During these 4 weeks of furlough, we plan to visit many churches and supporters in an almost cross country tour of Canada commencing in Montreal, moving on to southern Ontario and then on to the beautiful British Columbia.
In Montreal, we had the opportunity to speak at Emmanuel Pentecostal Assembly, met with three pastors, and enjoyed the hospitality of our gracious host Lucy Conte. She forewarned us that the Italian’s love their food….and we were not disappointed. Lucy and her friend Carla organized our schedule, and guided us through this city of francophone’s. A funny thing happened when someone spoke to us in French…. we switched from English to Spanish automatically instead of French. Ooops!
One of the highlights was a visit to the Welcome Hall Mission in downtown Montreal, a rehabilitation and treatment center for homeless men with drug and/or alcohol addictions. Established in 1895, they offer a 12 step program for recovering addicts guided by Christian principles and the word of God. A social service network complete with counselors, a food bank, clothing boutique and distribution center provide opportunities for community service and their reintegration into normal society. Paolo, the director for the past 8 years also asked John to be the guest speaker at their daily chapel service that day. 
In Montreal, we had the opportunity to speak at Emmanuel Pentecostal Assembly, met with three pastors, and enjoyed the hospitality of our gracious host Lucy Conte. She forewarned us that the Italian’s love their food….and we were not disappointed. Lucy and her friend Carla organized our schedule, and guided us through this city of francophone’s. A funny thing happened when someone spoke to us in French…. we switched from English to Spanish automatically instead of French. Ooops!
One of the highlights was a visit to the Welcome Hall Mission in downtown Montreal, a rehabilitation and treatment center for homeless men with drug and/or alcohol addictions. Established in 1895, they offer a 12 step program for recovering addicts guided by Christian principles and the word of God. A social service network complete with counselors, a food bank, clothing boutique and distribution center provide opportunities for community service and their reintegration into normal society. Paolo, the director for the past 8 years also asked John to be the guest speaker at their daily chapel service that day. In November 2008, Lucy and Paolo led a group of ladies from Montreal along with 5 members of the Mission Hall band, all recovering addicts to bless the poor in the Dominican through worship, song and service. 
What an amazing feat it was that these men were able to raise their own funds to go on this mission trip. 
Mathieu hopes to return again to the Dominican later this year, the Lord willing. Thank you Lucy and Carla for making our stay in Montreal a memorable experience and giving us the opportunity to meet with past and future members of their Dominican mission teams.
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