Category: Update

Dear Friends,

Our two deaf Nigerian students, John Ayanowle and Cyprain Oraetoka, are finally enrolled at ECWA Theological Seminary in Igbaja, Nigeria. Thank you for your prayers as we navigated the challenges of getting them in place. John and Cyprain have both informed me that they’re enjoying the challenges and learning much in their classes. Continue to keep them in your prayers as they further their education.

On a somewhat coincidental note, John Adetoyese, the current provost of ECWA, was surprised to find out that I was involved with helping these two deaf men get enrolled. He was a student at ECWA back in the ’80s, and vividly remembered my father, Dr. Andrew Foster, coming to ECWA to enroll several deaf students from various countries in Africa. He even showed me a photo of his deaf classmates from that year. What a fun reminder of God’s grace as we see how he navigates us across the decades!

In Baraka (Democratic Republic of Congo), Director Shukuru reports that the the Provincial Directorate of Primary Secondary and Technical Education is building their new offices adjacent to our new school building on the outskirts of town. This is quite a blessing. Although we’re not affiliated with this government organization, their high-profile presence will bring additional attention to the work we’re doing in Baraka. Not only will we get more foot-traffic from passersby, but we’ll also have better access to municipal infrastructure (water, electricity, etc) as the city expands.

In Chad, Director Yves Beosso’s staff is preparing for their annual Easter Bible Camp. It’ll take place in Bitkine, a mountainous region about 200 miles east of the school in N’Djamena. They expect to have participants from several cities across the southern region of Chad. Pray that God will grant them traveling mercies, and the camp time will be a good occasion for Bible teaching and fellowship.

Truly your prayers are coveted,

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends

Director Shukuru brought some good news regarding the theft at our Baraka school last month: two of the five robbers were caught and are now in jail. However, the thieves haven’t been able to return the stolen materials. Pray for recovery of the stolen items, and more importantly, pray for the salvation of these thieves as they languish in prison. It is fortunate for them that they were caught by police and not a mob: at the end of February, a thief in the same town died at the hands of the mob that caught him. Pray for us as we evaluate the best path forward on replacing the stolen items and securing the property from further theft and vandalism.

Mission Projects Fellowship was able to help us out with a construction project in Nigeria. We’re grateful to the Lord for MPF’s labor in raising $6,870 for roofing materials and construction for our new classrooms. We’re eager to continue this project, and MPF’s donation will carry us a long way.

With a bit of struggle, we were finally able to get two deaf Nigerian students enrolled at ECWA Theological Seminary in Igbaja, Nigeria. Keep John Ayanowle and Cyprain Oraetoka in your prayers as they begin their studies. Pray that after they graduate in a few years, their additional training will be a great asset for the deaf churches in Nigeria.

Pray for us as we begin plans for our 2023 Congo Bible Camp. Our hope was to meet in Goma again this summer, but it looks like civil unrest will require us to relocate to Bukavu or perhaps Bujumbura instead. The facility in Bujumbura is nicer all the way around, but the cost of transportation for the attendees will be a challenge. Pray for wisdom as we seek God’s plan.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

We ran into a bit of a snag sending funds to two deaf Nigerians, Cyprian and John, as they prepare to head to seminary in Igbaja, Nigeria. After a brief delay, were were able to get funds from the “Andrew Foster Memorial Scholarship” to them, and they’re now enrolling. Pray that we’ll be able to get interpreters for them before they fall too far behind.

We’re excited to see construction progress in Chad. In just a few more weeks, we’ll be ready to put the roof in place.It’s been a long time coming.

Director Shukuru reports that our newest building in Baraka (DR Congo) has had a set back. Robbers broke into the school and stole some chairs, solar equipment and books. Ideally, we need to build a wall around the compound. The parents – mostly poor rural villagers – are willing to help contribute, but the best they can come up with is about 10% towards a $12,000 wall. It may actually be cheaper to build a small home on property for Shukuru and his family, so he can live there and do a better job protecting the facility.

In the mean time, a number of the parents have asked for sign-language classes so they can communicate with their deaf children. Shukuru was more than happy to host some evening classes in town. It’s good to see the parents getting excited about the education their children are receiving, and interested in learning how to communicate with them. We’re praying that this will open more doors for Gospel work in their families.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

We’ve been making progress with “Andrew Foster Memorial Scholarship”, a Texas group headed by Jim Walterhouse, working to sponsor deaf Nigerians for seminary education. With the help of administrators at our school in Nigeria, we’ve identified two hopefuls, and are preparing to get them enrolled at ECWA Theological Seminary in Igbaja, Nigeria. The two men are named Cyprian and John. They have wives and children, and have been serving the Lord at our center in Nigeria for a number of years. Lord willing, Cyprian will be studying Missiology, and John will be studying Christian Education. ECWA is willing to take them on, but we will need to arrange for interpreters for them. Pray that we’ll be able to get all the logistics sorted out so they can start their seminary education soon.

In the Congo, we’re getting close to breaking ground on our new campus outside of Uvira. Pray for wisdom as we manage rapidly increasing costs in the middle of civil unrest. For now, most of the violence and civil unrest is several hours north in the North Kivu province, but the unrest often affects the cost of transporting goods and construction materials.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

Emmanuel Ilabor, the director of our school in Nigeria, reports that a driver lost control of his truck and plowed into our school van while our driver and several other cars were waiting in line to purchase gas. Our van was totaled, and before the truck came to a stop, the driver hit several other vehicles and, sadly, killed several onlookers. We don’t know the affected families, but they surely need prayer. The driver was arrested and had no insurance. He was only able to pay $257 towards that $15,000 to replace the van. Our second van will have to do double duty until we can afford to buy a replacement.

After a long court battle, a judge has finally recognized us as the lawful owners of the 39-acre site we’ve been slowly developing over the past few years. So far, we have the frame and roof for the females dorm, and hope to start the interior. Construction of our Classrooms building is underway, with the dining hall and property fencing still ahead of us. We anticipate the total cost for this phase to be 177.5 million Niras (approx $250,000 USD).

At our newest school in Barka (DR Congo), parents are pleased to see their children gaining a formal education – something many thought would never happen. The parents are now realizing that they need to learn sign language in order to communicate with their children’s rapidly expanding vocabulary. Pray for director Shukuru as he plans parental training classes for January 2023.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

There has been quite a bit of civil unrest in the Kivu province of the DR Congo this year. Since the end of March, a militia group called M23 has been stirring up trouble. The UN High Commission for Refugees reports that the violence has displaced about 50,000 locals. We partner with several churches for the deaf in the affected areas. We partner with the deaf church in Rutshuru, and they’ve been heavily affected. Pray for the church in Goma, as they send delegates to the refugee camps to minister to the refugees seeking shelter and peace. Pray also that this recent eruption of violence will come to an end so that the people can resume normal lives (1 Tim 2:1-4).

In Chad, the Chari River’s annual flooding was much heavier than in years past. In 2021, about 256,000 people were affected, but this year, almost 1,000,000 people have been affected in the October flooding. More than 465,000 hectares of crops and 19,000 heads of livestock were destroyed and the government declared a state of emergency for 18 provinces. Several parents have brought their children to our school in N’Djamena, asking us to board their children until they can rebuild their homes.

We’re happy for the opportunity to serve the community, but the extra mouths to feed have certainly added to the financial burden. We’re thankful for the American friends who quickly stepped in to help shoulder some of the growing costs.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

School is back in full swing for us in Nigeria, Chad and the DR Congo!

In Chad, construction of our 2-story multi-purpose is moving along smoothly as funds slowly come in. We won’t complete the building by the end of October as we had originally hoped, but construction for the first floor is mostly complete, and is now being used. Director Yves says that they had their first church service in the new building a couple weeks ago, and school classes are meeting in the downstairs rooms. Pray with us that we’ll be able to get the second floor completed soon.

In Likasi (a small town in the southern part of the Congo), Director Mwamba informs us that his administrative staff were able to attend a conference for directors and headmasters. Such conferences are rare in his area, so we’re thankful they were able to get this additional training.

In Baraka, in central/east Congo, we’ve completed our first phase of our new school, praise God!  We’re behind on getting new furniture into all the classrooms, but that didn’t stop the kids from being excited to see the completion of the new building!

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your faithful support and prayers last month as we taught God’s Word in two different conferences in Goma (DR Congo). Our trip lasted just shy of two weeks.

The first conference that I spoke at was a 3-day conference titled “The Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of Man”. The topic was chosen by our friend and associate Pastor John Gakuru. He had about 60 pastors and church leaders from his network of churches in the region, along with a small group of deaf church leaders. The course material was well received, and the feedback was excellent. Perhaps the biggest complaint from the pastors was that it was too short, and they wanted more time to absorb the information since much of it was new to them. It’s definitely a case of mixed emotions to hear pastors and teachers of God’s word say “I’ve never heard that before!” after reading a laundry list of verses dealing directly with the issue of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Many of them insisted they were going to take the material to their home churches and teach on it. Pray that God will give them wisdom as they challenge dominant cultural narratives (ie, misunderstandings) about the nature and work of God.

The 5-day deaf Bible camp was well attended. We had about 90 people traveling in from different cities (and countries), and about 40 local people. In total, we had just over 130 people in attendance. During the Q&A session, we could see different strains of Roman Catholic and Muslim doctrine woven into the fabric of various notions held by the attendees. We’re thankful for the opportunity to shine the light of God’s Word on the hearts and minds of the camp attendees. In particular, pray for Chance Bakunzi and Didi Luanda. These two young men struggle with Muslim and Roman Catholic teaching from their upbringing. I was able to have hours-long conversations with them individually, working to direct their attention at plain Scriptures that challenged their notions of God, man and salvation. Pray that they’ll abandon the false doctrines permeating their thinking, and cleave to Christ alone.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

We’re in the final days of preparation for our 2022 Congo Bible Camp. Due to Covid travel difficulties, we’ve had to delay the Bible camp, so I’m glad we’re back on for this year. Instead of meeting in Bujumbura (Burundi) as we did for the past 2 camp sessions, we’re meeting in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As such, we’ll have a lot of locals at the camp, and I’m looking forward to metting up with friends I haven’t seen in many years because they’ve not been able to travel to Bujumbura. Pray with us that our course material on the lives of the Patriarchs (Gen 25-38) will be well received, and that the lessons will not be understood as stand-alone stories, but rather, complex narratives adorning the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ll also be offering additional evening classes on church history, homiletics and hermeneutics.

Prior to the Congo Bible Camp, I’ll be the keynote speaker at a conference that’s being put on by one of the local pastors, John Gakuru. As a certified French/Swahili/English/Signlanguage interpreter, he’s been a huge blessing and service to us over the years. I’m honored that he’s asked me to come and speak at his 3-day conference. As far as the topic for the conference, we’ll be delving into some pretty deep waters regarding the Sovereignty of God and the Duty of Man. Pray that God’s word will be honored, and that the challenging material will be absorbed well, even with the language challenges at hand.

It’ll be an action-packed couple of weeks, so we covet your prayers!

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

We’re holding off on breaking ground in Uvira (DRCongo) till after the Bible conference. Do keep us in prayer that construction will go quickly once we start. In the meantime, we’re exited to see our new school in Baraka near completion. Lord willing, it will be open in time for the 2022/2023 school year in a few months.

Director Shukuru has put his youthful energy to good work rallying resources, materials and donations from parents and local organizations. The Norwegian Refugee Council donated several thousand dollars worth of furniture: desks, tables, chairs, blackboards, cabinet, fans and more. Director Shukuru had contacted the Norwegian Refugee Council in the past, requesting assistance with our construction project. They seemed disinterested back then. But now that the school is nearing completion, they were happy to donate. We’re very thankful indeed!

In Chad, Director Yves Beosso’s two-story multi-purpose building is coming along nicely. The flooring for the second floor is underway now, and they’ll soon begin the walls. Pray with us that we’ll be able to hit our target completion date in October 2022.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director