Dear teammates,

Thank you! Thank you for allowing me to function in this ministry to the world of hockey in BC. It takes all of us, which I am keenly aware of. I thank the Lord for everyone on this team.

Here are a few summer highlights…

In July, I was blessed to be able to connect with a number of players that were either at home or in the Okanagan for a summer vacation. It was great to connect with the Victoria Royals Teague Patton, whom I baptized last summer. It is so important to chat, pray and encourage young players like Teague.

I also had a wonderful visit with my good friend and ex-Trail Smoke Eater chaplain Bruce Taylor. Bruce is a real All Star and well loved; he has served with his heart and soul as a chaplain for many years. About the same time I had a chance to visit with an old hockey pal and coach,Troy Mick. Troy and I go waaaay back to my original days with the Vernon Vipers. (2000-2006) It was so good to see Troy, who is now coaching in Wenatchee, Washington.

In early August I attended our Hockey Ministries camp at Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. We had a wonderful time there, and 6 young campers prayed to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. That was an eternal moment!

A neat camp moment was when the Coach of the Victoria Grizzlies, Rylan Ferster came one morning as a guest coach, assisting our head coach Ben Walter. Rylan has become a good friend of mine and he ended up coming up to see me and helped out on the ice for a session.

 

 

Ben’s parents, Ryan and Jennifer Walter were also at the camp, which was a tremendous blessing. One of the days at camp, I took a bit of time to travel down to Victoria to see the chaplain of the Grizzlies, Harlan Enns. Harlan is such a great guy, and I look forward to what the Lord will do through him and the chapel program.

 

These months have been busy with a variety of things, including officiating weddings, which they take place in the craziest locations! I have included a picture of where one of these happened. I was literally 2 feet from a drop off down to Lake Okanagan in this shot… (I’m glad it wasn’t breezy or I might have gone over…!)

On a very difficult note, in August we had a terrible tragic death in the West Kelowna Warriors family. One of our assistant captains from a few years ago, Parm Dhaliwal passed away suddenly. Parm was the greatest guy, and honestly I still can’t believe that he is gone. Lorraine and I travelled to Delta for his funeral, where we met some Warriors players who had gathered from near and far. It was very difficult for everyone there; for Parm’s family, for the hockey community and for the young men that played on his teams. I pray for God’s peace and for hope for the Dhaliwal family and for those who were touched by Parm’s life.

I would ask you to pray for the new chaplain of the Langley Rivermen, Luke Vanderhoek. I met Luke early in the summer, where we discussed him coming on as the new Rivermen chaplain. Luke is a great young guy, and I pray for a fruitful ministry time for him in Langley.

A much happier time was when Lorraine and I had an opportunity to spend several days with our family, at a beachside house. The memories we made there will last for the rest of our lives. I have included a picture of us as the sun set over the ocean. These were unbelievably special days, and I’m thankful to the Lord for blessings like this along the way.

These are just some of the wild and wonderful things that have been going on around the HMI world in BC. Thank you for reading my ramblings today.

May the Lord bless and keep you,
Don Richmond
Hockey Ministries International
Pacific Region

• chapel programs in the upcoming season
• meaningful chapel chats regarding real life issues
• for searching players to find Christ
• Parm Dahliwal’s family
• the new chaplain in Langley
• safe travels throughout the province
• open doors for increased chaplaincy

Spending of funds is confined to board approved programs and projects. Each restricted contribution designated towards a board approved program or project will be used as designated, with the understanding that when the need for such a program or project has been met, or cannot be completed for an reason determined by the board, the remaining restricted contributions designated for such program or project will be used where needed most.