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THE STORY OF THE MAASAI WOMEN'S PRAYER GROUP

By Anna Kisota

 

kisota_anna"Before I was married neither my parents nor I were Christians. Every evening my mother would meet with a certain group of women in our village of Matebete for fellowship and conversation. But it often happened in the midst of their visits that one of the women would get possessed by an evil spirit. The other women would sing and play drums to her to try to appease the spirits. Then other evil spirits would attack the rest of the women. Some of the women would pass out. Some would run away and attack the first person they saw. Others would go crying after goat’s blood or laundry soap to eat. This is how the devil treated us Maasai women in Matebete village. It is wonderful to see ourselves in a normal situation today as women created in the image of God. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

As a young girl, I did not know that I too was possessed by an evil spirit. All I knew was that my mother loved me over all the children in our house because I knew very well how to play drums to my mother when she was overtaken by a devil. But then something terrible happened to me. I got very sick and I was bedridden for nine years. My parents tried their level best to get help for me, taking me to different hospitals and to Maasai traditional doctors in Tanzania. But no one could help me and my parents took me home to wait for the end of my life. I remember them taking me outside every morning to sit in the sun and taking me inside every evening.

One day someone told my father to take me to a Christian church for prayer. When he ignored that advice, my condition grew worse than ever before. My father told my mother that they should take that advice and together bring me to church. My mother told him that if he decided to do that, he would have to take me by himself.

My father took me to the next village because there was no church in Matebete. When my father met the pastor, he had only a few words for him. "I have brought my daughter to church for prayer. She is very sick. When she dies, only bring me the information that she is dead, but not her body." The pastor’s words for my father were also very few, but his word was with power. "Your daughter shall not die."

My father returned home, and the pastor took me to Church for prayer, and to his house for daily prayer. On Sunday I was baptized and given the new name. After four months I was healthier than ever before. Bwana Yesu asifiwe. Praise the Lord Jesus.

When the pastor took me home to Matebete, no one recognized me at first, not even my parents. When they realized it was me, they cried for joy. From then on, all the possessed women from the women’s group in Matebete were sent to the church for prayer. They received total spiritual and physical healing. The possessed women’s group changed to this Prayer women’s group in Matebete village.

Today I am married and the mother of four children. I am among the leaders in the Prayer women group. For this I say Asante Yesu. Thank you Jesus."

* * * * *

This spring, Rev. Paulo Kurupashi and Irene Lobara met with Anna Kisota and the women’s prayer group in Matebete to hear their testimonies. The name of this group is "Korduni" (in Maa), or "Kuokoa" (in Kiswahili), meaning "to save." These women are very thankful to God for his grace and love because today they enjoy life and salvation from God. Their prayer is to invite many people to Jesus Christ who saved them. Their mission is to spread the Gospel in many different Maasai villages such as Mahango, Manawala, Luhanga, Walanji, and Mapogolo in the Mbeya region, and Tungamalenga close to Ruaha National Park, Idodi, Mlowa, Chamdindi, Izazi and Mtera in Iringa region. These are places where Maasai women continue to suffer because of evil spirits and need to receive healing in the name of Jesus. Rev. Yohana Lewang’an Ole Ngekee was the chief support to this women’s group in prayer and in evangelism trips. Now he is no longer with us on earth; he is at rest in the Lord.

KORDUNI accepted and was very happy to join with Workers Together With Him ministry. During the last few years, they have traveled together with WTWH to different villages in Tanzania to sing Maasai songs of praise to God and pray together, and deliver testimonies in Maasai language how God delivered them from captivity. Hallelujah.

During WTWH’s January 2009 trip to Tanzania, the women of KORDUNI met with Rev. Tim and told him of the vision they share with him to travel to isolated areas to reach the unsaved people of their tribe. Currently they travel twice a year as a choir of about eighteen women and preachers of the Gospel to preach in different villages for four to seven days. With further support, they could have more trips and days to spend in the villages. They believe in the word of mission from Matthew 10:6-8a: "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils." This scripture speaks loudly to Maasai women.

One evening they had a special time of prayer for Rev. Tim, that God would continue to open doors for WTWH among the Maasai. They requested that he pray for them also. They confessed that their husbands are not always supportive of their call and mission, and that it is difficult for most of the men to pay their wives’ travel costs and food costs when the women travel to other villages. The women made request for prayer and financial support as it is very difficult for them to raise the money themselves. However, the village has drilled a very deep well to provide water for the people and their cattle, and now the women hope to have a cattle project with ten dairy cows. Along with the money they earn by making and selling Maasai handicrafts at the market, they believe that such a project would help them support the mission work and their families. The women of KORDUNI realize that Rev. Tim alone cannot finance the plans of this group, but God knows and has many people.

(Anna’s story was translated from Maa by Irene Lobara and Paulo Kurupashi. It was edited for clarity.)

 

 


From the June 2009 issue of The Vine & Branches