Ryan Oyster

I realize that Ryan Oyster was not a familiar name to many of us at WBF. His dad, Jim, has been a friend of mine for quite some time and we have a number of people at WBF that are familiar with Jim and his wife Evelyn. Jim joins our Pastor's Prayer Group on Tuesday mornings (we have about a dozen Pastors that gather at the church at 8 AM for prayer and fellowship).

Ryan was a young man who knew the Lord from an early age. He had the typical struggles young folks go through in making their parent's faith their own. He struggled mightily with his faith, in particular, after joining the armed forces. He got married to a great girl and they have four wonderful children. Ryan was a good husband and a great father.

Sometime during his stint in the Mideast, Ryan was exposed to something that may have caused him to have cancer. During his treatment, Ryan and Jim spent a lot of time together. Jim listened while Ryan re-committed his life to the Lord and watched as a new passion for the Word of God and a renewed determination to see his family in a right relationship with the Lord rose up in Ryan.

About three months ago, while he was weak form the treatment, Ryan also contracted pneumonia, causing complications in his cancer treatment and placing him in critical care. He was recovering from all that and sent home 10 days ago but he was very week and had lost a lot of weight. No one is sure of what happened, but Ryan passed away in his sleep last Friday evening. The doctors assume that Ryan's heart was too weak to sustain him.

For all those parents who have seen their children stray from what they have been taught, mothers in particular. I want to share with you Jim's reflections on Ryan. I also want to encourage you with two of God's promises; "Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." and this one; "Isaiah 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Here is Jim's tribute to his son and to his wife;

By Jim Oyster at the Funeral of Ryan Oyster

7/26/2007

My life with Ryan began on April 20, 1984 when I married Evelyn Anderson (that is Evelyn and her son). Ryan was 4 years old. He was full of life and in no small measure fulfilled God's promise to me of resurrection life as I knew the joy of his boundless energy as a child.

In years to come, Ryan will have much to say to the world because of his faith in Christ. Those words will be spoken through the love of his life, Rachel, and through their 4 children, Jacob, Garrett, Grace, and Gage.

But today, in a reversal of the way things should be, I would like to be the spokesman for my son, Ryan, and bring these words to you from the other side of the veil. Having come face to face with his Father in glory, I know that Ryan would want to have one last word for the wonderful mother that brought him into this world.

The words that I believe Ryan would speak are as follows.

"Mom, you are a very special lady. You helped me climb the stairs of life. Although there were times when I fell, you were always there to pick me up. But most importantly, you helped me find the stairway to heaven. To be honest with you, when it was my time to make the final climb, it was easy – in fact I flew like an eagle."

"You believed God's word that if you train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it. Perhaps it was because of the war, but for some reason the time for me to depart this earth came before anyone expected. I grew old at the age of 27, and I just want you to know that I have not departed from the faith that you imparted to me as a child growing up."

"I have to go now, but it is only for a season. Because of you, our whole family will be reunited one day, and all of us will be at rest in the perfect love that I am now experiencing."

"I love you, Mom."
Ryan