Remembering Wanda

Wanda Fost was an Aglow woman for almost 50 years! She helped build Aglow in Newfoundland, then became our National Prayer Coordinator. Soon she was so connected and influential in global intercessory circles that a special role was created for her on our National Team: Prayer Liaison, Prophetic Intercession and Networking. But who she was could never be captured in a role or title, so we’d like to tell you more about Wanda’s walk with Jesus here on earth.

Wanda was a born-and-bred Newfoundlander, which translated into hospitality and hilarity, relational warmth and depth. She represented Newfoundland so well that some of us can’t think of The Rock without thinking about her. She gave her heart to Jesus one Easter when she was 16. She had a calling to help people be restored, equipped, and empowered to reach their destiny. She began to walk in this calling in St. John’s, but Newfoundland was not big enough for her heart. She enlarged her reach to Northern Canada, co-founding Linking Hearts to develop support networks for people suffering from abuse, rape, suicide, and alcohol and drug addiction. She sought to see everyone as God saw them: every waiter in a restaurant, the nurses trying to find a vein in her arm to start an IV line, the prostitutes downtown – all were seen and received a blessing from Jesus through Wanda.

Wanda, faithful with little, was trusted with much. God sent her across Canada with Watchmen for the Nations to bring hope to His family and awaken the nation to pursue its destiny. Then, as a vital member of Watchmen’s leadership, she travelled the world from the Americas to Asia, Europe, and Africa, training and mentoring intercessors, networking prayer teams, and inspiring all with her overflowing joy-filled faith in God’s desire to be present with His people. Her heart was large enough to embrace every culture & people group.

All over the world, Wanda is lovingly known as Mama Wanda. Whether on a global stage or around her kitchen table, she was the same: each person Jesus brought to her was someone to love, hear, encourage and pray for. She never met a stranger. She was never negative. Her wisdom amid many difficult situations disarmed negativity. She will forever be remembered as a role model mother for all who knew her, and her legacy will continue to inspire generations to come. The way she lived her life has shown many of us how to choose joy, live with faith, and love Jesus and each other.

Try to find a photo of her without a smile. Wanda oozed joy and laughter. Her funniest stories were about herself. Do you remember the one about being given a hanky to cover her head in a nude Chinese spa? Or asking the nurses giving her a bed bath to tell her honestly if they thought she looked like Buddha? Once in an Aglow meeting she received the offering in a pair of blue jeans with the legs tied in knots, and another time she had us all dancing a jig to an old-fashioned Christian ditty. Just when we were splitting our sides with laughter, the soil of our hearts softened, she’d say or do something simple and profound that brought us deeper into the mystery of God.

Hundreds of people from around the world were praying for Wanda during the 2½ years her body was being invaded by cancer. But Wanda had had a vision of Peter walking to Jesus on the rough seas. Instead of sinking, he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus. She saw them embrace and begin dancing together on the waves. That’s what she did: she fixed her eyes on Jesus and danced with Him on the rough seas of illness. In that 2½ years, she ministered even more powerfully to those praying for her, to medical practitioners and fellow patients, and to the people who came daily to her home in St. John’s to visit – and to be uplifted themselves. With Jesus, she said, she might have a hard day, but she never had a bad day.

At her Celebration of Life, David Demian said about her that she had completed every assignment God had given her. He added, “Her promotion is a blessing for us,” and prayed that we would see Wanda’s heart and spirit multiplied to all of us.

Some reflections from folks who had the privilege of knowing and loving Wanda:

•  There was something about her that felt so much like Jesus —so full of joy, love, and genuine care for people. She saw the best in others and called it forth. When I spent a few days with her in March [2026], I watched people come and leave totally transformed, encouraged, and healed simply by being in her presence, and I was one of them.
• We will miss her wisdom, joy and laughter.
• Wanda was not a participant; she was the life of an event. When she arrived, it started.
• I never saw anyone else who could turn a painful life-threatening disease into a story of humour and hope.
• She drew people to herself with her wit, her charm and her genuine interest in people. Most of all she loved Jesus, and I am sure that in heaven she will meet everyone who has found salvation through her love and testimony.
•  She was truly the motherly thread that knit us all together, a source of joy, strength, and unwavering love in the midst of the sacrificial, laid-down life we have all been invited into. She embodied what it meant to be a lover of Jesus, pouring herself out with extraordinary mercy, generosity, and joy. Thank you, Mama, for loving us so well, for showing us Jesus, and for leaving an imprint on our hearts that eternity itself will not erase. You will be deeply missed, but your legacy of faith, love, joy, and surrender will continue to multiply and be carried by us all.
• When I really felt she was different was when we were in the baggage room at the airport. [I was pushing] her wheelchair in a crowded room full of impatient people. Someone was blocking our path, and she said in a soft voice to that person, “Excuse me, Angel.” Those 3 words coming out of her mouth immediately created a harmony amid the chaos in the baggage room and a peace that can’t be described in words. (From an Air Canada flight attendant she led to the Lord in 2025)
• Wanda was an exceptional person with a beautiful, deep heart that never seemed to waver in its ability to encourage everyone she met. How does one express the gift she carried? What comes to my heart are the gifts of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. That describes our beautiful Wanda, by far the richest woman I ever met.
• Without Wanda, the world has a big hole in it that cannot be filled.

Tyrone Wheeler, a spiritual son, wrote the following poem about Wanda. (Used with permission)

As I walked through your door, A smile would be sure. No matter the season, no matter the day, You welcomed me in and always asked me to stay. We would sit and talk for hours on end, Not only as mother and son, but as trusted friend. Stories were shared, laughter would rise, And each time we would meet, tears of joy filled my eyes.

Week after week, our conversations would flow, But there came those moments that only Heaven could know. We would pause in silence and quietly seek, And make room for the Spirit of God to speak. You prayed for me long before I understood, You saw something in me when others never could. You spoke life over seasons not yet in view,

And today I stand seeing those words come true. You loved me unconditionally, steady and kind, A spiritual mother with a rare heart to find. You celebrated every testimony I’d bring, Every story of ministry made your spirit sing.

There was never a dull moment when you were near, You carried such joy and made people feel dear. Your laughter was contagious, your faith burned bright, And somehow you made burdens feel suddenly light. You lived with purpose, but never with show, Simply loving Jesus and helping others grow. You carried wisdom with gentleness and grace, And left the fingerprints of God in every place.

Now my heart feels the weight of your leaving behind, And grief has a way of reminding the mind. But sorrow cannot erase what love has begun, Because what you planted still lives on. And as you danced your final jig, Heaven opened wide and welcomed you in. No longer by faith, but now face to face, The Lord became your partner in that eternal place.

So I will remember your smile. I will remember your prayers. I will remember your voice that called out purpose. I will remember the woman who believed before she saw. Momma Wanda, thank you for loving me, For praying over me, For speaking life into me, And for showing me what the heart of God can look like through a person. You may be absent from this side of eternity, But your love, your joy, and your faith Will remain written across my life forever