Here are some pictures that I promised you. These were taken at Palo Duro Canyon, Texas. I am sorry they are so late!!

As you can see from the title, that I tried something that I NEVER thought would happen...mostly because of my age. I will start over by saying that I have started taking the young 'uns ice skating this last week. 1) It will help burn off some of their energy. 2) It keeps them out of Alan's very short hair:) 3) It will get them out for a little bit. As they were skating last Friday, I just longed to be out there with them. But I just kept telling myself that there was no WAY I should get out there! There was just no time in our life for me to fall and break a hip!! But, still, I longed to be out there. As a child, I roller skated ALL THE TIME! I mean, it felt like summer 9 months out of the year, and there were sidewalks everywhere; I could basically skate anytime after school! But I was told, it was NOT the same. Well, it just so happened that the boys did not go this week, so Austin kindly lent me his skates, and I tried it!! I had a BLAST!! Bethany is still learning, and she is really cute to watch. She is such a sweetheart! She just kept giving me encouraging words. I really liked it when she yelled, "Yay, Mommy!! You're not using the wall!!" It was so nice skating alongside Emily, as we were able to talk for quite a while without any interruptions (except of course for my stumbling). She asked, "Do you think there are any skating arenas in Africa?" Hmmm... So I am off to Value Village at some point before Tuesday to find my own skates. Yay!! It was really good to be able to get some exercise while spending time with the kiddos. So the plan is to go every week until the arenas close for the season. One of the nice parts about it is that there is public skating time for 2 hours during the day twice a week, and 1 hour on another day! So that's like 5 hours of skating time a week!! Yeeeeehawwwww!! Another upside is that since they have these public skates in the middle of the day, it is not crowded! Can you tell that I am a bit excited about this??!!

Yay!!!! Calvary Baptist Church of Ashland Ohio has taken us on for support! We are so happy! While we were visiting this church, it was quite OBVIOUS that they are SERIOUS about missions! Thanks, Pastor Strachan and Calvary Baptist! We are pleased to be a part of your missions family!

Psalm 113:1,2

Love ya,

Ida

Hello, friends! Thanks for checking in with us. We appreciate your love and your prayers!

Our friends, the Rutherford family, moved to Trail, B.C. They have a daughter who is about 1 1/2 years older than Bethany, and they are REALLY great buddies. They even call each other. As much as we all miss this dear family, Bethany misses her friend like no body's business. I mean, we are going to visit them in July, and every day Bethany wishes July were here. Poor girl. Anyway, her friend called her one day, and I had the privilege of hearing one of the sweetest conversations ever. At first, they were quoting memorized Scripture to each other. Really, when was the last time you heard young children like that, reciting Scripture to one another??!! It was sweet. Then her friend must have asked her what her favourite place was that she has traveled to so far. Bethany said, "Well, it used to be Canada when you lived here, but now that you live in B.C., that's my favourite place." How funny is that??!!
Thought that might give you a good laugh today.:D
Psalm 113:1,2
Have a wonderful day!
Love ya,


Ida

It is good to have Brendin back from snow camp. I know that he had a wonderful time! He said that the preaching was really good, he's tired, and sore. AAAAHHHH!! The makings of a perfect weekend!

That's right. My family has informed me that I cannot be trusted to stand at our display table ALONE!:o) Ok. So at every meeting, it is prearranged if we are to have our display table set up. So far, it has been. We all have our own jobs to do, and then one of us (or any number of our family members) is to stand by the table and greet people. No problem. We all enjoy doing it. However, because Brendin and Alan set up the electronic equipment, and the other three kind of explore, make friends, and look for other missionary prayer cards, I am ususally the one to greet people at the table alone. Well, on our first week out, a little boy asked me questions about a snake-skin wallet on the table, and then he asked if he could have it. So I said, SURE!! I was talked to for that one. Then, this last Sunday, a lady walked by and asked if the elephant was for sale. It was such a nice elephant, too. It stood at about 6 inches high, and was a beautiful black colour with two white, removable tusks. It was Alan's favourite. But I didn't KNOW that until...later.:o( I smiled and kindly told her that I was sorry. The elephant was not for sale. A little while later, two men approached said table, and one asked me how much I would take for the elephant. I smiled and kindly told him that the elephant was not for sale. What a persistant man he was!!! He said, "Come on, when you go to Africa, you can have as many as you want!" And he was right. So I told him that I would not sell it to him, but if he really wanted it that badly, I would GIVE it to him. He refused that, put money ($50) in my hand. So, I tried to give him the money, but he would hear nothing of it. So, I justified in my mind that: 1) We are going to Africa in May--get lots of wallets and a few elephants and 2)That $50 can buy A LOT of wallets and elephants!

When Alan came to the table after visiting with some folks, he immediately noticed that, yes...the elephant was LONG GONE. So I explained to him the conversation between the gentlman and myself. That was when he told me that it was his favourite, and that while he was in Africa 3 years ago, he waited while the gentleman finished carving that sweet elephant, he watched as the artist painted it black with shoe polish, and he flew it back with him to present it to me...
The children all gave me a lecture, telling me that if I continue to give things away, we will have NOTHING left for the table. Then Austin went on to remind me that the rhino is HIS, and therefore cannot be give away by me, as did Brendin about the hippo! Yes, we can get more things in May, but that is still 2 1/2 months away! What is a woman to do??!!:o)
So we will see if I will be trusted to be left alone from now on, or if I have to be...watched!

On a more serious note, thanks for praying for little Esther Elliott. If you want to keep track of her yourselves, here is a website/blog that her dad is keeping up to date. Just some advice - have some tissue handy. www.danielelliottfamily.us

Have a great night!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love ya,

Ida
P.S. Brendin comes home tomorrow. YAAAAAAYYYYY!!!

Yay, my guys are back!! It's good to have them home again. I can't believe how much I missed them. Now, Brendin will be leaving for snow camp. He will be leaving tonight and returning Saturday. I am really glad he is going. He needs the fellowship with other Christians his age. Physically, he seems to be growing up soooooooooo fast!!

I forgot to tell everyone that we now have 3 churches supporting us. Isn't that exciting??!! As of now, we do not know how much a month we will need in support. We will find all of that out in June. That is when Alan and I travel down to Florida for our missions training. There, they will teach us how to factor in everything we will need on the field, so that we can come up with an amount for support. Does that make sense? Anyway, below is a list of sorts that will tell you where we will be in the next few months:

Feb. 7 - Beacon Baptist Church, Cambridge, On. a.m.
Feb. 14 - Brampton International Baptist Church, Brampton, On. a.m.
Mississauga International Baptist Church, Mississauga, On. p.m.
Feb. 21 - North Country Baptist Church, Orillia, On a.m.
Feb. 28 - Cornerstone Baptist Church, Oakville, On. a.m.
March 7 - Cornerstone Baptist Church, Newmarket, On. p.m.
March 14 - Lighthouse Baptist Church, Brantford, On. a.m.
March 14- Berean Baptist Church, Brantford, On p.m.
March 28 - Heritage Baptist Church Burlington, On a.m.
Harvester's Baptist Church, Delaware, On p.m.
April 2-4 - Beacon Baptist Church, Welland, On (Missions conference)
April 7-11 - Heritage Baptist Church, Barrie, On (Missions conference)
April 16-18 - Faith Baptist Church, Hamilton, On (Missions conference)
April 22-25 - Kitchener Baptist Church, Kitchener, On (Missions conference)
May 2 - Calvary Baptist Church, Plympton, Nova Scotia (All day)
May 5 - Heritage Baptist Church, Millford, Nova Scotia
May 16 - Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia p.m.
May 19-June 6 - Survey trip to TOGO, WEST AFRICA
June 6 - Bible Baptist Church, Toronto, Ontario a.m.
June 14-18 - Missions candidate training with BMFP

We do have a few more meetings after this, but I have taken up enough of your time. Please pray for these meetings. For those weekends that you see openings, could you please pray that we might be able to find some churches nearby that would allow us to come and share our burden? Thanks!

Have a great day!
Psalm 113:1,2

Love ya, Ida

Hi! Alan and Austin went down to Brunswick, Ohio. They left yesterday afternoon, and will arrive later tonight. I cannot believe how much I have missed them!! Things were a little quiet around here today without them. Yesterday (Monday), Emily and Brendin went ice skating at a friend's house. They had a wonderful time and skated for a little over an hour. That just didn't seem long enough for them=). Because it was pretty windy, Bethany and I went on a date. We had a terrific time, just the two of us. After we picked up the other two, we joined a lady from Faith Baptist for supper. She normally stays home, but that night she felt like going out. She called another lady from FBC to join us, and I am glad she did! We ended up going to a chinese restaurant. The food was excellent, and the fellowship even greater! We thank the Lord for our friends and family! Still, I cannot WAIT for Alan and Austin's return!!

Have a great night!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love ya,

Ida