On our way down to Texas, we usually stay with our pastor and his wife from the church that we attended while in Bible college. This time was no different. And while we were there on Wednesday, we learned some terrible news. Please fervently pray on behalf of Missionaries Daniel and Lydia Elliot. They are called to Mongolia, and have been there for the past 3 years, I think. Anyway, they have 4 children, and the oldest, 6 year old Esther has some sort of cancer in the liver and the lungs. There are tests still being done, and she was to be flown to Kansas City early Thursday morning for an operation. She is in so much pain, that her mom cannot even touch her to hold her and comfort her. Please just pray that the Lord would give them grace through this time. Lydia and the 2 girls arrived in Springfield on Wednesday, and Daniel and the 2 boys are to arrive in Springfield today. They will then be driven up to Kansas City to be with the rest of the family. I am sure they are all exhausted both emotionally and physically, but they serve the Lord Who loves them and knows exactly what they are going through. Please pass this request on to those who you know will pray for this dear family. The more people praying, the better. Thank you!

Psalm 113, 1,2

Love,

Ida

On Sunday night, after some powerful preaching from Bro. Jerry Burns of Kitchener Baptist Church (if you ever get an opportunity to hear his preaching, you will be blessed. He is obviously spirit-filled), the church had a fellowship including a farewell cake. That was really kind of them!! Pastor and Marlene Massecar came to church that night, and were a wonderful support for us. They had gone through the exact same thing just 11 years earlier on the very same weekend. So they knew EXACTLY how we were feeling. During the fellowship, we were able to get some pictures taken of all three pastors with their wives. That was really special. I will post one on here as soon as Brendin can get to it. He is my techy guy.

The following Tuesday, our family started on our journey down to Lubbock, Texas, to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I am excited to be here!! It took 3 days to get here, so we are a little tired, but very thankful for the safe journey. Thanks for praying for us!

Psalm 113:1,2

Have a wonderful day,

Love,

Ida

Wow!! What a mighty God we serve, and so loving, and holy, and perfect!!

Faith Baptist Church of Hamilton just celebrated 13 years, and Alan and our family just celebrated 15 years of service in the Hamilton area. I cannot believe how quickly those years have just flown by! Thanks for praying for us! This was to be our last weekend at our church as the pastor and his family. I had visions of sobbing like a BIG BABY!! Although it was an emotional week, the Lord gave GRACE. Abundant grace. The weekend started with a banquet on Saturday night. After the a delicious meal, there were testimonies where a few people got up and gave very sweet tributes to Alan and our Saviour. The whole night was a bit emotional, but we got through it. The church presented our children with gift cards to Wal-mart--that was so sweet!! I know that they will get behind Pastor and Mrs. Eagles and serve the Lord. I am confident that they will be used of the Lord in a great and mighty way! Thank you, Faith Baptist church for all of the love and support you have offered to our family in the last 15 years! We will greatly miss you, but we know that you're praying for us, as we are for you! We love you!

Psalm 113, 1:2

Have a wonderful day,

Love,

Ida

Please pray for our children today, as Alan is taking Abbie, our dog, to her new home. She has been with us for the last 2 1/2 years, and of course, she is part of the family. The boys and Bethany, especially are having the hardest time, Emily says, "She's just a dog!!". Heartless, I tell you!! We are trying to be moved out of the house and into the church by tomorrow...yeah, we'll see. It's coming...SLOWLY.

Also, if you could please pray for Pastor and Faith Eagles. This weekend will be their last at Bethel Baptist Church, and after having been a part of that family for the last 4 years, I know it will not be easy for them or the church. Many transitions are going on, but we know that the Lord is in it all. Humanly speaking, though, change isn't always easy. But God's grace is abundant, and His peace is great!

Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us! We love you!

Psalm 113:1,2

Have a wonderful day,

Ida

I had the privilege to speak at a ladies meeting for Bethel Baptist Church of Simcoe last Saturday, and did I ever have a grand time!! I really enjoyed the fellowship, and I don't know about the speaker, but the food was excellent!!!! It was held at the Greens at Renton, and it was so nice. Nicer than nice! It was just plain FANCY!! It was great to see some familiar faces and to meet new ones. Everyone was so kind. To top it all off my pastor's wife, Marlene, was there. I wasn't even expecting her to be there, but I am glad she was. I know that she and others were praying me through that time. Not that it was all that difficult, but I was extremely NERVOUS! Mrs. Bohman, my new to be pastor's wife, had asked me to give my testimony about becoming missionaries to West Africa. As these past few months have been emotional for me, I really expected to be severely emotional during the speaking time. But, thankfully, the Lord kept me from "coming apart". Back to Marlene. I have really been wanting to blog about her too, as she has been such a great influence and godly example to me since I have known her. But she is so modest and humble, I wasn't sure she would like for me to write about her. I can just see her now, putting her head back, waving her hand out, and saying, "OHHHH"! But then, maybe she doesn't even know about this blog and doesn't read it. So I am going to take a chance:).

Marlene and her family welcomed Alan and me into the church and their home as if we were already family. They encouraged us, taught us by their godly example, showed us the love of Christ, and had great faith in a time when it would have been so easy to throw in the towel. She possesses that quiet, godly strength that comes with being a Wiedrick. She will never know just how much she helped me. Never, did she take me aside and say, "You're doing something wrong". Nor did she ever reprimand me for anything. And I KNOW I made many mistakes, and she would have been justified in doing so. Many times. But that was not her way. She led by example. She looked to the Lord for guidance, and served alongside her husband, as she continues to do to this very day. We have had many laughs together, shared many tears, and prayed many prayers together. Together, we went through many fantastic times, and one or two VERY DIFFICULT times. Marlene was the same no matter what situation arose. I did see her get riled up a couple of times, but that was only when her family was attacked and mistreated. I am a much better person, wife, and mother for having had her as an example. I know that she would not want to be praised. But she is a Proverbs 31 woman. She certainly points people to Christ. When her husband resigned as our pastor 11 years ago, I was really upset because we really loved them and couldn't see anyone else as our pastor's family. And then, when he recommended that the church hire Alan, I was even more upset. I knew that Alan would be great as a pastor, but I KNEW I couldn't fill those shoes. Thankfully, the church didn't expect me to be Marlene. I am so glad for a loving Father Who takes us with all of our imperfections and works His will, using what little we have to offer. I am thankful for people like Marlene who just want to serve the Lord, no matter where God has placed them. I think that everyone needs a Marlene as a friend. She will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Thanks for reading, and thanks especially, for praying for us!! Praise the Lord for ALL HE HAS DONE!!

Psalm 113:1,2

Have a wonderful day,

Love,

Ida

Austin is the last of our four children that I have blogged about. I don't know why it took me this long. But I would like to thank the Lord for him. Austin is truly amazing. He enjoys making people laugh. When he was little, we would say, "Austin, entertain us!" And he would just crack off all sorts of jokes, and just do his best to make us laugh. He usually succeeded!! Another really cute thing happened when he was about 3 or 4. He was running down the hallway, and I said, "Wow, Austin, you could be in the Olympics!" So after explaining to him about the said Olympics, he decided he wanted to be a part of it. So he trained for it. I would have to count for him, and then he would kick up his little leg and just tear off down the hallway! That lasted for a couple of weeks, and then he just up and decided he couldn't handle the demanding schedule!! But to this day, he is a bit of an athlete.

Lately, he is very sensitive to things going on around him. One day as I was putting away the laundry, he asked me why it was that while everyone else was sitting down and relaxing, that I had to do the laundry and dishes. I just explained to him that these things just didn't get done by themselves, and just as he had responsibilities, so did I. He asked if I felt bad about having so much work to do, and I said no. I was happy to have a family to do these things for. So he said, "Thanks, Mom, for all the work you do for us and for taking care of us! I really love you!"

Now, since we have gone to other churches, he loves to collect other missionaries' prayer cards. I said, "Austin, you shouldn't take those prayer cards, they are for the church people here. What are you even going to do with all of those cards, anyway?!" His response was, "Pray for them." O.K. what do you say to that??!!

For family devotions, we pick a missionary of the week to focus on praying for from the prayer cards that we have recieved over the years, and now we have MANY more to choose from!!

I am really blessed, and can see spiritual growth in him, and I know that the Lord will use his abundant energy for God's glory.

Psalm 113:1,2

Have a wonderful day!

Love,

Ida