Travelling with my leader George Werner, I had the opportunity to take advantage of some of the connections  he has diligently established all over the country. We had the privilege of connecting with Jim Malloy, who functions as the assistant superintendent ( whether or not that is his title ) of the Maritimes District ( which, believe it or not, includes Bermuda!), and who was our guide throughout the week.



While George preached at Nouvelle Esperance, our francophone church in Dieppe , translated by Pastor David Martin its youthful francophone Acadian pastor, I had the opportunity to speak twice at Glad Tidings Church in Moncton, NB. The worship leading and special music was simply stellar. Music and Maritimes go together…… While I took the opportunity to highlight my Mission Canada role in the area, I used the time to share two personal messages. The first was “Growing Through Grief” , something I have had the opportunity to do over the past year, and the other was “Live for Jesus Now” ( lessons from Dave ). There was liberty to speak from my heart and the congregation opened their hearts to what I had to share. I very much appreciate the leadership of Pastor Paul Pattison and his staff. I met with Luke Anderson who serves as the emerging generations ( youth and students) pastor – who is intentionally reaching out to Crandall University, nearby. He is a fine young leader who is asking the right questions and who has the right heart.

David Martin and George Werner

Later, we took a tour with David, who directs a student ministry called Haute Zone at the University of Moncton ( the largest francophone university outside of Quebec). He gathers a group of students on Friday night and combines general events and gender specific small groups. They gather in the basement of the chapel which is perfectly suitable for their purposes. Although being non-Roman Catholic on a Catholic university, they experience a general atmosphere of good will. Having said that, David is fighting generations of religious bias towards ‘sects’ where the average person does not have the capability to discern the distinctions between them.


UM seems magnificently endowed for the size of the school . It has a state of the art football stadium (It far surpasses Dalhousie’s stadium and compares favorably with those of perennial powerhouses St. Mary’s and Wilfrid Laurier) that seats several thousand people and it sports a variety of large modern buildings. It is clear that the various levels of government have prioritized university expenditures.


When David was a student at UM (back in the day), he felt like he was the only Christian on campus. One day, as he was lamenting this to the Lord, someone walked by him “singing a song of the Lord”. While he never saw that person again, it was more than encouraging for him. He travelled to Peterborough for Bible College, and then came back.

He then met his wife, Natalie, on campus through a mutual friend. She too had been a student at UofM. They are quite the combo and it is great to have them on our team...