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| Our team out with the truck at a farm |
Today was our fifth day in Quebec and it saw our team
working in various places around southern Quebec. After our breakfast, we
loaded up in vehicles and headed out to the farm country to the south and east
of Chateauguay. The church here partners with various farmers to acquire fresh
produce each week which they then distribute to families in the food bank. We
visited six different farms where we picked up various items including
potatoes, lettuce, radishes, cilantro, parsley, celery, cucumbers, spinach, and
tomatoes. At each stop, our team was able to meet with the farmer briefly, see
the land and equipment, as well as gather food and collect many boxes of items
and load them in the church’s delivery truck. This took all morning, and I
think everyone appreciated the new experience as well as the beauty of the
Quebec countryside.
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| Unloading through a window, Chateauguay style |
One
of the highlights of these farms trips is that our team members got to take
turns riding in the delivery truck with one of the church’s volunteers in the
food bank, Gerard. Gerard is a gentleman who retired early a few years ago so
that he could dedicate more of his time to the mission. His humor and big
personality are contagious, and our team enjoyed the time with him as I knew
they would. It is great that the students get to meet these volunteers who are
so passionate about the work of the mission in the church.
When
we returned from the farms, we unloaded the truck in a smooth fashion and
stopped for lunch. After lunch, our team spent the afternoon sorting and
organizing all of the food that had been collected this morning. During lunch,
Pastor Daniel received a surprise phone call from a food bank director on the
northern side of Montreal who was wanting to share food with the church if we
were willing to come and get it. So while the rest of the team was packing and
sorting the food collected this morning, Pastor Daniel and I rode to the
northern part of Montreal to pick-up the unexpected donation of six pallets
full of different foods from a food bank there. When we returned 2 hours later,
the team had completely separated and organized all of the food, and Pastor
Daniel was greatly surprised. The team then unloaded the surprise donation
before preparing for dinner.
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| Haley, Jennifer, and Katie working with Gerard to load the truck |
Since
today was Wednesday, the church gathered this evening for its weekly prayer
time. Our team joined the prayer gathering, and those gathered sang a few
songs, shared prayer requests, and gave testimonies. During the prayer time,
many different people from the church offered prayers of blessing or gratitude upon
our students, often celebrating and thanking God for “the next generation” of
God’s church. I greatly appreciate the way the people here celebrate, love on,
and lift up our teenagers. They are so grateful to see young Christians because
they live in a place where there is such a small church community, so our
students’ presence invigorates them.
Tonight
we have a special treat, as each year, Montreal hosts the International
Firework Competition, where different countries are represented and each country
gives their own firework display around a particular theme. It just so happens
that this week’s team or country is the United States, so we will be going down
to the shore of the St. Lawrence River here in Chateauguay to see the fireworks
as they are shot off over the river from Montreal! Should be a lot of fun.
Tomorrow however is our big day as it is food distribution day. It is an early
start (7 AM) and a late ending (7 PM), but our team is motivated and dedicated
so I am looking forward to how it will go.
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