News/Updates

Friday 7th August - Homeward Bound

The team arrived safely home this morning from a very exciting and tiring two weeks in Canada. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the trip!

Sunday 2nd August - A Well-Deserved Break

Today, according to the itinerary, after morning worship at Drummond Hill Presbyterian Church, the team will be heading to "Waves Indoor Waterpark" for the day.

Saturday 1st August - Taking in the Sights

11.30pm EDT "Camp is over and we have left downtown Toronto and made our way to Niagara Falls where a lovely minister has given us full use of his church hall for the remainder of our trip. Praise Jesus that we are able to travel half way across the world and stay with fellow Presbyterians in a beautiful place. God is good. Over the next 4 days we will be meeting the congregation, spending some fun afternoons away and spending some time together reflecting on our experiences with Urban Promise and thinking about how our trip as a whole will affect our lives back home. It is a more relaxing time for us but it is just as important. Please pray that our hearts and our minds would be open to what God wants and that our voices would be honest and willing. We have a really great team here and the relationships within the team are constantly being tested and strengthened. Pray for the leaders as they lead the young people through the next few days. There are so many stories that I could tell in these wee updates but I think it is so important for the young people to be able to share their own stories with everyone back home who has supported them. Rest assured that there are millions of photo's being taken and even more funny quirky little stories to go along with them. Thank you again to everyone who has made this trip possible because it has been so full of ups and downs and God has been there every second of the way. Praise him for how he speaks to us."

Thursday 30th July - Urban Promise Camp Day 4

"The team hit the Wednesday wall yesterday and it was pretty tough. A lot of people are exhausted and quite a few are feeling under the weather with some of our team even taking a day off. It is quite common to bring a team a long way and for the acclimatising process to take its toll but it is still difficult to deal with. It would be awesome if people back home could be praying for the health and good rest for the team because there is still a full week left and God still has a lot to talk to us about. Since Tuesday, our teams have been able to take over camp for an afternoon and for both teams it was a really empowering experience. Every young person we have taken away with us has stood up to the plate and lead a class or a game or a skit or an activity and they all exceeded expectations. Even outside of camp every member of the team is preparing and leading a devotional time each evening and these times are a real highlight for the leaders. The trip is challenging in a lot of ways that weren't anticipated but the fruits of seeing these challenges through will be amazing. Tomorrow is our last day at camp and both teams get to take the kids out on a field trip. Camp Hope is laser questing and Camp Peace is hitting up the Ontario Science Centre. Please pray that our last days would be impacting and memorable. A lot of our young people will be really sad to say goodbye to the new friends they made and the kids they only really started to get to know. Pray for those members of the team who have been really impacted by this experience and are now considering internships next summer."

Tuesday 28th July - Urban Promise Camp Day 2

"The group arrived safely at Rosedale Baptist church on Sunday evening. The church was huge, with 5 floors of rooms, halls, gyms and kitchens. Everyone was pretty excited for a big game of hide and seek. Little did we know at this point that our schedules were going to be jam packed. We are sharing the facilities with another youth group from Ontario which is another great opportunity for our team to meet other young people in the same situation as them from a new country.

After orientation and devotions on Sunday evening, we were all nastily awoken by the sound of mobile phone alarms at 6am. Half an hour later, naturally, people started to surface and prepare themselves for whatever laid ahead. The team was split into 2 groups, one heading downtown to Camp Peace and the other heading to Camp Hope a little further out. Camp ran until 4pm with teams arriving home for dinner about 6pm. Monday evening was a big group trip to the grocery store and a nice walk back, then devotions and bed. I don't think summer camp is what everybody expected it to be but everyone made the most of it. Numbers are lower than anybody expected but I think this is a blessing in disguise because immediately our team felt more comfortable and confident. Already our team has connected with kids, and dinner time conversation is flooded with kid stories. Camp Hope is having a 70's themed day tomorrow and Camp Peace is starting to think of Irish themed ideas for Thursday when they take control for the afternoon. It's been a lot of fun and it is really hard to believe that we have only been here for 5days. It really does feel like we have been travelling together for at least a month. We can't wait to get home and share all the stories we have with you guys back home. Please pray for health and safety for the team as they struggle through crazy 18 hour days and spend time in risky communities. We are protected by our urban promise t-shirts but prayer is always important. Also pray for our team as they prepare for their devotional times each evening. It is turning out to be one of the biggest challenged for some of them. And finally please pray for the communities we are working in this week and the relationships that are being built between our team and the inner city kids of Toronto."

Saturday 25th July - Settling In

8.30pm EDT - "We've only been here 2 days but it feels like 2 weeks we have packed so much in. There's been a lot of walking, a lot of photo-taking and a lot of showers. The weather hasn't been as great as we hoped but it is due to improve this week. On Friday we headed to Toronto Island. Unfortunately there are a lot of strikes affecting transport and garbage collection so a lot of the attractions were closed but it was still good to get away from the city for a bit. The island was pretty and green with beaches and playgrounds and a beautiful view of Lake Ontario. The swingsets on the beach accommodated hours of fun with everyone having a little go, and some adventurous members of the team climbing the bars to the top. Supervised of course! The team got their first taste of Yonge Street and everyone was very impressed. Yonge street is the longest street in North America and hosts Canada's equivalent of Times Square. Big screens, lots of lights, lots of traffic and lots of people. Very different from little Northern Ireland. Eaton Street Shopping centre is like a small country inside full of exciting new shops and exciting new prices. That's going to be our little adventure tomorrow before we pack up and head to Urban Promise. Today we went to a baseball game, Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays. The stadium was awesome, and the game was pretty exciting boasting 3 extra innings to determine the winner. It was a long match but lots of fun and there are some hilarious photo's! Everyone is in good spirits and relationships are growing stronger every day. Got to go here, we're off for a Tim Hortons run before some devotional time together. Please continue to pray for rest for the team because Urban Promise starts in just a day. Pray for patience and perseverance for all the walking and the planning and pray that God would continue to do great things through each of us! Love, Toronto team 09"

Thursday 23rd July - Arrival

10.00pm EDT - "We have arrived and I will never forget how impressed everybody was with Toronto as we drove over the bridge and saw Lake Ontario, the CN tower and skyscrapers everywhere. It's been a super long day, starting at 4:30am and only arriving at our hotel 6pm local time. That's 18hrs travelling and some of our team have never travelled outside of the UK so gold stars all round. First challenge done with no casualties and the whole team is still excited for the challenges that lie ahead. Highlights of the day have to include landing safely after 7.5hrs and our big American dinner at Wimpys where we met some lovely and encouraging people who were really interested in our trip and all that we were doing and I can't not mention our first Tim Hortons double double coffee. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit Canada, Tim Hortons is a Canadian coffee that tastes really good. Really really good! Some not-so-highlights have to include all the waiting around, the long walk through town from the bus to the hotel and adjusting to the time difference. It's 10pm here and we've just finished a little devotional time together and it's time to sleep. Tomorrow we are off to Toronto Island to have a go on the push bikes, swim in the sea and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Relaxing in anticipation. Thank you to all who have prayed for us thus far and continue to do so. It is muchly appreciated and we wouldn't be here without all of you. Please pray in particular for rest and for health and for safety as we settle ourselves after a long day in transit. Talk to y'all soon! Love, team Toronto 09!"

3.00pm EDT - The team have just landed in Hamilton airport, Ontario.

11:00am BST - The team have taken off from Dublin and are now on their way to Hamilton Airport.

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For the latest weather forecast in Toronto, check out BBC Weather.

BST is the current time-zone for the UK.
EDT is the current time-zone for Ontario/Toronto (BST -5)