"THEY HAVE BURIED THE ONE TALENT MAN"

03-09-2001

Samwaili was from the primitive mountain village of Msalimwani in the southern highlands of Tanzania, East Africa. There, women still wear the skins of animals to ward off the biting chill of the mountain mornings. If you gave these people a fork they would comb their hair. They worship the spirits of their ancestors, and fear the leopard that stalks at night.

The Gospel story was first related to these Wanji tribesmen by old Sam John Nierenda who has long gone on to his reward. The church had died down in fervor and Samwaili had moved to the hot dusty Usangu Plains where he worshiped regularly with a struggling congregation.

Samwaili was reluctantly accepted as a student in the Tanzania Bible School. Academically, he was unprepared, but he burned with zeal. He had massive difficulties grasping the concepts of Christianity, but he knew that people needed Jesus, and to that purpose of sharing he was dedicated. He still stands in my memory as the only one talent man that I have known well. He was painfully aware of his inadequacy.

He was left behind when his class graduated and the men moved to various sections of the country to serve as local preachers for established churches. Quickly, positions were filled and villages that offered pleasant living conditions were staked out and occupied.

Undaunted, Samwaili walked 70 miles, braving wild beasts and hostile elements to tell all he knew of Jesus to a people not his own. He dropped out of sight, all but forgotten, and then at 5:00 a.m. one morning he was sitting at my back steps when I rose to study. He quickly explained that he needed help. He had established a congregation, taught them all he knew, and someone else was needed to "teach them to observe all things." He then asked to borrow 70 cents to buy provisions to sustain him on his journey to another village without Christ. He walked cheerfully away, coated with white dust.

Over a period of years, this early morning business was contracted numerous times. We managed to provide a bicycle, some clothes, and traveling money. There is no accurate record of the number of congregations he established in areas where others would not venture to live - but God knows.

A recent letter brought news that Samwaili has crossed the great river. My emotions are mixed: sadness at the loss of a soldier of Christ; joy for him as he is now where it matters not whether a man has one or ten talents; shame because many of us do less with our many talents than he did with one.

The life of Samwaili stands as a monument which forever destroys the excuse, "I can’t." We talk of what we could do with riches and talent, if we had more influence. The Lord needs people who use what he has so freely given. Next time you are tempted to make excuses, remember the man who was buried with his talent!

David Caskey