Dear Fellow Laborers,

Luke 5:1 “…the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God…”

We are happy to be able to report that our Deaf people truly have a desire to hear the Word of God. When the holidays came and the school we use for our church was closed, we were denied access to our room. No one could help us onto the school property. So, for two weeks we had church outside the gate in the very small parking area. The third week one of our Deaf people offered their home, so we had church there. Now we’ve worked out a system where we have access through a gate in the back of the school’s property, we bring chairs outside and sit under the covered parking area so we can keep an eye on the cars outside the gate. Not convenient, but worth it. Our Deaf people didn’t want to miss preaching, so we had to be creative!

We had a baptismal service and two of our Deaf followed the Lord in obedience. We also had six souls saved during the months of November/December. Praise the Lord that His Word continues to touch and transform lives!

Please continue to pray for our church in Katlehong, and our ministry to the children of the school. My wife will be starting a women’s Sunday School class this month, so pray for strength for her, as well as good attendance from the ladies in our church. There are so many issues they are ignorant of because of cultural differences, such as modesty and abstinence. Pray they would have receptive hearts as they learn.

Thank you to all of you who sent well wishes for a happy new year. Our Christmas was great and the New Year as well. We celebrated both occasions with a braai (BBQ) at the church in Chloorkop with Bro. Radebaugh. It was a blessing to have great fellowship around God’s Word together, as well as good food and fun.

Bible College classes start up in a week, so please be in prayer about the students who will attend, and for me and Bro. Chris as we teach. We have several young men who are thinking of surrendering to the ministry. Please pray they would have the boldness to follow the Lord even when there is tremendous pressure from their families to do otherwise.

As always, continue to pray for my parents’ salvation. Their health seems to be stable, and we talk with them on a weekly basis. God can do anything, and we are trusting Him to bring about their salvation, whether we are there with them or not. We serve a mighty God!

Thank you for your prayers and support throughout 2008. We are looking forward to all the opportunities God will bring before us in this New Year. May He richly bless you as you follow His will. 

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake,

Jimmy Tsoukalas

Missionary to the Deaf, South Africa