Herman and Tina Boks of Hamilton, Ontario had recently retired and were looking for various volunteer opportunities that matched their gifts. In August of 2008, they spent two weeks serving the guests at the Montreal Seafarers Center. Tina shares here about their amazing experience.
Montreal. What a beautiful city! And what a wonderful time we had volunteering at the Seafarers Center in Montreal. Let me share with you how this came about and what we did there.
Earlier in the summer, ServiceLink called us and said that the Seafarers Center was short of volunteers for the month of August. Were we interested in filling some of the time? We offered to go for two weeks in August and what a wonderful new experience!
Upon arriving in Montreal, we located the apartment that is provided and it was everything we expected. It was a home away from home, and all that had to be done was to stock it with groceries. We were given a subway pass and off we went to the Alexandria Pier that housed the Center. While there, we were shown around and introduced to the great staff. Apparently a number of years ago the Seafarers Center from the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and the Mariner’s House joined forces and now share the space provided. The employees of the CRC are a chaplain and an assistant chaplain as well as a part time administrator. The Anglican and Roman Catholic Church also provide chaplains. The Mariner’s Association provides 1 full time administrator as well as employees that staff the center on a part time rotating basis, with one or two there every evening.
Our first duty at 5 p.m. was to settle in, help stock the tuck shop and make coffee etc. Shortly after, my husband Herman, and a Center employee would take one or two of the vehicles and pick up Seafarers who would be waiting at their particular ship location (the harbor is 17 km. long). In the meantime, I printed telephone cards and got ready for the evening. When the seafarers would arrive, many of them would want to phone home and I would help facilitate that. Others would want to buy something from the tuck shop, play pool, watch TV or sing along with the karaoke machine. The Center also provides many books as well as National Geographic magazines which the seafarers may take back to their ship for free.
Our duties were to interact with the Seafarers; what an experience to do that. They love to talk with Canadians and with most of them being able to speak English (some better than others), it was most enjoyable. The Seafarers are curious about Canadian society, our social systems, family life and economics. By the same token, they are eager to share the history and life style of their home countries. One gentleman I talked with was from Poland and shared his experiences of living under Communism and how life for him and his family had changed - the good and the bad. Others were eager to compare family life, particularly if they were from areas where arranged marriages and communal living was still happening.
During the evening we pitched in wherever we could, whether that included helping seafarers make phone calls, helping with computer difficulties, handling cash, answering questions, or giving directions or information about Montreal.
Devotion time was scheduled for 9 p.m. every evening with one of the chaplains leading and a number of seafarers, volunteers and employees joining in. The men appreciated the prayers that were said, as they are often fearful and lonely when at sea. At this time, often conversations of faith would be brought forward and Bibles (in all languages), as well as Jesus videos, were given out.
By 10 p.m. the center would officially close. The vehicles with drivers would return the seafarers to their destinations, while those left behind cleaned up the center as well as tally up the monetary transactions of the day. When all the work was done we would head home on the subway and arrive there around 11 p.m.
The volunteers have a schedule of working for four days and then a day off. Even though every evening is late, the ability to sleep in in the morning offsets the time. Some of our days were spent just relaxing; on other days we went sightseeing or took in the local culture, as there is much to see and do in Montreal.
We really enjoyed the two weeks we spent there and have signed up for next year as well.
If you would like information about volunteering at the Montreal Seafarers, click here.
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