To the HMI BC family,
It’s been a long time (over 3 1/2 months) since we’ve watched or seen live hockey…. for me, that’s too long! Even as some Covid 19 restrictions are slowly being lifted, we are still not sure if we’ll see NHL playoffs begin this summer. (A completely weird concept to me….) Through it all, I am determined to be grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had to spend time with hockey people; to minister to and encourage them.

During the last number of months of isolation and physical distancing, it’s been very good to connect with Hockey Ministries staff all over North America via regular Zoom video calls. We have been able to share stories and pray together which has been wonderful. Also, while Covid has certainly made it more challenging, I’ve been able to connect with a number of people in the hockey world. One of my favourite ways to connect is J&J times (Jesus and Java) in the park. These have been a real blessing and again, I am thankful to the Lord for them. Just recently I was able to connect this way with the West Kelowna Warriors club President Chris Laurie. It’s great ending with a prayer after coffee and a good chat. (I always want to include the Jesus part as well as the Java part….!) A few days after my visit with Chris, I was able to also J&J with my Christian brother Dickson Muriithi. Dickson is a great friend, a wonderful prayer warrior and is also a great encouragement as part of the HMI BC team.

A few weeks ago I happened to run into Mike Ullrich, a junior player that billeted with Lorraine and I way back in 2005 in Vernon. Mike played for the Vipers Jr A club when I was their chaplain way back then. It was so wonderful to see him again; it was unreal when he saw me and called out my name..! All I heard was “Hey Don? It’s Mike Ullrich!!” How awesome is that? Mike got married a year ago and lives in Calgary. He loves the Lord and continues to walk with Him.

A mere week or so ago I had the honour of having J&J with the 2019 Warriors Captain, Jake Harrison. Jake has been a great chapel supporter over his 4 years with the Warriors. He is headed this fall to the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he will attend school and play for the UNO Mavericks hockey club.

Planning for summer hockey camps has been especially difficult this year. Considering the physical nature of the sport and the social distancing that is our new reality at present, we have had to drastically modify our summer camps. As I write this, I am confident that there will be a scaled-back day camp in Williams Lake in mid-July, but I’m not as certain about the Shawnigan Lake camp in August. We will be honouring the mandate of our BC Health Authority as we are determined to conduct our Hockey Ministries camps properly. Please be praying as we still desire to have the best experience possible for the campers, both on the ice and at chapel times.

Finally: with hockey ending on March 12, my schedule and my life in general has certainly changed. One of the beautiful benefits of this is that I have been able to spend a bit more time with Lorraine. She has been a constant source of encouragement and joy to me. I am so glad that she loves the Lord and has a solid faith in Jesus. Time spent with Lorraine is always a wonderful gift.

Thanks to all of you for sticking with me, through thick and thin. I look forward to future times when I’ll be able to head back to the rink without having to physically avoid everybody…. But until then, I will keep looking up to the Lord, for that is where my strength comes from.

Waiting for the quiet arena to get noisy again,
Don Richmond
Hockey Ministries International
Pacific Region

Prayer Points:

• For our chaplains across the province
• For our summer hockey camps
• For continued contacts in the hockey world
• For God’s work in players lives
• For encouragement to coaches and club execs