Goodbye Naomi

Sunday May 2 we were present in the Ember. This was one of the few rainy days recently in Belfast. So we were trapped in the house for a long Sunday. The two of us enjoyed cooking fajitas for the community for lunch. The only way we get Mexican food is by cooking it ourselves! We passed the rainy day painting, cleaning, baking, talking and listening to music. Due to changes in routine from Jillian, she had a tough day. It was hard to find anything to pass the time that made here happy. When she became bored with an activity, she would let Lucy know with challenging behavior. It made it a trying day for Lucy in the Ember. The evening cleared off so we could enjoy some brief walks with core members before settling in for the night.

Monday was marathon day!! Almost 19,000 people participated in the walk, marathon, fun run, and team relay (where L’Arche participated including MICAH!). Micah headed out to catch a bus to his spot at about 8:15 a.m. even though he didn’t run until about 11:30! Micah enjoyed the 5.3 mile run along the Belfast Lough. He ran it in 41 minutes!! What a speed demon! Lucy was present at the Ember so she headed down and made a picnic lunch for the community for after the marathon in the park and worked on food for the barbeque to celebrate in the evening. Thomas finished the last half mile of the race with Scott so those of us in the Ember walked down to the meeting point. We did not anticipate how quickly the team would run and were a little late, so Scott had to run back to get Thomas. After 20 minutes of searching, Thomas and Scott finished the team relay in style…Thomas really going “quick quick quick”. The team time was 4 hours and 25 minutes (so if you subtract 20 minutes of search time that right at 4 hours!) Good work team!! The evening was a celebration spent around the barbeque at the Ark. We enjoyed sunshine, burgers and community. It was a great reward after a long day! After the barbeque wrapped up, most of the community went to a local pub to start the send off for Naomi who left on Friday. Jill is usually goes for a bath and then to her room right after dinner, but this day decided to come out with us and was in fine form! She was all smiles and held hands with Thomas the whole way down to the pub. It was great to see the lovely lady that Jill is most the time.

Tuesday we had our team meeting. Then the two of us worked in the office. Lucy began to rework the volunteer application and Micah worked with Maria on the exact direction of Root Soup. The evening was another celebration. We had Naomi’s leaving prayer and party. At a person’s prayer each person says what they enjoy about the person and then their hope for the person. Then it was onto the party. Naomi wanted lasagna for her leaving meal. It was really good! Naomi is a big fan of going to concerts so the community put on a gig for her. Everything from poems to the Canadian National Anthem to skits was done in honor of her time as part of the community.

On Wednesday we had a rest day. We passed the time running errands, pulling weeds and relaxing. Micah went with James to watch Tottenham qualify for the Champions League next year!! The evening was spent hanging out in the pub with Naomi and all the core members and volunteers.

Thursday it was back to the office for both of us. Lucy and Faythe had an exit interview with Naomi and then Lucy had the last phone interview with a potential volunteer for September. It was the first phone interview that she actually led!! So now it is time to start the decision making process!! Micah sent emails, organized papers and wrote letters.

Friday was the day of Naomi’s departure. Scott and Micah spent the morning working at the garden at the Ark. Then they headed up to the Allotment for the afternoon. Lucy spent the morning cleaning before trying her hand in the world of crafts. The evening was spent in the Ember. The evening turned into a craft night of card making, coaster making and drawing.

Saturday we were present in the Ember. Micah went to look at cars and buy a DVD with Sharon and Larry. Lucy went on a walk to Ormeau Park with Jill on a lovely sunny day. After dinner we went to support a fundraiser to help send May and Cross Links to the Holy Lands. Cross Links is a cross community group that brings together members from the Catholic, Protestant, Chinese and Indian communities. It was a concert at Common Grounds.

Sunday we went back to City Church and then had a picnic in Botanic Gardens. Then afternoon was spent truly relaxing at home. Congratulations Ana for graduating from Hesston College!!!

Today, we had our weekly team meeting. Then we headed to city center for some shopping. Shopping was productive but the bike ride there and back was a wee bit chilly. After returning home, we finished packing for our trip to Amsterdam tomorrow!! The evening was passed with dinner at the Ember and planting our back garden!!

We have now had our first L’Arche goodbye. It was a busy week with the activities surrounding Naomi’s leaving, marathon and preparing to see Ana and the Hesston choir in Amsterdam! We will update you soon with our adventures in the Netherlands (and with Dutch!).

Saying Goodbye to Naomi (2nd in from Left).