Memories of my Friend Tim Foster
Tim was a great friend and mentor. My last year of Bible College he saw some type of potential in me and invited me to help out in his Ministry at CLC; The College and Career Ministry. I was given the opportunity to preach and speak at their events. I remember on a couple of occasions a deep and profound moves of God that happened at his home and at church. Who could ever forget his Cowboy furniture!
Knowing that I had some experience as a Chef, he invited me to do the cooking at a Retreat where our relationship deepened and he introduced me to his twin Tom.
After I came back from a tour of Evangelizing I didn’t have a source of income, so he gave me a job at the At-Risk program that he worked at. He would come and pick me up at my house every morning at 6am; we would go to Morning Prayer and pray for an hour then leave for work. It was always cold outside but the car was warm due to the fellowship inside. He liked me because I grew up in Texas as a kid and we had that common bond.
He helped to facilitate a relationship with his twin brother Tom, which allowed me to work for a short time for Tom in Dallas. He was always challenging me to be better at whatever I did, ministry or education or love. Yes, love, because he really introduced me to my wife, because I met her while Tim was running the ministry that we both served in. He took some pride in that I believe.
Later when I returned to California, he again hired me to work at the program running a food program. This began a daily ritual that lasted about 5 years of him coming in to my work area, eating breakfast, we would talk (jack the jaw) for about an hour, subjects like God, the current state of the UPCI, favorite preachers, conservative politics, at the time Clinton was in office so we had plenty to talk about, football, other notable man talk. It was always rich and meaningful.
Because he controlled the budget and was my supervisor he allowed me the latitude to order sumptuous items to eat for lunch, we would order steaks, chicken, etc and have big lunches, with the same conversations etc. Again this went on for 5-6 years. Also once a month he would treat me to the best BQ at the Waterlool Club. He spoiled me, protected me and promoted me.
I was there when he lost his 16 yr. old son Shiloh, he showed how to endure loss, praising God all the way, it seemed that he was never the same, etc, but he kept getting back up when life threw him down. He was never really a supervisor, really a big older brother who always looked out for me. Yes, we argued and fought over trivial things, he was a type A leader and he liked to win. But he was my friend.
He encouraged me to get my Master’s Degree; he believed in education and was a teacher at heart. He made allowances for me to study during work hours and also allowed me to do my internship while working for him. He was a true promoter my welfare; he took interest in my life, my family and children. Oh, I almost forgot, for about 4 years, we played Softball on the same church team, I enjoyed the comradeship that it provided. Tim was very competitive.
I lost contact with him while I Pastored in another state, but when I returned, it was as if I never left. I was older now, we were peers, and he counseled with me, I think my advice took, because he married Deborah. He attended my church plant for a short time, I believe I helped him some, but he helped me more than I ever helped him.
I will miss my friend and fellow Texan. He died in the saddle and with his boots on, I can’t think of a more fitting way for a Cowboy to die.
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