Sunday was another day in the Ember. The two of us made a brunch for the community: pancakes, eggs, bacon and fruit salad. It was a real easy lazy Sunday. In the evening, Micah went to Holy Grounds to hear Thomas give a talk at his church service. He talked about his life growing up and then life now in L’Arche.
Monday was a rest day for the two of us after the team meeting. Afterwards we ran errands to get food to replenish our stock after our vacation and because we were having guests over throughout the week. When we returned, a meeting to plan a future event was sprung on Micah. He had not checked his email since returning from holiday and we were glad that we had come back in time for him to participate. After Micah’s meeting it was already time for dinner. The evening was spent on household projects such as fixing light switches and replacing light bulbs and before we knew it the day had passed.
Tuesday we were had a formation meeting in the morning. It was Thomas’ reference meeting. In a reference meeting the team discusses the gifts and challenges of living with Thomas and then brainstorms ways to help him to continue to grow in the community. After the meeting we both got to work in the office. After a week away from office work, we had many emails to respond to and projects to catch up on. Soon after work we were busy in the kitchen, Faythe, James, and Thomas came over for dinner because James told Thomas that he was leaving at the end of July and that Lucy would be his reference person then. To be a reference person means that if Thomas needs to talk about something he can know who to go to, if he needs new clothes or a doctor’s appointment, Lucy will make sure it gets taken care of. It is not a big responsibility, but precautionary measures to make sure the core members’ needs are not overlooked.
Wednesday was another rest day; we did some cleaning around the Ark, ran some errands, and got some delicious pastries. In the evening we had the honor of Larry joining us for dinner. The Ember was a busy day with lots of activities, and Larry does not tend to like to ride along, so he came down for dinner and to watch some TV.
Thursday we were back at work in the office. Micah and Maria work on an application form to receive guidance and support from corporate companies. Lucy answered MANY email enquiries about our one September opening. It is going to be a busy couple weeks of interviewing. After work, Micah went to coffee with one of the board members to discuss the business side of Root Soup. The evening was spent enjoying reading and drawing.
Friday, Micah was at work in the garden allotment. He and Scott pulled weeds, picked leeks, onions and rhubarb and mowed the grass. Lucy was present in the Ember from 2-7. When Jill got home from the day centre, the two headed up to the local shopping centre to pick up a few groceries, a new coloring book and a cup of coffee. It was a lovely sunny afternoon for a walk. Afterwards the evening was spent cooking dinner, coloring, dancing and enjoying cups of tea.
Saturday was probably the most beautiful day of weather we have experienced since coming to Northern Ireland. We were able to soak in the sunshine in our back garden and drink tea and read and draw and truly relax. It was a glorious day of pure leisure. In the evening a few of the other assistants came over to our home to watch the Champions League Final football (soccer) game.
Sunday we were present in the Ember all day. In the morning, we met the newest assistant from Japan, Makiko. She arrived on Saturday evening and is staying for one year. Lucy was planning to attend church with Jillian on Sunday, but her father phoned to say that he wanted to take a drive with Jill and would like one or two assistants to join them. So Lucy and Micah went along and drove along the Atrium Road that follows the North Coast up to Ballycastle. We enjoyed a walk out to a lighthouse, lunch in an outdoor café, driving by the sea and many beautiful views from Torr Head. It was a wonderful day with Jillian and Larry (Jill’s dad) and a great way to spend another sunshiny day in Northern Ireland. Once we arrived back at the Ember, we were had our weekly Sunday evening prayer and then sat out on the front lawn to enjoy the cool evening breeze.
Monday we had our weekly team meeting. Afterwards, Micah headed to a meeting with Maria to look at possible locations for the “Soup Shanty”, an event in October to kickoff Root Soup. Lucy spent the afternoon cleaning and reading. In the evening, the two of us enjoyed cooking ourselves some delicious groundnut stew.
Tuesday started off with a morning in the allotment. For our team formation we had a workday pulling weeds on the paths. Micah and Scott were grateful to have the eight extra hands pulling weeds. Afterwards, a core member and assistant from L’Arche Dublin who were in Belfast for the day came to the Ember for lunch. We enjoyed a nice lunch with them, before heading back to the Ark. Typically on Tuesdays, both of us work in the office, but tomorrow we are heading down to Cork because Lucy and Faythe have an assistants coordinators meetings and Micah is helping with the driving. So, Micah worked a short day and Lucy did not work today. The afternoon instead was spent preparing for the evening. Tonight was the goodbye prayer and party for Anna who leaves on Thursday. So we had a costume (called formal dress here) party and barbeque. It was a lot of fun and you will have to check out the picture of Jill below!
It has been a very low key week in many ways, but we are moving into a busy time. Today started the craziness of goodbyes, meetings, many interviews of potential assistants and of course THE WORLD CUP!! So we enjoyed the calm of the past weeks and will seek the calm moments in the weeks to come!
Thomas running at Special Olympics Meet.
Picture of the lighthouse
Jillian and Anna at Anna's goodbye prayer and party.
Lovely Jillian in her "fancy dress"
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