And then there was Peace (Our Journey to Montreal, part 4)
Just a recap, 7:30pm Friday night, Vernon and I were picked up by the Head Elder of the church we would be speaking at, and Meriam’s sister Mercy.
I can’t began to tell you how relieved Vernon and I were to be on Canadian soil. We were tired, weary and very concerned for Sonny and Meriam, but very happy we made it. Mercy took us to Meriam’s apartment building where their Sister Nancy is the manager of the building. There we met Nancy and her husband Al.
That night we stayed in Meriam’s apartment and right away we started getting ready for the next day. Going over the songs and making sure our sermons and power point was ready. We finally got to sleep around midnight.
The next morning Al, Nancy’s husband, came up to tell us breakfast was ready. Nancy and Al lived on the 3rd floor and Meriam’s apartment was on the 6th floor. Breakfast was wonderful; it was like we were having dinner. We never have that much to eat on a Sabbath morning. But we enjoyed every morsel.
They did not live very far from the church, so it took us about 15min. Snow was still on the ground so we had to wear our boots and carry our dress shoes. The sun was shining and the air clear and crisp.
When we arrived at the church the Pastor was there and we were blessed to meet him, a very nice man. The members were very kind and seemed to be happy we were there.
Vernon and I could feel the presence of the Lord in the church as we shared our testimonies. After the service was over, Meriam’s family wanted to take pictures with us. For those of you who know me know, I don’t like taking pictures. But I did not mind that day. We took pictures with the Pastor and his wife and all of Meriam’s sisters and their husbands. My heart was a little sad that Meriam was not there to enjoy her family.
The fellowship meal was wonderful and if you know anything about Asians they love food and want to make sure you have plenty to eat, and boy oh boy did we. They kept bringing so much food to our table we could not eat all of it. The Pastor and his wife sat with us and during the meal his wife said she loves when speakers come because she get to have more food to eat and she doesn’t have to get up to get it.
The elder on duty that Sabbath sat with us as well. He told us he didn’t even realize the time (it takes about an hour to share our testimonies) because he could have sat there for several more hours listening to our testimonies. He said he cried. Members were coming over to our table asking questions, wanting more. The Pastor’s wife told us it made her want to know the Savior better. As we shared more of our story with them the Pastor told us he was being moved to 2 other churches in Alberta, Canada and he invited us to come and speak at those churches this summer. Vernon and I were very humbled.
Vernon and I can truly say we were blessed by the Filipino Montreal SDA Church and we are so grateful we were asked to come and share our story.
That evening Mercy and her sister Raquel drove us around the city of Montreal so we could see how pretty it was at night. They took us to their look out point where you could see the whole city of Montreal. It was beautiful. The next morning Nancy and her husband Al, Mercy, Vernon and I headed back over the border to the US side to help Meriam and Sonny unload the U-Haul truck with their belongings into the storage unit we found that Friday. We had dinner with them and the sisters were able to spend some time together. We said our good byes and headed back over the border. It was very sad leaving them on the US side. The sisters were able to bring some of Meriam’s things over that made them happy.
On Monday they had a full day planned for Vernon and me. We got to see so many wonderful places in Canada, our on special tour. One of the new friends we met at the church took us to their country home, about an hour’s drive out of Montreal. The snow was amazingly high and beautiful. I hadn’t seen snow like that since I was a child in PA.
We visited a famous ski resort and had some wonderful treats to eat. All in all we had a great time and we will never forget how Meriam’s family made us feel like part of their family. That night the whole family met at Mercy and Sam’s home for a good bye dinner. The food was amazing and our new family was wonderful.
Our plane left Tuesday afternoon headed back home to TN. What an adventure we had. One we will never forget. We watched the hand of God take us through very difficult times as we made our way to Canada. That very hand of God blessed us with the wonderful people of the Filipino SDA Church of Montreal.
Vernon and I look forward to seeing our new family again someday. As for Meriam and Sonny, they went back to TN to establish residence for one month in the US. Meriam stayed for two weeks to make sure Sonny was secure at his sister’s home and she flew back to Canada to start the process for Sonny to become a Canadian citizen. Continue to pray with us for Sonny and Meriam as they move into the next chapter of their lives.
Go back and read parts 1-3 of our trip to Montreal if you haven’t already ;-)
