Tim Foster

…Continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven … –  Col 1:23

It’s been far too long since our last prayer letter. Although I’ve been quiet, God has been active, expanding His work among the deaf in Africa.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Our annual Congo Bible Camp for the deaf was a sweet time of fellowship and teaching with almost 100 people in attendance. They represented schools and churches for the deaf from about twelve cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Aaron and Kristi Kuglin were able to help us again, along with their daughter,

Pililo, Tim and Shukuru Three students from Fizi

Esther. Pray for them as they continue to seek the Lord’s will regarding their passion to work among the deaf. We were thankful to also have our Chad director, Yves Beosso, helping with the teaching. We taught the book of 2 Peter, and Yves presented additional classes on marriage and baptism. I taught the evangelist classes, where some 30 church leaders learned of essential doctrines of the Christian faith, and their impact on the early centuries of Church history. The Church history portion was completely new to them, and it encouraged them to know that they had a rich heritage of faith.  Keep them in your prayers, as they continue to learn how to spot false doctrines. There is no shortage of questionable teachers, preachers and missionaries spreading questionable doctrines. Prosperity Gospel, in particular, is growing like wildfire across Africa, and its allure is hard for impoverished Africans to resist.

The city of Bukavu (population 800,000) has a large deaf community, but for the most part, only one school for the deaf. When our school’s director was suddenly taken home to be with the Lord ten years ago, we had to close the school. Praise God with us that we’ve been able to reopen the school as of last September. Our new director is a man named Nanza. He has a tender heart for the deaf students, but he lives some distance out of the city and transportation is becoming an issue. For a few months, Nanza had a younger assistant from another city, but the assistant’s family needs prevented him from relocating to Bukavu. Pray that we will find a replacement, and that suitable accommodations can be made to help alleviate the transportation challenges.

The new school in Fizi is moving along nicely with about 45 students.  The director, Shukuru Heriter, is a young adult who was trained at our school in Uvira. With the grace of God and oversight of our Uvira director Pilio Amani, many deaf students in Fizi have entered school for the first time. They are now learning to read and write – and more importantly, learn about the Gospel and the salvation that is only through Jesus Christ. Shukuru brought three of his best students to our Easter Bible conference in April. Although the students had a hard time keeping up with the pace of the Bible teaching, they were able to get a small taste of in-depth Bible doctrine, and make many new deaf friends from outside their region. Pray that Shukuru will continue to be used of God to meet both the spiritual and academic needs of the deaf in Fizi.

Chad

Our Chad school is located in the Walia community, just outside of Chad’s capital of N’Djamena.

Construction in Chad

Walia was connected to N’Djamena’s electrical power grid about a year ago, and through the grace of supporters in Detroit, Michigan (USA), we were able to

raise funds to help our school get electricity. For many years, the staff had to use a

generator whenever they needed electricity, so this is a tremendous blessing! And along with the electricity, we’ve finally broken ground with new construction at our 5-acre property. There is a lot to do, and construction is slow, but we’re confident that God will continue this work, and we praise Him for His faithfulness through His people!

At my last meeting with director Yves Beosso, I was able to deliver a sizeable gift of technology: several laptops loaded with Bible, administrative and educational software, a projector, digital cameras, cell phones, printer supplies, a number of Christian movies and more. These items would have cost several thousand dollars if purchased locally – well beyond our means. We’re confident that God will use this blessing

Electricity in Chad

in so many ways, and again, we thank our USA supporters for being used of God to make this blessing possible.

Nigeria

It was in 1960 that my father, Andrew Foster, left Ghana to begin work among the deaf in Nigeria. This past December, many deaf people from all across Nigeria gathered to Ibadan to celebrate 55 years of God’s faithfulness through Christian Mission for the Deaf. My brother John and I made plans to go, but a series of visa delays in Washington DC caused us to miss our flights. Although we trust that God’s plans are best, we are still saddened that we were unable to celebrate with so many old friends of CMD. Director Emmanuel Ilabor reports that it was a well-attended event, with some attendees coming in from several neighboring countries, as well as coming from the USA.

Watching a missionary movie after Bible Study

Construction continues at our new compound just south of Ibadan. Several buildings are in progress. Work continues as donations allow, so things can move slowly at times. Praise God with us that UPS (United Parcel Service) made a sizeable donation this spring. At this time, we don’t have a date for the school opening, but we are confident that it will be in God’s time.

Home

Mother Berta continues to rest at Faith’s home. Faith’s daughter, Alessandra, is the first of the Foster grandchildren to get married. The wedding last August was a sweet time for most of Berta’s children and grandchildren to gather. And Lord willing, Luke and Alessandra will welcome their first child this fall. Praise God for Berta’s first great-grandchild.

In Him,

Tim Foster

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. (Isa 44:3)

As we continue to work within our limited resources to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the deaf, we find ourselves at a unique juncture in the history of deaf education in Chad (Central Africa). Several years ago, we received a sizable land grant from a local chieftain. The five-acre parcel of land is located in Toukoura, a few miles south of N’Djamena, the country’s capital. Our dream is to construct a new mission compound that would replace our aged and overcrowded facility currently located in a mud-brick community on the outskirts of N’Djamena. The new plan calls for primary and secondary school buildings, dorms, a chapel, a cafeteria, a carpentry shop, a tailoring shop, a multi-purpose building and more. These new buildings are desperately needed. Our current facility is overcrowded and many deaf children in N’Djamena are unable to enroll. However, as with most land grants in sub-Sahara Africa, it came with one major caveat: use it, or lose it. Local efforts to raise funds for this ambitious project have met with little success, and we now find ourselves faced with the very real possibility of losing this precious opportunity.

Two additional events have transpired over the past couple of years that make the situation more pressing.

Water Well at our existing school in N’Djamena, Chad

• A new university is preparing to break ground almost right next door, turning the area into a magnet for higher education. It would be hard to imagine a better location for our school for the deaf.
• Squatters have begun to build on our property. The laws in Chad are such that we must either build our facility around their buildings or purchase their buildings. We will need to alter our plans to accommodate their squatting, and do something now to block any future squatters from building on our land.

Right now, the best way to prevent further squatting is to install at least one permanent building or structure. Ideally, if we can install a well and pump, we can arrange for nearby villagers to operate the pump for their agricultural needs until we can begin construction. The villagers would benefit from the initial use of the well, and in the process, would guard the property from future squatters.

The cost for installing a well is around $2,000 USD, and starter buildings would cost between $10,000 and $15,000. Our desire is to raise enough funds to begin the well before year’s end, and begin construction of buildings before spring 2016. It’s an ambitious project, but we feel that this is a unique opportunity to expand the work of educating the deaf in Chad and preparing the next generation of spiritual leaders.

Would you pray with us about how the Lord might use you for this endeavor?

Thank you for standing with us and praying with us in this unique situation.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf