Mars 2024

Somehow it passed in a blur, those two days of traveling as we left the Appalachian Highlands for the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Montreal isn't that far from Pennsylvania but we decided to take the opportunity to swing northeast a ways to see Trevor & Mandy Koehn, some friends formerly of McVeytown who live near the border of Vermont and New Hampshire. We were on the road by 7:15 Monday morning. You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day, with clear skies all day long and good travels. We had a record load of stuff packed in the Ford Edge, more than I would have thought possible, and I felt as we were cruising the interstates that if anyone happened to hit us, the effect could be compared to a pinata. Thankfully nothing of the sort happened. The hatch was full though as well as the floor in front of the boys' seats and the space between them, and more stuff was crammed in the very front with us. Getting in and out was more like "installing" and "uninstalling."

New England had received a good load of snow just a couple days before so we enjoyed winter scenery up through the wilderness as we traversed Vermont. Mountains, resorts, cabins, tiny towns, lots of charm. Trevor & Mandy seemed thrilled to see us and it was sure good to see them in their neat little woodland lodge they're building. We went out for supper in Littleton at the Little Grille and had hot tea and good chat a long time after that back at their home. Good times continued over breakfast the next morning and we parted ways in good spirits feeling well blessed. 

We were at the border around noon. It went smoothly aside from having to wait there over 2.5 hours in the building. They were quite busy it seemed and when someone was finally free to work on our papers it took a relatively short time. We needed permits to be in Canada for a year and due to an incorrect detail on the applications they couldn't issue permits at this time, but gave us visitor passes meanwhile. Once we get that straightened out we'll go back to the border to reenter and hopefully get what we need. An hour later, there it was, the familiar skyline I was thrilled to see. Mid-afternoon around the city meant lots of traffic so going was a little slow, but soon enough we were on the island. We stopped to ease our hunger at a McDonald's in a plaza not far from our destination and after that our spirits were high. Bonjour, St. Leonard, Boulevard Lacordaire, the Jean Coutu on the corner, the familiar suburb streets, bonjour 5385 Rue Francheville!

Home again. 

Andrew & Brittany Thiessen welcomed us and it was only a few minutes later that the boys came home from their afternoon abroad: Sam Reimer from Enderby, BC, and Jonathan Miller from Pecos, TX. They helped us unpack the prodigious load of possessions from the Edge, and later I walked with Andrew to the Jean Coutu to refill transit passes for the coming month. We circled the neighborhood to the other side and got in line at a little boulangerie, or bakery, to pick up some baguettes and a few croissants. Back home we gathered around for supper and a good time getting more acquainted. Sabrina spent a lot of time finding places for all our things after that while Andrew showed me a lot of stuff around here. 

We are thrilled to be here. So much is new, even though so much is familiar. I feel so small. Keep us in your prayers as we transition to this role and learn how to fill it!

"Can we get in the van and go home?"

This is our new home now, boy.

"This isn't our home! Can we go to our old home?"

Someday, after a long, long time. Montreal is our home now!

♦ ♦ ♦

A mounting roar drowns conversation in a metro station as a sleek blue and silver train of the new AZUR design rockets out of the tunnel and slows to a stop. Debuted in 2016, they were rare enough to be a treat to ride that summer I was here in 2017; by now they are the majority of the trains on the system. Doors slide open and we step inside once other passengers have come out. The light strips on either side of the door switch from green to red, the three-note metro chime sounds, the doors close with a bump, and off we go. 

The ride is smooth and relatively quiet thanks to the huge rubber tires the train runs on. A lightly fragrant breeze rushes through the train as it picks up speed, sometimes floral, sometimes mellow, always a blend as unique as the group of passengers. The cars rock gently. 

Soon the train begins deceleration and we pop out of the darkness past a blur of faces on the platform as the voice announces the station. It is all so, so familiar. It feels like coming home, yet so much is new all over again. Doors slide open and we join the exodus to the stairs and up to the world aboveground, off to walk some streets and find the next appointment.

(https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/stm-azur-metro-cars-2016-bombardier-1.3438317) 

♦ ♦ ♦

I traversed the city with Andrew in the afternoon, and by the end of it I wasn't sure whether my headache was from tiredness or information overload. We visited the EBM office (Entraide Benevole Metro, https://ebmservices.org/fr/acceuil/) to visit the coordinators. Under this program, the volunteers visit a couple elderly clients each Monday afternoon, spending time with them, taking walks, helping with things like grocery shopping, etc.

Next we met the coordinator at Habitat for Humanity (https://quebec.habitat.ca/en) and discussed further volunteering options among other things. The boys spend Tuesday afternoons at a HFH ReStore location not far from our neighborhood, and may be spending some time at a build site in Lachine in the future. 

The last stop was Welcome Collective (https://www.welcomecollective.org/). The secretary took us on a tour and it is a wonderful work they are doing. Also amazing is how the organization has grown since its beginning around six years ago. Check out their site to learn more, I won't go into detail at this point. 

We met our families in Station Cremazie and went off to find some drinks at a little corner coffee shop called Noble Cafe, a favorite of theirs (https://www.somontreal.ca/en/restaurants/noble-cafe-45814/). For supper we brought pizza from a restaurant along Jarry and ran off to church for Bible study after that. It was neat to see the missionary family again, Regan & Caitlin and young daughters, as well as Danny & Tracey Allen and a man of Togo origin named Dythor (pronounced like "detour") who has been attending with his family for around a year. Good times together.

Every Thursday evening they put their cuisinier skills to use and craft supper for us. It brings back memories, watching the boys in the kitchen, our boys. 

It reminds me of my buddy's jambalaya (which he made often) and my extremely buttery rice (by mistake but it went down well). It reminds me of making chocolat noir with my other buddy and also of making chocolate pudding, to the delight of my little buddy "le singe."

Our boys. Sam Reimer: 19 year old Haitian from Enderby, sanguine, cheerful, dark smiling eyes. Jonathan Miller: 25 year old from Pecos, phlegmatic, easy-going, steady blue eyes. They are helpful and considerate and have been a joy to be with the past few days. Sadly Sam only has a handful of days left in Montreal but Jonathan will stick around into the summer. 

Barbeque bacon-wrapped chicken, gourmet potatoes, salad. We gather around, dig in, and my stomach says hallelujah amen. 

It's a beautiful spring morning on Good Friday, and the boys are around for the day.

Metal pipes clatter to the pavement as the boys and I disassemble the framework of our neighbor lady's tempo. 

"I just love that sound!" exclaims Hélène. "It means spring is here again." 

We've untied the tarp from the frame and it lies in the bright sunshine where she sprays and wipes the dirty bottom borders and leaves it to dry. Meanwhile we spin wing nuts off screws and pull apart the pipes, adding them to their respective stacks with a musical jangle. When it's all apart, we carry the pieces to the backside of her house and stow them under an overhang. 

We leave Hélène's tarp out to dry further, to fold later after we've taken down our own tempo. The project goes quickly with the three of us. Neighbor man Michel is hard at work taking apart his large tempo frame. When ours is all cleaned away, the boys help him carry large pieces in through his backyard gate. 

It's a Quebec thing, these tempos. Around Thanksgiving these structures go up over every driveway and remain there until spring. By mid-April they must all be stored away. If you open Google Maps and type in our address, "5385 Rue Francheville," you'll see ours.

I step out of the crisp clear evening into the aromas of the boulangerie-pâtisserie along Boulevard Viau. Le Marguerite is always busy and the queue often stretches out the door. Baguettes, fruit tarts, little cakes, and exotic desserts I've never seen before are stacked in the showcases and on the shelves. 

By this time of day some of the shelves are pretty bare. I look to the spot where I'd seen what I thought was a stack of pain au chocolat one other time and that is bare as well, so I ask the girl behind the counter.

"Vous avez du pain au chocolat?"

She shakes her head. No chocolate bread.

"D'accord. Une tarte au fraise, alors."

Another worker gets a small box and fetches the strawberry tart from the tray in the showcase. "C'est tout?"

"C'est tout, merci."

"Trois dollars cinquant, s'il vous plait." 

Coins are exchanged and the strawberry tart is mine. "Merci."

Pain au chocolat some other time, alors. 

♦ ♦ ♦

(https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boulangerie-P%C3%A2tisserie+La+marguerite/@45.5851251,-73.6082678,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x4cc91ee3c06aaae9:0x268f7279d50caed0!8m2!3d45.5851214!4d-73.6056929!16s%2Fg%2F11c32fdgpx?entry=ttu) 

3782 Rue Jarry Est, Montreal. The gilded letters on the sign say "Église de Dieu en Christ, Mennonite." Many people have walked through that door, many memories have been made. God's presence is there as always, bringing warmth and inspiration to the small group that gathers. CPS, Regan's, Danny & Tracey, Dythor & Grace with their spirited young boys, Dmitri with his wife and daughter, and Louis. Kelsey & Julia came from Roxton Falls to take part. 

Since it was Sam's final Sunday in Montreal, he took his opportunity to share an inspiration in the service. He spoke of our refuge in prayer and what a source of strength it can be for us, as we open our hearts to God and leave nothing hidden. Then he passed around copies of the song "The Secret Place," and we sang that together. 

It is always enjoyable singing together in the little church on Rue Jarry. Voices of different nationalities and backgrounds harmonize, bringing us together.

A small chapel in a big city. A secret place.