PREACHING TO EVERY CREATURE:Secluded 'Ostrich People' to Hear Gospel from Neighboring Tribe

Plans are underway on how the Gospel-receptive Tonga people of Zimbabwe will bring the Good News to their neighbors,nicknamed the“Ostrich People”for their fused toes and one of the most difficult to reach people groups in the world.The vision for the Tonga to reach out to the“Ostrich People,”or the Vadoma people,was inspired by a gathering of Christian Tonga people and Americans earlier thismonth.
Mission expert Bruce Koch of the U.S. Center for World Mission,one of the world’s preeminent mission think-tanks, gave a two-day missiology seminar to Christian Tonga leaders in Binga, Zimbabwe earlier this month.Koch,who was simply on a church mission trip with his son,shared his expertise at the urging of a missionary working in Zimbabwe.Koch spoke about the difference on evangelism among one’s own people group, similar people group,and culturally distant people groups on the second day.He highlighted that people need to be trained and equipped as well as know the difference between their culture and their mission field when evangelizing to a different people group.His seminar,held July 6-7,
helped spark the idea that rather than the Tonga people going to Ethiopia to reach out to Muslims as some leaders had envisioned,they should first bring the Gospel message to their culturally closer neighbor,the Vadoma people,whom no one has been able to reach.“We just kind of presented that out there to them that this may be God’s kairos moment for the Tonga people to have a vision for reaching out to the Vadoma people,”said Koch during a reflection talk last Friday at USCWM’s headquarters in Pasadena,Calif.,“and that God may have uniquely raised them up and as they start their cross-cultural ministering and training doing it among
approximate people would be a great place to start.”Past small-scale efforts to bring the Gospel to the Vadoma people have all completely failed. But mission experts hope that the Tonga and Vadoma people’s similar lifestyle will help facilitate communication and trust between the two groups.The Vadoma people are said to be scared and run away from all foreigners whether the person is white or black.Koch explained to The Christian Post that while the Tonga people have been highly receptive to the Gospel and there is a church in every village-which they define as cluster of huts-the Vadoma people do not even have any Christians known to be working among them currently.“The Vadoma people are one of the last unreached or last unengaged people,” commented Koch.At the challenge by Tongan Pastor Mukulo,who has overseen the planting of over 400 churches among the Tonga people,ten Tongan Christian leaders committed themselves to the mission to reach the Vadoma people.Among the volunteer leaders was a 63-year-old man who was the first pastor in Binga. He has committed himself to walk the 20-44 miles required after the 6-8 hour bus ride to reach the Vadoma people, noted Koch who was present at their commitment.Each of the leaders were subsequently prayed for and commissioned for their upcoming task.By the end of the year, two separate teams will be sent to reach the Vadoma people in Zimbabwe.“I never in my wildest dream imagined that this little consultation would turn into the Tonga people adopting the Vadoma and people being commissioned to reach them,”reflected Koch.There are some 140,000 Tonga people in Zimbabwe and Zambia, while the Vadoma population is unknown, according to Koch.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070718/28506_Secluded_%27Ostrich_People%27_to_Hear_Gospel_from_Neighboring_Tribe.htm
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