Louckses in Northern Ireland: Life after 1 month

Thursday the 8^th of April was our first day back after our trip to Dublin. It was a really low-key day, which was a nice welcome back. Thomas came back from a holiday in Scotland with Sharon. They went to visit a L’Arche community in Edinburgh. Both had a wonderful time, but came back pretty tired!

Friday was the first day when it was hard to live in community. It was planned that we were all head to the allotment (garden space) in the morning. Because of scheduling and preferences of members of the community, it was moved to the afternoon (after we had made the packed lunches for almost 20). Then when it came time to go in the afternoon, a core member still did not want to go, which meant one of the assistants had to stay behind. It looked like Lucy was going to be the one to stay behind, because she can’t drive here and it was thought 3 drivers were needed. But, Jenny volunteered to stay once it was discovered that only 2 drivers were needed, which was awesome because it was our first time to the allotment. Once everyone got over the fact that everyone wasn’t there, we had a fun time planting vegetables, weeding, and having a cookout. The allotment is about a 15 minute drive mainly east of our houses. It has a great view of the Belfast Lough, the Parliament and the Strangford Lough. There are some pictures below that show the allotment!

On Saturday, we learned our first core members’ routines. Micah learned Thomas’s routine and Lucy learned Larry’s. This means we now are able to help them get ready in the morning and evening (mainly brush teeth and wash up). Then, we went out to lunch with Naomi and Thomas at Common Grounds. Common Grounds is a café that Thomas volunteers at on Wednesday evenings. It is a non-profit café that supports organizations worldwide. After lunch, Micah went with Thomas to the barber, which is a big event for Thomas!! He has been looking forward to it for a while! Lucy came back to the Ark to get the guestroom ready for a week full of guests!! Once Micah returned from the barber it was time to get serious. He has been determined to choose a team to follow in the English Premiership. He has asked around the house. He has done research. He has watched games. He narrowed it down to two teams: Tottenham and Aston Villa. The evening was spent watching Aston Villa lose to Chelsea.

On Sunday, we attended City Church, which is associated with Common Grounds. We arrived 10 minutes early after our walk and immediately were asked if we were visitors. The lady then told us she knew we were visitors because we were there early. “No one arrives to City Church early or even on time.” By 15 minutes past starting time, the church was finally full. Another perfect afternoon: a walk in the sunshine to ice cream and soccer. Micah had his second chance to choose a team: Tottenham losing to Portsmith. So he put off this life altering decision for another day! On Sunday evening we tagged along with Anna, her sister and brother-in-law with James and Thomas as our guides to see paramilitary murals throughout the city along with the dry dock where the Titanic was built. Some of the murals are from the Troubles and some are still being painted today. We will put pictures below!

Monday we had our weekly team meeting and then headed to the Belfast Castle (again tagging along with Anna and family). The castle was not that impressive, but the surrounding county park provided a nice walk and nice views of the city. In the evening, Micah attended the end of the L’Arche Belfast board meeting. He was introduced as part of the Root Soup Management Board. He enjoyed the opportunity to meet the board members since he will be working with them on this endeavor.

Tuesday was a big day! We were present in the Ember. Micah assisted Thomas with his routine while Lucy had her first day learning Jillian’s routine. Jillian’s routine is a bit more involved than the guys so it takes a bit more observation before Lucy will take it over. Then we had our formation meeting. But the big event of the day was meeting with Maria, Scott and Faythe to hash out our role in L’Arche. So…instead of four days in the Ember, we are looking at a change in schedule starting on Monday. Lucy will spend 2 days working in the office shadowing Faythe in hopes to learn the ropes of her job before she leaves in August. Faythe is the volunteer coordinator. She recruits and supports volunteers. Lucy then will spend 1.5 days in the Ember and a ½ day in meetings. Micah will spend 1 day in the office working with Maria on the business plan for Root Soup. He will spend 1 day in the garden with Scott. Micah then will spend 1.5 days in the Ember and a ½ day in meetings. We are excited about the possibilities this will bring. In the afternoon we had our house meeting with the core members followed by Jill’s birthday prayer where we all told her what we love about her.

On Wednesday after many failed attempts we went to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. The Transport museum goes through all type of transport and the history of it in Ireland. The Folk Museum is a replica of a rural life in the early 1900s. It was a great escape from the noise of Belfast and a great way to enjoy the sunshine! Micah went with Larry and James (a Tottenham fan) to watch Tottenham play Arsenal. After a 2-1 upset in Tottenham’s favor, Micah all but decided who to follow, but he needed his wife’s approval, because this means they will need shirts and will be attending at least 1 game.

Thursday began with a lazy morning. We began the process of signing up for National Health Service (seems pretty easy!) Then Lucy listened in on some phone interviews for potential volunteers as Faythe conducted them. In the evening, we went with Faythe, James and Larry to watch Jill in a dance performance at Queen’s University. She danced beautifully in their interpretation of a flock of birds!

Yesterday Lucy was present in the Ember. She learned Thomas’s routine. Micah did garden work outside the Ember with Scott before heading to the allotment. He really enjoys getting away from the noise of traffic and the city life. Thomas came to dinner at the Ark. Most meals have about 10 people and can be pretty overwhelming so it is nice to have opportunities to get away and have smaller group settings. The evening was a special event. Neil’s band was headlining in a gig at a pub downtown to support Habitat for Humanity. Lowly Knights has played with Belfast’s own Snow Patrol!!! It was a lot of fun to have an evening out with Larry and Thomas and the other assistants!

Today will be another lazy day of recuperating and rejuvenating. Tottenham is playing a crucial game today, so we all know what he hopes to be doing!

These past days have cleared up our role in L’Arche and we are looking forward to jumping into our new responsibilities. Keep us in your prayers are we adjust to new job roles and expectations. Also, Micah will be traveling to Scotland (poor thing) with Maria for a social enterprise conference. Pray that they will be able to make it with the volcanic ash drifting over Northern Ireland. We hope the change in weather is treating you all as well as it is us!!

The Ark

Our bedroom in the Ark

Dining room into Living room of Ark

Kitchen of Ark

The Ember: about 10 houses down from the Ark

The allotment! It will be growing soon!

Protestant Paramilitary Mural in East Belfast

Protestant Mural #2 (of many)

Catholic Mural about Israel.

Catholic Mural #2 about racism. (We did not stop the car at the catholic paramilitary murals because of the area of town and time of day so these are more social justice murals.)

A small part of the many peace walls that separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast. It is about 30 ft. tall (including fence on top).