A Retreat Experience on Silence and Solitude

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga, Ontario

Today was the second day of our retreat. I didn’t have a good sleep at all last night. So I got up shortly after 6 am and started doing my devotion.

 It was a nice and quiet time. I do hope that this is God’s way of helping me to get up early each morning to meet with him.

Dining Hall at the Renewal Centre 

Breakfast was at 8 am in the dining hall. it was a nice buffet style with sausages and eggs as well as fruits and hot cereal.

We had our worship in the chapel

After breakfast, there was a short worship service in the main chapel.

We had a lecture on Listening to God after the morning worship. The most interesting exercise I had ever been asked to do was the afternoon exercise on silence and solitude.

Beautiful ground at the centre

For almost five hours, from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm, we were supposed to be completely silent.

We could do whatever we feel like such as reading, taking a walk, drawing, praying or mediating on the ground of the Renewal Centre or around the area.

But we would have to do that chosen activity without speaking a word with one another. The idea was to be silent, spending time alone with God, resting in Him and trying to hear His voice.

We walked down  the wooden staircase with 125 steps leading to the edge of  Credit River.

I have been looking forward to this period of silence and solitude for a long time.

I have no problem finding things to do in silence at all.  Since the retreat centre was such a beautiful place, I decided to explore its surrounding area.

I walked down the wooden staircase with 125 plus stairs leading to the river edge with another classmate.

Credit River, Mississauga, Ontario

Enchanted by the beauty of the forest by the river side, I stayed a little longer looking at the changing color of the leaves.

I found a perfect maple leaf with round dew droplets on it lying on the forest ground! Alone by myself, I reflected on God's love and grace in my life. I kept praising God and trying to hear His voice.

After a little while,  I went back to the centre and napped for about forty five minutes. Then I went outside and explored the neighbourhood and took pictures of the grand mansions. I came across a few people from my course. We just nodded without talking

I went for a walk in the neighborhood of the Renewal Centre.

.It was a beautiful warm autumn afternoon, perfect time to be outside.

Coffee/ tea/ cookies for the retreat participants

I came back to the centre. Having poured myself a cup of tea, got a cookie and a book, I seated myself comfortably in the lobby and enjoyed some good reading. 

I enjoyed my silence and reading time in the lobby of the Renewal Centre

In no time at all, it was 5:30pm when the silence and solitude exercise was over! 

For me, I totally enjoyed my few hours of silence and solitude at the Renewal Centre!

It gave me time to be alone and enjoy nature and its beauty on a great autumn afternoon!

R.T.

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre

Mississauga, Ontario

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga, Ontario

I have been looking forward to a three day retreat out of Toronto for a long time.

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga, Ontario

Many of my classmates and I are excited about attending this Silence and Solitude Retreat as a mandatory part of the course.

We arrived at the Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre at around 3pm 

I met up with Julianna, Nicole and Karyle at the college and hitched a ride with them to the retreat centre. I really did not know know too well as we rush in and out of our class, never having an opportunity communicating with them.

A beautiful and quiet setting for our retreat

Sitting in the car for almost an hour gave us time to talk and get to know each other. I found out so much from them and discovered the other side of Karyle, a very humorours side of him. The ride was enjoyable and before we knew it, we reached our destination.

Main lobby at the Renewal Centre

The Quees of Apostles Renewal Centre was built in the early 1960's.  It occupies a site of about twelve acres surrounded by mature majestic trees.

The forest  behind the Renewal Centre. 

A beautiful retreat located just steps from city streets. It is spacious, peaceful and quiet, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.

We all have a single room with private bathroom!

As we were the first one to get there, we got to pick our own room.

Each one of us got a room with our own private bathroom with shower facility.

The small garden with a waterfall outside the dining hall

The centre is clean, spacious, quiet and peaceful.

The renewal centre is perfect for people seeking some time off to be quiet and reflective for a little while.














After putting away our luggage, I went out for a walk before dinner time.


This is a very mature and affluent neighbourhood of the city of Mississauga. I was glad that I could have a quick walking tour of the area before dinner.

Dinner was at a local restaurant not far from the retreat centre. I met two other people from the other session, Peter and Minhee. We sat at the table and same a meal together.

Great food and interesting conversation at dinner!

We decided to order and share our food so that we could have a variety of dishes rather than one big individual one. We had pulled pork nachos, chicken and shrimps, BBQ ribs and different kinds of vegetables. The food was delicious and the conversation was fantastic and stimulating!

Peter was sharing with us about his three year MBA experience which cost him over $80,000,00 in tuition fee about ten years ago. That was interesting as he recounted his business project experience in detail. I haven;t had such great conversation in a long time!

We had our first session at the Chapel 

We got back to the retreat centre in time for our 7pm first session. Our professor was there explaining to us about various housekeeping items and our schedules for the next few days.

The chapel is full of symbolism and interesting architecture  

Before we started the worship program, we were asked to get together two or three and shared with the other what we expected and hoped to get out of this retreat. I shared with the lady sitting next to me, Dorcas.

Though this was the first time we met, we shared and prayed with each other as if we had known each other for a long time.

Professor D. sharing his message at the retreat

Professor S. played the music softly and we began our worship. What a peaceful and joyful experience that was! I felt wonderful and blessed as we started singing, My youthful voice came back and I was able to sing like I used to, strong, clear able to hit the high notes!



After our worship in songs, Professor S. shared a message with us on the power of tongue - our words to others. The evening ended with some hot drinks and cookies and great fellowship with the other participants.

A great first evening! I look forward to our next two days in this great facility!
Praise God for giving me such a wonderful opportunity!

R.T.
Queens of Apostles Renewal Centre
Mississauga, Toronto

CRRS's 2016 Annual Fundraising Gala for Poor Rural Students in China

The annual fundraising dinner was held in Toronto recently.

These days, I am hesitant to turn on the TV and watch the news broadcast as it often reports news of violence, war crimes, natural and human disasters and political ugliness and dirty laundries of each other.

For one evening each year, instead of hearing negative news reporting bickering and tragedies,  we were immersed in some joyful news of how love and compassion can change the lives of others and their families and homes.

I am writing about the CRRS' efforts in helping to raise fund to support poor rural children to go to school in China.

The Fundraising Committee getting ready for their thank you song for the guests 

It is such an uplifting and wonderful experience for me each year that I would not miss it for the world.

This year, the fundraising dinner was held at the Premium Ballroom in Markham.

The dinner was very special as we battled economic bad news and fierce competitions from other worthy charities for donors' hard earned dollars.

The waiting staff getting ready to serve the first course at the dinner.

But praise God, we were absolutely delighted when we had almost a thousand guests attending this fundraising dinner last Sunday evening!

Almost 1000 guests gathered for the fundraising dinner.

However, it was no small feat getting so many people coming to the dinner. 

Angela F. performed her songs at the gala

Often when we talk about our project in raising funds to help poor rural children to get an education in China, there would always be this comment: 

China is rich now; it does not need our help!

Yes, China is getting better, but there is another side of the untold story that touches us deeply.

It is this side of the rarely told touching stories that motivate our family to continue our strong support for CRRS’s work in China.

Chinese Canadians funded their volunteer trips teaching in China last summer.

I feel that CRRS’ work in supporting poor rural students in pursuing their basic and higher education is critical. 

Ether takes a group of volunteers to China every summer

As Chinese economy continues to grow, the demand for a skillful and educated work force also increases. Without assistance, the chasm between the have and have not will deepen. 

Dr. Leung, CRRS Founder

While city children in China enjoy all the latest technology and resources to advance their learning, therefore equipping them for jobs of the 21^st century, those children being left behind in the villages will fall behind even further without enough schools, adequate funding, resources and most important of all, love and care of their parents who have left for the big cities for better paying jobs.

CRRS donors fund their visitation trips to visit their sponsored students in China.

CRRS’ twice a year mission visit trips are vital and are the lifelines for many of these children who have been abandoned feeling unloved by parents due to economic reasons.

I applaud those CRRS donors and supporters for their generous donations of the poor kids in China.

We visit and listen to the students' stories in their schools

Having visited the schools and students twice in the past, I was deeply touched and moved by how much the students appreciated our visits.

Some of our out of town guests came to support the CRRS dinner 

I would encourage potential donors to take a further step to join future CRRS mission trips and visit these students and to personally experience how powerful your love and donations could be for China’s young people and its next generation!

R.T.

CRRS Fundraising Dinner

Premiere Ballroom

Richmond Hill, Ontario

A Three Day Fundraising Events at 105 Gibson Centre, Markham

Lots of beautiful almost new footware for sale at the fundraising event.

It was a crazy busy three days of fundraising events at the 105 Gibson Centre, Markham!

Lots of people from our community donated over 500 bags of items to the Garage Sale

First there was the gigantic garage sale that lasted from Friday till Sunday.

We had a three day Garage Sale to raise fund for 105 Gibson Centre

People from the community and congregants of  TCCC donated over five hundred bags of gently used almost new clothing and house ware items to the annual sale.

The Garage Sale raised over Can. $20,000.00 during its three day event.

Volunteers worked for days sorting and organizing all the items for display and sale.

It was a huge undertaking!

Some of the volunteers preparing refreshments for the Walkathon participants 

The second event at the same weekend was the annual Walkathon.

Many people were involved in planning the Opening Ceremony and the post walkathon celebration program.

The Committee met numerous times recruiting many volunteers helping out with the event.

McDonald's contributed generously to supply beverages to our Walkathon participants

One significant breakthrough for us was connecting with some local business. We were able to obtain the sponsorship and support from our local McDonalds restaurants.

John P., the owner, donated very generously to this event and helped keep all the Walkathon participants hydrated and happy with orange drinks and hot coffee upon the completion of their walk.

At the post walkathon celebration event, we served walkers with drinks, hot dogs, and egg rolls.

There was a program afterwards as well. The most outstanding program was a group of blind singers from Taiwan performing and entertaining the crowd. Watching these blind singers performing and listening to their angelic voices was truly an uplifting and inspirational experience!

Lots of volunteers helping out at the 105 Gibson's Thanksgiving Dinner

The third fundraising event was the Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday evening - about five hundred people attended this buffet style dinner in the gymnasium of 105 Gibson Centre.

About five hundred people attended the Thanksgiving Dinner

We were grateful that a lot of young people from the community and other agencies volunteered to help, set up fifty tables and served at this dinner.

Serving stations were set up to speed up the service at the dinner.

It was a joy seeing the young people interacting and working together to serve the community.

Everything was so well organized and executed!

It was not long before we were called up to be served at the serving stations and were able to enjoy our food without much waiting.


My mom also came with me and she was tickled pink when she saw the video of me being interviewed about my volunteer work at the community centre.

Councilor Jim Karygiannis and Rev. Ng at the dinner

We had a number of special guests attending and celebrating with us at our Thanksgiving Dinner including our city councilor and regional representative.

These 3 day events brought the various people from the community together.

It was a very busy three days for the Fundraising Organizing Committee.

But as we look back at the results, we realize we have benefitted more than just the amount of money these three day events have raised for the Centre with its mission to serve the locals and the needy.

These fundraising events have also provided opportunities to our young people to be involved in meanful special events and bringing the various residents in the community together.  I felt truly blessed to have played a small part in these three days and our hard work has been paid off indeed!

R.T.
Fundraising Weekend
105 Gibson Centre
Markham, Ontario
Canada