5 Days

Hello everyone,

I have less than a week to go till we leave for Montreal; I thought I'd put up a quick update.

I have my support! Thanks to all who gave towards this trip. I will keep you all informed of what is going on while I'm there and in the final preparations.


We leave in 5 days and I'm getting excited! We are pretty much prepared artistically, but we will have a final meeting on Wednesday where we will nail down details and rehearse. We are driving up and will make one stop in Pennsylvania to spend the night. We will perform in a church there, and then we will make our way up to Canada.

For the street performances in Montreal, we will be doing instrumental versions of some Christ-centered songs, as well as some originals sung in French. The dancers will act out the meaning of the music. What they do is beautiful. We will have a cameraman with us to capture it on film. Some of the dancers are performing solo pieces; they are very well done.

What to pray for this week:

• For an outpouring of God-given guidance and wisdom to our team in preparation for the journey (I am helping to coordinate the trip preparations)
  
• That the Holy Spirit would touch the hearts and minds of those that we will be in contact with
  
• That the hearts of the team would be open to the Lord's leading and that we would see a clear vision for Montreal
• For humility and team dynamics (we work very well together, but the stress of this trip could try our nerves and expose weak points in our personalities)
  

Journey To Montreal- Support letter

Dear family and friends,
During August 2nd-11th, I will be on a missions trip to Montréal, Quebec, Canada with La Clef, a team of musicians and dancers from Steele Creek Baptist Church. Our weeklong trip will focus on the French-speaking "Quebecois" in the city of Montreal.

La Clef means "the key" in French. Our team consists of musicians and dancers who love the Lord and pursue the arts in worship to God. I am one of the musicians.

Much like the people of mainland France, Quebecois are generally closed to the Gospel and have a negative view of Christianity due to its dark past among their heritage. The name of Jesus is often considered repulsive to them. However, Quebecois are very receptive to artistic expression; in fact it is strongly encouraged. This is how the La Clef team will reach out to them and demonstrate the gospel to them.

In Montreal we will perform in the streets, in parks, and other public areas. In our training we have been taught about Quebecois culture and how we must approach it through our performance. We can have a connection to the people through heritage, language or exclusively through art. Our French-speaking members will be able to share God's love through conversation. We will have an opportunity to meet up with the La Clef team that is based out of Montréal and share in ministry with them.

As with any "traditional" mission trip, we will require this trip to be clothed in prayer. In fact, much like other countries where the name of Jesus is not recieved, we will need fervent prayer to see change in the lives of the people we interact with. I would love to have your commitment to pray for us as we go on this trip. Pray for the hearts of those that we interact with-- that the Holy Spirit would move in them. Pray for unity for the La Clef team, and pray that the Lord would speak to us to mold us to his purpose in our lives for this trip.

This trip will cost $550 per person. I have raised $200 and would greatly appreciate anything you can give to make up the difference! If you feel led to give monetarily, please click on the "donate" button to the right.

I will be writing a journal about our experiences on this trip. I will post them on this blog.

Thank you for your love and support!

In His Grip,
Seth Dresser