WEST AFRICA: Meeting the First Believer from among the “Hidden People”

To say that Ellen Zaborsky is a fan of her church’s adopted people group is a bit of an understatement.

Sitting in the sanctuary of Unity Baptist Church in rural Prince George, Virginia, the retired ninth-grade science teacher is wrapped from head to toe in a vibrant pink cloak called a taseynest – traditional women’s wear among [a people group] in West Africa.

In 2009, Unity took responsibility to share the Gospel among those they call “the Hidden People,” a group of roughly 300,000 nomads who roam the West African desert. The church has since sent six short-term teams to their adopted people, and Zaborsky has aided every team – at least in spirit. Though her heart is firmly planted in West Africa, the 69-year-old won’t ever set foot there. A wheelchair and a heart condition have ensured that.

Fortunately, on this Sunday morning in early fall of 2013, a piece of West Africa has come to her.

Zaborsky listens intently as “Ibrahim,” the first known believer among the Hidden People, preaches a sermon to Unity’s congregation. It’s a surreal experience for many of Unity’s members, who, like Zaborsky, have been praying for the Hidden People for years.