If you are a member of Calvin CRC, December brings many things. There's the Calvin Christmas party (see another entry on that one) as well as packing shoe boxes full of stuff for Seafarers that pass through the Montreal Seafarer centre.
I've made it an annual tradition to bring those gifts (as well as gifts from a couple of other churches) to Montreal with our youth. I think it important that they see this place, and know that there are some neat things going on near them that help bless others.
In past years I've had up to 15 or so come with me to Montreal. We usually go on a Sunday afternoon, but this year I decided to try Saturday. Well, let's just say that people seem busier on Saturday than Sunday. : )
The only takers I got this year were Judy and her son David. Not that I'm complaining, because I'd go if it was just me. I was actually looking forward to taking just two, and Judy had never been before, so this would be a good experience for her.
We begin by taking a picture of all the wrapped shoe boxes. This year Calvin packed 65 of them, with another 27 coming from two other churches.
David and Judy brought bags to help take the parcels to the van with. I think they were laundry bags. Not a bad idea.
The back of my van with all the gifts. We are ready to go!
It's about a 2.5 hour drive with good traffic. We left at 3 pm, and arrived pretty much at 5:30 pm. I only took one wrong turn this time (I hate driving in Montreal). Only a 5 minute delay. Yeah!
When we arrived, the Manager, Albertha, helped us unload all the gifts, and then gave Judy (and David and I) a tour of the building.
She began with the location of the centre in relation to the rest of the port.
This is the library, which around this time of year doubles as the present storage area. They move about 1500 parcels a year through here.
Judy saw the chapel, the really old and solid billiard table, the quiet room where all the Bibles are kept, and we even got to go into the back room (I'd never been there before). Lots of plaques of past people honored, as well as pictures of the old centre. Quite interesting stuff.
This picture is the wall of money. Some time ago (no one seems to know when) people began putting currency up on this wall from their respective country. There is LOTS of money up on this wall. Very interesting to look at.
After about 1.5 hours we left for home. Albertha was a fountain of knowledge. It was nice to hear new things about the centre.
We arrived home again by about 9:30 pm. Another nice trip, and another opportunity for people from all over Ontario be a blessing to seafarers at Christmas time.
In case you wonder if your parcels make a difference, Albertha told us a story of one woman who was very depressed at Christmas time because she thought no one cared about her. The captain had placed the parcels at the doors of everyone on Christmas morning, and when she opened her door, she found a parcel; just for her.
She cried because she knew that she was not forgotten. Someone had taken the time to wrap and pack a shoe box just for her.............I'm reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 6: 1 - 4:
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The centre has just come out with a new video. It's very well done, and worth a look. Click on this YouTube link below and take a look.
No comments:
Post a Comment