The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam 3:22-23)
It’s been a strange year of ups and downs! Through it all, we have seen God’s hand of faithfulness, and it is an honor to share with you the way He has protected us and opened new doors of ministry.
Nigeria
The year 2025 marks the 65th anniversary of our school for the deaf in Nigeria, the country of my birth. The celebration will take place at our headquarters in Ibadan during the last weekend of November, just as this letter goes to press. Regrettably, I will not be able to attend in person, as I will be flying to Zambia on the 29th. However, I will be able to join the first portion of the celebration via livestream. And not only does 2025 mark the school’s 65th anniversary, but if my father were still alive, it would also have been his 100th birthday! Oh, how far the Lord has brought us!
We are thrilled that Cyprain Oraetoka is preparing to graduate from ECWA Theological Seminary in Jos, Nigeria. Providing deaf pastors with access to advanced training like this presents challenges on many fronts, so we are deeply grateful that the Andrew Foster Memorial Scholarship has made it possible to sponsor his seminary education. Cyprain has wasted no time putting his training to good use. Between classes, he regularly travels to various deaf churches across Nigeria to teach and preach. Please pray for his continued zeal as he completes his final semesters and continues spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Despite the Trump administration’s peace negotiations between the DRC and Rwanda, the Kivu Province remains in turmoil in the aftermath of the uprising of M23, a militia group rumored to be sponsored by Rwanda. In January of this year, M23 took over the cities of Bukavu and Goma, two major cities in the Kivu province where we have a deaf school and do annual conference work. Their presence of M23 has chased off all official government and police personnel. Consequently, violence has skyrocketed, and staples for subsistence are in high demand. We had to suspend our school in Bukavu for some time as parents were afraid to send their kids to school and teachers were fearful of being out on the streets. We also canceled our annual conference in Bukavu since the region was too volatile.
Shindano Andre, the assistant director of our school in Uvira was kidnapped in September. He was poisoned by his captors and held ransom for about three weeks. His family members were able to pay for his release, and he had to be sent to Uganda for advanced medical treatment where he is still recuperating from the poison injected into him by his captors. Regrettably, three other men who were kidnapped along with Shindano were executed since their families were not able to raise the funds demanded by their captors. Pray that these kidnappers will be found and brought to swift justice. Pray for peace in the city of Uvira, and pray for continued healing for Shindano.
Chad
Now that our two-story multi-purpose building in the capital of N’Djamena is almost finished, Director Yves Beosso is raising funds to buy new furniture for the building. The highest need at this time is a set of 200 chairs for the church auditorium and classrooms. Wooden chairs would be nice, but at this point, it’s a luxury well beyond our means, so we’re looking to buy plastic chairs instead. We also need tables and chalk boards for the classrooms. Although the property has had electricity from the city for several years now, it is becoming increasingly unreliable, with outages that can last for days or weeks at a time. The standby generator is well past its years, and needs repairs regularly. Upgrading to a solar powered campus would be a huge blessing, but the latest estimate for this was well over $15,000 USD. Pray with us that these needs will be met in a timely fashion.
Our church/school in N’Damena has planted two other church/schools in the region. One is in the small town of Toukoura, and a new one in Siguette. The Siguette school is largely funded by director Yves’ own meager salary. It is headed up by one of our former deaf students, Dingamndoh Behiguim. This year, thanks to God’s guidance, the Siguette school has grown to became a three-room school and now has 14 deaf students. Pray for their continued growth as they minister to the education and spiritual needs of the deaf.
Zambia
This past summer, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is an accredited university in Zambia that offers a program for deaf ministry. Not only does Central African Baptist University (CABU) train church leaders to include deaf people in their ministries, but they also actively seek out deaf students to enroll in their university program. Up until this point, I was only aware of Bible colleges that serve the deaf in Uganda and Nigeria, so this came as quite a surprise to me. CABU was well aware of the work that we do, and offered an opportunity for me to go there to tour the campus and see how we might collaborate in the future. In the mean time, I’ll be teaching a week-long block class for their deaf ministries students. I’ll be covering some of the methods and techniques we use when working with deaf schools, churches, and conferences. It should be a wonderful time of new adventures.
Truly, your prayers are coveted.
In Him,
Tim Foster
Director
