Category: Prayer Letter

Dear CMD Partners!

As Christmas draws near, we reflect on the year that God has brought us through and the many ways He has shown Himself to be Lord of all. Sheryl and I were able to spend almost 3 weeks in the eastern Congo this past August and September. While we continue to see fruit in the work that CMD is doing, we’re reminded that there is still much to do in this field that is so white for harvest.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Goma
Sheryl and I had a wonderful time in the north-eastern province of the DRC, teaching with the Tom and Kathy Lindquist at the 2011 Congo Bible Camp. Much of what we taught this year was shaped by what we had seen in the past. Last year, the deaf leaders asked endless questions, showing a strong hunger for in-depth teaching on the details of the Gospel, the means of sanctification, and methods of Bible Study. So we made specific plans this year to provide teaching that would meet their need. We were told to expect 50 attendees, 15 of whom would be in the special evangelist/leadership class. To our pleasant surprise, we had over 60 attendees, and 19 in the evangelist class! We were thankful to see the participants engaged and studying hard, indifferent to the dirt floor, lack of electricity and limited food. More importantly, we’re thrilled at the emails we continue to get from the attendees. Pray that the Lord will continue to use these seeds to help them grow as leaders and teachers in their deaf communities and beyond.

To see more photos and read blog posts from our trip, please visit www.CMDeaf.org/cbc2011

Likasi
After the week-long camp, I traveled to the southern part of the Congo to visit our school in Likasi for a few days. Andrew Foster, my father, was the last person from the States to visit them, and that was back in ’87 or so, shortly before the Lord took him home. The school year hadn’t started yet, but there were a few students that would come to the school grounds daily for fellowship. They were thrilled to have a visitor from the States, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement.

In meeting with the school staff and leaders, I got a chance to learn quite a bit about the expansions they have done in their ministry, and the variety of unique challenges they now face as their school is approaching 90 students. Unfortunately, their local support is waning and due to financial cutbacks, the school has lost a few teachers in the past couple of years. The remaining teachers are earning about 1/3 the salary they would earn if they worked at neighboring government schools, but Daniel Ngoy, the school’s administrator, has been able to convince them to stay and serve a higher calling. Please pray for these men and women and their families, that God would be gracious to them for their self-sacrifice. (If you would like to make donations specifically for their school, mention “Likasi School” with your gift.) To see photos and read blog posts from our trip, please visit www.CMDeaf.org/cbc2011

Uvira
After quite a few challenges, our school in Uvira has now expanded to offer secondary school education for the deaf. Praise God for His provisions! Currently, twelve students are enrolled, and we expect more before the end of the school year. Pililo Amani, the school’s director, has had to hire additional staff now that the school is approaching 60 students. Pray that Pililo and his staff won’t be overwhelmed as the student body continues to grow.

On a somber note, please pray for a stronger presence of solid evangelical churches in Uvira, both in the hearing and deaf communities. There has been rapid growth of feel-good, “prosperity gospel” ministries in this region of the Congo, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to stress to young believers the fallacy of this mindset.

NIGERIA

Due to time constraints, we weren’t able to visit our training center in Ibadan. We’re hoping to be able to visit both Nigeria and Chad in the spring, but financial constraints may dictate otherwise. Emmanuel Ilabor, the director, reports that the 20th annual fall leadership conference was “a huge success through the grace of God”. The theme was Leadership With Godly Character, and many pastors and teachers taught and shared in good fellowship.

Several years ago, the Lord blessed the center with 39 acres of undeveloped land on the outskirts of Ibadan. Emmanuel and his staff immediately began raising money for new school buildings, but were unable to make significant progress. This past summer, the government expanded the road in front of the property and had to purchase land from the center. Although this is a small loss in property, Emmanuel estimates they’ll be able to build ten classrooms with this unexpected infusion of funds. The long-range vision is to have a facility to support 300 dormitory students, and Emmanuel and his team are seeking to raise another $138,000 toward this goal. Please pray diligently for this ambitious project. Over the past few decades, the center in Ibadan has been effective in training thousands of deaf students and leaders, and has helped start over 20 deaf churches throughout Nigeria. The development of the property will be a wonderful blessing for this ministry.

At Home

Thank you for your continued prayer regarding Berta’s health. She has good days and bad days, but over the past few months, we’ve seen more good days than bad, and even a slight increase in her speech capability. As always, she’s full of smiles as she rests at her daughter’s home.

Sheryl and I would like to make a trip to Nigeria and Chad this spring. The stagnant economy is affecting all aspects of CMD’s ministry efforts, so pray for the Lord’s wisdom as we seek to be responsible stewards and faithful servants. Indeed, your continued prayers are coveted.

In Him,

Tim Foster

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. – 2 Timothy 3:14

As Spring turns to Summer, CMD is welcoming a number of new changes as our Lord continues to shape us and grow us in new directions on a number of fronts, both big and small. We are excited to report how God uses us through your faithfulness and prayerful support to continue being a light in many unreached places and ways.

Nigeria
During the spring, over 700 deaf people from 36 states in Nigeria convened in Illorin to attend the 40th annual Easter camp. Emmanuel Ilabor, the general director of the center in Nigeria, reports that the work of the Spirit was evident, and we praise the Lord for 34 baptisms during this four-day event!

This summer, the Ibadan Center for the Deaf celebrates their 50th anniversary! Pray with us that this event will be highly attended as we celebrate God’s faithfulness for the deaf in the country of Nigeria.

God’s faithfulness has been evident in so many ways and places throughout the deaf churches in Nigeria. There are approximately 28 deaf churches in the country today as a result of the seeds God planted through CMD 50 years ago. One church in Ikire was recently blessed beyond measure with the gift of a very large, beautiful new church building, donated by a retired army officer. This donation has some history: at a nearby state-owned school, Muslim parents of deaf children built a mosque and then tried to pressure the Christian teachers and students to abandon their faith, and mocked them for not having a house of worship. This gift of a larger and nicer church could fuel Muslim animosity, so pray with us that this will be used for the glory of God instead. Pray also for protection and peace between the Christians and Muslims.

On a sad note, the center in Ibadan was recently struck with lightning, which caused extensive damage to the backup generator, and various computers and electronic equipment. It turns out that the building was not constructed with proper grounding. Installing the grounding and replacing the damaged equipment will be quite expensive. Pray with us that the Lord will quickly replace this necessary equipment.

Chad
Director Yves Beosso reports that the 2009/2010 school year was a great success! The Lord blessed them with 8 new students for a total of 43 deaf students, and the year concluded with no serious illnesses among the students or staff. They have received several gracious donations including books and shelving for the books. These resources are a wonderful gift and are diligently used by the children to help expand the education they receive at the school in Chad. As always, they are looking for more books to add to their growing library.

One of the deaf students, Aspal Reine, comes from a Catholic home. After hearing the Gospel, she decided to abandon her Catholic upbringing and give her life to Christ. Her parents are not at all happy about her decision, promising her that she will die and go to hell if she doesn’t abandon Christianity. They had also threatened to stop paying her tuition if she doesn’t stop attending the Christian church at the center. Praise God for His faithfulness! A charity group in the Netherlands has granted a scholarship for ten students, so Aspal is able to continue her education. Please continue praying for young Ms. Reine, that her parents will not only allow her to continue fellowshipping at the center, but that they too will give their lives to Christ.

Construction of the new school building is finally complete! The building was completed in three months and immediately put to use for tailoring classes, carpentry classes and a growing library. The students, staff and parents thank you for your faithfulness in supporting this project from start to finish.

The Lord has also blessed the believers in Chad with a very successful Bible Camp this past April. A total of 197 campers attended a four-day event focusing on The Rewards of the Faithful Believer (1 Cor 3:8-15). Camp goers were encouraged from the Word to continue in faithfulness, following Christ’s example and obtaining a heavenly reward.

Please continue praying for our leaders at the center in Chad, as spiritual challenges aren’t the only trails our fellow workers face. Director Yves Beosso’s wife, Agnes, suffered a stroke 3 years ago, and although she is improving a bit, she is very limited in her ability to walk and cook.

At Home
Here at home, we’re seeing our fair share of changes as well. Thank you for your continued prayer regarding Berta’s health after her stroke last year. Her mobility has improved to the point to where she can move about the house without a walker, albeit slowly. Her communication is still a challenge, and dealing with abstracts like financial reports is sometimes more than she can handle. At our last board meeting, she announced that the time has come for her to retire, and the board designated her son, Tim, as the interim director until such a time as the Lord appoints a permanent director for CMD. But if you know anything about Berta, you’ll know that ‘rest’ simply is not in her vocabulary. Although her pace has slowed considerably, she still stays busy keeping in contact with the various directors in Africa, and training her son on the ins and outs of running a multi-national mission for bringing the Gospel to the deaf. Lord willing, Tim and his wife will travel to the Congo during the month of September, so stay tuned!

John is recuperating from a benign thyroidectomy, but is otherwise doing well and staying busy.

Indeed, your continued prayers are coveted.

In Him,
Tim Foster