Dear Friends,
God has shown great favor on my wife Sheryl and me by granting us a healthy granddaughter – our first!
Elanor entered the world on October 29, 2024 at 8lbs, 11 oz and 20.5 inches. There were some complications in delivery and baby Elanor had to be in NICU for 3 days to address a potential lung infection. But by God’s grace, she now appears to be problem free. Continue to pray for our daughter, Micah, as she had dangerously high blood pressure and had to go back to the hospital for treatment and observation. Pray for strength for Zach, our son-in-law, as he tends to his wife and new daughter. Sheryl has been in Pennsylvania with them for the past three weeks, and I’ll be flying up there tomorrow for two weeks.
The 24-25 school year is off to a good start, and enrollment is up at several of our schools. In the DR Congo, our Bukavu school has been struggling for the past few years, with a total headcount of 10-12 students. This year, enrollment is up to 18, so that’s definitely progress. The city of Bukavu has so many more unreached deaf people, so it’s sad to see that so few parents are bothering to send their kids in for formal education and access to the Gospel.
In Baraka, enrollment is up to 89, praise God! We’re thrilled with the tremendous response from the community and the outlying villages. Shukuru, our director, would love to open a second school on the south end of town. We’ll see how the Lord leads in that regard. Meanwhile, this excellent growth does bring secondary problems.
We’re in desperate need of more classroom space, and thankful that the community has stepped up to help with construction costs of building new classrooms. We’re also in desperate need of school furniture. We had a European NGO that was going to donate some furniture, but that didn’t materialize as we had hoped. Consequently, while many of our students are thrilled to come to school, they lack desks and chairs. Pray that these needs will also be met.
Indeed, your prayers are coveted.
Tim Foster
