Saturday 18 June was a rest day for us...well for Lucy. Micah was away for the majority of the day at a Street Pastor's training. He had the training on rules and regulations from 10-3....after staying out on the streets for Street Pastors till 3 a.m. He was a tired boy when he got back on Saturday. Lucy spent the day running, cleaning and relaxing...the way a rest day should be spent!
Sunday it was off to church in the morning. After church we hung out with Joy and Bobby for the afternoon. The Sunday afternoons with the Orfs are always full of good laughs, good and challenging chats and good food!
Monday, Lucy led the prayer in the morning and then we had a team meeting. The team meeting was a good hear about what had been happening in the community while we were gone and what was coming up! After the team meeting, we jumped on a bus to IKEA for free coffee and a chance to chat! It was a lovely afternoon.
Tuesday was a rest day. We spent the morning relaxing and then headed over to the Ember for Susan's leaving prayer. In the community, leaving prayers are a way to express our thanks to volunteers and to really make sure they understand how important they were/are to the community. Additionally it is a way to clearly say to all the core members that this person is leaving. After the prayer, we stayed around the Ember for dinner which is always great. You get yummy food and don't have to work to much for it...just help a bit with clean-up!
Wednesday began with Lucy heading to women's cell and Micah heading off to Root Soup. In the afternoon we were both working in the office. Lucy was preparing for upcoming volunteers, answering emails and being Micah's admin assistant. Micah was plugging away at responding to emails, setting up the details of the summer program and preparing for his class. In the evening we headed to our cell group and had a great chance to discuss the times when we see God's power throughout the Bible.
Thursday was a rest day, but there was no rest for the weary. Root Soup was asked to cater an AGM (annual general meeting) on Friday so Thursday was spent making soup, baking and having some good craic. Lucy enjoyed the chance to meet the guys that she had heard so many stories about and hang out with Jillian for the day. We made 2 kinds of soup and lots of desserts like banana muffins, carrot cake and German biscuits (which we have found out are not truly German). It was a long day, but a really fun one! By the time we were home in the afternoon we were knackered!
On Friday, Lucy headed over first thing to the Ember to help the guys get off to work, while Micah got ready to go up to the allotment. The berries, salads and peas are coming into their peak so we are starting to get great fresh food from the allotment each week. Micah did a lot of weeding, picking of food and some strimming. In the afternoon at the allotment, we spent a bit of time getting ready to go to a pot luck at St. Johns church with a few other faith communities around Northern Ireland including Focolore, Carris and Corrymeela. The event was set up to share ideas about what it means to live in community and encourage each other along the journey. Many of the questions asked were very intellectual and spiritual, which was a bit much for a few of the core members. Plus we didn't eat dinner till after 8 which is not good when we are on a very scheduled day of dinner at 6. By the end, Jillian had had enough and displayed some challenging behaviour so we left a bit early (although I think we were all ready to go!).
Saturday we were present in the Ember. The day was filled with a lot of different errands, cleaning and cups of tea. Lucy spent the morning with Larry. Larry has an addiction to the TV series 'One Foot in the Grave' and was only missing 2 seasons, so Neil helped Larry to order his last two seasons from Amazon and Larry was ecstatic! Not only did he order on the computer...but he was going to get the DVDs in the post! Then at lunch time went with Jillian to a tea party fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. After huge yummy scones and great coffee, Jillian and Lucy stopped by to see Joy for a few minutes. Then it was back to the Ember to clean Jill's room. Micah went in the morning with Thomas to Common Grounds. By dinner time everyone was pretty wiped, so we decided to go out for burgers! It was a nice way to end a busy day!
Sunday we went to City Church and then walked through Botanic Park. The sun was shining and the roses were in full bloom making it the perfect day to play in the park with the Orfs! After a bit we headed home for a few hours before going to a family from City Church's house. The family recently started coming to City Church and it was a really nice time getting to know them and they grilled AMAZING food! Their hospitality meant a lot to us!
Monday began with prayer and a team meeting. Afterwards, we went shopping for a community party on Tuesday. We went to dinner in the Ember and then spent the evening cooking chilli for the party.
Tuesday was a busy day. Micah had a couple meetings; Lucy went to the chiropractor. Then we had a leaving party for Susan! It was lovely to gather and eat outside! The weather was amazing! Susan has been a great fit in the Ember and is already deeply missed! She brought so much energy and flexibility!
Wednesday began with women's cell for Lucy before heading to the office and Micah worked all day in the office. After work, we got dinner ready and Maria (our community leader) came over. She has been away for a few weeks as she takes on a new role as regional coordinator so it was really nice to reconnect. After dinner the two of us headed to City Church for a table quiz fundraiser for an outreach programme this summer. On our team were 4 American (including us) and 2 guys from Belfast which made the local history/culture questions quite difficult. Only 1 person in the group had a TV and car...which really made the pop culture questions quite difficult! Needless to say we got 2nd to last! :( We did however know that Alaska was the biggest state (land wise) and that the Battle at Bunker Hill took place during the Revolutionary War or as they call it here the American War for Independence!
Thursday began by saying goodbye to Susan before going on an adventure with Bobby and Padraig. We biked down the toe path and found a great spot to set up the Orf's hammock. Although it took Bobby and Micah a few tries to get it tight enough so our bums didn't hit the bottom, it was a good adventure on a lovely day! In the afternoon Micah had a meeting and Lucy relaxed!
On Friday, Lucy was present in the Ember all day and Micah headed up to the allotment. The allotment time was filled with berry picking, weeding and watering. The time in the Ember was filled with cleaning, preparing the new volunteer, Johanna's, room and making dinner. Johanna arrived at about 9:30 p.m. so we had a lovely chat and cup of tea before she was ready to crash!
Saturday was another full day in the Ember. Micah went to Common Grounds with Thomas to volunteer. Lucy hung out with Larry...who got a new radio and loved finding different stations to listen to! After a bit, Lucy, Johanna and Larry walked up to Home Base in search of the weekly DVD for Larry. Johanna had her first experience watching Larry pick out DVDs. It is quite an ordeal. He gets down on the ground, he picks up every single one, he asks what certain things say and then looks through them all again! We were probably looking at DVDs for about 45 minutes before he made up his mind! He is in love with the process of buying DVDs! In the afternoon we headed to Lady Dixon park for a nice walk and some ice cream. For dinner we had a BBQ with a few of the guests that were staying in our home and the community. Yummy! Micah headed out in the evening for a busy night of Street Pastors. It was the the beginning of the month and everyone had just gotten paid, it was beautiful weather, and people were out celebrating the "mini 12th". Our night was filled with keeping people on the side walk and out of the middle of the streets, helping intoxicated people stand, helping diffuse arguments and even helping out in the aftermath of a fight. It is amazing how much different the streets look at midnight than they do when we are out walking through them in the daylight.
Sunday was a rest day for us. After church, we had a picnic in the park with the Orfs and a few others from church. Then the two of us just laid in the grass enjoying the sunshine...Micah fell asleep! After a nap in the park, we went back for a more restful nap at home and then got ready to go to Sam and Hannah's house (from church) for dinner. Our lives seem to revolve around yummy food and this was another example! Hannah made delicious Indian food it was a great time!
Monday began as usual with prayer and a team meeting. After the team meeting, Neil, Scott, Johanna and the two of us ate lunch together in the back garden. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for our monthly date night. We usually go out somewhere but since our house mates are away in Sweden for a few weeks we decided to take advantage of a chance to cook nice food. We had yummy trout, roasted potatoes and asparagus! It was delicious and a great chance to connect!
Tuesday was a rest day, but Micah had a training for the summer programme for most of the day. So Lucy spent her day cleaning and organizing the house, and working out.
Wednesday was a rest day. We went to Ian's in the morning and then did some weeding in our back garden. After dinner, Lucy got the chance to talk to a great friend from college on Skype, before we headed to cell group. On the way to cell (we were already running few minutes late) we got caught by a Orange Order parade not once but twice! The way the route was set up by the time the end was past us the front was in our way again on a street over! As we were walking along beside the parade, it probably looked like we were huge supporters of the Orange order because we just couldn't get by it! Needless to say we were quite late to cell.
Thursday was a rest day. We spent a bit of time cleaning the house and the chickens' house in the morning as well as running a few errands (like to replace the coffee pot Lucy broke when she completely missed the counter while setting it down). In the afternoon we headed over to Joy and Bobby's house to hang out with them and their wee boys. After dinner we came back to relax and get a good nights sleep!
Friday, Micah was up at the allotment, the majority of the time was picking strawberries and raspberries, and Lucy was in the Ember cleaning, cooking and hanging out with the guys. After dinner Lucy, Micah, Jillian, and Johanna spent about an hour and a half washing and chopping strawberries to freeze. So far we have about 6.5 Kg in the freezer. We are looking forward to the jam to come!
Today, we are both in the Ember. There are many preparations for the community holiday that starts tomorrow so the day will be filled up by packing, cleaning, doing laundry, shopping and hopefully resting a wee bit. Tonight Micah will head out with Street Pastors. A restful holiday will be in order!
Please pray for our safety in travel, our patience in interactions, and energy as we spend the next 10 days submersed in community life. We hope everyone is enjoying the intense heat of the Midwest (it has gotten up to 70 here...).
