Dear Friends,
In the DR Congo, things have still not returned to normal in the cities of Goma and Bukavu. M23 has chased out any presence of official law enforcement, so thugs and bandits continue to wreak havoc all over the region. At our school in Panzi, on the south side of Bukavu, Director Nanza was hoping to start classes on the 1st of September, but the insecurity in the city is making it difficult to maintain any reliable kind of schedule, and parents are reluctant to bring their kids to school. In Goma, some of our friends have had to move across the border into the country of Rwanda just to stay safe. Continue praying with us for peace in the region.
In Baraka, the new school year is off to a fresh start. Official enrollment has hit 103 students, praise God! One of the newest additions to the school was brought in after the school year started. The father was embarrassed to admit that he had known of the school for several years, but didn’t think his deaf daughter was worth the effort to bring to school. Somehow, his daughter had learned of the school and insisted that her father enroll her. So he sheepishly brought her to school for the first time at the age of 15. Now she’s set: within a few months she will learn to read and write the alphabet, learn her own name for the first time, and eventually learn the name of Jesus Christ! Your faithful support is how we’re able to repeat little miracles like this!
We’re happy to report that construction of our two-story multi-purpose building has resumed in N’Djamena, Chad. We’ve had a couple of dry months of sparse funding, so we’re thankful to get the ball rolling again. The first floor is complete and already in good use, and we were able to add doors and plasterwork on the second floor.
An opportunity has come up for me to teach a block class on deaf ministry at the Central Baptist University in Kitwe, Zambia. The university is perhaps the first accredited African university to have a program for deaf ministry, and they’ve asked me to teach a session in December. It will be a first for me to teach at a university, so I’m looking forward to it.
Truly, your prayers are coveted.
Tim Foster
Director
