HMIBC MAY/JUNE 2016 NEWSLETTER

Celebrating as Canadian National Champs
Celebrating as Canadian National Champs

Happy summertime to the HMI Pacific team!

“Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
 You would think that in the first part of July, hockey would be completely shut down for at least a few months; but that is not the case.  Between physical workouts, summer hockey camp and traveling to see chaplains and coaches, hockey certainly doesn’t shut down.  It will be a bit quiet for a couple of days and then … bam!  It’s all systems go.
 hmibc
With the Triple Crown
With the Triple Crown

Here is what I have been up to since my last newsletter…

May and June have been a blur for me…. but I have felt the Lord’s presence with me wherever I have gone, just as the verse in Joshua 1 says.  As I mentioned in my March/April newsletter, the West Kelowna Warriors Jr. A club (one of the clubs where I serve as chaplain) went on a huge playoff run starting in the first week of March.  By the end of April they were still  going strong and had won the Interior Division of the BC Hockey League (BCHL) and later also won the 2016 BCHL Fred Page Cup as BCHL league champions.  This was no small feat, in that they were not ranked in the top 20 in Canada all year and had to defeat top ranked teams all along the way.  That was where the Warriors stood when I finished my last newsletter at the end of April.
  hmibc
Jamie Ramer and John Bechtold
Jamie Ramer and John Bechtold

From the BCHL league championship they travelled to Estevan, SK to participate in the Western Canada Cup, and I was allowed to travel with them.  In Estevan as BCHL champions, they joined the Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba champions and also the host Estevan Bruins in tournament play.  It was here in Estevan that I held a 4th playoff chapel for the team and while there met up with HMI staff member John Bechtold and Briercrest Hockey Coach (and ex-HMI staff member) Jamie Ramer.  While in Estevan, our team hotel treated us absolutely terrific, and I discovered that the manager was a wonderful Christian lady!  I attended her church on Sunday morning.  The WCC was a tense time; an unreal tournament, with the mighty Warriors prevailing in the final and winning the 2016 Western Canada Cup championship. (WCC)

Warriors and hotel staff
Warriors and hotel staff

After the WCC, we spent a few days in Saskatoon, SK preparing for the final challenge of the year: the Royal Bank Cup (RBC) National Championship tournament in Lloydminster, AB, which began on May 8th.  I must say that Head Coach Rylan Ferster and the entire coaching staff was very good to me, allowing me to have free access to themselves and the players.

Dressing room prepared
Dressing room prepared

I was pleased to help the team out,  assisting in setting up the dressing room in just the right way for games and actually making two trips to Regina and one to Edmonton for players and coaches.  This RBC tournament featured the 5 remaining teams in Canada; Carleton Place (Ottawa) and Trenton Ontario, Brooks, Alberta, West Kelowna, BC and the host team from Lloydminster.  It was here that I held a 5th and final chapel of the playoffs, making a total of 15 Warriors chapels for the entire season.  What a week it was!  Rattling nerves and tension filled the arena, and on the final weekend, the Warriors were still in the hunt.  In one of the semi-finals on Saturday, the Warriors won 4-1 against Brooks which put them in the RBC championship final.  After Lloydminster won the other semi-final game against Trenton, the final was set for the next evening.  There were now just 2 teams left in Canada: the tournament host team Lloydminster Bobcats with their anticipated packed out home crowd against the West Kelowna Warriors.  The tension and pressure were almost crazy unbearable… !  You can’t believe how many people who wouldn’t ordinarily speak about God, asked for prayer that day!  The next evening the game was televised on TSN.  I didn’t sit down for a minute of that final game….. and when it was all over, West Kelowna was victorious by a 4-0 score, and were handed the Royal Bank Cup as the 2016 Canadian Junior A Champions!  The Warriors season was exhausting but worthwhile, lasting not only 58 regular season games, but also 35 playoff games for a total of 93 games played during the year!  The Warriors playoff run lasted two and a half months and we finished with the Triple Crown of Canadian Junior A Hockey…. the Fred Page BCHL Cup, the Western Canada Cup and the Royal Bank Cup National Championship Cup!  Wooo hooo!

At home with some Warriors
At home with some Warriors

We finally arrived back home very early in the morning on Tuesday May 24, twenty-seven days after we left for Estevan.  (I am so grateful for my wife Lorraine, who stood with me all the way and never once complained that I wasn’t home.)  Ready to meet us as we approached West Kelowna at 2:15 a.m. was an escort of four RCMP cars with lights flashing, leading us to our home arena where 150 fans were camped out!  The party really started then!  I am so thankful to the Lord and very honoured to be able to serve in this chaplaincy ministry, win or lose. I will be going into my 17th season as a chaplain, and this past year was the first time I was chaplain for a national championship club.  Believe me, it doesn’t come around very often!  I am also glad that I was able to have so many chapels and meaningful prayers with the players.  All those chapel prayers will not be lost or forgotten.

Hanging with the Warriors
Hanging with the Warriors

Coming home meant that I could take a few days off and recharge my batteries just a bit. (It actually took slightly longer that I thought it would…!) The very next weekend the Warriors held their 4th Annual Alumni weekend, and it was good to be with so many of the old Warriors there.

Alberni Valley Chaplain Michael Kleyn
Alberni Valley Chaplain Michael Kleyn

In the middle part of June, I took Lorraine, (I didn’t want to travel without her after my playoff marathon trip…!) and drove to Parksville on Vancouver Island and then on to Port Alberni.  In Port Alberni I met Michael Kleyn, who is now the new chaplain of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs Jr. A club.  I also had a chance to meet with Ron Paulson, President of the Bulldogs and Kevin Willison, Head Coach.  They were very open to the chapel program.  Please be praying for Michael as he serves the Bulldogs this coming season.

Officiating a hockey related wedding
Officiating a hockey related wedding

We are now preparing for our 6th Annual Christian Hockey Camp in Williams Lake, which runs from July 17-22.  Please be praying about this camp ministry.  I will let you know how things go in my end of summer newsletter.  Also in the summer, my life is busy officiating at weddings.  These include many community weddings, as well as some hockey related ones.  I ask for your prayers for these wonderful opportunities to represent Jesus.

Finally, I would ask you to pray about the finances of this ministry, for myself personally and also for the two chapel programs that I run.  My costs are about $1000/season for chapels on each hockey club, the Warriors and also the Kelowna Jr. B Chiefs.  (although this year with 15 Warriors chapels, that number was more like $1500)  Additionally, I am also in need of personal donations to help my own salary finances through Hockey Ministries. If you know of anyone or feel that you could respond to this, please let me know.
Thank you for reading this rambling epistle today, I do trust that you have been encouraged by it.  You truly are a blessing and an encouragement to me.
 hmibc
Prayer Points:
  • HMI Hockey Camp (Williams Lake – July 17-22)
  • Many summer weddings
  • For the new chaplain in Port Alberni
  • For teams with new coaches
  • For sponsorship of West Kelowna chapel program
  • For sponsorship of Rutland chapel program
  • For my own personal missionary support
All for Jesus,
Don Richmond
Hockey Ministries International
Pacific Region