family. I also am requesting prayer for the Maasai elders who came to thwart the work of God. It is my heart’s desire to see ALL of them saved and no longer defending the devil’s stronghold over the Maasai. Thank you for your heart for the Maasai tribe of Tanzania.