Between the Lines

The Team at the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal Friday was our last full day in Quebec, and since our work for the week is complete, that means it was a free, fun-filled day. We spent the entirety of the day in the city of Montreal learning more about the history of Quebec, especially its religious heritage, and then go to see other parts of the city, with shopping, eating, and sightseeing all mixed in together.             Our trusted friend, Pastor Daniel, graciously served as our guide for our day in the city. We left the church around 9 AM and drove over the mighty St. Lawrence River to reach the Oratory of St. Joseph. The Oratory is a large Catholic church that was constructed in the early 1900s and named for St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. This is a beautiful structure that sits on the highest point in the city of Montreal. Its beautiful architecture presented opportunities for our team to learn about the Catholic expression of the Christian faith, as well as ho

Julia with our new friend Ryan Our day today was the big one, the one we have been working towards all week! On Thursday of each week, the church distributes the food from the food bank to 110 families. Everything we have done this week builds up to the work that was done today. It was a long one, and one where our team was working nonstop from the morning till about 6:30 this evening. Reece and I started our day a little earlier than the rest of the team because we went with Gerard, Pastor Daniel, and Gill, another volunteer from the church, to pick up the weekly food items that the church purchases from the New Generation Mission that we visited on Tuesday. We left the church at 7 AM to get these items, which amounted to about 9 palates and the entire shipping truck full of food. The rest of the team remaining at the church began their morning around 8:30 with sorting the remaining food that was picked up at the farms yesterday.            Unloading the morning's pick

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. Unloading through a window, Chateauguay style             One of the highlights of these farms trips is that

1,400 pounds of pretzels... no problem!  As I write this, we just finished a wonderful dinner prepared by Isabelle, one of Pastor Daniel’s daughters. I am quite embarrassed to say how much of her dessert I ate, which was so good; a cinnamon roll type pastry baked in a maple infused milk, and topped with a maple-sugar ice cream made right here in Quebec. Shamelessly, I had somewhere between 2-5 helpings (you guess the amount), but it was amazing! I just love all things maple. I tried to prepare our team for how they would be feed here. The church members here are so grateful for our presence, they try to shower us with their best dishes, as well as showcase the great foods of Quebec! Katie and Haley - Service with a Smile Our fourth day in Quebec saw our team leaving the confines of Eglise Chretienne le Rocher to travel into the Southern Shore of Montreal to spend the day working at Mission Nouvelle Generation (New Generation Mission). This is an organization that the churc

Carter entertaining children of family who fed our team Today our team began its work around the church. Today’s goal was to clean around the facility, as well as prepare it for the food packing and distribution that would take place later in the week. We split up into groups and teams that flowed between various jobs including wiping down walls, cleaning out refrigerators, buffing floors, sweeping, washing windows, cleaning work equipment, cleaning out gutters and a variety of other tasks. That is a quick description of what was a full and busy day. Haley using her artistic gifts to make new stations signs Our lunch and dinner were provided by different families from within the church. These meals provide us with a great time to meet various people from the church on a more personal level. We continue to be overwhelmed by the gracious hospitality of the folks at this church. We have been given so much great food, our team has said they could skip a meal and not even miss

Today was focused on our team encountering the town of Chateauguay in a variety of ways. Our first night sleeping in the church was not without its bumps. There were a few of us (myself included) who had issues with their air mattresses staying inflated. So by about 4 AM this morning, I was laying squarely with my back to the floor. Maybe not the best sleep, but the situation could always be worse. Students Participating in French Speaking Worship Students meeting Church Members             We began the morning with participating in the church’s weekly worship service. This was a unique experience for our team since the entirety of the service was done in French. Also, because the majority of the church is made up of first and second generation Christians, there is no long tradition or way of doing things, so the worship structure reflects what we would often consider a “contemporary” style of worship as this is what the current generation knows how to express themselves musi

Today our team of 8 high school students and 3 adult chaperones from First Baptist, Monroe departed for a week of serving alongside residents of Chateauguay, Quebec Canada. We have been looking forward to this experience for quite awhile. For all of the students, it is their first experience with an international missonal encounter, heck for three quarters of our team, it was their first time flying.             Our trip began with multiple headaches at the Charlotte airport, as there was difficulty with obtaining boarding passes through the airline, and misdirection from security about which “check-in” line we were authorized to enter. Then when we got to Philadelphia for our connecting flight, it ended up being delayed by 2.5 hours. All of the irritations aside, it provided time for our team to gel in light of the unique experiences, and give us a good “first day’ story.             We made it to Burlington, VT where we picked up our rental vehicles for the week and began the 90-