Hello HMI Pacific team!

Here we are, at the end of our 2020 summer! While this year has been so very different, I am viewing it as a time to stretch in faith and to trust God in what He has in the future. God will make a way!

This summer I am grateful for the ministry contacts that I have been able to continue with. I have tried to connect with as many hockey people as possible. One of these was a beach coffee with last year’s Kelowna Chiefs captain, Myles Mattila. Myles is an awesome young man, and I am glad to be able to be able to spend time chatting with him and always ending our times with prayer. Another summer coffee was with former coaches Brandon West and Rylan Ferster. It is amazing to stand together downtown by the Delta Grand Hotel and lead these guys in prayer. I am convinced more than ever that the Lord is working even when we can’t see anything on the outside. I am so grateful that through this COVID year, I can meet (and physically distance) with hockey people, listening and pointing them to Jesus. In the same vein, it was wonderful to connect with Warriors broadcaster Chase Johnston and also with Kelowna Rockets former staff member Andrew Deans is this way.

I am very thankful for the 2 HMI summer hockey camps that ran in BC this year. It was a miracle that they happened at all! We were very careful to modify the camps to follow our BC Health Authority guidelines. Some of our modifications were: no overnight campers in dorms, no served meals (campers brought their own lunches and snacks), campers arriving at 8:30a and leaving at 3:30p, physical distancing during lunchtime chapels, limits of people allowed on the ice, distancing during practice drills, etc. All in all, we had 2 wonderful camps, with young players enjoying learning on the ice and also hearing the gospel every day.

As September rolls in, hockey training camps are starting. The challenges for coaches, owners and staff here are very significant, and the stress is evident. There are distancing issues, there is the fact that teams can’t have fans in the arenas, there are young talented players that may not have an opportunity to move on to American colleges, or American players that can’t come to play in Canada. (Believe me, the list goes on and on…..) In all of this, I pray that our chaplains can be a support in the middle of stressful times for coaches, players and parents. In the middle of all this, we plan on conducting physically distanced chapels according to COVID guidelines.

Thank you so very much for being supportive, prayerful and understanding during this time. We are all asking the Lord to show us the way as we walk by faith. These are days of faith and trust!

Psalm 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”

May God bless you all and keep you,

Don Richmond

Hockey Ministries International

Pacific Region