Category: Update

Dear Prayer Partners,
Although we had tickets in hand, we didn’t receive our Nigerian visas in time to go to CMD Nigeria’s 55th anniversary in Ibadan and Lagos last weekend. We are sad that we missed the celebration and fellowship, but trust God’s decision in this matter. Praise God with us for the excellent testimonies of His faithfulness over these many decades, and for the excellent turnout.

God has shown His faithfulness in other areas: We now have the funds on hand to proceed with drilling a well at our new property in Chad. Pray with us that this will be sufficient to stem the squatting. And in Bukavu (DR Congo), we are seeing excellent progress with our new school and staffing. We still have a few important hurdles, so we still covet your prayers.

In Him,

Tim Foster

Dear Prayer Partners,

We’re still working towards raising funds to help secure the new 5-acre land grant for our school in Chad, so any gifts in this area are greatly appreciated. We’re hoping to have enough funds on hand by Christmas time to dig a well for the new school property.

I’ll be leaving for Nigeria in a few weeks to celebrate our center’s 55th anniversary. I’ll also be bringing a number of desperately needed theology books, DVDs, a projector and computer accessories. Some will be for our Nigerian center, and some for our Chad center. These items are quite expensive in Africa, so I hope to be able to take quite a bit. Please pray with us that these goods will arrive safely and intact.

In Him,

Tim Foster

Dear Friends,

Several years ago, our Chad school received a 5-acre land grant. This piece of undeveloped property is a welcome relief for our overcrowded school, and is nicely situated near a main road on the outskirts of the country’s capital. However, squatters are making it necessary for us to act now and permanently claim the land by erecting a building and a water well. Pray for wisdom and provision as we raise funds to install a water well and several small buildings.

Brother Emmanuel Ilabor and his staff are nearing completion of the plans for the December anniversary of CMD’s first school in Ibadan, Nigeria. Pray that the conference will be well attended, and an encouragement for all who come. My 2nd oldest brother, John, will be traveling with me. He hasn’t been to Nigeria since 1975, so this will be an interesting trip for him.

In Him,

Tim Foster

Dear Friends,

Akilimali – Lord willing, opening a new school for the deaf in Minova, D.R.Congo

We thank God to see continued growth in the new schools started by graduates of our schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At one new school in Fizi, the young director has his hands full with 40 deaf students. On one of his recent trips to a remot village to look for deaf students, he found two people who were both deaf and blind. We’re heart broken that there are no resources in the region to meet the desperate needs of the deaf and blind.

Lord willing, a new school for the deaf will open soon in Minova (eastern DR Congo). Pray for Akilimali Lushenya, the young man who will head up this new school.

In Him,

Tim Foster

About ten years ago we had to close our school for the deaf in Bukavu (D.R. Congo). This major city of over 400,000 people has not had a good school for the deaf since then. Although there are many deaf there, and although we hold our annual conference there, there have been almost no options for the deaf to get a good education.

Two years ago, we received an offer of assistance from the mayor of Bukavu, but have not been able to move forward due to a lack of qualified leaders. This summer, however, God brought to us a man who used to work with the deaf many years ago. With the blessings and supervision of the local Berean church, he will be setting up a school for the deaf in Bukavu. We’re excited for this opportunity to begin again the work of teaching the deaf and reaching them with the Gospel.

In Him,

Tim Foster

Dear Friends,

We’re pleased to report that construction at our new property in Ibadan, Nigeria is moving along nicely. Director Emmanuel Ilabor reports that the water purification building is complete, making the water well capable of producing drinking water.

Director Pililo Amani reports that the spring storms have done a good bit of damage to our school in Uvira in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Repairs are underway, but this does represent an unexpected setback in the school’s summer budget.

Our school in N’Djamena, Chad has also experienced storm damage. Several mud-brick buildings desperately need to be replaced with concrete buildings, but for now, funds only allow for the mud brick. Pray for wisdom as Director Yves Beosso navigates this challenge.

In Him,

Tim Foster

Please keep our Chad schools and churches in your prayers. Brother Madjibe Taigone was trained by Dr. Foster in 1985 and has faithfully served and trained the deaf all across southern Chad for over 30 years. He died two weeks ago after complications from surgery. He is survived by his wife and nine children.

Brother Emmanuel Ilabor, director of our Nigeria center, returned to the US from Nigeria earlier this month. In a few months he will return to Nigeria to begin preparing for the center’s 55th anniversary.

In Him,

Tim Foster

Praise God for His provisions! Our school in Uvira will soon receive three sewing machines. These machines will be used to help our deaf students become gainfully employed as tailors and seamstresses. We’re praying they’ll also be able to make uniforms for the students soon.

In Chad, one of our staff members, Brother Dingamndoh Behiguim, will soon be presenting a dowry for his fiance Memadji. Pray for this young couple that God will bless their upcoming marriage.

Pray for the students as the exam finals loom closer. Good grades for finals are crucial, and will determine which students proceed to the next grades.

In Him,

Tim Foster

We thank God for a successful Bible Conference in Bukavu earlier this month. Aaron Kuglin was able to join us again, this time bringing his wife and youngest daughter. Pray for them as they continue to seek ways to be used by God to minister to the deaf. Josh Bonjour, pastor to a deaf church in Fort Worth, was able to join us and take a closer look at some of the work that CMD is doing. The attendees were quite excited at his fluent sign language, and are looking forward to meeting other people from his church at future conferences.

After the conference, we were able to visit a new school for the deaf in Kavumu (about an hour north of Bukavu). It was started by one of our former pupils using his own funds and resources. It’s amazing to see the ambition of young men who are rolling up their sleeves and forging ahead to bring education and the Gospel to unreached corners of their region. I’ll be writing about them in our next prayer letter.

In Him,

Tim Foster

In just a few days, we head to Bukavu (Democratic Republic of Congo) for our annual Congo Bible Camp. There have been a few hiccups in working out the logistics of the attendees, so keep us in prayer as we finish preparing for the conference. For several people in our team, this will be their first time to Africa. Pray for the safety of all those who are traveling to the conference – both Africans and Americans. Pray also that the attendees will be greatly benefited as we study 1 Peter together.

Please keep our Nigerian center in your prayers. The center continues to feel the strain of overcrowding, while construction at the new campus continues. Ideally, we would like to have several of the buildings complete by the time of our special anniversary celebration in December. We wait on God to continue to supply our needs.

In Him,

Tim Foster