Troy Manning

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve really left America.  I’m referring to the fact that I have probably spoken more in English than in French.  There has been only one church where I had to speak only French to everyone.  Otherwise, I’m either with missionary or with Quebec pastors who know both languages.  This switching between the languages is messing with my mind; I often revert to French as I think things through in my mind. 

After visiting the Faucettes (American missionaries) in Laval, I went to Lennoxville, a town that is 90% English-speaking.  But the church ministry is to French-speaking people.  After having difficulties in French the Sunday before, I was quite fearful of how things would go in Lennoxville.  Thankfully, the Lord helped me to communicate my message well in French both in the morning and evening services.  I greatly enjoyed getting to know the believers there, and I enjoyed spending time with Pastor Mario Roy and his family, as we played volleyball, football, and soccer; worked on his house; and celebrated my birthday. 

The Lord also gave me good ministry at St. Nicephore the following Wed.  I enjoyed getting to see David Brind-Amour (freshly graduated from BJU) and his family.  It’s a blessing to see how the believers are catching my burden for Bible translation.

I returned to Laval to stay with the Faucettes, so that I could attend Van Gelderen’s meetings on Thur and Fri.  The Lord challenged my heart greatly about having greater faith in prayer and in evangelism.  I look forward to attending the Netcasters seminar in September.

I experienced a change of pace on Saturday (May 24) as I headed to Claude Jutras’ farm in Mt. St. Gregoire.  He grows asparagus, blueberries, rasberries, and grapes; raises piglettes; and makes his own maple syrup.  But his desire is to sell the farm so that he can give his full energies to his church.  The Lord gave me a wonderful day of ministry at his church (see picture of him and his deacons).  Claude had definitely prepared the hearts, because he already has a great heart for Bibles International.  The people showed great interest in my ministry, so much so that I never had to worry about finding someone to talk to at church.  One young couple thanked me personally for my ministry, called me the next day, and then sent an email to the same effect.  What a blessing to see the Lord answering our prayers!

The following Wednesday I headed north to Chateau-Richer, where I enjoyed seeing Raymond Teachout’s family and ministry.  We had a great time touring the area and praying together.  Then I headed up to Rimouski to minister at the Zimmerman’s church.  I was especially encouraged by the Ouellets, a family with 5 lively children who actively support the ministry.  Tomorrow evening I head further north to Matana for my last meeting.

It’s been such a blessing to see the generosity and hospitality of the people here.  The Lord has provided exceedingly and abundantly above my expenses.  Pray for God to continue to raise up my support team.  Pray also for safety as I begin the long trek back to Grand Rapids on Thursday.  I will drive 6 hours back to Mt. St. Gregoire on Thursday and then make the 11.5-hour trip to Grand Rapids on Friday.  I have one evening to unpack, repack, and then get some sleep before heading by car, train, and plane to UND for linguistics school.  It’s going to be quite a weekend.

If you want to see photos of my Quebec trip, check out http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=613716245&k=6Z136VR2V6XM5BEGYJ25T3.