Feeling Like a Total Fool in a Montreal Bar!

We visited Montreal, a little while ago in July. Montreal, a city in Quebec, Canada, is primarily a French speaking place. Though we do not speak French, we enjoyed our time there. While we were visiting Montreal, the FIFA games were being played all over the cities in North America. Not football fans in particular, we did not follow every FIFA game.

However, we did watch the grand opening ceremony and whenever Canada was playing, we were glued in front of the TV cheering on our Canadian team.

  Canada was playing against Morocco on the Sunday when we were visiting Montreal, an exciting game! We finished church, had our church and looked for a nice neighbourhood bar when we would cheer on our home team. Though we started more than thirty minutes before the game started, we didn't get good seats in the house. There were only two seats together at the very back of the bar restaurant. Another option was sitting on the patio outside. We took those two seats because at least we would be inside where we could see the TV screen.

  It was a full house packed with excited fans! Being in Montreal, we heard French all around us; everything was in French, signages, business, and media operate predominantly in French. We couldn't understand a word of what the sport commentators were saying on TV about the game being played. But we could watch what was going on and followed the game. From the overhead screen, we saw thousands of spectators, all dressed in red - our favourite maple leaf colour, at the Houston Stadium being excited and cheering. We were cheering too in the bar.

Canada was playing against Morocco. One team was dressed in black, the other team in white and red. Everytime when a player in white and red almost scored a goal, cheers and excitement erupted in the restaurant. When the white and red player scored a goal, the diners stood up and hugged each other while some screamed in excitement. My husband and I too, were overjoyed in Canada's goals! One woman in the bar was so excited that she could not stop screaming her lung out and was dancing around.

  However, not everyone expressed their joy in the same way. The gentleman sitting beside me was not too excited said quietly in English, " Take it easy, lady. Calm down, just calm down." I was surprised at how cool and subdue this man was at this game. Canada was winning and we were happy!

  More than half way into the game, I needed to use the bathroom and walked towards where the TV was. Since we were sitting at the very back, I couldn't see the scores too clearly throughout the game. I looked up at the screen and saw the scores clearly for the first time: Canada - 0, Morocoo 3!

Wait, how could that be? We were all cheering for Canada when the team scored the goals in the last hour or so? I was confused! I saw the players in white and red scoring the goals and all the people dressed in red in the stadium as well as all the patrons in this bar restaurant clapped and cheered along with them.

  Then, someone explained to me - the players dressed in black were Canadians while those dressed in white and red were Morocans. What fools were we! Unable to understand the commentators speaking in French about the game and neither could we see the scores on the screen from the back of the restaurant, we had been cheering for the wrong team all along! We were embarassed and felt so stupid!

  At least we wil have a good story to tell our friends and family in the future. Most important of all, we did have a good time watching a FIFA game in a Morocan bar restaurant in Montreal!

  RT, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 072026

 ps: Entering the restaurant, I knew something was not quite right when I didn't see the Canadian maple flag displayed in the restaurant!

Attending the Famous Jazz Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Shortly after celebrating our milestone wedding anniversary, we decided to visit Montreal in the province of Quebec as it was one of the cities we went for our honeymoon years ago.

 

What better time to visit Montreal than during the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal which is 46 years old in 2026, having held its inaugural edition in the summer of 1980.

  Though the festival had a humble beginning as the very first festival in 1980 featured around 100 musicians (including Ray Charles and Chick Corea) and drew just 12,000 attendees, today, it hosts roughly 3,000 artists from over 30 countries across 20 different stages. In 2004, it was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest jazz festival, attracting over 2 million attendees during its 25th anniversary.

The best thing about this jazz festival is that about two-thirds of the festival's performances are completely free to the public on open-air stages across downtown Montreal.

  During the 10-day event, a major portion of Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles is completely closed to vehicle traffic, transforming into a massive pedestrian-only zone from noon until midnight.

Beyond Pure Jazz: While jazz remains its core, the festival's genre scope extends widely into blues, R&B, soul, pop, reggae, and world music, hosting headliners ranging from Miles Davis and B.B. King to Stevie Wonder and The Roots.

  We were there for the jazz festival only for two days at the beginning of July. The best part I liked about the concert was seeing young people feeling confident and going up to the open stage and played their hearts out for the audiences! Way to go, young people!

  The Montreal Jazz Festival was very exciting as there were so many good musicians performing all over the place and we could see many of these performances for free. It was very crowded! But everyone was behaving properly and there was no crazy stuff going on. Yes, this is Canada and people feel safe here. I thank God everyday that we are living in one of the best and safest countries in the world!

  RT, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 072026

Celebrating a Minister Friend's 100th Years Old Birthday

Everyday for the past few years, all we have heard from the news and TV reporting have been terrible news of natural disasters, the seemingly endless Ukraine/ Russian war and the recent Amerian/ Iranian war.

  What a refreshing piece news it was when we received an inviation to Rev. C.'s 100th years old birthday celebration dinner in Toronto recently!

We have known Rev. C. for a long time! Shortly after his retirement from a church in Asia, he immigrated to Canada settling in Toronto and has called Toronto home since the late 1990's. Fresh from his retirement, he didn't stop working. He has been offering his service, volunteering to serve God's people and preaching on Sundays at our church. He has been faithfully in his service since then and is still going strong in his church work today!

We were privileaged to have been invited to his 100th birthday party held in a restaurant in Toronto. The entire clan from Rev. C.'S family flew thousands of miles from around the world to be here for their grandpa and great grandpa's special event. It was evident that the entire family was proud of their centurion's birthday. There were so much preparations and efforts that have gone into this celebratory dinner. From the preparation of gifts for the guests to the presentation of the program at the dinner, everyone in the family, from the very young to the adults seemed to have been involved in the celebration one way or another as everyone had a role to play at the party.

  The grandchildren and great grand children sang and presented to mark this occasion! Rev. C.'s children gave speeches, coordinated and directed some activities etc. It was a joy and a blessing to watch God's blessings upon one of His faithful servants and his descendants.

It is my sincere hope that Rev. C's family and his descendants will countinue his legacy and in serving God and His people!

  RT, Toronto, Canada, 082026

Celebrating Our Milestone Wedding Anniversary with Our Church Family in Waterloo, Canada

My husband and I have been married for a long time! I first met him at a church youth group meeting when I was a teenager. Though we were separated for a few years after my family moved away, we kept in touch for a few years. He dated a few other women while I also dated other young men throughout my highschool and university years.

  As God has meant for us to be together; we met up again and eventually fell in love and were married. We have been through thick and thin living through serious illnesses, many sunshine, and stormy days. We fought and overcome numerous challenges while successfully juggling two careers and raising a family in Canada. It was no easy task. Our family is still together and could have only done it through God's mercy, grace and divine protection.

  To this end, as our milestone wedding anniversary approached, we decided to celebrate it with our loved ones and church friends. We chose to celebrate in Waterloo where we have been serving in our ministries for years. It is a place where we feel most loved and supported by brothers and sisters from our church.

  As soon as Rev. V. knew that Waterloo was where our anniversary celebration would be held, she volunteered to help us organize the event. She mobilized her church and found a capable professional IT young lay to help us put together a video using many of our pictures from past years and decades to be shown at the celebration service. It helped reduce a lot of stress and pressure from us.

 

Many of our dear friends and family flew and drove in from the U.S. and across Canada to come and share our joy on the day of our celebration. We didn't want to invite all our friends but only close friends and loved ones.

  It was a joy having our families and very close friends at the luncheon held in a restaurant and followed by a church service where we recounted God's blessings and His protective hands on our married and family life for the past many years. We were delighted as this gave us the opportunity when we could witness for God and shared testimonies with our guests.

  It was such a blessed celebration! At the thanksgiving church service, we opened our celebration with our favourite praise and worship songs and followed by sharings from family members. The most surprising part for me and everyone was my husband's sharing. He prepared his part well with slides and a speech. Barely into his speech for 30 seconds, he was so overcome with emotion and gratitude that he started crying! How could he not be emotional after what we have gone through together and the recovery he has made from his serious illness. Holding back his emotions, he was able to continue his stories with our guests. Everyone was deeply touched by his raw emotions and the expression of his honest feeling at this event.

 

Following my husband's heartfelt stories, I shared a message and expressed our thankfulness to God. To conclude our part, my husband and I did a duet - His Eye is On the Sparrow, our love song that brought us together years ago when we first met. E. also shared briefly followed by a video congratulatory message from J. An unexpected surprise at the end of the service came from Rev. V. who arranged some interactive activities where S., me and other members of the congregation were involved. It was a fun experience for all those involved and entertaining for the guests watching as well.

  We ended the celebration with more food and fellowship - an abundant amount of homemade pastries and treats prepared by almost every one of our church families!

  What a glorious event! We felt so blessed to have been surrounded by people who love us so dearly! Dear God and Jesus, thank you for all the blessings, love and grace You have bestowed on me and my family! Who are we to have deserved so much for the past many decades? Thank you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts! May You guide us in the many years to come so that we can live for you and do the things that will serve others and be pleasing to you!

  In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!

  RT, Waterloo, Canada 062026

Everything is Possible with God - Finding the Right Bone Marrow Donor, a New Love and Getting Married in Later Years

We have been known Rev. S. sice the early 2000's when we started attending a new church in Toronto. Our church is a large church with over 1000 people in its weekly Sunday Service attendance. In order for the congregation to be connected, church attendees were divided into cell groups according to their different ages. We were assigned to a group of people around our age group which consisted of ten couples. Pastor S. at the time was new to our church and he was one of the members of our group. He came to the cell group meeting alone and we later learned that his wife had passed away not long ago.

  Though newly widowed, Pastor S. displayed faithfulness, strength and love towards all who came into contact with him. We have liked him from the very beginning. Instead of mired himself in self pity, he threw himself in church ministries and worked hard to help others in need.

  But when it poured, it rained. Just as Pastor S. was recovering from the loss of his wife, his younger son was diagnosed with bone cancer! The only way for his son to have a chance of surviving this illness was to have a bone marrow transplant which required finding a donor matching his son's bone marrow and who would be willing to go through the procedure of donating it.

  Pastor S. worked hard with others and those in church willing to help to raise awareness of this disease and to organize donation campagins to encourage people to register, have their bone marrow tested and find the right matching donor.

  In spite of all these obstacles in his life, Pastor S. kept going - working in our church and serving the congregation faithfully without any complaints. How he had the strength and courage to go through the chellenges in his life at the time was beyond me.

  Thanks to his tireless relentless efforts and determination, after months of searching and bone marrow donating campaigns, a match donor was found for Pastor S. son who received the marrow and went through a successful surgery! Praise God! That was many years back, and his son recovered from his bone cancer and is now happily married and devoting his time to a career serving the public as a police officer in Toronto! Miracles do happen in our life!

  The next piece of good news was something which our church friends and I have been praying for a long time for Rev. S.- finding love for the second time. Being a minister for a sizable church is a challenging and demanding job. We could just imagine the tolls and physical demands they place on a person. Even a minister, God's servant, needs to be comforted and looked after by a loved one.

 

Therefore, imagine the joy we felt learning about our beloved minister in his early 60's falling in love and getting married in June this year! I could not be happier for him, therefore, I volunteered my service to make some treats for the post wedding ceremony reception at our church. I mustered the help of two other sisters who came to our house the day before to do some baking for this joyful event.

  It was fun as we gathered together sharing stories and chopping food and baking together. We worked hard but enjoyed the labour of love and we were proud of what we could put together.

The next day, after bringning our baked treats to the church hall and setting them along with other food, we were able to sit and witness the wedding ceremony. It was a dream came true for Rev.S. and those who loved and prayed for him. I couldn't help wiping away my tears as we witnessed the new couple exchanging their vows in front of a packed church.

May God bless you, Rev. S. and Mrs. S. as you begin a new life and journey together in love!

  RT, Toronto, Canada, 062026

The Best Part of Our Greek Holiday - Discovering Saint Paul's Second Missionary Journey in Greece!

We came to the end of our vacation in Greece. Of all the cities and towns we have visited, I liked Kavala the best as we have learned so much about Greek history as well as tracing Saint Paul's footsteps on his second missionary journey.

During Paul’s second missionary journey, he arrived in Kavala (ancient Neapolis) on his way to Philippi. The Book of Acts (Acts 16:11) states that Paul sailed from Troas and landed at Neapolis.

This is one of the few New Testament travel movements that is geographically precise.

After landing at Neapolis (Kavala), Paul walked from Kavala to Philippi following the Roman Via Egnatia, the main imperial road connecting the Adriatic to Byzantium. The road is still visible today in sections between Kavala and Philippi.

 

The distance of the route is about 16 km (10 miles) and a fit traveler in the 1st century would take 4–5 hours on foot.

  This route matters becasue Paul’s arrival at Neapolis (Kavala) and his walk to Philippi marked: the first recorded entry of Christianity into Europe and the founding of the Philippian church, one of Paul’s closest communities.

Today, people can still walk Paul’s route as it’s one of the best preserved apostolic routes in Greece. We saw the signs of Saint Paul's footsteps everywhere while we were at Kavala.

  For those who are fit and would like to walk this piligrim route, the modern experience starts at Kavala Port (ancient Neapolis landing point).

 

To continue, one can follow the old Via Egnatia path through the hills and arrive at the Philippi archaeological site. Piligrims could continue to Krinides village if desired.

It’s a beautiful, moderate hike with sea views, Roman paving stones, and historical markers.

  We were blessed as we have stumbled upon and visited the place where Paul met Lydia and started the spread of Christianity to Europe and ultimately to the rest of the world! Thank you, Greece, for an unforgettable holiday and a great time!

  RT, Kavala, Greece, 042026

A Review of Hotel Liberty on Aegina Island, Greece

Originally, we only planned to stay on Aegina Island for a night, but we liked it so much that we decided to stay another night. The hotel where we stayed on this lovely island was Hotel Liberty.

Though our room was a little small and dated, the location was excellent. Fronting the water, our room allowed us to have an excellent view of the beach and the water below us.

Hotel guests could dine either in the spacious dining room or on the terrace facing the water. We chose to have our breakfast on the terrace. The view was lovely and unostructed. We couldn't believe we were staying in a hotel room fronting the water on a Greek island!

Breakfast was served to us on the terrace, a traditional one and was good. Looking over the ocean from the terrace and smelling the fresh water, we enjoyed our breakfast tremendously!

It only took us five minutes walking from Hotel Liberty to the town bus stop located at the main street of the village where we saw a few restaurants and a couple of bars. We bought some fruits at a small grocery / convenient store and visited the clothing store and the crafts and gifts shops too. It was conveneint for us to go for coffee in the afternoon at the local bakery shop and had our dinner at one of the restaurants.

The beach, a two minutes's walk from the hotel only! We liked the slower pace of life Aegina Island offered to us and we definitely enjoyed our stay at Hotel Liberty!

  Overall Score - 8 / 10

  RT, Greece