A Marriage of Circumstance

Recently, I received a call from a Maasai pastor who is also attending the seminary branch in Arusha.  It was early on a Friday morning that he exclaimed through the phone, "I am getting married tomorrow - can you come?"  "Of course", I replied, " what time and where?".  He told me the details and I started making plans.  This was a very unexpected announcement and I began to think of situations that demanded a "quick wedding".

The next day, we went to the church where the ceremony was to be held. I had been informed that the event would begin at 11 am.  We arrived at 10:45 am expecting to be one of the last to show.  But true to form, we were actually early!  Neither the bride nor the groom were there yet and I was expecting to be asked to go and pick up the bride and groom from their respective bomas and bring them to the church but there was a Tanzanian pastor who had a Land Rover and was the designated "chauffeur" to perform this duty as well as preside over the entire ceremony!

Everyone arrived and the ceremony went well.  I was asked to be a photographer for one of the guests because "I knew how to take good pictures".   I dutifully fulfilled my photographer role.  After we exited the church, we headed for the reception, which was about a 30 minute drive away.  My next role was as a "taxi driver" for all the guests who were at the ceremony, invited to the reception, and needed a ride - all 12 of them.




So off we went to the boma which had a temporary shelter erected, along with a rented sound system and generator, recorded music and
2 hand-held mics.  We were seated in the formal plastic chairs along with other "honored guests".  Then the reception began with greetings, welcomes, recognitions, and a short "message" by the presiding pastor.  After he finished, the bride and groom were escorted to a prominent area in front of the guests and were going to "serve keki (cake ee) to the guests.  A large covered pot was brought out and uncovered.  Then guests were called individually to come and get their "keki" from the bride and groom.  When my named was called, I proceeded to the front to receive my "treat".  The bride and groom together picked up a toothpick, put it into the pot and brought out...... a piece of boiled meat - the keki.  What a surprise!  But they are Maasai and meat is the most important part of their diet - and a treat to get even at a wedding!  Others were called to receive their keki and Pam even was able to have this experience.


As were talked with family members, we learned of the reason for this "sudden ceremony".  The bride had been promised to the groom for some time.  The bride price had been paid.  But due to the severe draught conditions, the family wanted the bride to get married immediately so that they would not have another mouth to feed under these dire circumstances and that the cows paid for the bride would help sustain the family through these hard times.

So it was not a "shotgun wedding" but a "marriage of circumstance" which could mean the difference between survival or starving in this part of Tanzania that is drastically affected by the abnormal weather conditions and lack of rain.

Welcome to Tanzania and to the Maasai!

Harambee (Pull Together)

Over the years, we have been invited to participate in a few Harambee (Hah rahm beh).  This is usually an event where many people are invited to come, eat, and contribute money and/or materials for a specified need or project.   One harambee we attended was for a church congregation who had outgrown their present building and were in need of a larger facility.  I was actually asked to be the Mgeni Rasmi (Mmm geh knee  Rass me  -- official or most important guest) at this particular harambee.  Later I discovered that I was actually the "stand in" as the original Mgeni Rasmi was unable to attend.  The procedure for this harambee was that people were

invited to bring their contributions to the front of the meeting area where the contributors were recognized along with their gifts.   A list of contributors already solicited for donations and who had prepared to give was read and each named participant came forward with their gift.  Their names and amounts were announced publicly and usually ended with applause and cheering. If cash was given,  the moderator of the harambee would hold the cash in front of him at head level and then count it out loud so that everyone would see that the actual amount was being given.  Several people would also ask that their "friends who were present" help them with different amounts to help reach their promised goal.  These "friends" would come forward with various amounts to give in this person's name.  Then the cash/gifts were given to the designated "accountants" to count, safeguard, and then give a final tally after contributor list and "last call participants" were given a chance to give.

Another harambee was held at a local church in which we really did not know the true intent and use of the contributions.  We knew this church needed a choo (ch oh rhymes with show), benches, and a small building to serve as a kitchen/cook house.  We arrived and began talking with those already there.  The announced "start time" was 11 am. but the real start time was 2 pm!  So there was plenty of time to talk and gather information.  This harambee was actually about raising money to support a prayer team who was going to different areas in the district.  The vision/plan of action of the Maasai in this area is:  1) to send in a prayer team to a new work area to prayer walk;  2) send an evangelism team to do evangelistic work and baptize new believers; and 3) send a discipleship team in for teaching and discipling.   We were delighted that these Maasai believers were following their vision with action!  Eventually we began (after I was asked to pick up the Mgeni Rasmi who arrived by bus at a town 20 minutes away) with singing, dancing, and prayer.  It was a glorious time and a substantial amount was given to enable the "first team or wave" to go.  Other harambees should follow to help the other teams with their work also.

Harambees are a good example of "cooperative giving" (like the Southern Baptist's Cooperative Program but in an East African way).  Everyone can participate no matter the amount!  Thought - what if our  giving amounts were announced in front of the church?  Would that help or hinder the effort?  Something to think about.  But remember, the harambee participants were given ample time to pledge amounts and then work to make their giving amounts a reality.  There also was no "pride and/or comparison giving".  Each gave what they were able and had promised by faith then made their faith promise a reality.  A good example to consider and follow!

Testimony of a Volunteer

Hey there everyone! Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for supporting me with your prayers and financially on this mission trip to Tanzania! I felt like all of you were with me each step of the way which was really cool! I ended up raising all my support which was a big deal for me as that was part of my confirmation from the Lord that He wanted me to do this. My kids did GREAT with my parents and Brandon (who were awesome to take 2 weeks to care for our kids!)! Anna had been pretty upset the week before I left and I felt like not going there for a moment. I prayed with her the night before we were to leave and she woke the next day completely excited about the trip and was content and happy the whole time I was gone. Once when I called from Tanzania, her first comment was to ask in a very excited voice, 'Mommy! Did you tell anyone Jesus loves them yet???" That brought tears to my eyes and thankfulness to my heart.
The trip...incredible! God was in EVERY detail! It could not have been more perfect, travel was great (long, but great), no illnesses or accidents, wonderful unity on the team (LOVED my team!!), all vehicles worked great, the Maasai were incredibly receptive to the gospel and to us, the missionaries we worked with, Dan and Pam Johnson, were great leaders and were blessed by us being there, and even my contact lenses that ALWAYS give me grief didn't bother me ONCE in dust-storm- laden Tanzania!! God just cracks me up! He's always good, but it's so cool to see Him do the crazy-good things, y'know? We were all blessed. 

At a crater that we stopped at to see, nearby was a group of women and children who would sort of camp out under a tree to catch tourists to sell them their jewelry they make. We shared the Bible storycloth with them and the matriarch was enthralled with the stories. Once when a car came by, instead of them leaving the stories to go sell (which is their livelihood), she said they would stay to listen and that God would bless them. She asked to have Jesus in her life as well as many others in that group. It was a beautiful start to our "storying".

The story cloth story-telling was a great success! We would approach a boma (family dwelling) and introduce ourselves. We'd ask them if they'd like to hear the story of "our God" and they were all about it! They were not only willing, but excited to hear it. The Maasai have a lot of Old Testament aspects of their culture (patriarchal, herdsman, sacrifice goats to God on a mountain, some historians believe they are a lost tribe of Israel) so the stories were very relevant to them. One woman even said when we got to the part about Jesus coming as the Savior of the world, "THIS is the part we've been waiting for! THIS is what we've been missing!" It was so rewarding to actually be sharing the gospel with people who WANTED to hear it!

This is already a long note, and I could go on and on about the children (who I had a blast with), the wild animals (zebra out the whazoo, giraffe, wildebeest, lions ,etc), the landscape (felt like I'd been dropped into the Old Testament!), and the incredibly beautiful and warm Maasai people (I didn't want to leave. Almost called Brandon to pack up the kids and come on out to me! Seriously!). This was an amazing time in my life, a dream come true for me, and I thank you all for being a huge part of that. Continue to pray for me as I'd love to make working with the Maasai a regular thing, maybe once a year or every couple of years. My heart wants that, but I want God's will above all.
Thanks again!! You've been a blessing to me and our family!!
Brenda French :)

Maasai with a Vision

Moses, Pastor Mikaeli, Pastor Obedi

While visiting in the Longido area of Tanzania, one of the pastors informed me of what the Maasai Christians were initiating in that district.  The leaders in the association met together and agreed upon a unified vision (maono -- mah o no in Swahili) to reach their entire district for Christ.  They formed teams of evangelists and teachers/disciplers.  They began going, working and teaching in the various areas of this district.  I was informed that since February 2011, 9 new churches have been started. A unified worship/baptism service was scheduled recently where 120+ Maasai were baptized and more are scheduled to follow.  He said that the Maasai were convicted of their lack of progress in "doing the work of Christ". They had benefited from missionaries working in the area, various Bible School, seminary branch, and leadership classes, and help from volunteers but had not done anything on their own to show others through actions what they truly believed.  They now have their own vision and direction and are putting their thoughts and words into action.  This is a great moment for us in that without our input, they are actively living out their faith in reaching and teaching others for Christ.  This is also and most importantly an answer to prayer -- prayer that the Maasai would get a vision and motivation to reach and disciple other Maasai for Jesus Christ.  This is just the first step as God continues to work among the Maasai and they begin to follow His leading and direction with faith and action.

Pastor Luka from Ketumbeni area

Sharing about the Maasai

Our Display Table

Kid's Fort After School Program

                                                                                                                                                       What a joy and privilege to have been able to share over the 

past 3 months what God is doing among the Maasai. We have spoken to churches, prayer groups, Awanas, an after school program, at conferences and in day to day conversations. We have been in South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Ohio and Florida. We have shared with family, old friends, new friends, places we have spoken before and ones that we hadn't been to before. 

We were able to officially start a partnership with Old Fort Baptist Church in Summerville, SC and add more than a dozen new prayer partners to our prayer team. God is truly at work to reach the Maasai of Tanzania and is calling out more and more churches and individuals to be on mission with Him among the Maasai. Is He calling you? If so, will you submit to that call and commit to do whatever He asks you to do? God calls individuals to PRAY, GO, SEND, or GIVE. What is your answer today?

Eric and Patti Lethco, Pastor of Old Fort Baptist Church

A Letter to Intercessors

As a missionary I wanted to share how my husband and I view intercessory prayer. We have been on the mission field for 15 years now and we have seen it proven over and over again the importance of having a strong prayer base for our work. We tell our prayer partners that they are the most important members of our team and we mean it.

As we began forming our prayer team God showed us over and over in Scripture the importance of prayer. Jesus prayed for us, Paul asked time and again for fellow believers to pray for him, and we are commanded to pray for one another.

As missionaries the prayers of the Saints is where we draw our greatest strength. We can do all kinds of good works because the needs are great, but without the foundation of prayer asking God to empower us with His Spirit that is all we would have, good works. For us to move past good works to seeing a moving of the Spirit we must have a strong prayer base constantly bringing us and our work to the Father.

You may be asking, “but is it really helpful?” I would reply with a resounding, “YES”.

A few years ago I was asked to speak to a group of fellow missionary prayer advocates about how God uses prayer in our ministry. Being an organized person I went back to previous prayer requests and answers to prayer that I had been sending to our prayer partners over several years. Although I knew God had been answering prayer I was astounded at the number of direct answers to prayer requests I had sent out. For a 3 year period I had over 3 legal size pages filled with the prayer request and the answer to prayer that I had sent to our prayer partners.

God has also given us the privilege to see how prayer continues impacting areas even after the missionary leaves an area. What a joy it was to share with our prayer partners how the prayers they had lifted to the Father while we were in one area were still be answered even after we left.

We serve an awesome God who loves to answer the prayers of His children. Please don’t give up or think that what you are doing through prayer is of little importance. Without intercessors missionaries may as well stay home. The power and protection that missionaries have are a direct result of the prayers of the saints. We love our pray-ers. Thank you for persisting in the work of prayer. I know that many times it seems like a thankless job with no results. That is just a lie of Satan to discourage you. For every missionary that has results those praying for that missionary and his/her work will receive rewards in abundance at the Throne of Grace.

Remember: You are a life changer because prayer changes lives.

With a grateful heart,

Pam Johnson

Tanzania, East Africa

Evangelism Maasai Style

We visited one of our areas to finalize logistics before going on our Stateside Assignment (STAS). After we finished, one of the Maasai pastors asked for a ride into Arusha. As we were traveling, he thanked us for bringing Maasai Bibles and MP3 players with Bible stories in Maasai to trade for Maasai jewelry, rungus, fimbos, etc. Then he related the story that several of his Maasai church members, who were literate and could read Maasai, were reading the Scriptures aloud to other Maasai who could not read. Then they were discussing the portions of the Bible they were hearing. Others who received the MP3 players, were using them in the markets to share the Bible stories. Many Maasai have cell phones and wear them on a necklace/string/pouch around their necks. These Maasai had replaced their phones with the MP3 players and were walking around the markets with the players on. The pastor related that many Maasai were stopping and listening to the "radio" as many call the MP3 players, asking questions, and wanting to hear more! So, we have some mobile Maasai "evangelists" who are sharing Bible stories and their faith by simply wearing this device around their necks, turning them on, and walking through the market - a place they would go in their normal routines, but using the opportunity to share God's Word.
You never know how God will use you and the things He provides for His honor and glory!

Bartering for Bibles

Bartering in the USA has become a lost art.
Our American culture is usually one of "pay the price posted on the item to be purchased".
We usually never question the price and complain about what we payed for an item or congratulate ourselves because we "got a good deal!".
In Tanzania, bartering for prices is expected and can be fun if you are willing to do it.
When you go to purchase certain items, one will greet the shop owner, talk about family and current events and then you ask about the price for the particular item you are interested in purchasing. Then the shop owner tells about his tough business times, family problems, etc and then says he can sell the item you would like to purchase for a particular price.
Then the fun begins - offers and counter offers - until a price is agreed upon.
This is customary in Tanzania and if one does NOT do it, then it is almost an insult to the shop owner or they think "you are not a very smart person and I will sell you this item for the highest price I can get!"

Bibles are another story. Many people have received free Bibles over the years from different ministry groups. Most people have come to expect missionaries to give them free Bibles all the time. But we have seen these "free Bibles" being traded for other items and even being sold in the local markets!

So we started "bartering for Bibles" with the Maasai. This is done so that people will have owner ship in the Bibles and have invested something in it, which makes it of value to the person who receives it. Usually a Bible is traded for bracelets (ankle and wrist), necklaces (beaded and cross), earrings, rungus (roon goos - a stick with a knob on the end used for protection and/or show of eldership position, fimbos (feem bows - walking sticks), food items (milk/eggs/vegetables) and the occasional animal (but no one has followed through with that one YET).

One day we went through a "Maasai market" and traded Bibles for many things that the women had made. It was slow at first, but it became a brisk business with people chasing us down to trade their items for Bibles.

It has become a fun experience to do barter because we provide Bibles for the Maasai in areas where Bibles are not available, it gives people a sense of pride to trade their handwork for Bibles, the Maasai are definitely getting the better end of the bargain, we accumulate authentic Maasai crafts to give away in the USA to our prayer partners, and we make many friends in the process which later gives us ministry opportunites in these same areas.

It works for us - so come on out and join in on the fun when we do this!

Singing in the Rain

It has been over a year since they have had a decent rainy season in the Longido area. Many lost their entire herds last year.

Today when we arrive we were welcomed into the pastor’s house for chapati (flat bread) and chai (tea). We discussed many things, one being the lack of rain. One lady who stopped by to greet us said not to worry because it would rain by 3 PM.

At 11 AM it was time to go to church. The Longido Baptist Church has outgrown their building so they set up under a tree just outside their building. Even that was overflowing with people who were standing on the edges of the crowd. We sang, prayed and sang some more. Yohana, sitting across from us, pointed to the sky and said the rain was coming. As the service continued and the preacher got up to preach a huge black cloud had moved directly over head. I leaned over and asked Dan what he thought they would do if it stared raining. He just smiled and said he didn’t know.

About 12:15 PM, as the preacher began he said he was going to preach fast as the rain was coming and everyone laughed. Sure enough it started to rain. Just a few large drops at first then it began to pour. Did everyone run for cover? NO WAY! They had been praying for rain too long. The preacher kept right on preaching. Many even left their seats to get closer so they could hear better. When the preacher finished they sang again as they headed for the church where they could deposit their offering. Even after the service was officially over the people stayed around fellowshipping together and saying what a blessing the rain was.

What an exciting church service and thrill to see all these Maasai giving praise to God.

Welcome to the new TZ Maasai Connection Blog

We are here to connect you with the Maasai of Tanzania Team. We invite you to join our team through praying, coming or giving. Ask God how He wants you to be involved.