The weekend of February 10-11, the Briercrest Hockey team was given the opportunity to go on a missions’ trip to Montreal Lake, Saskatchewan. One of the members of the group was the “Leader of leaders” Josh Anderson. Josh in his fourth year on the Briercrest hockey team and second year serving as an assistant captain for the program.

Q: What is Montreal Lake?

- It is a First Nations reserve one hour north of Prince Albert.

Q: What are some of the landmarks or places to go to up at Montreal Lake?

-          There is some great fishing on Montreal Lake. The Churchill River just north of Montreal Lake is right on the Canadian Shield and it is an amazing place for camping, canoeing and fishing. In Montreal Lake, the place to be is the hockey rink. The community loves to hangout there, play shiny and just enjoy having fun with one another. Camp Hope is in Montreal Lake and it is a camp for people who need care.

Q: What was the original purpose to go up to Montreal Lake?

-          The main reason we went up to Montreal Lake was to share the word of God with the people there. We also held a hockey camp for the kids of the community in hopes of creating a relationship with the people up there.

Q: Give a summarized schedule of what you did throughout your weekend up at Montreal Lake?

-          When we got to Montreal Lake Friday, we went to the gym and played basketball with local kids. Saturday, we held a hockey camp and played a game of ball hockey against their men’s team. On Sunday, we went ice fishing and went to the local church for a time of worship. Throughout the weekend we had opportunities to share our testimonies to the different groups of people we were engaged with. 

Q: What was your role during the weekend?

-          I would say that my role was to just connect with the people up there as best as I could, and share the good news that we came to proclaim. There were no set roles for us that weekend; we were just there to love the people in Montreal Lake.

Q: What was the main message you communicated to the community of Montreal Lake?

-          The main message we shared in our time there was the powerful way Christ can transform lives. No matter the situation they are in, Jesus loves them and wants to be in a relationship with them.   

Q: What was the biggest eye opener or lesson that you personally learnt?

-          For me, I didn’t realize the amount of pain there is on that reserve. Most kids do not have a safe place to go home to at night and lots of people are stuck in bad situations.

Q: What was the highlight of your weekend?

-          My highlight of that weekend was playing with the kids at the hockey camp. To see the amount of joy those kids possess, even though most of them come from bad situations was extremely powerful for me.  

Q: Is there anything that you would want to share to others about your experience at Montreal Lake?

-          I think it is extremely important for us to realize the needs that these communities have. We cannot just ignore the fact that there are people living in desperate need of love and support, and they live within our province. Reserves like Montreal Lake are a huge missions field that we must be addressing in our churches, and reaching out to.

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