Monday, May 24, 2010
Africa Day 2 and 3
8:44 AM | 
Posted by
The Feere Family
Hi everyone, thanks for praying. On Saturday we travelled from Accra, Ghana to Lome, Togo (4 hours) and then from Lome, Togo to Cotonou, Benin (3.5 hours). This was a hard trip in é vans, one without any air conditioning. Both borders you have to walk across, checking ouit of one country and buy a visa for the next one. It made for a long, hot 10 hour day. Such is life in Africa. Sunday I preached in the Baptist church in Cotonou, Benin. There was a great spirit. The music and singing where phenomenal. Gotta go, french keyboard is slowing me down.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hello, From Ghana
Hello, praying friends! As you can see from the title, we have arrived here in Ghana. Wow! As I see the people and their trying make a living, it reminds me of just how blessed we are in North America. The people here are very kind. When we got off the plane, we went through customs very quickly and Pastor Bohmah was there to meet us. He had a team of young men to help us with our luggage. All of the luggage went in one van, and we got into another van. We were surrounded with men trying to take our bags from us so that they could put them in the vans for us. But the rule here is not to let anyone touch your bags if you don't think you can outrun them. Once the bags were put in the vehicle for us, they would not leave us alone because now we had to pay them. When they approached me with "A little something for the boys because they did work for you", I just sent them to Alan:) We are resting today, as tomorrow we will be traveling to Benin. Apparently, it will take the whole day to get there. It feels very hot and humid here, but we are staying in a guesthouse for missionaries right now, and it has a window unit.
Well, others are waiting for the internet, so I will sign off for now.
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,
Ida
Well, others are waiting for the internet, so I will sign off for now.
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,
Ida
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Another Supporting Church
Hello, Friends, I pray that all is well with you all. If there is ever anything we can pray about for you, we would LOVE to do that!! And thank you for praying for us! We made it safely back to Hamilton from a 3-week trip to Nova Scotia. Things went well, and for that we praise the LORD!!
We also praise the Lord for that Amherst Bible Church in Amherst, NS, voted to take us on for support! The church had an amazing spirit. Everyone was so friendly, and genuinely took interest in our ministry. That week, they happened to have an evangelist in. His name is Gerald Fielder. What a great preacher! We enjoyed sitting under the sound preaching, and getting to know him during Sunday lunch. So we went to church on that Saturday night with them, and then on Sunday, Alan was able to preach to the Adult S.S. then give a testimony and show the dvd during the morning church service. Just before the evangelist came up to preach, Pastor Grooms got up in front of the church, and made this announcement:
I am a little O.C. D., and I have to do this right now. I can't go on with the rest of the service,
or I won't be able to enjoy it. But I really feel like the Lord wants me to do this. It is a bit
unconventional. I really feel like we should take the Feeres on for $100 a month. We are
going to vote on this. All in favour say "Aye". All opposed, meet me down at the altar after
the service.
And just like that, we now have a new supporting church. I could not stop the flow of tears!! What a blessing this church has been to us! Again, the Lord put people in our path that I know will pray for us! Our prayer snowball is getting bigger!
While this was going on, our pastor back in our sending church at Bethel Baptist Church in Simcoe, Ontario, resigned. Please pray for Pastor Bohman and his family as well as the church. Alan and I both feel badly that we could not be there while this was going on, but fortunately Alan will be able to help them a little by filling in the pulpit a few times.
Tomorrow, Alan, Brendin, Cody, and I will be taking the long-awaited trip to Togo. The place is abuzz around here, getting everyone ready for their different places. I will miss the 3 younger children TERRIBLY!! I know that they will get along well, wherever they will be, but still...
We are praying that the volcano in Iceland (or Greenland, wherever it is) stops spewing out ashes so that we can land in Amsterdam as planned. I know that the Lord will take us to wherever HE wants us, so I will not fear:)
Well, I know this is short, but I really MUST get packing. I don't know if I will be able to blog while in Africa, so you many not hear from us until after June 6. Au revoir!
Have a wonderful day!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,
Ida
We also praise the Lord for that Amherst Bible Church in Amherst, NS, voted to take us on for support! The church had an amazing spirit. Everyone was so friendly, and genuinely took interest in our ministry. That week, they happened to have an evangelist in. His name is Gerald Fielder. What a great preacher! We enjoyed sitting under the sound preaching, and getting to know him during Sunday lunch. So we went to church on that Saturday night with them, and then on Sunday, Alan was able to preach to the Adult S.S. then give a testimony and show the dvd during the morning church service. Just before the evangelist came up to preach, Pastor Grooms got up in front of the church, and made this announcement:
I am a little O.C. D., and I have to do this right now. I can't go on with the rest of the service,
or I won't be able to enjoy it. But I really feel like the Lord wants me to do this. It is a bit
unconventional. I really feel like we should take the Feeres on for $100 a month. We are
going to vote on this. All in favour say "Aye". All opposed, meet me down at the altar after
the service.
And just like that, we now have a new supporting church. I could not stop the flow of tears!! What a blessing this church has been to us! Again, the Lord put people in our path that I know will pray for us! Our prayer snowball is getting bigger!
While this was going on, our pastor back in our sending church at Bethel Baptist Church in Simcoe, Ontario, resigned. Please pray for Pastor Bohman and his family as well as the church. Alan and I both feel badly that we could not be there while this was going on, but fortunately Alan will be able to help them a little by filling in the pulpit a few times.
Tomorrow, Alan, Brendin, Cody, and I will be taking the long-awaited trip to Togo. The place is abuzz around here, getting everyone ready for their different places. I will miss the 3 younger children TERRIBLY!! I know that they will get along well, wherever they will be, but still...
We are praying that the volcano in Iceland (or Greenland, wherever it is) stops spewing out ashes so that we can land in Amsterdam as planned. I know that the Lord will take us to wherever HE wants us, so I will not fear:)
Well, I know this is short, but I really MUST get packing. I don't know if I will be able to blog while in Africa, so you many not hear from us until after June 6. Au revoir!
Have a wonderful day!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,
Ida
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Snarky Lady Turns Friendly
Hello, again, friends! Thank you so much for praying for our family. I am really excited to be getting back to them today! As much as I enjoyed a couple of days "off", I really miss them. Last night after church, I went out with a couple of ladies. Now these ladies are older, one 87 years, and the other in her late 60's. We went out for Chinese (I had already had supper with the Eagles). The food was great, the fellowship, excellent, but boy am I ever tired!! I didn't get back to the church until close to 11:30!! But I am glad to have had the opportunity.
Faith Eagles has been so good to me (she has a sweet servant's heart). Not only did she pick me up from the Hamilton Airport on Tuesday, but she also drove me downtown yesterday, had me over for supper, and is driving me back to the airport! Isn't she so sweet??!!
Yesterday's citizenship ceremony went well. After Faith dropped me off, I met my MIL (thanks, Mom, for taking time out of your busy schedule to join me for this) and we had lunch in the same building that the ceremony was to take place, so we didn't have far to go. It took some time to get the ceremony started as there were I think 68 of us, and documentation had to be checked on each of us. However, they seemed pretty efficient. The judge was really good. He gave a lot of Canadian history, talking about the diversity of Canada. That took a while, and then everyone in the room took the oath. After that was done, each name was called, and just like at a graduation, we went forward and received our certificate, and signed the oath. He took the time to ask each person ,or family in some cases, where they were from, and he seemed to really enjoy talking with each one. My eyes welled up when he announced a beautiful family of 5 from the Sudan. I don't know why; I think I was just emotional anyway. While there were many cultures represented, the largest group was the Filipinos. We then sang O Canada, and were dismissed. The whole thing only took an hour.
After Mom and I said our goodbye's, I walked across the street to the passport office. The young clerk that I had to deal with was a little snarky at first. On my application, I wrote that I was traveling to Togo on May 19. So she asked me how long it took to get a visa from there. I told her a week. She said, "There's no way to process this passport AND get your visa by the time you need to leave." I said, "Oh, I already got the visa; it's in my U.S. passport." Then she said, "How is that going to work? You know, coming back to Canada without your passport having been stamped." I really didn't know at that time where she was going with her questioning, and she is still kind of snooty at this time. So I went on to tell her that I would be
traveling FROM the U.S., and when I got back, I would LAND in the U.S., and drive back into Canada. For some reason, we were not seeing eye to eye, and she goes on to tell me that I "need to do my homework and make some phone calls before I leave. That what I was doing would NOT work." I thought in my head, "Lady, you don't know Who actually is controlling things around here!", but I said out loud, "You know, I am just going to pray for a REALLY nice and understanding border guard!!" That made her laugh, and she said, "I like that answer!" Then, she was fine, and proceeded to tell me about the day of HER citizenship ceremony. So we had a really nice conversation. She informed me that I can pick up my passport on Tuesday, the 18th. That's the DAY BEFORE WE LEAVE!!! Who's in control, indeed:) PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
I am off to join my wonderful family in New Brunswick. Yay!
Have a wonderful day!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,
Ida
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!
That is what I have crying out in my heart for the last 10 days, and what I want to shout from the mountain tops!!!! I am really emotional about this, because on April 15, I did something that was completely DUMB!!! Here is the story--it may be kind of long...but you're not surprised, are you?:)
Just after I wrote the Canadian Citizenship test on April 15, I did not realize that I had lost one of the most important documents to a landed immigrant: my landing paper. 15 years ago, I was instructed to ALWAYS keep that paper in my passport, as it would grant me entrance back into Canada. However, on this particular day, I needed that paper to prove my landed status, and I had it at that time. I remember coming home and looking for a stapler to staple it back into the passport...and that all I remember. I think I may have tossed it in the garbage with some junk mail that came in that day, but I guess I got sidetracked, and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing...I really don't know what I was thinking! The thing is, I didn't realize it was missing until almost a week later when we went to the States for something. Thankfully, the guard we talked to was understanding, so she did let us all back into Canada. Everything would have been fine and dandy if I had a P.R. (permanent residence) card, which allows immigrants to travel back and forth. When the government first came out with this card, they made it sound like you ONLY needed it if you were going to be flying. Well, we thought that if I were ever to fly anywhere, it would be out of Buffalo, so we did not see the need for one...
Well, I tore the place apart, but nothing. Worry and fear shot right through me. In a month, we would be travelling to Togo...If anyone mentioned it, I would immediately start sweating and worrying. I did go back to the immigration office to see if perhaps I had left it behind. The lady there was VERY helpful, but she did not find it. She did photocopy it from her files, but she said it would not help in getting me into the country should I leave. She said that I would need to apply for a P.R. card (it takes a minimum of 105 days to process), and I would need to go to the police and file a report for lost property (for the oath for citizenship, one has to either have the landing paper or the police report). Now, this was the day that we were leaving for a missions conference at Kitchener Baptist Church, so that was our priority, but I did begin working on the application. That following Monday, after getting Pastor Wyatt to sign the needed documents (he was at work at the time), we headed to Simcoe to see Alan's mom, and there we overnight-expressed it to Sydney, Nova Scotia, to be processed. I was told to put "Urgent--traveling outside of Canada on May 19". Needless to say, I wrote it several times! This was on April 24. With the timing of our travels, things just seemed impossible.
On the spiritual side of things, I was kind of in trouble. I KNEW that the Lord was working on me. I KNOW exactly what He was trying to teach me. THAT HE IS IN CONTROL! This worrying was for those who don't depend on Him. It took me a few days, and let me tell you, it was U.N.C.O.M.F.O.R.T.A.B.L.E.!!! Through prayer and daily Bible reading, He showed me from the book of Joshua where time after time, GOD SUPPLIED!! And when things looked impossible to us, to our great and mighty God, it was NOTHING!! I purposefully didn't blog about it, because I knew that I needed to completely depend on Him (I knew you guys were already praying...thank you!!) One day I was reading Psalm 118, where David says, "I will not fear what man can do unto me" (or something like that!) Finally, after many days, if anyone mentioned it there were no flip-flops in my stomach. The headaches didn't happen. I didn't start sweating. It was sweet, sweet, peace. Instead, I would smile, and say, "I can't wait to see how HE gets me out of this one!" God is so good!
So now we start out for our East Coast trip. We were to be there for 3 Sundays. We left on Friday. On Monday, Pastor Eagles called my ever so patient hubby, and told him that I had received a letter saying that I was to be taking the oath of citizenship in a week and a half on May 12. My heart REJOICED, and to this day, I still get emotional. You see, on the day of the test, we were told that if we passed, we would get a letter in 6-8 WEEKS to let us know when our swearing in would be. Allow me to work the calendar for you: The test was taken o April 15, I become a Canadian on May 12. The total time is less than a MONTH!! Here's the thing, I thought that maybe God allowed someone in Sydney processing the P.R. card, to call immigration here in Hamilton and just have them push my date forward. But I am pretty sure that didn't happen, because as I was typing this post (not more than 1 minute ago)I received a call from immigration who told me that my P.R. card was in, and I could pick it up any time!!!!!!! I just started laughing and when I told the lady on the phone about being sworn in today, she laughed really hard, too, and said, "I must say, this is the first time I have ever seen that happen!" I can hardly keep the tears from flowing!!
Well, I am off to become a Canadian! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your prayers! We serve a God who cares!! And I am so glad that HE is in CONTROL!
Psalm 113:1,2
Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Ida
Bethy is 7!!
Unbelievable!! I cannot believe that our baby is 7 years old! And what a blessing she is!! It seems that at every church we go to, she seems to pick up another best friend! As a matter of fact, I feel terrible because she has 3 emails waiting for her reply...from 3 different people! I am sorry! She hasn't forgotten you! When we were leaving the last church we were in, and she was talking about yet another friend she made, Austin said,"Bethany, you could meet a friend in the morgue!!" We all had a good laugh over that one!
I am in Hamilton right now, while the rest of the family is out in New Brunswick (I will post about that in a minute), and I wanted to call and check up on them. So when I phoned Miss Winnie's house, Winnie answered and told me about what happened just a few minutes before I calle. Here's what she said to Bethany before they began eating breakfast:
Winnie: When we pray and thank the Lord for our breakfast, we should also remember to pray for Mommy because she is going to become a Canadian today, and she might be nervous.
Bethany: Does this mean that she is going to be WHITE??!!:)
Winnie thought that would make my day, and it did!
I don't know about that child.
Have a great day,
Psalm 113:1,2
Ida
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Churches
Hello, you will probably see a few new blogs all at once. I finally have some internet access, some quiet, and some time all at the SAME time. I just wanted to let you know of the churches that we have been in the last couple of weeks. Our first Sunday in Nova Scotia was spent at Calvary Baptist Church in Plympton. The people there were so sweet. You know, it is so amazing to me that in every church we have gone to so far, the Lord just puts people in our paths that we KNOW will pray for us. This church was no different. Pastor Steve Stone and his wife were so kind and their people followed suit. We enjoyed a nice lunch with them and then went back to the Norton home before the evening service. After the evening service was a fellowship, so we were able to get to know some of the people a little better. We really enjoyed visiting here.
The following Wednesday night, we joined Pastor Robbie Millburn and his wife for supper before attending their church, Heritage Baptist Church in Shubenacadie (I really hope I spelled that right). Dinner was delicious, and the fellowship was sweet. Now, the church is small, but we were there on Wed. I know that only a fraction of people attend the mid-week prayer service, so I don't know exactly how many it runs. I say all that to say this: the spirit there was amazing!! The Lord has definitely blessed this fine congregation. The pastor and his wife are two of the sweetest people you would ever meet. One thing that really impressed me was this: There is a young couple that goes there. They are FaithWay graduates and VERY talented in many ways. This couple could most likely have gotten hired on to work in any good-sized church and be used there. But their hearts were to go back East and be used of God there. He is the assistant (I don't even know if he gets a salary), and she, the pianist. So they have chosen to join this church and help with whatever needs to be done. Can you imagine the blessing that this young couple is to the pastor?! I am so glad to see them just follow the Lord. You see, about 2 1/2 years ago, my husband tried to interview them for the job of Assistant Pastor at Faith Baptist in Hamilton. However, the Lord simply would not allow it to happen. The interview was scheduled and rescheduled during the Christmas season, and so finally, on the only Sunday that they were free to attend the church and meet the people, God sent the biggest snowstorm of the year. Travel that day just wasn't going to happen. I now see God's divine plan, and am so glad that they just followed the Lord.
Another family we met there were the MacDonald family. What an amazing family! There are EIGHT children, and they all work beautifully together to make the home a happy place. I was IMPRESSED! Because the drive back to the Norton home was about 2 1/2 hours, we decided to stay the night at this family's home. Now, they have 2 houses on their property. The one we stayed in, they use it specifically for people like us. They thought we were going to stay a few days, so they loaded us up with TONS of groceries, including homemade bread and muffins. We each had a comfortable bed to sleep in, and it was just PERFECT! After the church service, we joined them for ice cream in their home. It was a late night, but we just felt so at home with them. It was like we had known them forever. Early the next morning, Austin just couldn't sleep, so he went down the lane to their house and knocked on their door. They were having breakfast. They handed him a fishing pole and said, "Here, you can go fishing." He actually caught something, too. This family owns over 100 acres of land, so our children really had a grand time exploring and just being kids. I don't think any of them would have protested if we would have "forgotten" them. They just DID NOT want to leave! But, all good things must come to an end. If we are ever in the area, I would love to stop and pick up right where we left off.
We went to Peggy's Cove for about an hour and then headed back to Bear River. We used the back roads. Needless to say, half of us were car sick. The roads are very windy and there are many hills. Bethany had never been car sick until now. Hopefully she outgrows it.
The following Sunday, we attended Habitation Baptist Church. Here, we met some really nice and genuine people. Then we had lunch at one of the family member's home. It was delicious! Barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs. Boy, did it make us miss our barbecue! Again, we had a really good visit.
The evening service was spent at Amazing Grace Baptist Church. And although it is a smaller church, it was packed. The spirit here was really sweet. It was obvious that the Lord is blessing. After the service, we joined the pastor's family in their home for some pizza and fellowship. We had a wonderful time! Alan and Pastor Lake REALLY hit it off! It was almost midnight by the time we got back to the Norton home. The night was late, the the fellowship great!
Well, I have rambled on for quite some time, so I will give your eyes a break. Tomorrow, I will post about something that still makes my eyes well up with tears, and my heart praise the Lord. I am excited to be able to share this good news with you, but I need to rest my fingers. So, have a wonderful evening, and I will share more of what the Lord is doing in the morning!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,
Ida
Nova Scotia
Hello, friends, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your prayers!! Not only has the Lord given us safety on the road, but lodging as well. He is so good, and He has placed good people in our path that He uses to be a blessing to us. We are so grateful!!
Well, we have been in Bear River, Nova Scotia, since last Saturday. Is it ever beautiful out there!!! The home that we stayed in belonged to the Nortons who used to come to our church here in Hamilton until they moved out East. They bought this property about 7 years ago for cheaper than cheap. The house had not been used for 27 years. So Mr. N. gutted the whole place and started over, and he did a terrific job! It was very comfortable, and everyone had their own comfortable beds, except for the girls, but they don't mind sharing! The backyard for this home is the Bear River, and you can see it fill up with water, and then go down as the tide comes in and out. It is just beautiful.
They happened to take a trip back to Ontario during the time that we were there, and wouldn't you know it, my greatest fear happened. Something went wrong with the washer. I don't know what it was, but I just felt sick about it. They assured me it was nothing I did, and that it could have happened to anyone, but because it happened on my watch, I just feel terrible about it!
Anyway, we had a terrific stay with them, and the little time that they were with us, we had a great time getting to know them better.
This past Monday, we left Nova Scotia and travelled to New Brunswick, which is the next province back, but this time instead of driving, we took the ferry:( ugh!! I will tell you about that in a separate blog. We are now staying with a lady in MacAdam, New Brunswick, who is very much like a grandmother to us. She also attended our church in Hamilton until she moved away. (Am I seeing a pattern here?!)We just arrived there this past Monday, and will leave her home on Saturday. Then we will travel to Amhearst, Nova Scotia, (right on the border of both provinces) for a Sunday meeting. After that service, we will head back to Ontario to prepare for our trip to TOGO. Yay!! Everything is in order, and we will leave on Wednesday, May 19. I am just beside myself!! Have a wonderful evening!
Psalm 113:1,2
Love,Ida
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