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| Geography: |
The Gaspé Peninsula is known for its exquisite beauty and exceptional hospitality. It takes about 8 hours to travel around the Gaspé peninsula—an extremely rewarding scenic drive because of the region’s breathtaking scenery of seaside cliffs, picturesque fishing villages and the mighty Percé Rock.
The province of New Brunswick is south of Gaspé peninsula and the largest of Canada's Maritime Provinces. Vast sprawling forests cover almost 90% of the province's landmass and provide the raw materials for the lumber and pulp and paper industries. Thousands of kilometres of ocean shoreline supply bountiful quantities of fish and lobsters, while also making the area popular with tourists. |
| History: |
The name "Gaspé" comes from a Micmac (Indian) word meaning, "the end of the land." The explorer Jacques Cartier planted a cross near the site of the present-day city of Gaspé in 1534, claiming what we now call Eastern Canada for France.
In northwestern New Brunswick, the French-speaking people are known as "Brayons." Most of them migrated to the area from Quebec and the northern United States. The francophones of the Acadian Coast are known as "Acadians" and trace their roots back to the earliest days of New France (1604) when Samuel de Champlain "discovered" the St. John River. The darkest days in Acadian history took place in 1755 when the British forcibly deported thousands from the region to such places as Louisiana (where the Acadians became known as "Cajuns") for refusing to pledge their allegiance to the British crown. The suffering of these refugees has been immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's well-known poem, "Evangeline." |
| Population: |
The Gaspé, and Îles-de-la-Madeleine, have a combined population of just over 100,000. Most people live in towns and villages that hug the shore.
In New Brunswick, a population of approximately 800,000 resides mostly in the St. John River Valley, along the Acadian Coast and in the cities of Moncton and the provincial capital of Fredericton. The French-speaking population of New Brunswick numbers about 300,000 and is concentrated in the Upper St. John River Valley of northwestern New Brunswick in the towns of Grand-Sault and Edmunston, and along the Acadian coast. |
| Economy: |
Tourism is the main industry in the Gaspé peninsula, but there are also some maritime-related economic activities and services in the larger centres. New Brunswick’s economy is based on forestry, fishing, agriculture and tourism. |
| Ministry: |
There are presently three French Fellowship Baptist churches on the Gaspé Peninsula. The church at Matane, under the leadership of Israël-Luc and Agnès Godfrey, was able to purchase and renovate a well-situated building with the help of funds from Project 2001.
A young couple, Israël and Nadia Le Guédard, heads a relatively new church plant in the city of Gaspé. There is also a small work at New Richmond, which is currently without a permanent pastor.
Claude and Vinca Beaulieu began their ministry in Rimouski in January 2005. Claude’s vision is to build up the church at Rimouski and to have a regional ministry. The Rimouski church is actively searching to buy a building (with the help of funds from Project 2006). Claude is serving as Interim Pastor in New Richmond and goes there twice a month. Renald Veilleux also serves in Rimouski as part of the ministry team. The Rimouski church gave birth to a daughter work in Rivière-du-Loup in the summer of 2006. The new church is under the leadership of missionaries Hugo and Lyne Éthier.
Currently, there is only one French Fellowship Baptist church in New Brunswick. Led by Alain and Jacinthe Ringuette, this church is in the town of Grand Sault in the upper St. John River Valley. Eventually the Fellowship French Mission would like to see another church planted in the strategic town of Edmunston, and the long-term vision is to reach the Acadian Coast for the gospel. |
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