Water in Lukobe
By Bryce Whiting, Africa/Europe Area Director
In 2015, I made my first trip to Tanzania. As with all of our families in Africa, I had a wonderful time sharing in the lives of our leaders, bringing some teaching and learning of some of the struggles they were going through. Pastor Amos Komanya in the small hilltop village of Lukobe was working through a specific trouble that I could not help but take notice of. He and his wife Scholastica had started a Christian school. Any and all students could come at no charge, learn their ABCs and hear about the Lord Jesus. Without income, the school’s resources were meager at best. There were no books and hardly any paper. The only piece of equipment the school could lay claim to was a blackboard with small pieces of chalk. Scholastica was the sole teacher (a volunteer job) for all elementary grade levels. Despite the challenges, the school never has lacked for students; many students, often forcing their activities outdoors.
One of those outdoor activities included a play conducted in my honor. The play used three sections of the courtyard; each portraying a different setting. Set #1 showed the village elders in their private counsel, set #2 was the school, and the 3rd set was the church. The plot went as follows: the elders were not in favor of a school in their village, particularly a Christian school, so they hired a witchdoctor to curse the school. Demons were sent (actors with painted faces) to attack the school to no avail. The school had a powerful covering protecting them from the demons. It was discovered that the school’s source of power rested in the prayers of the church. The attack therefore shifted to the church and to its pastor, but the church discerned the presence of the invisible enemies and again was victorious through prayer.
That was eight years ago. Since that time, it has become evident that the play was based in reality. The village elders would rise up again and again against the school, the church and specifically against Pastor Amos Komanya, but God has remained faithful. Two of the elders have since died and the remaining two elders are now facing their final days, while the school and the church continue to thrive, producing both students and disciples of the Lord.
Two weeks ago, the church drilled for and struck water. Instead of keeping it for themselves, the church is offering the water to the entire village. There is now a huge water tank high above the ground, providing water for everyone in Lukobe, ending the long walks up and down the hill to fetch water. In appreciation, the remaining two elders have finally ceased trying to remove Pastor Amos from their village. They instead have come forward with a gift of land on which he can build a new home. That half-acre parcel of ground is near the new well so he can grant oversight to this life-giving source of water.
Something similar took place with a prophet named Elijah. The people finally were compelled to confess,
1Kings 18:39 “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”