Spiritual Needs in South Omo
The spiritual needs in South Omo are vast. Superstition is the hand that guides many of the tribes' practices. For generations, the 16 tribes that live in South Omo, have been taught nothing else. There has been little, if any, access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is beginning to change. One of the biggest and best is that the New Testament has been translated to one of the tribal languages already and work has begun to translate the Old Testament as well. Although many of the languages are similar, we will hope to accomplish this in every language so that all tribes have access to the scriptures!
We have, in our short history, already seen the difference that the Gospel is making in the lives of the people of South Omo. It is, in fact, THE change in people's attitudes toward the "mingie" practice, attitudes toward women and even the acceptance of working the land to promote agricultural practices!
For the past several years, a new 'church and Bible School building'had to be re-constructed annually as the termites would wreak their havoc each and every year!
The Friends of South Omo have constructed a termite-proof Bible School that can be used to teach the Word of God for years to come. Currently, about 40 students attend and are taught by trained community members and we hope that an expansion becomes necessary in the near future. Although the building is built, the need for chairs, desks, teaching supplies, books, bibles, etc. is still huge! Currently, the 'students' sit on long narrow benches, using another bench in front of them to write on. As the benches are at the same height, to bend over that far all day long can be extremely painful.
