Quick Update

I'm sorry I haven't been writing a lot recently. Life has been busy here and it keeps getting busier. Other than my French lessons, I keep busy with helping people in the church; babysitting, helping people move, picking up kids, socializing. I have been attending a bible study that a Christian group on the local University campus organizes. They are with the Power to Change organization and I have really enjoyed getting to know a lot of those people. The English Conversation groups are continuing and we continue to have more new people almost every week. We will be having one more session this week before we take a break for two weeks, but we will continue due to the requests of the many people who have been coming. :)

Yesterday we had our first session for a Kid's Day in English at the church. I was in charge of it all, the organization, planning, getting volunteers, buying supplies. Being the leader and being in charge was and still is a little strange for me. It will take a while before I become comfortable with that position. I even had to make a short announcement to the church in French! That was nerve wracking! But Lord willingly I got through that and I got through Kid's Day.

We had quite a lot of kids come for the first day. I was expecting around 10-12, but in the end we had 17 kids by the time we were done. We had kids come from the church and  kids from the neighborhood, it was great. Everything really ended up going smoothly, but we did learn about some things that we need to change. But learning that now is a good thing. Hopefully we can fix that for the next time. I have two weeks to prep for the next session, and I pray that God will help me through this.

Again, thank you all so much for your prayers and support. It means so much to me. Please pray for this Kid's Day event and that these kid's will be open to the Word. And please pray for my health, I am afraid that all this activity is finally wearing me out and it may be possible that the cold/flu might finally catch up to me. As someone kindly mentioned to me today, I need to survive this and stay alive! :)

Thank you again. I hope you had a blessed Lord's Day.

Winter Carnival

Every year in Quebec City there is a winter carnival. It is a long event that lasts two to three weeks at the end of January and at the beginning of February. This particular carnival has returned every year for the last 60 years. It is a big event that lots of people enjoy. The history of this festival goes back to when the province was a territory of France in the 1600's. The villagers from both sides of the river would meet in the middle of the frozen river to have a time of festivities to celebrate the winter. Can you imagine that? They would create a small "village" in the middle of the river for this event and spend several weeks there. Today, the river cannot be allowed to freeze completely due to large ships of cargo and such. But the Quebecois people still celebrate it. And I experienced it for two days.

Most of the festivities happen on the weekends when they will have races and different sports in the snow and ice, but there are still things to do during the week. They have ice sculptures, snow sculptures, snow slides, different races and many events for the kids. It is a very family friendly environment, and I enjoyed that aspect of it. There is also a small Ice Palace where Bonhomme (the carnival's mascot) lives, and a parade of lights and floats. You can find out more about the carnival and the history of it here.

It can be fun, especially if the weather is nice. But it is usually very cold, and only the bravest will join the activities for a full day. I was able to walk around for one evening and watched part of the canoe races the following afternoon. The whole idea of a carnival in the middle of winter is bizarre, but it was quite enjoyable for me.

Game of Thrones throne

Inside Bonhomme's palace

The outside of Bonhomme's palace.

Snow sculpture

Ice sculpture

Canoe races.

If you are ever in Quebec City in the middle of winter, it just might be worth it to check out the carnival. I hope you all have a good and safe winter wherever you are. Stay warm!