Testimonies from Madungulu

From 3 to 7 April 2011, Revs Tim Sullivan and Evan Pyle taught the Word of God in Madungulu, a subdistrict of Matebete Village in Tanzania. These testimonies were recorded on videotape and translated from Maa and/or Kiswahili by Evelyn Paraboy Kaney. They have been edited for clarity.

Monika Lobara
I thank God for this seminar. We have cried a lot in this church on account of the men in our village who are not attending church. I thank God because in this seminar so many of the men were in attendance. When our men receive the Word of God, everything will be easier within our families. Thank you very much.

Sophia Kaney

When Tim came last year I didn’t attend because I was sick. When he came this year I was sick again, but I thank God because I was able to attend this seminar. I learned many big things that have opened up my spiritual eyes. I have learned about being a true believer. What is important in true faith is for the person to be able to accept God. Tim said in this seminar that Jesus Christ came into this world because of you and me. I know that God came into this world because of our sins, and I am one of those sinners. I thank God because he has lifted up my spirit. I also thank God because through these teachings Tim was able to unite the different denominations. Now I know that no one here can say that it is this or that denomination that will go to heaven. It is only the individual who believes in God that can go to heaven. Thank you very much.

Nashoni Ole Ngekee, eldest son of the late Rev. Yohanna Ole Ngekee
Praise the Lord. I thank God for this seminar because my spiritual eyes have been opened. I have learned many things but the most important ones are the three I am going to mention. The first is repentance. I have learned that can repent of old things and leave them behind. That is when repentance is true repentance. The teachings that Tim gave us, I will compare them to a hailstorm. Some of the words sounded like a hammer.
These teachings have helped me move to a new place. I believe that everyone who attended this seminar can go and be a different person because of the teachings they have received. The second thing I have learned is about judgment. There is going to be a true judgment for those who believe in Christ. This judgment will be different than the one awaiting unbelievers. We who have been in this seminar are going to receive a different judgment compared to those who didn’t hear these teachings. I believe that we are not going to be judged in the last judgment of fire.
The third thing is about the team of ITO. I believe God has a purpose for us. A work has begun here in the village and we will be reaching others in different Maasai lands. Through this building we will be reaching many other people. God bless you and be faithful workers for him wherever you go.

Mery Kurubai

Praise God. I too would like to thank God because every new day has a new lesson and a new beginning. I thank God for his servants because they have renewed our faith. There are many things we have learned about the Holy Spirit and the Resurrection. These teachings that will strengthen our faith. We thank God for everything you have taught us. All the servants of God who were teaching this seminar, I could compare it to a water pump. The water has a chemical that will kill the weeds. We are the farm of the Lord. Tim, Evan and Paulo, you were pumps that God used to water his farm. You brought water to water the farm of God. The weeds within us were killed by the water from God. Now the good plants can grow. I ask you to continue with this work. We have been taught that everything in life is a lesson, whether it is trees, or flowers, all of these are lessons. So everything is a lesson for us. So we thank God for that, and we ask you to continue with these classes. Thank you very much.

Ruth Kuyata

God has done good things in this seminar. When Paul brought Evan, Tim and Paulo, God had a plan of preparing this class to go to heaven. There are some lessons I have really learned. Evan taught us about Jacob. Jacob saw a vision of a ladder that angels used to go to heaven. Sometimes you can see things like that in a vision and they come true, and I thank God for that. Tim taught us about the coming of Jesus Christ. One day God will come to take us again and the only people he will take are the believers. We are taught this so we will not be condemned. We thank God for you and the teachings you have brought us. Thank you very much.

Rev. George Ole Oripu

Praise the Lord. I thank God because I learned new things through this seminar. My life has changed. There are many things we heard that are not taught in Pastors’ colleges. I have so learned many things that could be suitable for Pastors’ colleges. I thought some of this doctrine was suitable for pastors alone, and that these things were too difficult to teach to the people. But this is not true. These doctrines should be taught to all Christians so they can be faithful. So I thank God because I have learned new lessons in my life, and through this seminar my life has changed completely. I received new things. God bless you very much. When you go back home, know that the people of Madungulu are so thankful for these teachings. Carry on these teaching and help others know the Lord. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Eliakimu Kurupashi, Chairman of WTWH, TZ

Praise the Lord Jesus. Personally I have been delivered through this seminar. Last year when I was giving a testimony, I said that something was missing in my life. When this seminar began, I was worried. In the Bible we read that two angels went to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but Abraham interceded on behalf of the people. When Tim and Evan came to Madungulu, I compared it to the situation in Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe that someone prayed for us and that is why we got this seminar. We are all sinners, but God forgave us through his only Son. Abraham prayed to God not to destroy Sodom for the sake of a few righteous people. I believe that God has spared us as well. In the lessons on repentance, I learned a lot of things. We have indeed learned a lot of things, both things that have been mentioned and other things we didn’t talk about.

Enock Ngilangwa

I thank God who enabled me to attend this seminar. I believe it is the purpose of God for us to know his ways and his secrets, and I know that your coming was part of God’s plan. In Psalm 107:20, the Bible says, “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” I thank God for new things I have learned, things I didn’t know before. I learned about repentance and how to live righteously in this world. Today I saw a vision through your teachings that I have a duty to work for God, because we have to bear fruits to show to God. Amen.

Rev. Paulo Kurupashi

Praise the Lord Jesus. I thank God for this opportunity. I thank God for this seminar and this journey. Before this seminar began, I sat down to talk with some elders in this village, some women and some men. They each said that Christianity with the Maasai in this district is not going forward or backward. They used the same word to describe the situation, that we have become stagnant. So I asked them, Why? They suggested the following reasons: 1) The Maasai are not receiving the Word of God because of their remote environment. 2) Our teachers do not know how to contextualize the teachings of the Scriptures to speak to the culture of the Maasai. 3) The men, the heads of each household, are not receiving the Word of God. As a result, they will not finance missions to other villages. This hinders those who would go teach the Word of God from using their time, their energy or their resources. 4) The present Maasai pastors are still young in age and in faith. 5) Last but not least, the denominations do not assign Maasai Pastors to work among their Maasai brethren.

I realized in this seminar that the problem is the men don’t have a foundation of the Word of God. They don’t have roots in the Word of God. That is why they are not seeing the Gospel as that important. I thank God that we have the foundation and we have learned the six principles of Christianity that will help us build the foundation. We can reach out and teach other Maasai about the Word of God, and we can continue to be strengthened in our faith even if there are things that hinder us along the way. God will help us to stand strong in our faith.

I was helping to translate the class but I was learning many things as well. I thank God for that. Thank you.

Teten Kaney

What I am going to say is what I saw from Tim and Evan. When you first came as Workers Together With Him, I kept asking myself, “Who is HIM?” I saw that you had Bibles and books about God. I was not in the previous teachings, but I saw that the HIM is God. You have stood before us, in front of all the denominations here, – the Lutherans, the Tanzanian Assemblies of God, the Moravians, and Church of Christ – and you have been teaching us to hear and believe. You have taught about repentance and baptism. When I heard these teachings, I checked whether these are the things are true and I saw that, yes they are. And I realized there was something was missing in the traditional religious teachings we have been hearing. There has been a lack in what we’ve heard and so I am looking forward to learning more about the Word of God.

Rev. Wilbart Mhitike, Pastor of the Lutheran Church

Praise the Lord Jesus. I am very thankful to God. I have attended a Pastor’s college and a Bible school. I was at the Pastor’s college for three years and the Bible school for another three years. But the theology I have learned in this seminar is an advanced one. It has changed me and put something new in me that I too can teach others. So I thank you very much for these teachings. God bless you, Evan and Tim. Amen.

Blantina Mhitike
I thank God for these visitors. I have seen God doing his work in Madungulu. God is telling people of Madungulu to repent. I thank God for that. The teachings we have heard in Madungulu have separated the bones and the meat, because everyone knows how he or she is. I am asking you the people of Madungulu to change, so when we hear the Word of God, we can be healed. It will not be good before God if we do not change. It is hard to worship the Lord when we have many burdens. I thank Tim and Evan who came from far away. We don’t have anything to give you, but may God double your reward. We have seen God though you. God is the God of all flesh. Thank you and God bless you.

Eneles Eliakimu

Praise the Lord Jesus. I am very glad this morning because yesterday I was very blessed because of the teachings that I have received. But I am also very concerned because the Word of God is alarming sometimes. When I think about my sisters, my friends, and my fathers who have not accepted God, I am very concerned. Life without Christ is not a life.

I say this with all my heart – what should God pay Evan and Tim? The Word of God is just beginning among the Maasai. When you look now in our churches and denominations, we have more women who attend than men. The men are not paying much attention to the Word of God.

Yesterday I was very happy because of the Word of God. Especially when you said we should put our treasures in heaven. Things of this world are not good. My spirit is telling me that I too should give something for the things that have blessed me as a remembrance. I don’t know if it will help you, but I am going to denote two bags of rice to Tim and Evan. May God continue to give you strength so you can come again and again and again to Madungulu, so that our friends will be saved through you.

The gift of rice offered by Eneles was auctioned off in the class and the proceeds were donated to help in the completion of the Maasai Worship and Historical Center.

Rev. Patrick Kinana, Pastor, the Church of Christ:
Personally I think I have understood the teachings better than anyone else! (he said with a smile). I have learned about worshipping idols. It has made me careful not to worship idols. There are many false teachings, and you can worship an idol without even realizing it.
I have concluded that your teachings are true; they are not false teachings. I know that if you continue to come, you will build a solid, strong foundation among the Maasai.
Before the Maasai accepted Christianity, we had one faith. We lived as brothers and sisters. But after receiving Christianity, the unity among the Maasai was lost. We started to doubt each other. One person would say, “You have not really received God. WE have received God” – depending on their denomination. But God did a miracle again that through your teachings, we are going back to where we were before receiving those other teachings. The unity is again coming into existence among us, and we are headed toward knowing the same God.
Some people say the Maasai resist the Word of God, but that is not true. The problem is that the teachings we've been hearing have been very confusing and contradictory. The Maasai have a strong culture; we carefully consider what we hear before we accept it as true. This takes time. We must examine it. Is this thing true or are they lying to us? So if we are taught a strong foundation in the Word of God, the men who at this time don’t want to come, they will come and listen. So I ask everyone who was in this seminar to go and teach others faithfully what you have learned so they too can learn about the Word of God. Be good ambassadors of the teachings we have received. Thank you. 

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