Dear Fellow Laborers-

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”

Happy new year! What a blessing it is to be given another year to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen many mighty things that the Lord has done in the past year. We are looking forward with anticipation to what He would do this year as well. We are now seven months away from returning to the States for furlough, which puts our arrival mid-July.

Praises

1. The Deaf Men’s Leadership Conference was a great blessing. Two men from Cape Town traveled with evangelist Simphiwe 15 hours to arrive. He had been praying for them to be saved at the conference. He asked me to explain salvation to them, and they acknowledged they needed Jesus Christ for salvation. Praise the Lord! I believe all the men in attendance were stirred with a challenge about being men of God in their personal, home, church and world life.

2. The next day two men who visited our Deaf church were led to the Lord by leaders in our church. It is great to see them put into practice the things they have been taught!

3. On December 12 we had our first wedding! Isaac and Busisiswe Maarlake were wed by Pastor Chris Radebaugh. They rejected the tradition of labola, (the purchasing of the bride) as Busisiswe said “I am not selling my body.” This cause family strife, but praise the Lord they stood for Christ and are happily married. They recently went on holiday, and Isaac led two Deaf and one hearing man to the Lord! Please pray for them as they continue to grow in Christ.

4. My wife led two women to the Lord recently who visited our church. One is from Durban, and the other had been attending for about one year. Praise God!

5. Two men have gotten rid of their earrings since being saved. This is with no prompting from me. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit, and we are thankful to see it!

Prayer Requests

1. World Mission Conference in February.

2. Deaf Mean’s Leadership Conference in February.

3. Women’s Fellowship Meeting in February.

4. Deaf Camp March 29-April 2

5. Possible mission trip to Zimbabwe in April.

6. Preparations for furlough to go smoothly. Lots to do!

7. That we would stick to our goals this year: discipleship, Bible college teaching, making a strong foundation in our church of home and church stewardship.

I will be contacting supporting churches by email for scheduling once we’re home. If you’re interested, would you please contact me ? Please remember that I am Deaf and need my wife to interpret for me. She is homeschooling our three children, and it’s a lot of work for her, so your patience and understanding are appreciated.

Your Servants for Jesus’ Sake,

Jimmy and Julie Tsoukalas