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Don Foster visits with his former professor WIU Counseling Professor Emeritus Dr. Bea Wehrly, and her spouse, WIU Agriculture Professor Emeritus Dr. Jim Wehrly
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Foster's Ferme de le Papote

October 14, 2009

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MACOMB, IL -- When Don Foster earned his MS.Ed. in counseling from Western Illinois University in 1987, little did he know where it would take him.

Foster and his wife, Beatrice, live in northern France and own and operate the La Ferme de la Papote Bed & Breakfast (la-ferme-de-la-papote.com). Situated in the "heart of Flanders" between Hazebrouck and Merville, the farmhouse was built in 1791 and features four guestrooms, a community kitchen and farm. The bilingual hosts serve regional dishes, rent bicycles for tours of the surrounding area and direct guests to nearby attractions including several world war museums, functioning windmills, carnivals and traditional harvest festivals.

Amidst the beauty of the old farmhouse and natural environment, some significant humanitarian work is also taking place: Don and Beatrice are missionaries, and the bed and breakfast business helps fund the other work they do. The two first established a social work association in France in 1998 to house unwed mothers and adolescent victims of incest. After 10 years, the Fosters partnered with a religious mission at the Ferme de la Papote to reunite families separated by the judicial system.

"We are non-denominational," explains Don. "We believe that church is a caring place where people can find help and answers to their problems."

Don and Beatrice are true missionaries; they believe that to give a message, one has to live it. "We show our Christianity by being involved in personal needs," he added.

Foster's inclination to social work is not so surprising. His father, Homer, graduated with an MS.Ed. in counseling from Western in 1962 and spent many years as a counselor at Parkland Community College. His sister, Dee, earned an education degree in 1986, and his aunt Harriet Foster, a 1955 graduate, also served in the College of Business and Technology.

"The counselor education program prepared me well for what I am doing," he said. "At the time, the program was just getting into Systems Counseling, and that helped us in setting up the social work program here in France. Also, the multicultural training I received helped very much as we have worked and lived with people from all parts of Europe and northern Africa in our social work.

"What I like about France is that everyone is treated with respect," Foster added. "In a roomful of people, each person is addressed individually. I love the people here in our rural region, and I was confident upon arriving it was the place for me to implement the training I received at Western."

Copy by Julie Murphy, Director, Foundation Communications/Donor Stewardship

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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