Missions Trip to Quebec - 2008

Here is an update for you on the outdoor concerts we did last night:

Praise the Lord!! We have felt your prayers! We drove to a mobile home park that had a little cafe/store with a raised wooden deck. (It made a great place for the brass ensemble to set up and play!) Ray Teachout had called ahead and asked the owner if we could give a brass concert. The owner thought that was a great idea, so we went over there, (fairly close to the church), and there were people there waiting for us! They had some chairs all set up, and they were waiting to here the concert! We passed out some invitations to the Sunday concert, and several people were responsive to us. During the outdoor concert, a train went by, and a couple of very loud vehicles sped by us, which made it impossible to hear the brass instruments a few times, but they kept on playing, and we just prayed that the Lord would keep the noise and distractions away. And He did!

Concert at the Mobile Home Park.

Today, we all drove in our 3 vans to another area of town. We split up into teams of two, and one person covered one side of the street, and the other covered the other side of the street. We passed out booklets of Romans and the Gospel of John, and a gospel tract, and an invitation to our Concert on Sunday.

Mark P, Jennifer Olt, and Eric S. distribute Gospel booklets and invitations.

The responses we got were mixed. Mostly, people were friendly and took the booklets, or we left them on the door steps. A few times, people would refuse the booklets, and say “no thanks” in french. People are so saturated with their Catholic background, even if they don’t practice Catholicism actively. It is part of their heritage, and culture, not just their religious background. So, any literature that looks like it is not Catholic seems like it comes from a cult, to them. Anyway, hopefully, people will at least read the invitation to the concerts on Sunday. We were able to pass out just under 700 booklets and invitations!

This afternoon, some of us went to a Walmart about 30 minutes away.  Quite a few of us did not bring warm enough clothing for tomorrow’s excursion trip, so we picked up some extra sweatshirts, and gloves, etc.

Tonight, the Wednesday Bible Study and Prayer Time went well.  Eric Scarborough preached a message on prayer.  Mark Pate and Stephanie each played solos, and the brass played a song.   There was a new couple there, who were visiting from Maine.

Directional Sign of various streets in Quebec.

Well, this is all for tonight!  Stay tuned to tomorrow, although we will be out of town most of the day.

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Well, we finally arrived at our destination……..at 2:00am!!! During our road trip to Quebec City, we stopped at a Burger King, which was the only restaurant we recognized or could find. It was the largest Burger King we had ever seen! The interior design was very nicely done, and it didn’t look like a fast food restaurant at all. Their food was mostly the same, but somewhat different than in America. We got to the church, and unloaded our luggage.

The boys slept in the church basement, and the girls slept in the Teachouts’ house basement, next door. Most of us got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep. We were all so tired, that those sleeping bags never looked quite so good before! Sunday morning, the brass played a couple of songs in the service, and Stephanie and Lauren played a duet. Pastor V. preached a very good message, which was translated by Ray Teachout. I think there were about 5 regular church members in the service, besides our team, and the Teachouts. This is a normal Sunday attendance for them, although, sometimes they get other visitors, too.

We then had lunch with the church people, at the church. It was hotdogs and sweet corn, all you can eat! After lunch, we cleaned up, and went to visit the Basilica. This is a beautiful, and architecturally fantastic old Catholic church. It is dedicated to Sainte Anne, who is supposed to be Mary’s mother, according to Catholic teaching. There were many people there, sitting in the pews, praying, and lighting candles for their loved ones who have died. There was even one woman who was kneeling, and walking on her knees from the pews up to the front of the church. As she was going, she was praying, with her eyes held fast on the statue of Mary, and holding her rosary. It was all so sad to see so many people there, and this woman on her knees, too, somehow thinking that their ritualistic pilgrimages, and works would get their prayers answered and their souls saved.

OUR TEAM at THE BASILICA

After we saw the Basilica, Eric, Teri, Jennifer & Pastor V. went grocery shopping, so that we would have food to eat for a few days. The rest of us came back to the church to take greatly needed naps!

Tonight, the church service was preached by Eric Scarborough, translated by Ray Teachout.

The brass did a couple of songs, and there were 6 visitors in the service, one whom was a first-timer!! Three of the visitors were unsaved, so they were able to hear the gospel in the service. Praise the Lord!!

After the evening service, we ate hamburgers and poutine, a dish that is special to Quebec. Poutine is basically french fries, with brown gravy and large cheese curds on top. It sounds weird, but it is actually pretty tasty!

We will be having team devotions at 10:30pm tonight. Then, hopefully, we can all get a really good night’s sleep. Until later…..Bon Soir!

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