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.
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