Grace Under Fire, Canadian Style
The long weekend in May was traditionally our opportunity as members of the youth group from First Baptist Church, Timmins, to go to Camp Opasatica and share with our francophone counterparts from the Fellowship church in Rouyn-Noranda. This included going into town on Sunday evening to participate in a street meeting. We were terrified and excited at the same time! We had heard the stories of how Murray and Lorne Heron, missionary pioneers in northwestern Quebec, had been persecuted for preaching the Gospel. One of the older ladies in the Timmins church had been in Noranda to help out in those early days and had herself been jailed.
We gathered nervously around Murray Heron as the street service began. We were waiting for the fire hoses and the pepper spray. We’d heard about them too! But this time something different was afoot. A young man edged his way to the front of the crowd. He reached out and struck one of our young men from Timmins across the face.
Those of us who knew Billy held our corporate breath. We knew how short his fuse was, even as a believer. The look on his face mirrored the struggle going on in his heart. He wanted to hit back so badly. But grace won. Billy turned to the youth who had struck him and offered the young man his other cheek to strike. The boy slunk away and the witnesses stood amazed.
I see the scene today as fresh as it was some 50 years ago. It was a lesson in grace under fire that I will not soon forget.
The foundations of the work of the Fellowship in Quebec were laid by the faithful service of missionary pioneers, many of who suffered greatly for their consistent loyalty to the preaching of the Gospel. They demonstrated God’s grace in difficult circumstances. There are a number of short histories available that tell the story of those early days, including Footprints Across Quebec, by Murray Heron and Ginette Cotnoir, and Modern Day Missionary Miracles, by William L. Phillips.