Prayer & Praise

Pray that the DMI workers see God working in their daily lives
Give thanks for the volunteers who are working in Uganda
Pray for the needs of Les & Annette Russell as they settle into life in a new land
Pray for the finances of DMI worldwide
Praise God for His daily blessings, encouragement and faithfulness

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This is our first greeting and letter for 2009 and what a start to the New Year it has been. The world is in turmoil and our economies are going haywire. The Australian dollar has lost a huge amount of its value and the prevailing fear has engulfed many. As a result, giving has dropped and with it we face reduced support being sent to the fields. This has caused, and is causing, a great deal of difficulty to our workers and ministry as they face cuts in salary and project support by as much as 50%. However God hasn’t told us to quit just because the economy is bad and we are going through the toughest testing of our finances ever. Our call remains the same, the needs of the deaf remain the same, so with the help of God we press on.

Myanmar

We are about to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Church in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). I was supposed to be there but cancelled out due to financial restraints at this time. It seems that it was the right thing to do as the plane we were booked on to visit the school in Kalay, crashed!! If you receive this newsletter in colour, you will see the new, brightly painted church building. They had been waiting until the end of the rainy season to repair the building and repaint after the Typhoon Nargis damage.

Pa Lian has now gone to the school because our principal has had to resign, due to ill health, and return to Yangon. Please pray for Nawl Oak - he has kidney and liver problems.

Kenya

The Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf is bursting at the seams. We need 53 60 new sponsors for the school immediately. Michael Gantt, a pastor from the US has visited the school many times and has taken up their cause. Have a look at his web page for more photos and sponsorship information. He has done a great job with it: www.immanuelhope.com The page is geared for the US scene but if you would like to sponsor one of the kids on the site call us on 03 5940 5431 or e-mail us at: info@deafmin.org

Uganda

Joyful hearts singing in the old church.

It is not all gloom and doom as some wonderful things have happened. A large gift came in last year to enable us to get the building preparations started in Uganda. As I write there are volunteers from Australia in Uganda and we hope soon to start on the Bible School foundations. Wes Syverson (left) from Techserve in Arkansas, is packing a container to ship the prefabricated building parts to Uganda and a volunteer team to assemble it is being recruited to arrive in April at the same time as the shipment reaches Uganda. Well that is the plan anyway. We are probably needing another $100,000 or so to finish everything off so an opportunity exists for your help.

Les and Annette Russell from Berwick Church of Christ in Melbourne, have just arrived in Uganda, not to construct a building but, to teach for 4 months in the Bible School. Les is a graduate of the Bible College of Victoria and hopes to put his teaching gifts to practice by teaching and encouraging the deaf who attend the Bible School originating from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Annette will be serving wherever asked to do so but, will have a special ministry of encouragement and support to young families and students. Please pray for them as they adjust to life in Uganda.

We are available throughout the year for speaking engagements weekends or through the week. Give us a call on (03) 5940 5431 if you would like us to share with your group or fellowship. Cape York to Perth and any where in between is fine. No where is too far.

God Bless, Neville & Lill