In a vivid dream, Bekele, an Ethiopian believer, was told to walk south until he could walk no further. So the evangelist hiked 10 days until a junction of the Omo and Dencheyo Rivers in southern Ethiopia halted him. Finding the Tarra people there, he built a hut and began to learn the language of this semi-nomadic group of 20,000 souls. As Bekele shared his faith, the first to follow Jesus were the king’s son and his wife! He began to teach them the Ethiopian national language, Amharic, since it already has a Bible translation.
The fearful Tarra wear a bark covering on their heads when they sleep to prevent evil spirits from entering their noses or ears. However, when three jealous witch doctors tried to repeatedly to kill Bekele, he turned to God for deliverance and asked for His protection. Shortly, two of the witchdoctors died of disease and the other’s hut was struck by lightning, causing him to flee in panic!
This isolated area in southern Ethiopia now has a growing Tarra school with Christian teachers, and 60 believers who worship in a small thatched church.
Source: SIM International
[Bekele, Ethiopia, Tarra, cross-cultural mission, Amharic, NT, God’s protection, church planted]