French day camp packed

The only French MB church in Western Canada had to turn away kids from their new day camp this summer after families across Winnipeg, including Catholics and Muslims, flooded their doorstep.

Voie d’Amour (Love Link) was established by 5 university students at l’Église Communautaire de la Rivière-Rouge, after the church received government funding to hire all of them for the summer.

Students (l–r) Anne DeCourville, Ménoukia Blanchette-Buscio, Zach Pearson, Josianne Pelletier, and Katherina Scott are eager to expand their program next summer.

“This camp filled a real need in the community. My children now feel passion for the Lord in their heart,” said one mother, Danielle Sanderson.

University students Katherina Scott, Josianne Pelletier, Anne De Courville, Ménoukia Blanchette-Buscio, and Zach Pearson said the program was so well received they were eventually refusing up to ten kids a week.

The idea for Voie d’Amour hadn’t even surfaced until January when pastor Sonia Blanchette began to pray that God would use their little church to do big things.

“I had bread and fish to put in God’s basket,” said Blanchette. “I talked to the youth and we came up with the idea for a day camp project. We applied for a federal government student employee grant, eager to see God’s blessing multiplied. Two weeks after the time limit, thinking we had been refused, the government announced our proposal was accepted. Most of the students already had summer jobs, but they said yes to our project, believing that God wanted to teach them something through it.”

On a shoestring budget, the youth created the whole program from A to Z. It stretched their abilities and gave meaning to their lives.

“Putting all the loaves into God’s basket is the difference between eating bread or crackers,” said Blanchette. “If you refuse to do it, you will put an upper limit on your ministry and you will stop growing. When you’re tired and have to deal with spiritual struggles, you must pray in the morning, during lunchtime, and in the evening. You have to believe that God will keep his promises. And he does!”

—Nathalie Roy