End-ginnings

The last two weeks of January were filled with good-bye's and more packing and selling.  Although we were only in Paraguay for 13 months, we made such wonderful friends and it was an emotional departure for all of us.  Below are some of the "lasts" we captured on camera:

Last day of swim class - with all 4 teachers!  

Isaiah and Landon with one of their best buddies, Paul (they swam until after 10PM this last night together!)

Our last dinner with Paul's family - mom Achu was a great support for me

Last birthday party with other best buddies, Elias and Thiago (special church friends)

Last day in their room!

 Our final days were filled with fun (in the SUN and HEAT!) and special surprises from our church family.  The night that we left, a group of church members stayed until 10:30 to help us carry our luggage out then sang us a song about friendship in the Lord never ending.  We were so blessed to be able to spend this last year with such a special group of people!

After nearly 24 hours of travel, we finally made it back to the Northwest and are enjoying time with family (although we're not too keen on the COLD!)  Isaiah and Landon are excited to be near grandparents again and have had fun doing Christmas things in February :)

The yearly gingerbread house at Mimi's

We have been overwhelmed by the love and support shown to our family as we begin this transition from ministry in South America to ministry in the States.  Although we are back, we are far from "settled" :)  We plan to make visits to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho through mid-March then perhaps settle in the Portland area until we find a church to pastor.  God is so faithful and we are continuing to learn to trust Him for our DAILY needs (not necessarily always looking ahead to the FUTURE).  I have no doubt that He has a perfect place for us, my challenge is just waiting for His timing :)  One day at a time!

So, as we close one chapter of our lives, we are excited about the new chapter and learning to live in the "in-between".  Much, much love and many thanks to each of you who has partnered with us on this journey.  May the Lord bless you and keep you always!!

Ryan, Sarah, Isaiah, and Landon

"Stuff" and Blessings

Two weeks from tonight, we will head to the airport and prepare for our flight to the States.  When we arrived in Paraguay, after 36 HOURS of travel, I joked that I never wanted to leave until we left for good!  It looks like my wish has been granted, although much sooner than I was expecting and much sadder in the reality of yet another round of good-bye's.  

As we work to get things ready for our return to the States, I have come across some "stuff" that we have carried with us over the last 5 1/2 years of moving - through Buenos Aires, Arequipa, Pucallpa, and now Asuncion.  Although not much to look at, these items have signified "home" to us during our travels.  Inspirational words on plaques, kitchen items, baby blankets (remember, the boys were not yet quite 1 and 3 when left), books, and toys.  

  

My "stuff"

Kids' "stuff"

 So often, I feel like we get caught up in counting our "stuff" as blessings.  Sometimes the blessings from God come in the absence of "things".  Sometimes we have to experience loss, to experience true gain in Christ.  Once again, I am reminded that this world is not our forever home.  We are only passing through and whatever we accumulate here will not transfer over when we finally reach our reward with God.  What WILL transfer over are the lives we touch and change, the people we teach about God and His love, and the way we choose to follow obediently wherever Christ leads us.  THOSE are the blessings we need to focus on :)

So, as we've been packing up and saying good-bye, we've also been making special lasting memories.  Below are some fun pics of the boys.

New Year's Eve with fireworks!!

Captain Isaiah - arg, matie!

Packing fun :)

We are excited to be returning but, as always, transition is difficult.  Please pray for Isaiah and Landon as they say good-bye to their friends, their puppy (THAT was a hard one - lots of tears!), their kittens, and their home.  These little guys are so precious and so resilient.  God has a plan for them and we can't wait to see what it is - but it's still  hard :)  Thank you so much for your prayers - we appreciate each of you!!

End of School, More Pets and Big Decisions

School's out for summer vacation - woo-hoo!!!!  Isaiah and Landon successfully completed another year of school in South America.  This has by far been our best year and we are so grateful for the teachers who lovingly guided the boys through their first year of bi-lingual learning (first time to "do school" in English!)  Landon's class celebrated with a jungle theme and he sang a cute song about being an elephant.

18 kiddos in this class - and only 5 girls!!!  It was a wild, but fun year :)

Isaiah's class also performed a song and dance (unfortunately we only have video of that, no pictures).  Isaiah received an award for Best Student in the English program :) AND Most Obedient in his class!

About a week before school got out, some friends found a box of puppies on the side of the road.  Ryan LOVES puppies so we just had to adopt one :)  She looks like a little bear so her name is Osa ("bear" in Spanish)  She has already brought us so much joy!

She just wants to sit with her boy!

 THEN, on December 1, our cat gave birth to 3 kittens :)  Whew, do we have a full house now!  The boys named them Max, Messi, and Serena.  They already have owners eagerly awaiting them but it's fun to watch them change and grow during these long summer days.

 The boys started swimming lessons in December.  This has been a great way to help fill our days and they are enjoying learning to swim and dive!

Landon's first dive into the "deepness" (as he calls it!)

 We are fully enjoying our first month of summer, but with the blessings have also come some unexpected difficulties.  Shortly after my last blog post in November, we had to send home 4 of our 4040s.  That left our team with only 3 4040s to complete the project.  The original end date for the project was June 30, 2013.  After much prayer, the director of Extreme Nazarene Ministries together with the head of the South American region, decided to close the project early and send 2 of our 4040s to Peru to complete their contract there.  The 3rd 4040 is Paraguayan and will be staying in Fernando de la Mora and continuing to work with the church.
SO, with all the 4040s gone, there is no longer a need for two cluster support families.  The Williams (who have been working alongside us since May) will be returning to the States to raise more money as they plan to head to Ecuador in June and support another team of 4040s.
As for us, after 5 1/2 years of working with Extreme Nazarene Ministries in South America, God seems to be calling us back to our home country.  We have learned so much and been blessed beyond belief.  God has shown Himself to us in so many ways and each one of you, our supporters in prayer and finances, has faithfully followed His leading.  We are so grateful for you!!
We had previously made an agreement with the Vargas' to help pastor the church while they were on deputation so we will remain in Paraguay until January 30 at which point we will return to the States and begin the process of applying for a pastorate.
We have been so blessed by your prayers, support, and encouragement throughout the years and we would ask that you continue to join us in prayer as we transition yet again.  This may be the most difficult move for our dear little "South American" boys.
We will be sure to keep you posted as we have more details of where we'll be and what we'll be doing.  If you have any questions, please feel free to write me personally: Sarah Foster
Once again, thank you so much and may the blessings of Christ fill each of your lives this CHRISTmas!!!

Children's Communion and Baptisms

After months of planning and preparation, everything came together to celebrate a special children's communion and baptism this past Sunday.  It was wonderful to see the church come together to support our youth!  Our outdoor "sanctuary" was set up for a breakfast and people were able to eat before the service started.  We had many new visitors (friends and family of the children who were participating) and hopefully seeds have been planted in several lives as a result of this day!

Everything set up and ready to go - tables for breakfast, a pool for the baptisms, and a special, smaller table in front for the children

Enjoying the praise music and watermelon!

 After Pastor Felix gave a short devotional, he invited all the children to receive communion.  The Sunday before, myself and another Sunday School teacher had shared with the children a lesson in what communion is and what it means.  Pastor Felix had Ryan come forward also to help the children visualize the First Communion - Ryan played the part of Jesus :)

 After communion, Scripture was read and a new Christian gave her testimony.  Then it was time for the baptisms.  Thirteen youth and children were baptized!!  Ryan was able to baptize Isaiah and Landon.

Landon affirming that Jesus is his Lord and Savior

Isaiah was so excited!  He has wanted to be baptized for about a year.  He loves his God!!

Isaiah invited his best friend, Paul, and his soccer coach.
Both of them were there to support him in this big decision.

I was thrilled to see the church working together for this event and I was so happy with the response of the youth and children from our church.  However, by far, the biggest blessing for my mommy-heart was seeing our two boys make the decision to publicly affirm that they will follow Jesus.  As a missionary and Christian, I know that God will use me to touch many lives.  But the most important lives I can impact are the two He has given us to guide and grow in love with Him.  I pray that each of you will also experience the blessings of guiding those with whom you have been entrusted!!

Celebrate Youth

One of the the things we love about Paraguay is that they celebrate EVERYTHING :)  In addition to the traditional and cultural holidays of this small country, they often have festivals celebrating children and youth.  On Friday, we celebrated the first day of Spring and Youth day.  The church took this opportunity to have a fun afternoon planned for the youth of our neighborhood on Saturday.  

The children in these pictures pretty much spend all their free time on the church grounds.  They begin showing up at about 11:00 on weekdays and a little earlier on weekends and holidays.  They play soccer, hang out, and tell jokes (it reminds me a little of that fun movie, The Sandlot).  Although we know these children, we know very few of their parents.  I'm sure many of them come from difficult home situations.  Please pray that these lives will be touched by the work of the 4040s and the local church.

Forming teams

The "drummer"

Egg race - Isaiah against Landon!

Team leader, Fernando, encouraging the littlest member

Egg-cellent!!!

Fabian, Mihael, and Isaiah waiting.....

Enzo dragging Isaiah - poor bum!

The final relay of the day....

....Mission Accomplished!!

August

We have had such a blessed August!  It started out with another short-term project.  We had 29 volunteers from the States, plus 2 Peruvians and a couple of long-term Extreme staff on hand and MUCH was accomplished.  As before, I was mostly inside at the computer with the "books", so I didn't get any pictures of the events.  However, you can see all the best pictures here.  I did get a picture of all the new contacts the 4040 team was able to follow up with.  Several people have started coming to church and a couple of new house groups have been started.  Praise the Lord!

 The last weekend of the short-term project, we had the privilege of hosting several leaders of the world-wide Nazarene church.  Christian Sarmiento (Director of the South American Region) and his wife, Margit; David Graves (General Superintendent) and his wife, Sharon; Marty Hoskins (Mobilization Coordinator); Verne Ward (Director of Global Missions) and his wife, Natalie; Doug Carter (Elder and Founder of RMTM Industries); Carlos Fernandez (Leadership Development in South America); and CB Glidden (Pastor of Fort Worth First Church of the Nazarene in Texas) were all on hand to provide encouragement to the church and missionaries.  The men also participated in a leadership conference for Paraguayan church leaders.
Below are several pictures of that weekend.

So, THANK YOU for your prayers!!!  As a team, we have experienced the much-needed refreshment of our spirits and encouragement in our work and are ready to claim the victory for Christ in Fernando de la Mora!!

Also in August we hosted the Officers of Extreme Nazarene Ministries.  It was fun to see old friends from Peru and the States (and receive GOODIES from the States, thanks Sydney!) 

The boys have had an exciting month also.  They started soccer school and are really enjoying being part of the organized sports world :)  

 

 They also celebrated a Folklore festival at school.  Isaiah's class won the best presentation as they all wore costumes and danced a traditional dance.  It was great!

As we head into Fall (for you) and Spring (for us), we are planning to take on more of a pastoral role in the church.  I have already been involved in Sunday School ministries, but I'm also starting to become more active in women's ministries and discipleship.  I have two ladies with whom I meet each week to study the Bible.  I am excited in the changes I've seen in these women!
Ryan will be preaching this Sunday and several other Sundays until December when he will be preaching full-time as the Vargas family spends the summer months in Colombia.  He will also be directing the leadership meetings in Felix's absence and will begin discipleship of a couple of men from the congregation.
God is moving and we are excited to be a part of His plan for Paraguay!  Keep us in your prayers, we know the enemy is not going to let this country go easily!  We appreciate you all :)

Building Update and Extended Vacation

The day after my last blog, the new church was complete enough to hold a service!  One of our local church leaders had been working with other church leaders in Fernando de la Mora and on Friday the 13th, an inter-denominational youth service was held under our new roof :)  It was exciting to see 10 churches and nearly 200 youth and families present and celebrating unity in Christ!

 As I mentioned in the last blog, the kiddos are on winter break right now.  It was supposed to be two weeks but last Thursday we found out that it had been extended another week.  We have been having fun playing games (with the world's smallest monopoly set!)

 and going new places like the zoo.  It was neat to see the animals (including the pregnant elephant below), but the most fun was definitely had at the gigantic trees we found in the park!  I know we're hard to see in this picture, but that just shows how massive this tree was :)

 It's been wonderful to experience God's amazing creations with our growing boys. (By the way, Isaiah hasn't grown THAT much, Landon is sitting on a small wall)

The last two weeks we had lots of homework to complete, but this week we're looking forward to some extra free time.  Isaiah is now 8 and Landon is rapidly approaching 6.  Next week we will also be welcoming a group of short-term volunteers from the States.  Three of our 4040 boys are currently in Cali Colombia experiencing the discipleship model we are using here first-hand.  We are looking forward to a boost in morale and energy with the return of the boys and the short-term team.  Please keep us in your prayers as we soldier on :)
Much love, the Fosters