Category: Update

We continue to run into issues with sending funds to Nigeria. Any method we use is hit or miss, with most efforts being a miss. The failed attempts tie up our funds for about a week while waiting for funds to be returned. In the meantime, our staff there have to curtail their budgets while waiting for the funds to arrive. Thankfully, the majority of their funding comes from local tuition fees and not foreign support, so the situation is not dire. But it is aggravating nonetheless. Please pray for a permanent resolution to this challenge.

In Chad, Director Yves is coming along well with the final touches on the construction of their multi-purpose building. The building is already being put to good use, and we’re all looking forward to its completion in the next few months. Pray with us that it all goes well as we near completion.

In the DR Congo, there are a number of young men in our sphere of influence who have stepped out on their own and started schools and churches for the deaf. Their ambitions are high, and their progress is slow, so I’m always encouraged any time I get a report from them. Last week, Temo Mwinda sent me several photos of his school’s graduation ceremony in Minova, a small town on the NW shore of Lake Kivu. He and his friend, Mika, started the school a few years ago and now have 60 deaf students enrolled. However, due to civil unrest over the past few months, about 20 of their students have had to delay classes.

We pray that they will continue to find grace and strength as their numbers increase and their church grows.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted!

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear friends,

Plans are well underway for our Congo Bible Camp to be held in Panzi, just south of Bukavu in the eastern province of the DR Congo. The name of the ministry where we’ll meet is called the Maranatha Center. This is a new location for us, and we’re grateful to Mariam Toto for her help in finding this facility and arranging for us to be there. The facility certainly looks promising, so I’m excited to see how it all works out.

As far as topics go, we’ll be doing a deep dive into the book of James at our Congo Bible Camp. I expect we’ll get through the first two chapters, and do the remaining chapters at next year’s camp. The campers will be expected to take an exam at the end of the week. The evening evangelist classes will include an excursus on the inner workings of the Gospel, with a concentration on penal substitution, personal sin, original sin, and imputed sin. Yves (our director in Chad) and I will be handling those lectures. Nanza, our director in Bukavu, will be teaching a session on Child Evangelism, and Pililo, our Kivu regional director, will be giving a lecture on personal sanctification. I’m really looking forward to seeing it all come together! Won’t you pray with us that God will use our efforts mightily for His glory and His Name’s sake?

Now that school is out in Chad, we’d like to finish off the construction on our 2-story multi-purpose building. Director Yves informs me that we’ve kind of hit a lull in finances, so things have slowed down. Some of the slack has been taken up by a gentleman named Clement Abonyi. He’s a graduate from our school in Nigeria, and now lives in the USA. He has a foundation called the Afri-Deaf foundation, and he’s been doing good work with fundraising for both his alma mater in Nigeria, as well as our school in N’Djamena, Chad. Pray that we’ll be able to get the last of the work done in these summer months.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted!

Tim Foster
Director

Plans are still in process for our August Congo Bible Camp. We had some prospects of using a facility in the town of Musaze, in Rwanda. The cost would have been lower than what we spend in the DR Congo, and the facilities would have been nicer. Unfortunately, due to the civil unrest between Rwanda and the Congo, transportation costs are exorbitantly high, and we would be better off to meet in the Congo after all. Pray with us that we’ll be able to use that facility in the future, because it really looks like a good facility.

We’re happy to report that Phase 2 of our construction project in Uvira (DR Congo) is still making progress, albeit slowly. I’m not sure we’ll be able to meet our September target for completion. Pray with us that we’ll be able to stay on schedule.

The church elders in Chad are finalizing plans for their annual Easter camp for the deaf. Pray that they’ll have good attendance and participation, that lives will be touched by the Gospel.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted!

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

It’s been a slow month with not too much new going on.

Our construction projects in N’Djamena (Chad) and Uvira (DR Congo) are still moving along. Thankfully, the new multi-purpose building in N’Djamena is nearly finished. The plaster on the walls is mostly complete, and then the painting begins. In Uvira, we’ve started Phase 2 of construction (walls).

We’re beginning our plans for our summer Congo Bible Camp. My preference would be to meet in Goma (DR Congo), but there’s been some civil unrest there, and some people are fleeing the city. We might have an opportunity to meet in Rwanda, the country next door. Life there is much more tranquil, generally speaking, but at this time, it’s not clear if the facility in question can support the number of people we would like to bring. Pray for wisdom as we continue to evaluate options.

Also, we’ll begin a new curriculum in the book of James, and target the teaching at the pastors and evangelists across the ~25 deaf churches in the region that we serve. Currently, we plan to start a study in the book of James, and equip the pastors and evangelists with tools for understanding the book and preaching faithfully from it.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

In Uvira (DR Congo), our new school is nearing completion of phase 2. It’s exciting to see this project coming along as we work towards our target completion of the 1^st floor by September 2024. Pray with us that we won’t hit any delays.

Meanwhile, in Chad, Director Yves reports that our multi-story building is nearing completion. As soon as the walls are plastered and painted and the electrical work finished out, it will be completed! We’re excited to see this 2-year project so close to completion.

On a sad note, two beloved brothers in Christ passed away last month, Koulayo Daniel and Philémon Kilda David. Both men were very active among the deaf in Chad and they will be missed. Keep their families in prayer as they mourn the loss of these faithful brothers.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

Praise the Lord with us: After much effort, we were finally able to get funds to our two seminary students at the ECWA Theological Seminary in Igbaja, Nigeria. Due to policy changes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, we’ve had a particularly difficult time sending funds to our various contacts in Nigeria over these past few months.  Now that the funds have been delivered, the seminary students have been able to reimburse their interpreter (who has been working for almost 2 months now without pay), and get caught up on tuition fees. Pray with us that our next few transactions will proceed unimpeded as we press forward to complete the school year.

In Chad, Director Yves reports that he witnessed a motorcycle accident while running errands in town. The police mistakenly assumed he was involved in the accident and compounded his motorcycle. They kept it for almost 15 days while investigating the matter, and gave conflicting reasons as to why they couldn’t release it sooner. Thankfully, the situation was eventually resolved, but not without requiring a $24 fee to release his motorcycle, and, to make matters worse, they lost the key. It’s been a huge inconvenience to have his motorcycle out of commission for almost 2 weeks, but we’re glad it’s now behind us.

In the Congo, the city of Baraka experienced massive flooding on Nov 18^th. Our school, faculty and staff survived without incident, but ten of our students lost their homes. Keep them in their prayers while they rebuild.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted!

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

We’re happy to report that Phase 1 of our school construction project in Uvira, DR Congo is complete, and Phase 2 is underway. Due to funding issues, we’re going to have to scale back the project for a while and only build the first floor for now. Then as funds permit, we’ll begin the 2^nd story of construction. I’m looking forward to being able to visit the campus when it’s completed and enjoy the beautiful view of Lake Tanganyika.

We continue to have challenges in sending funds to our staff in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria no longer permits international funds to be received and issued in local currency. This is true not only of the USA, but of African countries as well. The downside is that most fund sending agencies (Western Union, Money Gram, etc) are set to issue funds in Nigerian currency. A such, our transactions take about a week to process, only to be refunded. To add to the frustration, support representatives at both Western Union and Money Gram did not know why our transactions were being refunded, and Nigerian agents gave our staff members quite the run around. It’s no fun getting sent on wild goose chases in attempts to resolve the problem. After some digging around on multiple financial sites, I was able to pinpoint that the problem was the CBN’s policy change regarding international funds – but a reliable solution remains elusive. In the past week, I’ve had a smaller transactions go through in a somewhat unconventional way. Pray that we’ll be able to find a reliable method that doesn’t include exorbitant costs from our USA bank.

In N’Djamena, Chad, we’re putting the finishing touches on our multi-purpose building. All that’s left now are the wall treatments, doors and windows, water and wastewater facilities, and paint. Due to an unreliable electric grid, we had hoped to have the building powered by solar panels. The initial estimates we received was well above our budget, so we’re seeking alternative solutions.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted!

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

Our schools have launched into their new year! Keep our teachers, staff and students in your prayers as we navigate this years challenges!

In Baraka (DR Congo), Director Shukuru Heritier reports that his school has been able to enroll a few more students into his primary school. One challenge they’re facing now is that they have a shortage of furniture. Their old school building was smaller and required fewer pieces of furniture. Now that they have more space in their new building, they need more furniture. We’re also hoping to get a line of drinking water run to the school property. Lord willing, we should have it in place in a few weeks.

In Nigeria we’re facing some peculiar challenges. For reasons I can’t resolve, our ability to send funds to Nigeria has been unsuccessful for the past month. All things being equal, the best way to send funds is usually through Western Union, but for the past few weeks, all attempts to send money through any financial bureau, including Western Union, has met with failure. I’ve tried several attempts to find out why our transactions are failing this month, but details have been sparse and so far, nothing has resolved the situation. As a result, we have a backlog of funds to send for the school operation in Ibadan, seminary fees for 2 students we’re sponsoring at ECWA Seminary, and interpreter services. Pray with us that this mysterious issue will be resolved soon so that we can get some desperately needed funds to our co-workers in Nigeria.

Praise God with us that Stage 1 of construction at our new school in Uvira (DR Congo) is complete! Director Pililo Amani reports that the foundation is in place, and construction on the walls are now underway. When completed, it will be a 2-story school for both primary and secondary students. Pray with us that the funding for this project will be timely.
Indeed, your prayers are coveted!

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

Although our annual Congo Bible Camp went well, we had some very interesting side issues that are now challenging our thoughts about how to best prepare for our future camps. Our conference material was on the Life of Joseph, with an introduction to Messianic typology. The advanced seminar lectures were on the Feasts of the Lord in Lev 23, showing how these feasts pointed to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and included an extended examination of Ephesians 4 about unity in doctrine. We had over 120 people attending, with almost 50 attending the advanced seminars. Due to limited financial resources, we had to turn away many more who wanted to come. This dilemma brought several issues to light. Unfortunately, we’re seeing a growing number of people who come to the camp but lack the education and communication skills to be able to comprehend the material we are teaching. Their time with us was a wonderful opportunity for fellowship, but their presence meant that other teachers and church leaders – people who could have taken advantage of our teaching material – could not come unless they paid their own way. Please pray for us that we’ll be able to address these issues for our next camp.

One of the perks of trusting in a Sovereign God is the peace that comes with knowing that there are no ‘accidents’ when life is viewed from His perspective, and I got a special dose of that after the Congo camp. Due to a late cab driver, I missed my return flight’s boarding call by 10 minutes, and was stuck in Rwanda for an extra week. I called a missionary friend in Burundi, Daniel Johnson, and it turns out that he was having a pastor’s conference during the extra time I had on hand. Not only that, but the 3 Americans who were coming for his conference missed a connecting flight in Chicago and were delayed by 2 days, causing Daniel to have to leave the next morning for a 6-hr drive to Bujumbura go pick them up. It worked out that he was able to come and get me along the way to Bujumbura, pick up the Americans, and bring us all back to his town, have the conference, and get all of us back to our respective cities the following Wednesday, thus allowing for us to all catch our Thursday flights back to our respective homes. And if that weren’t enough, the Americans were teaching on Ephesians and Hebrews, much of the same content I had been teaching the week before – although I was teaching from the Old Testament. They were kind enough to work me into a 2-hr time slot to provide some teaching as well. That “accidental extra week” could not have been worked out better if I had planned it that way! My time with Daniel’s family was richly rewarding in so many ways. His network of churches in Burundi operates 2 schools for the deaf – one in Bujumbura, started by father back in the ‘80s, and the other at his facility in East Burundi. I’ve been meaning to see his facility and new school for the deaf for several years now. It’s so far out of our way that it’s difficult for me to plan the 3-4 extra days required to make the trip out to his place. But this year, God forced my hand, and it was an absolutely wonderful time! His method of church-planting and operation of his school for the deaf gave me some ideas that I’d like to explore for our schools in the Congo.

Truly our God is an awesome God!

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf

Dear Friends,

We head out to Bukavu, DR Congo, in just a few days for our annual Congo Bible Camp. I’m excited to see what God has in store for us as we conclude our 4-part series on the book of Genesis.

At this year’s camp, we’ll be focusing on the life of Joseph, and using it to flesh out the concept of types and shadows that can be seen all throughout Scripture, pointing us to the person and work of Jesus Christ. For many of the attendees, their familiarity of the Bible doesn’t extend much farther than Bible stories and basic concepts of salvation and sanctification. So this week promises to be richly rewarding as we introduce new concepts to help them grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Pray with us that we’ll we’ll be faithful to His Word and clear in our teaching.

Director Shukuru reports that all ten of his sixth-grade students in Baraka (DR Congo) passed their national exams with perfect scores. His school is the newest of the schools in our network, and is working hard to build a good reputation in the city. Many people in the city – including the parents of the deaf students – are skeptical that deaf children can be successfully trained, let alone graduate from primary school. His progress has been a bold testimony of what Godly people can do among “the least of these”. At their graduation ceremony, a number of local dignitaries attended: the city mayor, the city municipality director, the director of education for the province, and various representatives from NGOs in the city of Baraka. We thank God for the good reputation that is being built in the city.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf