Within the wide-spread borders of Zambia, some 10 million people of various races and beliefs live together in crowded compounds, or bush country villages.

The indigenous population of Zambia has been classified into 73 language groups. Thankfully, English is the official trade language. Today in Zambia most people live in urban areas. However, most people still have a rural homeland, a place where life began and where they will be buried when they die.

Death, so commonplace among Zambians that few have the chance to think about life beyond the age of 37 years. Every day 100's are buried and others mourn another loss.

The infant mortality rate is at its' highest. Malaria is common, tuberculosis is wide spread and poverty brings sickness. The most feared disease, the one people do not want to talk about, is AIDS. It is estimated that every day 500 new people contract the AIDS virus, and 1 out of 5 (or 1 out of 3 in the more densely populated areas) are said to be infected. This is about 1.2 million Zambians who will die with or without Christ. It is said that half the population is under the age of 15.

But to most indigenous Zambians, who believe in ancestral spirits, the living and the dead are joined together to form one community. It is believed that when a life ends and a heart stops, a spirit is born into the community of the ancestors that must be appeased through special ceremonies and traditions.

Sources tell us that 70% of Tongas are still held in bondage by animism, or traditional religion--the belief that the dead ancestors control and influence all that happens in a person's life.

The ancestral spirits are regarded as the guardians of the community. If they are pleased with the living they bring good fortune, but if they are not pleased they can bring illness, catastrophe, and even death. This belief creates a constant fear in the mind of the Tonga who then struggles to appease and manipulate these controlling ancestral spirits. As a result, many turn to the witch doctor during times of suffering and constantly fear being "bewitched.

Parents tie strings around their children's waist, ankles, or neck to protect them from evil spirits and they often take them to the traditional healer when they are sick.

Although Zambia has declared itself a "Christian nation," many people are still trapped in these traditional beliefs. They want to mix Christian beliefs with their traditional religion. They need hope. They need to know the Truth that will set them free.

This is true for the BaTonga People of southern Zambia. The third largest people group, numbering nearly 1 million. The BaTonga have made their homes scattered primarily across the plateau and valley of Zambia and Zimbabwe, but mostly throughout the southern province Zambia.