Saturday- Rigaud/ West Island

We got up and quickly packed our things. I paid Majid and we headed west to Rigaud to meet Brendan's mother-in-law, Francine. Rigaud is about 45 minutes from downtown Montreal. Her neighborhood was quite beautiful; it is in the country and is very quiet. She welcomed us into her home and offered us refreshment, and then she drove us all to Mont-Rigaud for a hike.

Mont-Rigaud is the home of a Catholic monastery and a shrine to the virgin Mary. It is known for it fields of rounded stones. They are called "champs de patates" (potato fields). There is a legend of a farmer whose fields were turned to stone by God for working on a Sunday. It is a reflection on the hard nature of the Catholic church. The terrain was beautiful and we got a nice view of the Ottawa river from the top of the mountain. There were wild blackberries and raspberries everywhere. We walked back to our cars and chatted with a priest from the monastery. he had a friendly sense of humor and a sharp wit.
I chatted with Francine on the way back to her house. The people of Rigaud are traditionally very Catholic, and they are quite religious. They have mostly relegated their worship to the Virgin Mary.
We spent some time dancing and playing ball in Francine's yard.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and headed for the West Island region of Montreal, where most of the la Clef members live. This was a much more American-looking side of town. The best part of Charlotte to compare it to would be Eastway or Shamrock, though it is cleaner.

We arrived at "La Corde" (the rope), the mission where we will operate out of for the next few days. It is a small office in a shopping center in Cloverdale. It is run by a man named Asmec Jean-Jacques. He is a former convict who gave his life to Christ and has been preaching the gospel in the West Island for years. Every day the neighborhood kids come to la Corde for free breakfast and lunch. In Quebec, there are no government food programs or cafeterias in schools, so kids go to schools that they can walk to and go home from for lunch.

After a quick orientation, we set up the black box and walked to the government housing project a block away. As we marched down the sidewalk, a wheel fell of the box! We ended up having to carry all of the gear and instruments to the basketball court ourselves. I think this is the end of the black box.

When we got there, the neighborhood children who were playing basketball began to get curious. Asmec instroduced us to the kids in French. He told them we were a music and dance group from North Carolina and that we loved the Lord. People on the West Island are much more open to the gospel because they are primarily immigrants and are not influenced by the typical Quebecois culture.

We started performing for the children, and it wasn't long before we had a pretty big crowd gathered round- children and their parents. When we finished, we cleared the "stage" and put on Micheal jackson's "Thriller". Any child in the entire neighborhood that was not already out of their house quickly booked it to where we were. Those kids could dance! All of the team, musicians and dancers alike, joined in the fun. Asmec said those kids rarely get that kind of attention from outsiders, so it was very good for them.

We carried everything back to La Corde and began to prepare a big feast of spagetti. Everyone helped and we sang and danced. We served the food and broke bread. Greg called it our "prophetic communion". One of the visions of La Clef is to one day see the church carried out in Quebecois fashion, on their own terms. Greg hopes that he will have to deliver the message that Paul gave the Corinthians, telling them to stop getting drunk at communion!

After dinner we worshipped the Lord with prayer, singing and dancing. We left La Corde and headed to the Co-op where the La clef team lived. A few teammates and I are staying with Alex Babin and his wife Maritsa in their apartment. We talked with Brendan until late in the night. We are nearing the end of the road. I am going to miss this place and everyone in it.

Friday- Montreal

We woke up a little later than usual this morning; Greg wanted us to catch up on the sleep we've lost the past couple days. There was a lot of snoring last night. I overheard one of the Londoners say that we wanted to find another youth hostel. I got together a load of clothes from the guys for the wash and went up for breakfast. Some of our team was talking to the other patrons over cereal and bagels. Greg told some French visitors about our performance in Parc LaFontaine later on that morning. We were going to perform for Pierre Label, the head of YWAM Montreal. Greylan talked to one of the Londers; they turned out to be really nice guys.

We packed up our black box with gear and Brendan led us to the park on foot; it was several blocks away. The Université du Québec à Montréal was located on the edge of the park. It is tiny but I'm sure it would be a fantastic place to go to school. We arrived at the park and met Barry Watley, who has been involved with Montreal ministry for many years. He shared with us about the culture of the Quebecois. He imparted to us two quotes which describe the culture:

"Pour moi, la terre est important."

"For me, the earth is important."

In Montreal especially, the environment is a big agenda in politics. The people love nature and take great care in preserving their natural history.

"Je me souviens."
"I remember."

It is common to see this on bumper stickers and T-shirts in Quebec. This phrase has been taken to mean a variety of different things. Some would say that it relates to the oppression that the culture has experienced over many decades, and they see it as a promise to hold on to the anger they have experienced. Barry sees it from a more broad perspective. The people of Quebec share a very rich cultural and religious history that has slowly evolved over hundreds of years. Even with the oppression that the Quebecois have experienced, their way of life has remained insulated from the cultures around it. You can see very quickly that their history is very important to them.

Barry went on to explain that in ministering to the culture. one must take these things into consideration. If we can celebrate their rich history with them through the media in which they communicate and accept freely, we can begin to create relationships with them and share our hearts for Christ.

After he finished, Pierre LeBel showed up on his bicycle and the dancers performed a piece for him. He was very moved by what we were doing, and he shared with us about YWAM montreal. Youth with a Mission, or Jeunesse en Mission, is a little different in Montreal. it has been adapted to meet the needs of the Quebeqois culture specifically. Pierre spent most of his time telling us about the urban cultures DTS, which is an integrated Discipleship Training School that offers training and outreach in Montreal. Instead of the usual 12 weeks of teaching, it is spread out over 9 months and is interwoven with outreach and internships with Montreal-based Christian and secular humanitarian organizations, including La Clef. Pierre sees Montreal as a proving ground for those who feel called to urban ministries. I was almost in tears as he talked about it; I have never been so excited about a school before! I am praying about doing this someday; This guy really spoke my language.

We performed for another hour. Our French friend from the youth hostel showed up and cheered us on. We had little pockets of folks all over the park watching us and applauding after every piece. One of our French friends had a soprano saxophone and he played along on a few jazz numbers. It was so much fun playing with another musician; he was definitely a pro.

We headed to a little diner for another shot at some classic Quebecois cuisine: Poutine. It consists of french fries covered in cheese curds, all smothered in a salty poutine gravy. It is the Quebec version of an edible heart attack, but it was quite good. I am surpised more people are not overweight over here!

After that dense meal, we walked to the vehicles and drove to a touristy part of the city. We walked around in little groups for a little bit and soaked it all in, and then we met at the metro station. There was an abundance of street performers in this part of the city. Greylan pulled out the diablo and did a little visual accompaniment to a classical guitar duet. They were much appreciative of the attention his tricks brought to their performance.

We followed our Montreal companions to the metro and made our way by train to the shopping area of rue Saint-Denis. They had many of the clothing chains that we have in the U.S., but they are much bigger here. The Urban Outfitters is three stories tall.

We walked back to the metro and went to a local microbrewery chain for some food and drink. We shared jokes, life stories and favorite places that we've been. I learned about the schooling system in Quebec. Students spend eleven years in primary education, and then if they choose to go on to college, they take two years of CEGEP (pronounced "say jep") to focus on a specific career. Then they go to university, which is three years of specific career training. I rather like this system; it's similar to ours in the U.S. but it makes it quicker to go out into the work force if one doesn't plan to pursue college.

Back here at the youth hostel, we sat and joked some more with some members of the Montreal La Clef team. These guys are so close. We've known them for only a few days and we are bonding quickly. It is awesome to see two groups with the same vision become one in Christ. That's the way things should be.

Thursday- Quebec city / Montreal

We woke up and packed our things. We had this one last morning in Quebec city. We were scheduled to meet Stephanie, a girl who was an original La Clef team member and a strong believer. We picked her up from the ferry and went to another part of the Plains of Abraham.

We talked with Stephanie about her job working in the city for France/ Canada relations. Her work is very important for the kingdom. We performed a few pieces for her and had a jam session in the park. The weather was beautiful and we did not want to leave.

We dropped Stephanie off at the ferry, bid her adeau, and headed towards Montreal. Brendan, Greg's son, was meeting us at our youth hostel on rue Saint Denis. The traffic was horrendous, but we made it to Montreal after about four hours.

We made it to our youth hostel, or auberge, but we discovered that it had been overbooked. Apparently there is an office in New York and in Montreal, and the records were not communicated correctly. We checked up and down the street for vacancies, but there were none. We met up with our friends from La Clef Montreal, and when we told them our situation they made some calls for us. We looked around for a cheap place to eat, and we got to see a belligerent homeless man. We ate dinner at subway and split up with Greg and La Clef Montreal. We walked to Little Italy and met some interesting folks. We held some dance lessons in an illuminated gazebo and attracted some onlookers. DeMarcus and Greylan taught me a jazz step.

We met back up with the rest of the team and drove to our new Auberge- l'Auberge Chez Jean. It is in a much nicer neighborhood and there was room for all of us. Our host, Majid, is a French citizen. It is nice to hear a legitimate French accent for a change. One of the La Clef Montrealers told us a hick Quebecois fish story in French. I didn't understand it but he said it in a very thick Quebecois accent. The boys are sharing a room with two Londoners. I don't think they are too pleased about us being here; there are a few lumberjacks amongst us.

Wednesday- Day 2 Quebec City

This was our first day of performance. The day started with a quick breakfast and we made our way back to Quebec city. We drove in this time, and we were dropped off in front of the church. We went inside and prayed again. As I sat in a pew and looked upon the massive, ornate interior of the church, I sensed the presence of the Lord. I had never sat foot in a Catholic church before. I thought it would be a spiritually cold place, but it was so rich. I know it was because of the intense and abundant artistic imagery of Jesus everywhere I looked. The reverence practiced by everyone I saw was inspiring. I prayed for the lost to be found as I watched an old woman touching the breast of mary and faithfully saying the rosary.

We gathered outside of the church and met Helene Morrel and her daughter Rebekah. Helene is a prominent leader in the Protestant Quebec mission. She has been serving the Lord in Quebec for 30 years. I believe she knows the father's heart for Quebec better than anyone else. She is a unilingual french speaker, and a scholar who clearly has a mainland French accent. Her daughter/ translator was only 18 but I gathered that she had more life experience than most girls her age. I could tell she was very discerning off of the bat.

We made our way to the vans and set up the equipment. It took us much less time to get everything together and everything ran like clockwork. We marched single file back to the church-- it was about a block away. We must have looked quite strange all dressed in black, toting a black box and carrying brightly colored flags. We set up in a circle facing the church. As we started to perform, onlookers began to congregate on the church steps, on the benches in front and around us, and outside of the shops. All told there were 40 to 50 people watching us.

I was nervous and performed a little recklessly, but I was very impressed by how well everyone did. When we were done with the set, Greg, Frankie and I walked among the folks and played a popular French song while everyone packed up the equipment. A Quebecois approached me in french, and when I didn't understand he switched to English.

"Do you sing for Jesus?" he asked.

Saying a quick prayer I responded, "We sing for joy." I was unsure of his motives but he seemed like a happy man.

"Ah, so you sing for Jesus," he said.

I grinned and nodded, and I answered his questions about where we are from. We were playing in front of a church and delivering a message of love, so why wouldn't he think we were singing to Jesus? I think he definitely respected the fact that we were not openly preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to believe that the Spirit gave him he discernment to see that, but we were definitely not the first Christian performers he has seen.

Helene Morrel confirmed my thoughts when we went to lunch. The name of Jesus closes doors in Quebec. It is sad, but no work is too big for the Holy Spirit. Greg and Helene shared with each other about their ministries. It was encouraging and spooky how similar their hearts and visions for Quebec are; When the Lord has a word for the people he often uses many people to confirm it. Helene asked Greg if he felt like God was calling him to be a missionary. He responded that God was calling him to be a prophet. She nodded her head in agreement. We split up from the Morrels and drove to the plains of Abraham, a massive park near the Chateau Frontenac. Greg shared the history of the plains concerning their part in the French and Indian war. It was ironic that there was a parade getting ready to happen in a few hours to commemorate the war, even though the French were defeated.

From the plains, we walked to Frontenac. It was beautiful, but I am not a big fan of tourist traps. We watched a street performer do some acrobatics and a few of us set out for a fortress on top of the hill. We discussed discipleship, leadership, humility and submission. I could mull over those topics forever.

We went back to the Plains of Abraham and watched a little bit of the parade as it headed down the street. We met up with Helene again, and she told us (through Frankie and Rebekah) how moved she was by our performance. Her spirit was touched deeply. she shared some of her testimony and vision for Quebec. I love her heart, it is so genuine. She encouraged us and prayed for us. It was strange and powerful hearing her prayers in French and then again in Engish.

We went back to the church and debreifed until 1 am. I am so behind on journaling, there is no time!

Tuesday- Quebec City

Today I woke up refreshed and ready to work. I completed my morning routine and engaged in some worship. I could finally sing! I need to take it easy though; my range is not quite where it should be yet.

We had breakfast complete with Canadian bagels (same as American bagels but the holes were bigger) and nutella. We packed up and headed towards Quebec city.

We stopped in the outskirts of Montreal to exchange currency and then we went to a chicken place for lunch. Apparently there is an abundance of chicken places in French Canada. We met a couple there whose children live in Charlotte. What a small world! They were touched by the story of our ministry.

We arrived at our protestant church outside of Quebec City by late afternoon. It is located on some rural farmland off of the highway. The church looks fairly new and is quite spacious. Surrounding the property are some country houses, a huge barn complete with goats, several sheds and a large old blue cross. On the church property is the most interesting amalgamation of playground equipment I have ever seen. There is a contraption that looks like the lovechild of a swing and a picnic table. The church elders keep a vegetable garden complete with corn, beets, greens, cabbage, lettuce and others that I don't remember. I want one like that someday!

After we settled in, we rehearsed for the following day's performance. This was the first time in a while that we had all of our musicians with us. We ironed out some technical apects of the performance and got ready to go into town to see the church we would be performing in front of in old Quebec city. We had the choice of driving in or taking the ferry across le lac Megantic. We elected to take the ferry.

I was a bit hesitant to choose the ferry due to the cost, but I'm glad that we did. We were able to enter the old city from the center and walk the streets for a bit.

The biggest feature of Old Quebec is Le chateau Frontenac, a giant mansion that has been converted into a hotel and marks the heart of Quebec city tourism. We made our way to a place where La Cirque du Soleil was performing. They had four stages scattered under a 80 yard section of the freeway. The action moved from stage to stage. There were dancers, acrobats, jugglers and various themed characters, and gaily costumed performers on stilts moved through the crowds the whole time. It was such an immersive experience; I was blown away by their excellence and flawless technique. We were all very inspired artistically. I don't understand how that performance could be free and their tent performance is $250!

We made our way to the Catholic church where we would be playing. It was truly massive. In Quebec, the Catholic church represents decades of oppression and empty doctrine. The name of Jesus is generally shunned. We all stood in front of the church and marveled at it for a little while, and then we prayer walked around it for about an hour. It was surreal; for me it was a new experience to walk the streets and pray. We prayed for vision and direction. I saw a vision

of revival for the church of Quebec. Greg and I talked with a volunteer from the church, and he said there was a secular mission for underprivileged operating out of the church- he himself was not a believer. The church is gigantic and it took 20 minutes to completely circle it. As I neared the place that I originally started praying from, I saw the dancers worshiping the Lord in front of the steps of the church. Quebecois began to stop and stare at the strange sight-- who dances around a church at 11:00 at night? One of our musicians, who was a former missionary to Quebec, said in his four years in Montreal combined he never saw so much happening in the spirit. Praise the Lord!

We were all very sobered by what we had experienced. On the way back I realized how drawn I was to the culture of Quebec. I have never felt a push away from my home town of Charlotte until now. This is definitely not my last trip here.

Monday- Montreal, QC

Today was an interesting day of traveling. We started out with breakfast and a quick leader's meeting. We established the day's itinerary and what we should expect to encounter. At 9:30 we had our rehearsal. I definitely learned a lot about how to manage the setup/ teardown. Not that I know the best way to get everything transported, it will be easy to delegate and organize. We had a very pliable group and they listen to direction well. I just have to be very commanding- people need to know that I am running things. I am naturally non-confrontational, but I find it somewhat easy to adapt to situations. I desire to grow into roles that don't come easy for me- we should all pray for boldness.

When we got on the road, I rode with Greg and June in the minivan. We went over the performance setlist and reviewed the worship set, although I couldn't sing. I have had laryngitis and my doctor recommends I don't sing until tomorrow. After we got things lined up and nailed down, We talked about Greg's heart for the French culture. He has been sending teams to Montreal for 15 years. Greg is a consultant by trade, and he is very good at converting broad dreams into specific paths. With this background, he has used the Lord's vision to him for the French culture to fulfil a ministry that communicates true love to a people that has forgotten its meaning.

We arrived here at Fairview Alliance church in Montreal at dusk, where met up with the Montreal La clef team led by Greg's son Brendan. For the new folks, it was cool to meet them and learn about their ministry. For everyone else, it was a joyful reunion. After dinner, Brendan had everyone sit in a circle and share some words about ourselves and provide each other with some comic relief. "If Jesus was alive today what would he do?" (of course after we went all the way around we realized that Jesus IS alive today..) It was interesting to see what their mission is like as a result of the culture they are ministering to.

The Montreal folks left for their homes and us Charloteans had our nightly meeting and devotion. Tomorrow morning we leave for Quebec city. We will arrive and rehearse at another church, and hopefully hit the big city to scope out the next day's performance (and see Cirque du Soleil!).

Sunday- Harrisburg, PA

We left for Pennsylvania at 9:00 this morning. We packed the gear, and ourselves, in our tan 15 passenger van, I made a quick run down the checklist, and we were off. The trip to Harrisburg, with breaks, should have taken us 8 hours. After 10 hours and some major traffic, here we are.

The dancers are a load of fun to travel with! Due to the fact that I typically only got to spend time with the musicians at our rehearsals, I didn't get to experience their dancer-ness with any regularity or intensity. Everyone is so positive and uplifting and I don't see a trace of pride in anyone's hearts.

It really did not feel like ten hours. We were all in good spirits for this leg. I had some great conversations about callings/ careers, grace, love, truth, service, anguish, justice, the end times, mourning and God's pure joy, the modern church's mission, backpacking and fitness. We chatted about grace and our calling as Christians to love all people. It is encouraging and invigorating to know that our team is truly all about our Father's business. They are not out to break in their boots on this trip; they are walking in the truth in their daily lives. I am convinced that demonstrating God's love for us-- sacrificing our time, money and comfort for the good of others-- is how God wants us to prepare the way for His gospel (Mat. 22:36-40). The Lord has been speaking this specific message to each of us individually to unite us in faith for His purposes. He does that a lot in community :)

After the devotion tonight, Greg emphasized once again the seriousness of what we are doing-- the French-speaking Canadian culture is truly closed to all forms of thought except the arts. This is a core element that I will be meditating on throughout the course of this trip. We cannot simply deliver the message of Christ in a liberal fashion; it will not be received. Our greatest weapon will be love, and all of us are seeking the Lord for ways to show this, not just internally within the team in service and kindness, but as the Spirit leads in interaction with all people.

We went through the agenda for tomorrow, and we had to vote on whether to cross through the English-Canadian border or through the French-Canadian Border. The English border would be no problem, though it is out of the way and rather uneventful. The French border poses more risk from a customs standpoint; though the view would be amazing. I felt the need to pray about it and we will vote in the morning.

What to pray for tomorrow-

• Direction and peace in which border to cross
• I am directing the setup/ teardown for the equipment for our performances. I will need focus and boldness to lead in this way as we will be on a time crunch for this. Our first rehearsal is tomorrow morning so I will have an opportunity to test my mettle.

We're Off!

We leave from Steele Creek church at 8:45 this morning. I am so excited! We will stay the night in Harrisburg, PA and will do a rehearsal while there. Greg Hardee (our leader and the man behind La Clef) and his family are driving up from Kentucky after a brief visit. We meet up with the Greg's son, Brendan, and his Quebec-based La Clef team on Monday.

I have been packing all night and making last minute connections with folks before I leave. It has been a very packed set of days. I have had so much peace that it is overwhelming. I am quite excited about leaving the country for a little while and I look forward to the opportunity to see and operate in a completely different environment.

Please pray for safe travels for our team, and join me in praying for a powerful God-work to be performed in the hearts of those we will reach out to with our message of love.

Grace + peace,
Seth