Category: Update

Dear Friends,

With the new year comes the rain season in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The torrential rains have resulted in extensive damage to the office of our assistant director in Uvira, and destroyed our director’s home. Usually it’s the responsibility of the landlord to do repairs, but if the landlords don’t have money on hand, it could be a long time until their buildings are back in operation. Pray for a speedy resolution.

If all goes well, this year’s Congo Bible Camp will be held at the Ephphatha School for the Deaf in Goma (DR Congo). Some of the logistics will be handled by the school director and his assistant, so this will be a new experience for us. Pray that the planning will go well, that our visa applications will not run into any problems, and that our teaching on the Patriarchs will bear fruit.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director

As we wind up 2019, we pause to reflect on the many ways God has used us to bring grace and peace through the knowledge of Jesus Christ among the deaf in our schools and churches in Nigeria, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few of the highlights include:

• A successful Congo CMD Director’s conference in April
• Excellent participation at our Easter camps in Nigeria and Chad
• Growth at our Congo Bible Camp in Bujumbura (Burundi) in July
• Continued school construction in Ibadan (Nigeria) and N’Djamena (Chad)
• Solar electricity for our Congo schools in Uvira and Baraka
• Acquisition of land for new construction in Uvira (DR Congo)
• University education for 7 students in Chad and DR Congo

We’re looking forward to what God will do in 2020!

We’re having to change venues for our 2020 Congo Bible Camp. Local officials in Bujumbura (Burundi) are expecting violence in the streets due to the upcoming presidential elections, and as a preemptive measure, they are prohibiting any meetings of over 100 people. Pray with us that we’ll be able to have the camp meet in Goma (DR Congo). It’s proximity to many of the campers makes it an ideal second choice as we continue our 4-year study in the book of Genesis.

Lord willing, my next trip to the eastern Congo will take me to one of our remote schools in Baraka. Although it’s only 60 miles from our Uvira school, the road (path?) is only accessible by a 3-4 hour motorcycle ride. Pray for good weather and planning so that my time there will be fruitful.

Indeed, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

Praise God: With your financial support, our Uvira school is the latest of our schools to receive solar electricity.

Without the solar power, the staff has to make frequent trips to local charging stations and pay $.50 to $1 to recharge cell phones, laptops, etc. Director Shukuru reports that the new system has been a great blessing. Not only does it allow him to use his laptop and other low-voltage devices for extended periods of time, but they now have outdoor lighting at night to help with security. The electric grid in Braka is completely unreliable, and can be offline for weeks at a time. Thank you again for your financial participation with this project!

Pray for our Uvira director, Pililo Amani. His passport application is being delayed in Kinshasa, and it looks like he won’t be able to visit our Chad school till next year, hopefully before the summer vacation. We were hoping he would be there now, as we have other plans for him and his school during the spring.

Construction funds are still available for our school in Chad, so it’s good to see that work progressing. Pray that disruptions to the school schedules will be minimal as construction continues.

Truly, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

Director Yves Beosso traveled with his oldest daughter, Shalom, from their home in N’Djamena (Chad) to our school in Ibadan (Nigeria). The purpose of their trip was to bring Shalom to our school for English training so that she could prepare for college entrance exams. Their travels from Chad took them through Boko Haram territory in northeast Nigeria. Although they made the trip safely, both of them were struck with malaria prior to Yves returning to Chad. Pray for a speedy and complete recovery for them, and pray for Shalom as she adjusts to life in Nigeria and begins her studies in English. Pray also for Victor Ajayi, the campus chaplain at our school in Nigeria. He also had a bout with malaria in October, but his was so bad he had to be hospitalized.

In November, Pililo Amani, our director in Uvira (DR Congo), will travel to Yves’ school in Chad for a 2-week cross-training session. The two schools are structured somewhat differently, so it will be a good opportunity for both schools to learn from each other and share insights. Pray with us for safe flights and a rich time of sharing.

A few months ago, we moved our Bukavu (DR Congo) school closer to the city’s center with the objective of reaching more deaf pupils. So far, the enrollment hasn’t increased as dramatically as we had hoped. Please keep Director Nanza and his staff in your prayers as we continue pursuing the best course of action for the school.

Truly, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

Our schools in Nigeria, Chad and the Congo are off to a brisk start for the 2019-2020 year.

In Uvira (DR Congo), Director Pililo reports that their new solar electrical system is online and serving them well. They have finished purchasing new property for expansion, and we await plans on moving forward with new construction. Pray for wisdom in this undertaking.

Our school in Baraka, located a few hours south of Uvira, will begin their upgrade to solar in the next few weeks. Both schools are also looking to add office equipment (printers and photocopiers) in the near future. Currently all their copying and printing is done at nearby cyber cafes, so the addition of office equipment will save money with these expenses.

We’ve added staff in Baraka in order to provide secondary school classes for the latest primary school graduates. With the exception of Director Shukuru and a few of his staff members, there are almost no deaf people with a secondary school education in the entire Fizi province. The new classes are a great opportunity for the students, and are opening the hearts and minds of the people in Fizi province to see the great work that God is doing among the deaf.

Truly, your prayers are coveted.

In Him,
Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

Director Yves has been pretty busy the past month. He spent a week in Ghana as part of a sign-language training program. Then last week he was in Moundou (southern Chad) for an annual deaf leadership program to discuss various training programs for the deaf in Chad. All of this was taking place while construction of their new multi-purpose building was underway. We’re thankful that donations have helped moved the project along, but we’ll not be able to complete the 1st floor in time for the new school year. We wait on the Lord’s timing and provisions.

Our Uvira (DR Congo) school is about to go online with solar energy. The city’s electrical grid is expensive and unreliable, and many people in this region of the Congo either have no electricity, or are implementing solar. We’re looking forward to this advancement, as our school has not had electricity. After the Uvira school is online with electricity, our Baraka school will follow suit.

Pray with us as our Bukavu (DR Congo) school moves from the outskirts to the city to a location that is in town. The remote school was closer to Director Nanza’s home, but by relocating into town, we’ll have better access to more students and resources. Pray that the transition will be quick and that we’ll be able to get more students in the school.

Your prayers are coveted,

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

We’re so thankful for a great 2019 Congo Bible conference! We had about 125 people register in advance, but on the first day of the conference, over 150 people showed up. The participants came from 30 churches in the DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. We’re especially grateful to the facility Director Murishi Maurice and his assistant Ntungwanayo Noël for their hard work to accommodate all the last minute influx of registrants. We were especially pleased to see a larger number of church leaders from Burundi attending this year. It was a great time of teaching and fellowship. The Christ-focused teaching of “Abraham: Father of the Promise” was well received, and the Q&A sessions highlighted the hunger for more Christ-focused doctrine derived from the life of the patriarchs. I’m looking forward to next year as we continue through Genesis, teaching on the life of Isaac and Jacob.

Pray with us for two important construction projects we have going on right now. In N’Djamena (Chad), we’re building a new two-story classroom. We don’t have all the funds on hand for the project, and hope to complete at least the first story before school starts in a few weeks.

In Uvira (Democratic Republic of Congo), one of our local school supporters has given us an opportunity to buy a parcel of land for $1,000. The land is valued at almost $5,000, so we’ve jumped on the offer and hope to complete the sale in a few weeks. Lord willing, we’ll begin construction on a 8-room school building later this fall. The initial estimates for building the new school are projected to be slightly under $20,000, and the new facility will be a welcome relief to the cramped space we’re working in now. Pray for provision, wisdom and guidance as we complete the land purchase and begin construction.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

As the school year draws to a close, we have two schools going through construction improvements. In N’Djamena (Chad), construction of the new multi-purpose building is on pause as we await further funding. The completed building will serve as a chapel hall and several classrooms. In the city of Baraka (DR Congo), our rented facility is overdue for some basic upkeep. We expect the concrete work and storm damage to the perimeter fence to be finished by the end of July.

If the Lord wills, two of our schools (Uvira and Baraka) will have electricity for the first time by the end of the summer. As we add more laptops and office equipment, the need for electricity increases dramatically. However electricity is highly unreliable in both cities: The entire city of Baraka has been without electricity since May due to equipment failure at the power station. The most reliable option is small-scale solar. With your help, we expect to have both schools online soon.

We’re in the final weeks of preparation for our annual Congo Bible Camp, July 22-26. The theme of the week will be “Abraham: Father of the Promise”, and we’ll be using the life and promises of Abraham to draw out Christ-focused truths in Romans 4, Galatians and Hebrews.

Your prayers are coveted.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends

The spring storms have brought a end to our chapel building in N’Djamena, Chad. Director Yves Beosso reports that the building is too unstable, and needs to be demolished and rebuilt. Their initial funds for construction came from a grant from deaf Nigerians living in America, but much more work remains to be done.

In the mean time, we’ve put in for a grant to get a pickup truck for this school. If this grant goes through, the vehicle will be a great benefit for transporting goods and people. Currently, our staff in N’Djamena only have motorcycles, so pray with us for this special need.

Our Congo Bible Camp in July will feature two teachers who haven’t taught at our camp before. They’re Congolese, and our style and manner of teaching will be a bit of a stretch for them. Most of Congolese church teaching focuses on stories and moral practical application, whereas our study in the life of Abraham will bring attention to God’s plan of redemptive history, with special focus on covenant promises through Abraham to Christ and the Church, and the connections to Romans 4, Galatians 3 and 4 and Hebrews 7. This material will be new for the attendees, and will be a special growth opportunity for the new teachers. Pray for wisdom, guidance and humility as we face these challenges next month.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director

Dear Friends,

The deaf churches in Chad had their annual Easter camp in Koumra at a spacious Baptist mission, with about 120 deaf travelers and 60 hearing local villagers. As it turns out, the Baptist church was the same site that my father, Dr. Andrew Foster, stayed at when he first visited the area in 1976. He traveled to the area to meet the late Dr. Simeon, and to enquire about a deaf child that was in the care of the Baptist mission. That deaf child was Alladoum Etienne, and would eventually become a teacher and elder at our school in N’Djamena, and retire in 2016. The same Baptist church was also a source for several other deaf young men who would become leaders in the CMD schools in Nigeria and Chad. The rich history of God’s faithfulness to the deaf through the Koumra Baptist Mission added a wonderful element to the worship and fellowship of the campers.

Director Shukuru Heritier successfully coordinated a teacher’s conference for the CMD schools of the Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of our directors and teachers in the region were able to attend and participate in training sessions to help advance deaf education. We’re optimistic that this teacher’s conference will be an annual event, and hoping to be able to include our Likasi school next year. Distance is a challenge for our Likasi school, but we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to include them next year.

Plans are underway for our Congo Bible Camp, to be held in Bujumbura (Burundi). At this time, the dates conflict with a different camp for the deaf in Texas, so we will probably not be able to have assistance from the deaf leaders at New Life Deaf Fellowship. Pray that this scheduling issue will be resolved, as the NLDF team is a great asset. If they’re not able to make it, they will be sorely missed.

In Him,

Tim Foster
Director
Christian Mission for the Deaf