Making Friends in Montreal

A few years ago we went on a mission trip to Montreal with the youth group from our church, Faith Community Church. A ministry called Christian Outreach International organized the trip for us. Our group met for training for several months prior to the trip. We weren’t sure exactly what we would be doing when we got there, but we each prioritized what we would most like to do—work with children, teens, college students, the homeless, etc. We were to rank the categories from 1 to 3—with 3 being the group we would most like to work with. I am embarrassed to say that I ranked working with the homeless a zero. I had a number of prejudices against the homeless. I was adamantly against working with them.

Well, needless to say, we spent most of the week working with the homeless—serving food at a shelter; making sandwiches and handing out the food at a park (we did this twice); as well as handing out food to random homeless people on the street. We sorted clothes that had been donated to a homeless mission and was available for the men and also sold in their thrift store.

We also did some ministry on the campus of McGill University and some street ministry—but our main work was with the homeless.

A young man with long hair in braids who reaches out to homeless teens with his wife, explained the situation in Montreal like this—

No one in Canada lacks food or shelter, what they are really starving for is relationships.

Indeed we saw this was the case. Many, who came for food, actually lived in nearby subsidized apartments. Some of them spoke to friends on cell phones, while they lined up for sandwiches. We saw a few familiar faces at the different sites where we handed out food.

I won’t digress on the effectiveness of this system. However, what this young man said was true—it was all about the relationships. What the people we met valued and appreciated more than the sandwiches or hot meals, was listening to our youth group sing, watching the skit they did, playing Frisbee with them, and just sitting on the park benches talking to them.

This broke down the prejudices that I had. Regardless of why or how these people got where they were, they were people—“precious in His sight” as the children’s song goes. Our group, teens and adults, saw the homeless in a different light. We were able to see beyond the glazed eyes of drug use or the confused look of the mentally ill and see the person underneath. It was a life changing experience. I would not have believed it, if I had not experienced it myself.

That’s what volunteering does—it stretches you. It leads you to do things you never thought possible. And it leads you to think things you never would have imagined.