Wet day in Ottawa. Great drive over with David Tracy from YFC Montreal. Our team had the opportunity to debrief some, give him our perspective on our experiences and get his.
It was good to hear the girls articulate some of the reasons this trip was significant for them. They all asked if they could come back next year.
I think everyone is ready to get home. The rain is pretty constant here and we're on foot until we taxi over to the airport this afternoon.
Unfortunately, our plane was canceled and we are unable to come home.
Oh how we wish those words were true! We are so sad to be leaving. This morning we had a chance to tour the Parliament buildings and see the House of Commons, where the Senate meets, and other important rooms of the building. Although it was full of intricate detail, it was not as beautiful as the faces of the kids at LaCorde. This experience was uplifting and fantastic. We were able see God working in a new way at the camp and the excitement about Christ was so cool. I think it's safe to say that we're all going to miss it and definitely want to come back next year (:
Today was our last full day in Montreal! We we spent the morning helping out the staff and volunteers at Onrock, a soup kitchen and food bank located right across the street from LaCorde. Our team was busy all morning helping to unload a truck full of produce and frozen items into the building. We then sorted and separated the food into various boxes that would be picked up later in the day by 186 families. It was hard work but the people we were with made it a blast. The van we have been using throughout the week had to be cleaned in the afternoon, so we decided to take on the transit system on our way home. Our awesome navigator (Mr. D) did all he could to try and figure out the route. Let's just say we had a chance to nap and see the residential area for awhile. This evening we are relaxing and packing up before heading to Ottawa tomorrow. Great day (:
We invested part of our day yesterday at Saint Joseph's. I love the garden with the stations of the cross. More words on that later....on Saturday while I was waiting for the girls to finish with their tattoos, a guy noticed my YFC shirt and asked me about it. Turns out he worked with YFC in Tonga, now he's just graduated from his studies in Montreal. We chatted a bit and before he left he brought out his Bible. "Always ready to share about Jesus" he says and walks off.
I reflected on that while i walked through the stations. There was a simple boldness in his words. Always ready to share, always aware that we are called to be missionaries and let others know the freedom from sin that Jesus bought with his blood.
After a pretty tiring week, the team took a break today and spent the day downtown sightseeing, shopping and eating some local specialties. And the girls spent some time in a security holding room. Nothing too serious.
Personally a day shopping is not my first choice. But the team had a good day, lots of laughter. Good to change pace after the week of camp. normally we have group devotions at night, although today we switched it up, and had them over breakfast. Honest discussions, good to have time to process what we've been experiencing this past week. Even during the day the team kept referencing things from the week, and continuing to learn and reflect.
Worship with some of the counselors to mom morning after breakfast on the water.
-Dwayne-
Today was our last day at La Corde. In the morning we had a dance off outside, and it was a ton of fun. Then we got on the bases with our age groups and drove around 45 minutes to Super Aqua Club. Some of us were paired with younger kids, so we didn't go o the crazy water slides like the: tornado, the toilet bowl etc.
We had hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch. We then had a Captain America/ Spiderman show! We then had an afternoon of enjoying the huge water park! We headed back to La Corde, and we had a prayer session and signed each others shirts and arms. We said goodbye to the kids and went downstairs for a staff meeting. We did shout outs to each other, and Elayna thanked the staff for accepting us and teaching.us white people how to dance! We had a group hug and a picture, and gave high 5's to the counselors. Thanks to all the staff for accepting us so easily. It is amazing what God is doing in the lives of those children! Miss them already!
Afterwards we went out for supper, and watch a movie. We danced in the movie theater, but it wasn't the same as dancing with the La Corde group:):)
Miss you guys back home!
- Milah
Hey everyone! Today was a great day! We started off the day at camp by doing devotions with the kids. Devotions are filled with singing and dancing. I have never seen people worship God like they do and I really just love it!! After that we headed to the park to play on the play structure. (all of us ran around like little kids it was so funny!) Then we had our amazing talent show filled with more singing, dancing and even a few skits.
Today a group from Toronto called TC3 came to perform for us. They were fantastic! They did some singing, dancing and even some drumming. Along with that we had a BBQ! After that we did some more dancing! (We have been practicing our dance moves before bed) and finally we ended off our day at kim and Syl 's house. They fed us an amazing supper and let us swim in their pool and hot tub! It was a great way to end off the day!! We all miss you guys!
-Taylor
Who needs a hair dresser when you're at camp? These girls absolutely LOVE doing our hair in various braids, ponytails, and buns. Each day we compare to see who got the best do for the day, and I don't know what it is about Daniele's hair but she is often the winner (:
PS Taylor did awesome on her first flight and DID NOT throw up. Just to clear any confusion.
Adding to the excitement of the tournament is a film crew doing a fund raising documentary. These kids love a camera.
I realize I'm usually behind the camera, just thought I'd give some evidence that, yes I am here as well.
One of the staff saw me walking with Kristella and said her dad used to do that with her all the time. took this photo to go with her good memory.
Today started off looking a bit wet, and stayed that way. But despite the gloomy weather we all managed to have lots of fun and laughs. We have all been learning names and building some great relationships even with some language barriers.
Today was a special day for all of the kids as it was pool day! We had an afternoon of watery fun and games. Once we returned to La Corde the dance party had begun and we busted out our moves and even learned some of their signatures (Watch out "So you think you can dance" here we come). The day was filled with new experiences as well as new friendships.
We're all missing all of you
-Elayna
P.S Jaclyn makes a mean beeforoni
