The Spirit of Christmas

 

This past weekend, on December 20^th, I celebrated my one-year anniversary of living in Montreal! As I have been reflecting on all that has happened since arriving here, it amazes me how God has provided for all my needs since starting to serve at The Open Door.

 

Since I first arrived in Montreal, I have been astonished by the graciousness of others. Amy, a friend of Sarah’s, allowed me to stay at her place for the first few weeks while she was away visiting her family in another province for Christmas. Then I was able to rent a fully furnished apartment for five months from Nathan and Sherri, other friends of Sarah, who were living in Berlin, Germany but still had an apartment in Montreal. And let’s not forget my best friend, Sarah, who has helped me immensely to get settled and acclimatized to the French culture that surrounds me. I now realize just how important it is to be fluent in French, since it’s the primary language spoken here in Quebec.

 

One of the most amazing things that I have seen in my first year of serving as a missionary is the development of my abilities to deal with the chronic issue of homelessness. God has definitely been involved in teaching me love, patience, kindness, grace and mercy when it comes to serving those who have been forgotten by society as a whole. I know I can’t personally end homelessness all on my own, but I do know that I have helped The Open Door become more accessible for those who are living on the streets to find a safe place to rest, eat, and access the services that they need in order to help make their lives a bit easier. It takes a team to accomplish what happens every day at The Open Door and, as I have talked about in previous updates, I am grateful to be working alongside a great team of fellow workers and volunteers.

 

In the true spirit of Christmas, The Open Door is going to be open during the entire Christmas holiday week. Since we are one of the only day shelters/drop-in centers that will be open during this time, we expect to see an increase in the numbers of clients served each day. Each day this week, a different church or group of volunteers will come in to prepare, cook, and serve our homeless friends. Both of the churches that I attend, Vineyard Montreal (www.vineyardmontreal.com) and Emmaus Anglican Church (www.emmausanglicanchurch.com), will take their turn to serve the needs of our friends at The Open Door. What a blessing it is to be a part of such a demonstration of love to those who don’t have families or homes during the Christmas season.

 

As this year draws to a close, I am grateful for how God has provided for my financial and spiritual needs by using everyone who has given financially and prayerfully. God has definitely had His hand on my life over the past year, and it is evident by how I have grown personally and how my relationships have developed with those who surround me both here in Montreal and abroad.

If God is calling you to share His love, don’t hesitate and I challenge you to trust in Him with your whole heart and let Him direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). I also ask you to consider sharing and partnering with me in my mission to help The Open Door serve Montreal’s homeless. It’s never too late to give and all year-end gifts will be tax deductible.

For more information on what I do at The Open Door, please check out my most recent video:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dqk80yvd6agb2ix/Hal%20Bell%20-%20Update%20on%20Mission%20Montreal%202014-15.mov?dl=0

To all my supporters and your loved ones, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2015.

To Christ be all the glory!!

Thankful to Serve at The Open Door

 

 

As Thanksgiving Day in the United States is tomorrow, November 27th, it will be my second opportunity to take inventory of how much I have had to be thankful for in the past year (Canadian Thanksgiving was on October 10th). I have been reflecting on the fact that it’s been nearly a year since I have been in Montreal as a missionary with The Open Door. During that time, I have been surrounded by a great community of friends, co-workers and fellow believers.  With the help of all those people, I have learned much and grown spiritually during this past year.

Volunteering at The Open Door, and living in a different country, can certainly be a very draining yet rewarding experience. God’s grace, mercy and hope have given me the motivation to stay the course, and the support and love of good friends has made it all possible.

I am certain that in one blog post I won’t be able to name all the names of those who have walked alongside me during my time in Montreal thus far, but here are some of those people who have been impacting my life in one way or another.

I am thankful for Caleb Clark and Brennan Huard for giving me the opportunity to come and serve at The Open Door. I am learning a lot from both of them on a continuous basis. Caleb’s leadership, on both a spiritual and personal level, has made quite an impact in my life. I still have a lot to learn and soak in from his leadership as Director of The Open Door. Brennan and her husband, David, have taught me about the importance of building community with our friends of The Open Door (our homeless clients) as well as those who volunteer their time to serve. Many of our friends who visit The Open Door don't have a home or family, so they come to The Open Door for their community. And in my October post, I wrote about David Chapman (Assistant Director) and Josiah Henderson (a fellow co-worker), both of whom are teaching me the art of patience, forgiveness and love for the homeless.

I am thankful for the two churches with which I am the most involved in Montreal: Eglise Vineyard Montreal Church (www.vineyardmontreal.com) and Emmaus Anglican Church (www.emmausanglicanchurch.com). Both of these churches have helped me with my spiritual growth and are also supporters of the work of The Open Door. It takes a community of believers working together to help the poor and needy, and being a part of both of these congregations has allowed me to see two different denominations of believers demonstrating the love of Christ in tangible ways.

I am thankful for the generous financial support of each one of my donors who contribute on a monthly basis to support my mission here in Montreal. Along with the stipend I receive from The Open Door, each of my donors make very precious contributions to the payment of my living expenses each month. It is because of my supporters that my mission is possible, and I am so very thankful for how God has supplied me with faithful donors and prayer partners to help me serve the poor and needy of Montreal.

It is a blessing working with these two at the Open Door

David & Josiah

 



 

This past summer, the City of Montreal closed down a number of public parks in the downtown core, including a nearby park called Cabot Square, for rejuvenation and renovation. The Cabot Square renovation is slated to last one full year, which greatly affects our homeless population because this park was a gathering point for them, a place where they knew that they could find friends.

As a result of the closure, our homeless friends would have had nowhere else to go, so The Open Door united with other non-profit organizations that serve the homeless in a project called the “Cabot Square Project”. We are collaborating with local outreach workers, social workers, street nurses, First Nation groups, neighborhood security, the City of Montreal and Station 12 of the Montreal Police Department to help fill the need for the homeless to have a safe place to stay during the closure of the park.

The Open Door’s collaboration in this project helped us to get the funds needed to extend the hours of the shelter. In order to facilitate the extended hours, we hired an Assistant Director David Chapman ( on the left) and a few summer interns, one of whom was Josiah Henderson (on the right, in red).

In July’s update, I wrote briefly about David, as he had just been hired as the Assistant Director. David is an ordained Anglican Priest and he has experience working with the First Nations people. He has leadership skills and is also a great example of serving with patience. David fits in perfectly as the Assistant Director.

David has taught me personally a lot about patience and has mentored me on how I can become better at relating to those who live in Montreal. He has also taught me some French along the way. David’s signature saying is “C’est bon, c’est bon” which translates to something like “it’s good, it’s good”. He says that it was one of the first French sayings that he learned as he was shopping at a local grocery store.

Josiah was hired on a short-term basis as one of the summer interns, but was then offered the opportunity to keep working part-time once the internship was over. He learned the different aspects of his position very quickly and has also taken initiative in other areas as a leader. Josiah’s attitude is one that is very humble and he is very diligent about serving the needs of others before those of himself. He is currently studying theology and puts what he learns into practice at The Open Door.

Personally, I have learned from Josiah how to be more humble when working with our clients who can sometimes push our limits of patience. I also really enjoy working with him, as we share the responsibility of coordinating the shelter’s volunteers and workers.

Both David and Josiah are great assets to have at The Open Door and we truly wouldn’t be able to operate the longer hours without them. They have both also been a great support to me when I have been in need of a break. I truly appreciate both of them and am very thankful to our Lord that they work alongside me at The Open Door.

 

 

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:24-25         

 

Summer Camp with the Open Door

 

 

Every August, the Open Door organizes a Summer Camp for the clients. It is an opportunity for our homeless friends to get out of the city for a few days to relax and get away from their lives in the city. In the past, the shelter has been closed during summer camp; this year, however, there was enough staff to operate both the shelter and the summer camp, which meant that those who were not going to camp could still access the services at the shelter.

 

It was my first adventure with my homeless friends outside the setting of the shelter. Caleb, the Director of the Open Door, describes summer camp as a great opportunity to interact in a more personal way with the clients and to build better relationships and bonds with them. For me, I was able to connect with those who I have had difficulties reaching at the shelter. It gave me a better understanding of some of their stories and their need to get away from their daily lives. It was also a time for them to share with me their struggles as well as their visions for the future.

 

The summer camp is held at a location called Camp Weredale, which is situated on Lake Achigan in Saint Hippolyte, Quebec, about an hour north of Montreal. It is surrounded by water and nature and is primarily a camp for children and youth from the Batshaw Youth and Family Centers. It is available to the Open Door after the last week of their regular camp schedule. For the past four years, it has been a great place to connect with our homeless friends on a more personal level.

 

The men shared the cabins, with some sharing rooms with two beds, and the women stayed in a house that normally houses the camp staff. There was plenty of food and coffee to go around, and we had access to the lake and activities such as kayaking, canoeing, swimming and fishing. And of course, the chance to relax, rest and enjoy the peace and quiet that the wilderness offers.

 

For me personally, going to summer camp gave me a chance to reflect on how my mission is going so far and how I have been interacting with the clients at the Open Door. It also gave me opportunities to listen to and understand more of the hardships experienced by the homeless, and to build stronger relationships with those who were there. In the peace of the wilderness, I reflected on how God is working in and through me to reach the lost and brokenhearted.

 

My ministry to help the homeless of Montreal is supported by generous gifts and  donations of individuals. If you feel moved to help please contact me at halbellcbm@gmail.com.

Shoes for Santiago

 

I recently made a trip back to Denver so that I could reconnect with the organization that sent me as a missionary to Montreal, as well as my church community there and some of my supporters. The visit was great and it was a good opportunity to update everyone on how things are going so far in Montreal.

During the visit, one of the people I met up with was my friend Michael, who lives and works at Christ’s Body Ministries, the organization I worked for when I lived in Denver. We met early one morning to have breakfast together and, as we were walking to the restaurant, we passed a guy who was asleep on the steps leading up to an apartment building. I thought to myself that he looked familiar but I wasn’t sure at the time exactly who he was.

On our way back from breakfast, we passed him again and this time he was sitting on the steps with his head down over his crossed arms, showing his tattoos. I recognized the tattoos but I still wasn’t sure who he was. After walking a little further, I felt an urge to see if he was okay and ask if he needed any help, so Michael and I walked back to him.

I gently touched his arm and asked him if he was okay. When he looked up, I immediately remembered his name… Santiago, a regular client of Christ’s Body Ministries. He also recognized me right away, got up to embrace me, and asked me where I had been.

Santiago explained that his sister who is disabled was just recently displaced and needed to find shelter. He also said that he needed to go see his parole officer but had no way of getting there. Michael offered Santiago two bus tickets and I asked him if he was hungry. Santiago gratefully accepted the bus tickets and said that he hadn’t eaten for a while and would love something to eat.
 

As Santiago and I were talking and sharing our mutual faith in God, I noticed that he was wearing flip flops and that his feet were very badly beat up. He told me that it’s hard to find his shoe size in any of the shelters that provide clothes. So I stopped walking and said that we should pray for shoes in that exact size to be provided for him that morning. He agreed with me in prayer as we asked the Lord for a solution to Santiago’s need for shoes in a specific size.

 We continued walking and, no more than half a block further, we came across a pair of Nike running shoes sitting on some steps. We were astonished to find a set of car keys, a wallet, and a cell phone inside the shoes. Santiago handed me the personal belongings. I looked inside the wallet for an address and it appeared that it belonged to a guy who lived in a different county. I pressed the alarm button on the car key pad, but no car in sight responded. The phone was locked. I decided to bring the personal belongings to Christ’s Body Ministries so the staff could contact the owner and make sure he got them back.

As for the shoes, they were the exact size that Santiago and I had prayed for, so I told Santiago he should keep them. I didn’t think the owner of the shoes would mind as long as his wallet, cell phone, and car keys were returned. Santiago praised God for the provision and it built both of our faiths to see how quickly God provided for the needs of one of his children.

Michael from Christ’s Body Ministries contacted the Denver Police and they were able to reunite the owner with his belongings.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

God Opens the Doors which Man Closes

In my previous update, I wrote about how caring for my homeless friend, Dan, has impacted me. I would like to continue the story, as it continues to be a situation that is deeply impacting me. The names of most of the individuals in this update have been changed to protect their identities.

Dan was eventually admitted to the hospital so that the doctors could determine what was ailing him. However, in the middle of the week, while the hospital was in the process of conducting the tests, a doctor decided to prematurely discharge him from the hospital, without notifying anyone. The Director of the Open Door, Caleb, received a call from a patient rights’ advocate, Amy, who has been working with Dan for several years to get his welfare and pension in order. She informed Caleb that Dan had been discharged from the hospital but was disorientated and possibly lost in the hospital, and Caleb notified me right away of what had happened.

At about the same time that we received the call, I was radioed that I had a visitor. I went to go see who it was and it turns out that my visitor was a guy named Derek. I had first met Derek the day before in the hospital while Dan was visiting with his sister. Derek told me that he had felt God calling him to go to The Open Door and meet me, but really didn’t know why. I quickly realized that God was instrumental in sending Derek to meet me so that both of us could work together to find Dan and ensure that he was in safe place. I was given permission to leave the shelter early, and Derek and I left for the hospital.

The dilemma we had on our hands was that it was already late afternoon… most shelters are filled for the night long before evening comes around and we had to find a suitable place for Dan to spend the night. I have only been in Montreal for 7 months, so I haven’t yet gotten acquainted with all the overnight shelters and their admission requirements… I think this is why God sent Derek to meet me. Derek has been lived in Montreal for most of his life and he is very involved with feeding the homeless through an outreach run by his local church, River’s Edge (http://edger.ca/serve/community-kitchen/). Derek is also familiar with all of the resources available for homeless people in Montreal, and he has a contact at the Old Brewery Mission. We called right away and a staff member at the Old Brewery Mission told us that they might be able to give him a bed as long as we got him there before 7:30 pm or that they would, at the least, give him a mat to sleep on.

Once we arrived at the Old Brewery Mission and introduced Dan to the front desk worker, we were surprised to find out that Dan’s niece had worked there for over 10 years and that, because of his niece’s loyalty to the shelter, they would make sure that he had a bed and was well taken care of. What an amazing blessing from God… man may close a door but God surely opens doors!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receive; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

The very next day, I received a call from Dan’s sister who let me know that Dan had had a diabetic attack that morning and that he had been readmitted to the hospital. I called the hospital and was able to speak to the doctor who was overseeing his care. It was ironically, or not, the very same doctor who had decided to discharge Dan prematurely just the day before! Fortunately, he realized that it had not been a good decision to discharge him and I was able to advocate once again for Dan’s care during that conversation. In the words of our pastor, Dean Downey, who gave the message this morning at church, I realized the wisdom behind “defending the underdog without attacking the attacker”. I am thankful that I was able to weigh the words I used in that conversation so that the focus was kept on how to help Dan from this point forward, instead of focusing on the doctor’s actions.

We are now praying for and working to get Dan admitted into a respite facility once he is discharged from the hospital so that he can continue to receive the medical care that he needs and that an overnight shelter is not equipped to provide.

Will you continue to pray for Dan’s health and welfare, and that we will be able to help Dan find a safe place for him to stay where his health problems can be overseen on a daily basis?

Thank you for your continued support of my mission!

An Advocate for the Forgotten

The reason for which I am in this ministry to help the homeless has rung truer than ever recently… a deep compassion for human dignity. I recently got involved with advocating for the health and welfare of one of the clients that we serve at The Open Door.  I will call him Dan to protect his identity. 

 

Dan is an older gentleman in his late 60s who has progressively become frailer as a result of a lot of time spent outside. This past winter was very cold and it was especially hard on him. We had not seen him in months, but we knew that he was sleeping in the Metro stations (Montreal’s subway system), that the food service workers at the nearby Alexis Nihon Mall were feeding him donations, and that the Mall Security personnel were protecting him.

 

Just recently, Montreal police officers escorted Dan to see us after members of the local public had expressed a concern for his welfare. The police officers asked us to give him a shower, new clothes and food. We were able to provide him with clean clothes and food, but we unfortunately do not have showers for our clients. The next day, we were made aware that he was back in the Metro station but very weak and frail. With the help of an Outreach Worker, I helped Dan walk back to The Open Door so that we could help him.

 

Soon after we got Dan back to the drop-in centre that day, he asked to be taken to the hospital. Yet he was also very afraid because he had had a bad experience with being released from the same hospital after only a day of being treated. So, I called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital and told him that I would go with him so that he would not have to go alone.

 

I made sure that Dan was settled in the ER of the hospital and told him that I would return later in the day to check up on him. I did return 8 hours later and, to my great surprise, found him in the exact same state that I had left him that afternoon! None of the ER staff had checked on him or even wanted to help him. How is it conceivable that just because someone is homeless means that they will receive the least amount of treatment humanly possible? It was at that point that I, heartbroken for this man and frustrated with the hospital staff, realized that I needed to advocate on his behalf for proper care.

 

 

 

The first thing I did was pray for and comfort Dan. Then I tried to find a nurse who would provide care to him. Unsuccessful, I used my previous experience as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and took it upon myself to clean him up. I found the linen closet, a gown, gloves and some wipes and did the best job that I could. Then I went to find the Physician in charge and advocate for better care for him. I can see why Dan was afraid to go back to the hospital after I saw the way they treated him!

I decided to stay with him during the night so that I could make sure that the ER doctors and nurses were providing him with continuous care. Fortunately, I started to see a change of perspective about Dan amongst the staff. He is very weak and appears to be at the end of his rope in life… and thankfully the staff at the hospital are seeing his humanity, not just that he is homeless, and are showing him compassion in providing his care.

 

 

This experience has been a shocking and eye-opening view of how our society treats the homeless. Yet Jesus has a very different perspective of those who are in need… “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36. Please continue to pray for me as I serve and help those who are homeless in Montreal, and please pray for Dan.

Trainings that have helped me serve those in need in Montreal

Since being with The Open Door, I have had the opportunity to participate in several training programs, all of which have helped me understand and work more effectively with the population that frequents The Open Door.

·        In February, I attended a training seminar on helping and protecting vulnerable adults similar to the clients we serve at the Open Door.

·        In March, I participated in a two-day Motivational Interviewing course, in which I learned a basic therapeutic approach for helping clients strengthen their motivation and commitment to change by exploring their own argument for their change. Rachel Green, Ph.D. is a psychologist, counsellor and Motivational Interviewing workshop facilitator, as well as the founder of dancing gecko  http://www.motivationalinterviewingmontreal.org/

 

 

·        In May, I attended a training session called “Aboriginal Awareness”, based on the needs of the First Nations population (Native Indigenous people of Canada, similar to the Native Americans of the US). I learned about their history in Canada, how the Catholic and Anglican Churches tried to incorporate the western belief systems into their culture, and practical ways to best respect and treat them as a unique sector of the population. This training was held at the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal Inc. http://nfcm.org/.

 

 

The Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM) has provided continuous quality services to the urban Aboriginal population of Montreal and their families and is the only comprehensive service and referral point in the Greater Montreal Area (GMA) in relation to health, social services, legal, orientation/information, education, training, and employment referral for those migrating to or through the city including those from across Quebec, Canada, and the Americas.

 

Summer is here at the Open Door

First of all, Happy Canada Day! July 1st is Canada’s national holiday.
 

As for an update on how things are going at The Open Door, it has been an exciting season of change!

The Open Door recently hired a new Assistant Director, who I have been training on the operations of the center in order to help with the workflow. His name is David Chapman and he is an ordained Anglican Priest who has experience with the First Nations people. It is a great blessing and an answer to prayer that he is now working with us and we are already working well together as a team! The addition of David to the team will allow Caleb to focus on spending more one-on-one time with clients, networking with other organizations and fundraising.

We also hope to soon hire a Program Coordinator to help with coordinating projects for our clients to work on, and therefore remain busy, during the hours we are open.

We have recruited new volunteers, including a gardener, a music therapist, and a cook. Three summer intern students will also be working at The Open Door for July and August to help with activity coordination and social services.

 

As a result of this increase in staff and volunteers, we have, as of two weeks ago, increased our hours of operation by 2.5 hours per day. We will now be opening an hour earlier, at 7:30 am, and closing an hour and a half later, at 3:30 pm, each day of the week in order to meet the needs of our homeless friends.

On a more personal note, check out this video I posted the other day on my YouTube channel…

Sense of Belonging

 

 

         I have now spent nearly 6 months in Montreal, Quebec and have a sense that I really belong here and that this is where God wants me. I feel that my presence is needed here at The Open Door to help with its daily operations and, as a team, we are praying for more staff members to be added to the team and that the hours of operation will be increased. I am looking forward to experiencing and being a part of that transition. This process of growth is new territory for me, both personally and in my work environment. Not only am I experiencing a difference in ethnicity, language, but my job is also much labor intensive than at Christ’s Body. With the help of Caleb, the Director of The Open Door, I am learning and becoming proficient in my role as Operations Coordinator. I am helping and guiding the volunteers and community service and welfare program workers to build a team that operates the drop-in center for our poor and homeless clients.

         It certainly hasn’t been a bed of roses since arriving in Montreal, but I have enjoyed the transition from living in Denver. Neighborhoods are closer and more compact, with grocery and other stores all within walking distance. I am realizing that there is a definite need to learn French, or Quebecois as French Quebecers refer to their dialect. If this is where God wants me and if I am to be employed here in the future, I will definitely have to learn French, or suffer. Since we are on the subject of suffering, I have struggled with some personal issues in the last few months that have affected some of my personal relationships, but it is nothing that is too much for the power of Christ to overcome. Getting to know myself better and who God created me to be is a daily experience that I have enjoyed.

         If you know me, then you know that I don’t have a hard time making friends and I already feel like I am surrounded by great friends here in Montreal. I would have to say that I have definitely been much more physically active than in Denver, but I knew that coming here! I have been working hard to keep losing weight, which has given me a boost in energy and endurance. I still have some nagging injuries, but I am learning that much can be improved upon with proper stretching and by changing my diet.

This is gluten free bread!

         After surviving four months of winter, with extreme temperatures that dropped close to -40*F, and still having to walk practically everywhere, short sleeve weather finally starts at 55*F. Winter seemed to be here forever, but once Spring arrived it only took two weeks for the trees to bloom… it’s a remarkable transition from cold and grey to the leaves and flowers blooming. Humidity is starting to rise as well and my body has not quite acclimatized to that yet. I’m starting to get used to sweating again and I actually enjoy it (I know I am burning something when I’m sweating), I just need to find the right balance in activity to keep me from soaking my shirts. When summer comes, I imagine I will be back to taking three showers a day just to cool off.

         For the past five months, I have been living in a neighborhood of Montreal called Verdun, which is really close to the St. Lawrence River. This past weekend, however, I moved to another neighborhood called Notre-Dame-de-Grace, aka NDG for short. It’s farther away from the water, but in a trendy part of the city. There is a lot more variety of shops, stores, restaurants, parks and recreation close to where I will be living. And the best part of it all is that it’s closer to where Sarah lives. It’ll also be an easier commute to The Open Door. If the metro breaks down, which it does from time to time, I will have more transportation options, including multiple bus routes, or the choice to bike or walk.

Update on Life in Montreal

I can tell you two things for sure… I miss Denver, but I'm really having fun here in Montreal!

Where do I start… what is my life like in Montreal?

Upon arriving in Montreal, Sarah (my fiancée) had me really slow down and rest for the first 20 days that I was here. I reset my sleep patterns and I started sleeping 8-10 hours per night instead of only 6 hours and I started walking everywhere. She also helped me change my eating habits… I am currently gluten-free and trying to conquer sugar-free too. Pastries are no longer a temptation but man they have the best chocolate here. Local fresh farm and garden food is readily available here, and I think that the only products imported from out-of-country are packaged foods, and fruits from Central & South America.

 

I've become quite acclimatized since I've moved to Quebec. The winters generally last 6 months, from November to April. The coldest months are in January and February so they are almost over… woohoo!! I also got to experience my first extreme cold low... -37*C… wow, that was frigid, you have to keep moving just to stay warm!
 

Since being up here and walking everywhere, being constantly on the go at The Open Door, taking the bus and metro (subway), and changing my diet and eating habits, I have lost 25 lbs, 2 pant sizes and 1 shirt size. I really look homeless now because my winter jacket is too large for me and the sleeves hang past my hands… haha! It’s a bummer because I really like that jacket. I estimate by the way I'm losing weight that I will be either a large or medium in shirt size by next Christmas.

Sarah and I currently fellowship at the Vineyard Montreal Church. I also go to Emmaus Anglican Church every 3rd Sunday for a number of reasons. First, I’m a confirmed Anglican; second, I enjoy celebrating the Eucharist and shaking things up in a quiet church; third, I’m a missionary with the Colorado Anglican Society; fourth, Emmaus is the sponsoring church that oversees the operations of The Open Door; and finally, I want to bridge the gap between the Anglican communities in Canada and the United States.

I also attend the weekly prayer service that is hosted by Isaiah 40 every Tuesday morning. Isaiah 40 is an Anglican counseling center that hosts missionaries who come to Montreal. I also feel called to pray for the hurting and the broken-hearted that I meet in my neighborhood and on my travels around the city. And, of course, I still follow up on prayer requests from my many friends around the world.

 

I have a great apartment located in the heart of Verdun, which is an area of Montreal. It’s a 2 bedroom, with an open concept living room and kitchen. It has a washer and dryer, which is a huge plus, and the rent is affordable, thanks to friends of Sarah who are subletting to me until the end of May. I recently started hosting our church’s home group every 2nd Thursday, and I also recently invited a bunch of guys over for my first ‘Settlers of Catan’ games night!

 

My mission to The Open Door

I am serving as a missionary/volunteer for The Open Door / La Porte ouverte as the operations’ coordinator. The Open Door is located near downtown Montreal and near the heart of where a lot of homeless and poor spend their days and nights. 

 

 
My duties include overseeing the volunteers, community service workers, and welfare program workers; and ensuring the smooth operation of services such as breakfast, lunch, laundry service, clothing bank, and food bank. We have social and outreach workers who come in on a weekly basis, along with outreach nurses who tend to minor injuries and vaccinations. We also help with applications for medical identification, housing and work.

We are currently trying to get our computers back online so we can provide internet service again. We are working with a local law enforcement officer who is a Christian and has compassion on the homeless. He has helped us get the majority of the donations that we need but we still need a network cable and a modem that will serve 4 desktop computers and a printer.

 

My biggest challenges so far and a prayer request

It has honestly been struggle so far to raise enough support to cover the costs of my monthly expenses. After I put so much energy and effort into completing my tasks at the Open Door every day, spend time in prayer and intercession, go to the gym 3 times a week, and then spend some quality time with Sarah (who, although she is doing most of the work, also sometimes needs my help with planning the wedding), I barely have enough brain power left to work on support raising. My expenses are currently pretty basic, including rent & utilities, phone, monthly bus pass, groceries, and household supplies.

 

As for the prayer request, I need more donations on a monthly basis in order to pay for the costs of living here in Montreal. Unfortunately, I cannot issue tax receipts for donations from Canadians since I have a charitable work permit. I would really appreciate your prayers to keep my mind sharp so I can blog, stay in contact with my supporters, and share how God is working through me here in Montreal and at The Open Door.

Thanks for your prayers, encouragement and support! If you feel called to support me financially in my mission to Montreal, please contact me at halbellcbm@gmail.com for more details.

Experiencing a Winter in Montreal

I don’t think I have experienced such long and cold winters like the one I’m experiencing here in Montreal since the time I lived in Kansas as a child. I don’t really remember those winters but I sure will remember this one.

 

I’m more than half-way through winter here in Quebec. It starts in November and ends in April with January and February noted as the coldest months.  I’m very grateful for the winter clothes I purchased in Denver and it’s been a learning experience on wearing the different layers and keep from overheating. I still haven’t figured it all out, I think I just have to suck it up and acclimatize to the cold instead of wearing too much that I sweat by overheating.

 

I don’t know how the homeless here in Montreal survive these brutal winters. I know most find shelters and some sleep in the Metro (subway) stations but I know there are some that live out in the cold and unsheltered. The snow, ice and wind chill is brutal here, it is more of a frigid cold, more than what I have experienced in Washington and Colorado together. 

This photo is taken from the entrance of the Open Door on Valentine's Day morning.

 



The Open Door is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 2pm. Sometimes I arrive a few minutes early to open up so guys can get in to get warm. Thanks to all my supporters for allowing me to venture up here to help the homeless, with 30,000 of them here in Montreal I only see a little fraction of what is out there.  But I have seen the difference that we here at the Open Door has made helping the homeless stay warm, fed and clothed since being up here.



Nic & Kara Moseley

Bonjour,

This post is long over due and my apologies to all my friends and supporters for not getting this out to you sooner. I'm just starting to get settled in my new place and have already started working at the Open Door here in Montreal. Here is a synopsis of what has happened from the beginning and who has made it happen for me to be here. I will be sending out more posts about the people that have helped make all this possible.

About two months before heading off to Montreal, I still hadn't found a sponsor to help me with donations and funding. I also was asked during a meeting with my pastor if I would have a state-side address while I would be in Canada. I decided to pray about it during the following week. God had answered my prayer within days;  Nic & Kara Moseley contacted me and wanted to know if I had a state-side address and offered their address.

Thank you Nic & Kara Moseley for allowing me to use your address as my home base in the United States, without it I wouldn't be able to maintain a bank account which helps me greatly with funding and bills made to my US accounts. The Moseley's are also helping me ship my personal belongings up to Canada.