November 2010

Back Garden

Front Garden (and, there was more to come)

Three numbers for you for the month: 30, 2+, 21.

30: My beautiful bride turned 30 in November. Seems like just the other day that she was in her 20's. We celebrated with some friends over dinner at a nice little place called "The Dog and Duck." Only one of us, to my knowledge, had duck. I'm convinced that none of us, however, had dog. But, it was a good time. It was even more special because we had a nice visit from our dear friend, Miss Lynn.

2+: Feet of snow. And there is supposed to be more to come on Monday. Two words come to mind - the first is from the kids: "Yippie!!!" That's because school was closed down for most of the week. The other word? "Argggh." That one is from me. From Twin Peaks, CA, to the Austrian Alps, to snowy winters in Hungary, and back over the pond to New Jersey, I'm still not terribly thrilled with snow. Awfully pretty to look at; pretty awful for just about everything else. (Yes, I do know that many of you are saying "Ba-humbug" right now in my direction. I also know that many of you are saying that from fairly warm climates.)

21: Days until Christmas. We're still trusting that we'll actually be able to spend it here in England, but we'll see. Definitely trusting that the Lord has something in mind, it will just be fun to wait and see where geographically that might be. "No news is no news" has more or less been my reply to people's "queries" about the residency stuff. We haven't heard anything. The good news in all of this: God knows what He's doing. He knew what He had in mind all along. He'll let us know when He's good and ready to let us know.

And, that, ladies and gentlemen was the month of November.

Please do pray for us for God's wisdom and for His direction for us. We know He has something in mind; we just want to make sure that we're paying attention to His voice!

Lots of love and lot of appreciation for taking such good care of us!

Jeremy, Christi, and the kids

OCTOBER 2010

Check out all the badges!

If I'm not mistaken, this is right around the 70th to 75th newsletter that we've written in the last 6.452-or-so years. Not sure how that happened. Not sure how the kids have gotten so big, and how we've been living on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean long enough to write that many newsletters. Funny. In the meantime, here we are: October 2010.

So, what's been going on over here? Staying busy with life and ministry, adjusting to life in England, and wondering what the Lord has in mind for the future with us. The plan is still the same: help out here in Mansfield, and be on the proverbial lookout for a place to church-plant. Feel free to pray for all of that, and while you're at it, feel free to pray that we'll actually be able to live here to see those things happen. On Monday I will resend the paperwork for my residency card. Needless to say, we're at the Lord's mercy here. Part of all of this will most likely include Christi and I getting part time jobs to be able to continue to do what we're doing.

Lots of thanks for the prayers, support, and love. You are all greatly appreciated. There would be no further "church planting" types of conversations concerning us if we didn't have such great support.

Oh, and by the way... Christi turns 30 on November 24th!

Until next month!

Jeremy, Christi, and the kiddies

September 2010

About an hour ago, I dropped Leah off for a birthday party for one of her classmates. The birthday person in question - a boy. A 10 year old boy. Sigh. I thought the first day of school was rough... man.

Oh, right... the newsletter. Honestly, September was full, and as usual, it flew by. The kids are plugging away at school, gymnastics, basketball, and your basic garden variety kid stuff. Christi and I are staying busy with this, that, and the other at the church. One of the things that we're doing to help is to get some things organized with the coffee shop ministry. As we're helping out and getting settled into life here in Mansfield, we're also very conscious of the fact that we're here not just to assist, but also to church plant somewhere. Feel free to pray for us about that - direction, balance, God's heart/vision for where He'd have us, etc.

VISIT TO CHATSWORTH HOUSE

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Newsletters are funny things. I think that's because "missions" is a funny idea to most of us. In a lot of ways, what we do just happens to be geographic. In other words, we just happen to live in another country, on another continent. We pay our bills, but we do so in a different currency. We take the kids to school, but we drive on the other side of the street. We go to church, but we just happen to be foreigners. Missionaries are expected to "live by faith," but "living by faith" to some means that we shouldn't be like anyone else. I know other missionaries that have been criticized for driving a newer car. It seems like "luxury items" for missionaries could be anything as simple as a microwave or a vacuum cleaner. Something as glamourous as a new television is often looked down upon. For the life of me, I'm not sure why this is.

I once heard a pastor talking about missionaries and I appreciated his sentiment. He said something to the extent of, "Why do we place extra pressure on missionaries? As if living in a different country isn't faith enough." If I'm complaining, please forgive me. If I'm overly critical, pardon me.

As I said, we do the same things as everyone else, it is just tougher to get many of those things done. "So... I can't put my wife on my bank account, why?" "I have to have lived in the UK for three years in order to get a mobile (cell phone) contract with you?" Good times all around for sure.

At any rate, we do covet your prayers. One of the things in particular is wisdom for us in regards to work/finances. It seems that I will probably need to get a job so that we can continue to minister here. The downside of that is that means that there will be less time to do what we're here to do. Funny balancing act. Please also pray for us this month as we need to get my visa renewed. Shouldn't be an issue, but nothing is as simple as it should be. Feel free to pray for what I mentioned above - wisdom about where to & when to. We're here for a reason, and part of that is to share the living Word of God with a group of people that are hungry for more of Jesus and His Word.

Lots of love all around; more in 30 days or so!

Jeremy, Christi, Ian, Leah, Kara, and Mikayla

SUMMER 2010

It was May when you last heard from us, and cardboard boxes were scattered hither and yon around our house in Hungary. This time, cardboard boxes are more or less put away, and we're settling into our lives here in England. "What about June through August... you know, the summer - what happened with the Foster family?" That's a great question. I'm so glad you asked. It gives me opportunity to answer in a pictorial format. Also, the pictures are in no particular order. Enjoy. (By the way... you might have noticed a difference in the blog's appearance. I hope you enjoy the updates and the changes; feel free to have a look around the page - click, click away.)

Strolling at Huntington Beach Pier

Papa, Gigi, Granny, and Grandpa

Little Princesses at the Disneyland Castle

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game with Uncle Glen & Grandpa

We got to see Tiffany...

and Jeni...

And Beth, too!

And we were taken to Hawaii as well.

Kara's 7th birthday with the VanderBurgh clan!

Pretty girls at Granny & Grandpa's 40th Anniversary Celebration

Cross/Miller/Foster Family Mayhem

Ian reading at Grandpa & Granny's 40th Anniversary Celebration

All 15 of us Fosters in California (very first time we were all together)

Do not, I repeat, do not feed the squirrels.

Sea World with Charlotte, Trenton, and Auntie Jamey

Everyone was mesmerized by Dad's BBQ tales.

Spellbound I tell you, spellbound.

Good eats, Granny!

Whilst the rest of us were in San Clemente camping for July 4, Mikayla stayed home and helped Grandpa with the flag raising ceremony

Fishing on Grandpa and Granny's boat (Gettin' Ugly) - yes, that is Mikayla sleeping in the middle

And this is the lizard fish that Ian caught on this trip.

Did I mention Hawaii?

Leah & Kara helping with dinner!

Moving right along...

Snack time - taking a break from swimming

Hanging out with cousin Leila at Grandpa and Granny's house!

Obviously, it was a busy summer, but the amazing part was how God took such good care of us. Many, many thanks to everyone that spoiled us over the last few months and helped to get us through the summer (and then some!) - it is appreciated.

There were other items that could have gone in (serving at Creation Fest, visiting with Rachel & Co., seeing London with Russ, and having pizza with the Heard's for Leah's 9th birthday) and there were also many, many others who were able to visit with, but there just wasn't space for it all.

Lots of love, and we'll try to be a bit more prompt at the end of September.

Jeremy & Christi and the kids

May.Two.Thousand.Ten

So, May is all but wrapped up. Actually, in some parts of the world, it is already June. Funny. As for other things being wrapped up, our house has probably never had so many cardboard boxes in it before. Good times all around.

Always odd to me; closing out one chapter while gearing up for the next. Some books are printed that way - with the end of a chapter on a page with the ensuing one on the other side of that same piece of paper. You don't want the one to end, but you're anxious to see where the story will go next. Stuck on the same page knowing that a two-hour flight and about 1,000 miles to travel await you.


We're a blessed family. We've had such wonderful past six years with the ministry of Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe and the "baby-sister" ministry of A Vision for Life. Even our cardboard-box-lined house is a reminder of so many ways that God has been good to us. Coming back out to Europe in June 2004 didn't mean a "happily ever after" fairly tale (or, as the Hungarian people might put it: "they lived happily until they died"), but it did mean growth. Change is good. It isn't always fun ("good" does not always translate evenly with "fun"), but it is good. Simply put, growth cannot occur without change. Here we are, finding ourselves standing on the precipice of another change - another chance to grow. One chapter wrapping up, another just waiting to be read, lived, and worked through.

Thanks so much to our wonderful family over here in Vajta, and many thanks to loved ones around the world (literally) that have taken such good care of us by investing so much of yourselves into our lives. Please know that you are loved by us and appreciated more than a simple blog can communicate. Thanks for helping us grow.

Oh, and one more thing before I wrap this up: feel free to pray for us. Serving the Lord in England is rather exciting to be sure, but we'll equally be in need of prayer. We fly out on June 7th to be in Mansfield for a few weeks before we head west to the States for another few weeks. We'll be there to celebrate my parent's 40th anniversary; they'll be renewing their vows (insert "ahh!" here) and I'll be doing the ceremony (insert "gulp!" here).

Thanks again. We love you all. Feel free to pray. Fear not change; if you want growth, change is not optional.

Jeremy & Christi and the kids

March, April 2010

And, Spring has sprung. With it, warm air, flowers, and pretty much everything you'd expect with this time of year. (Note: if you're from California or anywhere else that only has 1.5 seasons, you can disregard those comments; just know that the change of season is appreciated over here.)

The last couple of months have been busy, but they've been good. Mikayla turned five in April, which is crazy to think about (four kids between the ages of five and ten). We've enjoyed a wonderful semester at the Bible College. Once again, I have to marvel at the group of young people that the Lord has brought to us to minister to. They're great. For their 10-day outreach time, they went to several cities in several different countries to share the gospel and to bless other churches. It is a joy to be a part of what God is doing out here.

I was supposed to go to England during the 10-day outreach time, but... throw in an Icelandian volcanic ash cloud, and let's just say that the trip resulted in a refund. God, as many of you are probably already aware of, has a great sense of humor. The main goal of the trip was to do some house-hunting. I couldn't go. He got us a house anyhow. He's just funny like that sometimes. So, while I was here, I took advantage of the extra couple of days and visited the British Embassy up in Budapest. Feel free to pray for my residency visa to process. I should know in the next week.

With our time winding down here in Vajta, I've appreciated watching the team here pick up the proverbial ball and run with it. I'm happy to leave my responsibilities in capable hands. I am also humbled by the fact that God can use anybody He wants; it's just fun to be along for the ride.

So, the semester will conclude on May 11th, and the Foster family will go into full-on packing mode. I've already started in the office and yeah, it's pretty much a weird thing to see a wall of empty bookshelves.

In the meantime, feel free to pray for...

* my visa to go through - favor with the consulate
* any provision we'll need for the move - there are always more things that come up in moving to a different country than you can expect
* a buyer for our van - the Lord has a new van lined up for us over in Mansfield already
* wisdom for a handful of decisions that we need to make for the time frame of May to August

And, we also really want to say thank you to all of you individuals and churches that have contributed in so many ways. You're a part of what we're doing (Philippians 4: 15-20) and you are appreciated.

Loads of blessing in Jesus,

Jeremy, Christi, and the kids

FEBRUARY 2010

February, 2010

Thanks much for the prayers this past month! Pastor Paul is doing great; his latest check up on his lung yielded a good report. Now, he just needs to rest up for a bit longer and then we'll be ready to take his abuse on the b-ball court again. Thanks also for the prayers for both this semester and our trip to England last week. As usual, your prayers are appreciated.

Mikayla the Tree Climber

Thanks also for praying for our trip to England. We just got back the other day, and it was a really nice great lovely time. We met a lot of wonderful folks and were able to see much of the ministry where we'll be in England. We were able to visit a school there, tour it, and also sign the children up for school in the fall term. It was really wonderful to visit such a healthy church and to see so much potential for further ministry in some of the surrounding towns. It seems that God has something great in mind; no doubt - He loves people and citizens of the UK are no exceptions.

Christi & I with Bryce & Bethany Heard

Back here in Vajta, things continue to roll along. We are about 30% through another great semester and we look forward to what else the Lord Jesus has in mind for these great students and for us as a staff.

Kara Muffin & Leah Pumpkin

Ian after earning his orange belt

So, please continue to pray for us and for our students as well. Provision is still towards the top of the list of things we need prayer for; the next two are already on the list, but come June, they'll be at the top: a house, and a car. We're hoping for another trip out to Mansfield in April and then we'll have a better idea about the actual move out there shortly thereafter.

Leah with her puppy, Daisy

Please note a small change to the blog: just over there to right... keep going... up... there you go. You found it. I added a link for Operation World with prayer points for the UK. Click away and... pray!

In the meantime, thanks again for the prayers and support - both are greatly appreciated!

Loads of blessing all around,

Jeremy & Christi

Can't forget about Lola!

January 2010

2010
Still odd to me to be typing "2010" for things. "Spring 2010," "Hope 2010 is a great year....," "God has great things planned for 2010," etc, etc. It still seems like the digits, 2,0,1,0 should always end with the words, "... A Space Odyssey." I mean, shouldn't we be planning a vacation to one of Jupiter's moons or something? Nope - I live in Europe and still spend about $7 a gallon on gas. But, I digress.

January in NJ, Cali, and back home to Hungary
We really did have a nice time visiting family and friends over the break. Much needed, to be certain, but equally certain: it was not quite long enough. Thanks so much to everyone that prayed for the Foster family (extended version) this past month. Gramma Wilma's memorial was really nice. She was such an amazing lady - I always loved talking about her, and... she was one of the people I loved to boast about. She is already missed but we are thrilled for her.

Back home in Vajta, I had about... one day off before things kicked in. Intern retreat/orientation, two conferences (back-to-back), and then student arrivals and orientation (the conference center/Bible College trifecta: conference comes, conferences goes, the next conference comes that day, it leaves, and new students arrive that same day). Basically, we've kept our laundry-service guy fairly busy the last couple of weeks.

Spring Semester 2010
For me, Apologetics and Church History are on my plate for classes to teach. Full load of information based studies which are requiring me to really hit the books. Teaching is always so humbling for me. I just don't know as much as I'd like to. My rows of books just seem to beckon to me, and heckle me all at the same time.

Christi is doing more of a "home school" format with teaching Leah and Kara and we're excited about that. She does a great job with them and they seem to really enjoy it. Thankfully we have an extra room in the house as well as a really big kitchen table that has been provided for us. Mikayla is doing great with her A-B-C's and 1-2-3's and she'll no doubt be ahead of the curve soon.

The Bible College semester officially gets underway tomorrow morning (February 1st... FEBRUARY - how did that happen?). Orientation was this past weekend and it was busier than usual. One of the pastors here, Paul Lange, suffered a collapsed lung on Thursday afternoon. If you know Paul, the following statement won't surprise you: he drove himself to the hospital. He actually had the same thing happen about 10 years ago but wasn't sure this time if that was what had happened. It was, and they rushed him into surgery after a test or two. Please continue to pray for him; he came out of surgery fine, but he'll most likely be in the hospital for another few days.

We've also "enjoyed" (insert sarcasm there at your own discretion) quite a bit of snow to get things started. (This is the part where I normally grumble something under my breath about annoying cold white stuff falling from the sky.) Ironically, I think I'm getting used to cold weather. It just plain doesn't bother me like it used to. I guess I'm getting old.

Speaking of Getting Old...
Ian is 10 years old today. 10. Ten. The big 1-0. Double digits. Three years from teenagehood and eight years removed from adulthood. He is already such an amazing young man and we love him so much. I could not imagine having a better son than our T-man.

And of course...
... for those of you who don't know, this semester in Vajta, Hungary will be our last one. We've enjoyed the ride but will be moving on to England to assist at Calvary Chapel Mansfield with Pastor Bryce Heard and his wife Bethany in late-June/early-July. There are a couple of churches just waiting to happen in the surrounding areas and so we are excited to see what else God has in mind in the region. Please pray for us! Really, please do pray for us. We have A LOT of decisions to make on a number of fronts and there are a lot of things to just generally sort through.

(If you'd like, you could read last month's post and get an extra detail or two. All previous posts are just below this one.)

Tons of blessings and lots of love,

Jeremy & Christi and the kids (one of which, as mentioned, is now 10 years old)

Way-Late, December 2009 Update

Our "Way-Late, December 2009 Update"
And I mean, way late. For all of you that have been chomping at the proverbial bit to find out how we're doing, my apologies. As you might have guessed, December (and the beginning of January as well), has been fairly non-stop. I'll try to recap and let you be on your way.

School's out!
As a student, that was always fun to say ("School's out!") - as a teacher at a school, it is appropriate to add a couple of extra exclamation points to that statement, and to add a little emphasis as well (i.e. "SCHOOL IS OUT!!!"). Having said that, we're truly blessed to have spent such a big chunk of our time with some amazing young people. I hope they learn as much from us as we learn from them. We finished up a wonderful semester at the Bible College in mid-December and said goodbye to some wonderful graduates.

Off to the States!
Always funny to say/write this, but... it is nice to visit the United States of America. We are having a wonderful time with Christi's family and are happy to have a bit more time with them before we head back home. Having said that... the East Coast (for those of you that live on the West Coast) is stinking freezing right now. We were greeted the day after we got in with two feet of snow. Two feet of snow, for those of you that have n'er picked up a snow shovel, isn't as much fun as you might think it would be.

As nice as it has been here however, two days before Christmas, my Gramma Wilma (my dad's mom) went home to be with Jesus. I flew out on the 3rd; the memorial was January 4th in California, and it really was a wonderful time of remembering a truly remarkable woman. To say that she had a hard life early on is an understatement, but she has an amazing family that loved her so much and she made such a huge impact on so many people. She truly will be missed. Thanks so much to all of that you were praying for us - please feel free to continue to do so!

While in New Jersey, we've also had a great time catching up with people and connecting with some of the wonderful saints that take care of us as missionaries. Thank you all so much for all that you do for us.

The Next Chapter for the Foster Family
As many of you have already heard, this next semester in Vajta, Hungary will be our last. As you might recall, around this time last year, we were pretty much saying the same thing. Well, as God was in the process of shutting that door last year in Ireland, He was preparing a new door for us to walk through this year.

We'll be moving to Mansfield, England to assist at Calvary Chapel Mansfield, and see what else the Lord has in store for us, and England, in the near future. Our belief is, simply put, that God wants to see more Bible-teaching churches established in that great land. We are honored, humbled, excited, and wide-eyed to this new adventure that our King has for us. It was a very difficult conclusion to reach - we love what we do at the Bible College - but we know it is the right one.

Prayer Requests?
Yes. We do have a few, thank you very much.
Health. Ian has been sick this past week (bummer of a Christmas vacation), but it seems like he is on the mend.
Next Semester. We really, really, really want to finish strong (the plan is to head to England in late-June/early-July), and we do not want to leave anything undone.
Provision. As you might imagine, living in England will be significantly more expensive than living on-campus in Eastern Europe. Please pray that God provides for our needs in one way or another. We believe that He will do so.
Bryce & Bethany Heard. Bryce is the pastor of CC Mansfield and is currently teaching the Bible to several other groups of believers in several other surrounding cities. Please pray for them and their four girls as they continue the work and wait for some help.
My Bride. Christi will continue to teach the kids this spring (Leah and Kara, specifically), but the schooling format will be much more of a home-school type of fashion. The demands on her time are obviously much greater, but she's very excited about it and absolutely loves teaching our amazing kids.


All in all, 2009 was a great year. God has done so much for us over the past almost 6 years that we have been blessed to serve Him in Europe. We look forward to 2010 and I know that for me, what God is placing on my heart is fairly simple: "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine" (1Timothy 4:16). We want to be good stewards of what He has set before us, and we want to bring honor to His holy name.

Thanks again - truly - for all of your prayers and support. It is all so greatly appreciated.

Until the next time,

All our love,

The Foster's
Jeremy & Christi, Ian, Leah, Kara, and Mikayla Ann