The Roths take on the UK and Ireland!

Lucy's parents and little brother arrived on May 26th. After a nap for her mom (Carolyn) and brother (Jacob), we walked around the neighbourhood and had some leek and potato soup for dinner. The family was in bed pretty early after a long day of travelling!

On Friday, Lucy worked in the Ember and Micah worked in the office. Lucy's family headed up to the Giant's Causeway to explore the North Coast. Although it was a bit rainy they had a great time. It was Thomas' birthday so the clan headed to Wolfes for some burgers. Traffic was a mess because of a few bomb threats, but we all eventually made it and had a great time!

Saturday morning bright and early (4:30 a.m. but it really was bright because the sun was up!) we flew to London. We had lunch with Lois and Wayne who attend Lucy's church and are currently in London with MMN. After lunch we visited St. Paul's cathedral and then headed out of town a bit to visit Aileen, a woman who lived with Lucy's dad (Peter) while he was in junior high. The family had the first experience with formal British tea. After the visit we went in search of a place to watch the Champion's League final (soccer). Although we were in London and so was the game...we did not go to it! Instead we ended up watching it in a Thai/English pub. The food was Thai but the rest was English! Such a weird and awesome place!

Lunch at London Mennonite Centre with Lois and Wayne.

St. Paul's Cathedral

After tea with Aileen.

Sunday was our day to tour London. We started at the Globe Theatre for a tour. Then we walked across the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London (where the crown jewels are located). Afterwards we went on a Thymes Cruise. Once off we saw Big Ben, Parliment, and Buckingham Palace before getting back on the cruise. We walked across the London Bridge before having a London Bridge Experience (but we were too tired to find humorous) and ended the day back where we started, at the Globe Theatre watching 'Alls well that ends well'. We were all 'groundlings' which meant we stood down by the stage. Micah, Lucy and Peter where right by stairs that led up to the stage and enjoyed being so close to the actors as they entered and exited. It was an awesome experience!

Globe Theatre

London Tower--where the crown jewels are!

Big Ben and Parliment

Buckingham Palace

In the stinky phone booth!

The little brother!

Tower Bridge in distance. London bridge in front.

Westminster Abbey

Monday we began driving around England (well technically Micah began driving the rest of us just rode along). The first stop was Windsor Castle where the queen was in residence! We saw the changing of the guards but not the queen. Then we headed onto Stonehenge, Salisbury Castle where an original copy of the Magna Carta is kept and then down to stay near Land's End. Our hostel was a bit tricky to find as it was off the beaten path a bit hence the following directions, but after as Jacob put it a 'sixteen point' turn on a narrow road, we found our way.

By car or bike: IMPORTANT: The only road access to YHA Land's End is via Kelynack on the B3306. Turn off the B3306 at Kelynack and follow the road through the farmyard and past the sign "Unsuitable for motors" - although narrow the road is tarmac and in good condition all the way to the hostel entrance. Follow this road without making any further turns until you reach the gate with "Letcha Vean", YHA and Hostelling International signs.

Windsor Castle

Changing of the Guards

Stonehenge

Salisbury Cathedral

On Tuesday, the two of us started our day with a coastal walk before the whole crew headed to Land's End. After hiking around, we went to a cove where seals are known to be seen and enjoyed watching them swim about for a while. Then it was on to St. Michael's Mount. We missed the time of day when you are able to walk on the causeway to the castle (low tide) and had to take a boat across. The two of us decided to stay back and explore the little town. We had Cornish Pasties, ice cream and tea before the rest of the group came back. After a light lunch it was back in the van and onto Bristol.

Coastal Walk

Land's End

St. Michael's Mount

Wednesday we went to see the Roman Baths built in Bath. After we all made our way through the exhibition, we went to Avebury, which Jacob can tell you is just rocks and sheep poo and nothing impressive even though it was created thousands of years ago! Then it was back to London to drop off Lois and Wayne and rest up!

Roman Bathes

Big Stones at Avebury!

Thursday we headed onto Stratford upon Avon, where Shakespeare was born. We visited his birthplace, Mary Arden's childhood home (his mother) and Anne Hathaway's cottage (his wife). Afterwards a few of us went out for some Indian food while the others rested up!

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Friday we headed onto Liverpool to go to the Beatles experience. There was a couple right in front of us that took a picture of everything!! I don't think they missed a single object in the museum! Afterwards, we had some ice cream before getting 'Mexican' food and watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Lennon Peace Monument

Saturday we left England and drove into Scotland. The first stop was Glasgow for the People's Palace. It was geared more toward local people and was interesting to see Glasgow's lack of hope toward any change in the future. After we finished in Glasgow we headed onto Edinburgh for a relaxing evening.

No description needed.

On Sunday we went to the Edinburgh Castle before walking down the Royal Mile. The day was filled with walking and seeing/experiencing a bit of Edinburgh. By the end of the day we were all a bit wiped out!

Monday was our last day in Scotland. We headed to Inchcolm, an island with an old abbey, for the morning. Our trip over was a bit ruined by a school group of about kindergarteners who were all but quiet. It was great that they were having a good time, but we missed all the information! Once we were on the island, the trip was well worth it! The abbey was an amazing maze of passages and there were old tunnels used during time of war, but we were not able to see them because the sea gulls were nesting and were quite protective of the area. A few dive bombed toward our heads!! Once we were back on the mainland, we had some lunch and coffee and then it was time to return the car and head to the airport. After landing in Belfast, we picked up the next rental car and Peter got his first experience driving on the 'wrong' side of the road! The rest of the evening was spent doing laundry and repacking for the next day!

The family in front of the Abbey on Inchcolm.

Tuesday morning, Lucy, Peter, Carolyn and Jacob headed out to Donegal, while Micah stayed behind for a course on Wednesday. Those of us travelling went to Slieve League. Micah did some reading and rested up after so many days of driving!

Family tradition - changing flat tires.

Donegal Beach

Wednesday, Micah headed to his course on managerial leadership. The rest of us headed to see the Marble Arch caves, which were spectacular wet caves! Then we went onto Galway for the night.

Thursday was a day filled with wrong internet information. Lucy was supposed to get a bus back to Belfast on Friday morning, but the bus station said there was not a bus at the time the internet said there was. Then it was decided that Lucy would stay with her family till Saturday and then the whole group would head back which meant the family missed seeing Dingle Penninsula, but everyone was okay with that after so much driving and travelling. Also, we went to Galway Crystal for a tour, but again the internet information was wrong so we headed onto the Burren. Since there was no tour in the morning, we were there a bit early so we had a chance to explore the wee town and go through the exhibition on the Burren and the town. The walk in the Burren was amazing! We saw Arctic, Mediterranean, and Alpine flowers growing side by side! The landscape was so weird and unique! It was awesome!

Friday we headed to the Aran Islands. Lucy had been there once before with Micah's family but to a different island. The island we went to this time was a bit smaller but had some amazing ruins. Jacob thought it was just rocks and cows, but the rest of us found it quite amazing! On the way back we sailed under the Cliffs of Moher, which was pretty spectacular to be at the base of such awesome cliffs! AND it gave us the chance to see HUNDREDS of puffins nesting! So neat! Once back on shore we headed to the top of the Cliffs of Moher and the exhibition before we had some dinner and tucked in for the night! Back in Belfast Micah attended his first night out with Belfast Street Pastors. It is an inititiave just started with the help of local churches, Belfast City Council and Belfast Police to be a positive presence on the streets late at night. We went out at about 10:30 and finally finished up about 3:00. It was a fairly slow evening, which isn't a bad thing. We spent most of our time chatting with quite intoxicated folks and making sure everyone had a way home. It is a great experience and Micah is looking forward to going out regularly on the weekends. Although, there are drawbacks to the program, like having to ride your bike home as the sun is beginning to come up...

A bit blurry but hundreds of puffins or miniature flying penguins.

Saturday began early with our drive back to Belfast. On the way we stopped at Newgrange and saw the passage tombs of Knowth and Newgrange. Once we arrived back it was nice to just hang out for an evening.

On Sunday we went to City Church and then spent the afternoon with Joy and Bobby! It was so nice for my family to meet the Orfs! Once back, we had another relaxing evening which was definitely what was needed after so much sight seeing!

On Monday, Lucy and Micah went to the team meeting and the family relaxed in the morning. In the afternoon, we headed to Grey Abbey which is where Lucy's great great grandparents lived. We visited the Abbey where relatives are buried. The cemetery was in a bit of disarray, so we were unable to find the specific stone we were looking for, but it was still quite interesting. When we arrived back in Belfast, we looked at pictures from the trip which is always fun!

Tuesday, Lucy and Micah had a meeting in the morning and worked in the afternoon. The family went into town for a Black Taxi Tour. In the evening, Thomas came down for dinner which was really special! It was fun to have him meet my family.

Wednesday morning, Micah headed to Root Soup and Lucy hung out with her family until they left for Dublin after lunch. They had an early flight back home on Thursday It was really hard to see them go, but it was so lovely having them here and travelling with them! It will be great to look back on this time in years to come! Wednesday evening we had dinner at the Ember and then did a whole lot of nothing!

Thursday was a rest day so we took advantage of the chance to catch up on some rest and enjoyed a really yummy dinner at the Ember!

Since my parents arrived, it has been really really nice weather whenever they have been outside pretty much. Now that they are back in the USA, it is pouring! Poor Micah is up at the allotment working away in the rain! Lucy is working in the Ember today. It is great to be plugging back into community life after some time away!

In the past weeks we have seen A TON and had some great time connecting with Lucy's family and some friends! We are looking forward to the slower pace that summer brings here. Hope you are all well and not too hot as the summer sets in!

Community Night Away

Tuesday 17 May began for Micah with his first course session at the University of Ulster. He was accepted through the Community Leadership Programme he is doing with Root Soup. It is a great opportunity for his to continue to improve his management skills! Lucy's day began with a team meeting followed by time in the office for Lucy. The evening was pretty relaxed!

Wednesday, Lucy started the day with women's cell and Micah went to the Root Soup kitchen to help out. He interviewed another trainee named Adam. You can learn a bit more about the team at their new website (http://rootsoup.co.uk/). Micah keeps adding new information so check it out often! In the afternoon, Micah was busy putting grants together for Root Soup and Lucy on those days seems to become his personal admin assistant! By the time the grants were put together and we finally finished working, it was time to do a bit of nothing!In the evening, Lucy went to a baby shower for a woman at City Church and Micah went to Bobby's to hang out and brew beer.

Thursday we started out by a trip to Ian's Bakery which is always a good way to start a day! Afterwards, we went shopping for the house before Lucy met Gosia (another assistant who is originally from Poland) for coffee. In the evening we went to Joy and Bobby's house for dinner. They made steak which was a special treat!!

Friday began as a normal day. Lucy was in the house helping the guys out in the morning and Micah headed to the allotment. But soon the day got a little crazy....Thomas stayed home from work in order to attend an awards ceremony with Matthew and since Thomas had told George (the bus driver) that he wouldn't be in...the bus didn't come for Jillian. Jillian was not happy with George. She wanted to have a 'wee word' with him on the phone. Friday is a short day at the centre anyway so when Jillian didn't end up leaving till 11:30 and was back at 2:30 it was a super short day! So after that fiasco was figured out, Lucy went home to rest for a bit before going back to the Ember at 2:00. When Jillian came back, Lucy helped her shave her legs, which made her show off her legs the rest of the evening. She wanted everyone to look and touch them! Such a funny lady! The day continued to be abnormal as the community headed to a retreat centre for a night away to begin to dream and plan for the next 5 years. The board of directors, the core members, the assistants and friends of the community all came up for the night! We we arrived at the retreat centre we had a yummy dinner before going to a meeting to reflect on the past ten years and dream about what we would like to happen in the next 5 years. When we were reflecting on the past, we all said how we ended up at L'Arche Belfast and it was amazing to hear all the stories about how God was in the process. After we reflected we moved onto dreaming. All sorts of ideas came out from a new community space, to a new house, to soup being sold to prayer happening across Belfast 24/7 to connecting with elderly people. After the meeting, it was time to hang out as a community. We all sat around big tables, fellowshiping and laughing together. Wonderful memories were made although we all stayed up much to late!

The bartenders of the night!

CHEEEEESE! (that is what Jillian is saying!!)

What a beautiful setting for a retreat centre!

Lyrics to 'Beautiful'

Beautiful, Beautiful

Jesus is beautiful

And Jesus makes beautiful

Things of my life

Tenderly

Touching me

Making my eyes to see

As Jesus makes beautiful

Things of my life

On Saturday we shared a lovely breakfast before praying together. After the prayer, a smaller group met to make the dreams into a plan, while others got to go out and explore the surrounding area. The two of us were in the planning group. The meeting had a facilitator and was really useful to look at what we do well and what we need to improve on before moving into things we want to achieve and how we will get there. It was a packed 3 hour meeting! Then the whole group had a 3 course lunch together before ending with yet another meeting. The entire community came back together to report back on what was decided in the morning meeting. By the end we were all pretty tired and ready to head back to Belfast (except Thomas who said that it was too early to go back!!). Saturday evening we did absolutely nothing which was perfect!

Sunday began with church. Lucy was in creche with the little kids which is always exhausting and so much fun! After church we spent the day resting again!

Monday began with prayer and a team meeting. After the team meeting we headed to city centre to do some shopping for Matthew and Thomas' bdays that are at the end of this week. It took a long time to find the presents we were wanting so after a quick coffee stop it was time to head to Peter and Jenna's house (the MMNers) for dinner. With Peter and Jenna we almost always have tex-mex food because we never get it here! It was a nice evening of connecting and eating yummy food!

Tuesday, Micah had another session of his course through the University of Ulster so he was away all day. Lucy attended a training on our policies about protecting vulnerable adults. Afterwards, Lucy was in the office all afternoon typing notes from the meeting over the weekend, responding to tons of emails and processing apps. Tuesday evening we headed to the Ember for dinner before preparing a bit for Lucy's parents arrival!

Wednesday was another day in the office. Micah had a meeting in the afternoon with Invest NI who gave him a lot of pointers about how to get more grant money. Lucy then went grocery shopping for her parents and we both cleaned the house! After going to dinner at the Ember, we headed to cell group. By the time we were back from that it was bed time!

Today is the day Lucy's parents and little bro arrive! They should be here around lunch time! Lucy has spent the morning preparing the rooms and Micah had a meeting this morning to get advice on putting governance in place for Root Soup. The afternoon will likely be spent resting and walking around the neighbourhood!

Please keep us in your prayers the next few weeks as we travel in Scotland, England and Ireland. Safety in travel and maybe a bit of good weather would be big prayer requests right now!

Donegal and Daily Life

Friday 6 May was a day at the office for Micah and a day in the Ember for Lucy. Micah had a meeting with a lady from L'Arche UK to talk about social enterprises. L'Arche UK has a number of communities who have and are starting social enterprises. Hopefully this summer or fall a group will meet to share ideas and expertise! In the Ember, life was very much the same. It was full of cooking, laughing and relaxing.

Saturday was a rest day and Maria was very generous and allowed us to borrow her car for the weekend in order to take a trip to Donegal. Donegal is one of the areas of Ireland that we hadn't been to yet and really desired to go so we were and are very grateful for Maria's generosity. Maria picked us up Saturday morning and we dropped her back by her house before we headed toward Donegal. On the way we stopped by Omagh, the town where the largest single atrocity during the troubles took place. Here is a bit more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh_bombing. The memorial was really unique and quite interesting since it is based on mirrors and Omagh is one of the cloudiest places in Ireland (http://www.omaghbombmemorial.com/). Afterwards we continued onto Slieve League, which are the highest sea cliffs in Europe. After admiring the view, we went to check into our hostel. On the we saw peat bogs. It was incredible to see how the peat is harvested. Once we were settled into the hostel we headed for the Silverstrand beach and then to find some dinner. We got the traditional fish and chips before hitting a local pub for a nice evening of chatting. The weather was forcasted to be rainy but we were blessed with lots of sunshine!

Slieve League

Peat Bogs

Sunday began with breakfast before we headed into Donegal for a cuppa coffee. On the way back to Belfast we went to Beltany Stone Circle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltany_stone_circle). Our lunch site was quite scenic...we used a museum parking lot for our picnic. By the time we got home we were quite knackered.

Beltany Stone Circle

Ahh...Ireland

Monday started as usual with prayer and a team meeting. After the team meeting we tried to go running for the first time post-marathon and didn't make it very far. We have yet to try again. After getting back, we walked over to Joy and Bobby's and then went to eat at the Ember. Micah met after dinner with the events coordinator of the church across the road to discuss the idea of using the church's kitchen for a summer program for Root Soup.

Tuesday, we had a formation on food followed by a day in the office. Micah had a meeting followed by a meeting. Lucy responded to tons of emails and then had a phone interview with a potential summer volunteer.

Wednesday was a day in the office. Lucy had women's cell in the morning and then we met with Scott for our supervision. Micah spent the day working on grant applications and added information to the Root Soup website. Lucy spent the afternoon helping Micah. Wednesday evening was just relaxed after a few busy days.

Thursday was May's birthday and our rest day!! We spent the day cleaning, drawing/scrapbooking and then went out to dinner with the community for May's birthday!

Happy Birthday May!

The gang.

On Friday Micah was back in the allotment and Lucy worked in the Ember in the afternoon. At the allotment the crew worked on weeding the beds, building new beds and planting. In the afternoon a photographer from Ardmore advertising (the company that helped Micah with the Root Soup website) came up to take his photo for a press release. He is a big deal here in Northern Ireland! Lucy spent her day finishing a scrapbook, drawing and having a lot of tea in the Ember. In the evening we drew and Micah made a big mess with soft pastels!

Saturday was a bit different than normal. Micah had a meeting for his leadership programme and Lucy babysat for Scott's kids while Scott was also in the meeting. Lucy spent a lot of time playing hide and go seek, colouring and watching Peppa Pig. After the meeting we went over to see Joy before having a nice relaxing evening!

Sunday began as usual with church. After we came back home for lunch and walked up to do some grocery shopping. That is about the extent of our Sunday!

Today we were suppose to have a team meeting, but a lot of the team is away planning for the Loom (the prayer space in North Belfast) so it was cancelled. Micah took advantage of that extra time to get a bit of work done! He is happy to share with you all the new Root Soup website!!! http://rootsoup.co.uk/. Check it out! It is awesome! Not much else has happened today!

We are finding it hard to believe that we have already been back in Belfast for over a month and that Lucy's parents come in 10 days!! Time is moving fast and life feels quite busy!

Barbecue Season has begun!

Wednesday 27 May was a day at the Ember. Since the guys were off work for the Easter week, we had a lot more time in the Ember than normal (instead of working in the office). Micah headed to Root Soup in the morning as usual. Lucy hung out with Larry and Thomas after helping the guys get up and around. In the afternoon, Micah went up to Forestside with the boys for sodas, and Lucy stayed in the Ember because an electrician was checking all the electrical stuff in the house. The evening was a mixture of chatting, TV and hanging about.

Thursday was a rest day. We went on our last run before the team marathon. Afterwards, we rode bikes to meet Joy and Bobby along the toe path. In the afternoon we hung out in the Orf's back garden, played ladder golf and enjoyed the sun. For dinner, we all headed to Pizza Express! By the time we got home we were quite knackered (aka tired).

Friday was a day at the Ember again. Instead of watching the Royal Wedding, we celebrated the April birthdays at the allotment!! Micah and Larry headed up to the allotment in the morning with Scott and Paul to actually work. The rest of us prepared food for a barbecue and then headed up to join the others at the allotment. The weather was great for a lovely barbecue! Larry hid in Rosie (our van) for most of the afternoon because he was scared that Micah would make him work more! Micah is so mean! After we got back to the Ember, Jillian and Lucy went down to the Ark to do the weekly cleaning. The rest of the day was spent relaxing!

Saturday was yet another day in the Ember! In the morning, Micah and Thomas headed to Common Grounds to volunteer. Lucy and Jillian walked to Michel's Veg shop and then walked on to Common Grounds so that Micah and Thomas would take good care of us! After their shift, we all went to get some chicken food before heading back for lunch. After lunch, Micah and Larry cleaned Rosie and then a bunch of us walked up to Forestside to do some grocery shopping. In the evening, we had a wee goodbye party for Makiko. We listened to music that reminded us of high school and really enjoyed each others company!

On Sunday we went to church in the morning. In the afternoon we prepared some food because Peter and Jenna (the MMN couple) came over for dinner (veggie burgers) and games (yatzee!!)! It was really fun to connect with them again.

Monday was a rest day kind of. It was yet another bank holiday and MARATHON day!! After an early start, Lucy met Joy at her house to walk down to city centre where the marathon began. Micah headed to his spot a bit later. After Lucy's 6 miles and Micah's 7 miles (5 uphill and 2 down) we were pretty tired. We relaxed a bit before the post-marathon barbecue and ladder golf! The evening was pretty low-key!

Tuesday began with a team meeting followed by a day at the office. We both answered emails before working on a proposal for Root Soup's summer activities programme. That took most of our afternoon! In the evening, we went out to eat with Frans, Julia and Makiko to an Indian restaurant. It was the real goodbye to Makiko this time!

Yesterday, Micah worked in the office all day. He usually goes to Root Soup in the morning, but as he has more and more paperwork to do, he has decided to only go when he is able. Lucy went to women's cell in the morning and then worked a bit in the office before taking a nap. We went to the Ember for dinner! After dinner we went to our cell group and talked about social justice.

Today has been an amazing rest day! We have been to Ian's bakery, gone grocery shopping, booked our flights to Bonn, Germany/Brussels, Belgium, scrapbooked, and relaxed! It has been a nice change of pace!

After a few weeks of being out of routine around Easter, it is nice to be back in the swing of things. It is hard to believe we have already been back for a month and that Lucy's parents and little bro will be here in 3 weeks! God is good!

Happy Easter!

Wednesday 20 April began with Root Soup and women's cell. Micah is continuously amazed at the positive impact that Root Soup is having on the men that live in the homeless hostel. One of the men asked, 'When can we have a barbecue with the Root Soup family'. In the afternoon we both worked in the office. Micah met with a guy from Ardmore advertising who is working on a website for Root Soup. Micah isn't quite ready to give the link so you will just have a wait a bit longer. Lucy found out a volunteer that had agreed to come in May decided not to come. It is a bit stressful to find another volunteer in such a short time period, so pray for good candidates! Wednesday evening we headed to our cell group!

Thursday began the 'Holy Week' community activities. We all headed up to the North Coast to visit Giant's Causeway, have a picnic and do footwashing. It has been an annual tradition from the beginning of the community (minus last year when it was snowing on Holy Thursday). It was BEAUTIFUL day full of sunshine, good food and great people! Once we were back, we had ice cream for dinner with the community! YUMMY!

On Good Friday we attended a ecumenical service that began in Ormeau Park and ended at Jillian's church. Afterwards Root Soup catered a meal for us in the park. It was another wonderful day with lots of sun! Once we were back from the park we sat in the back garden and ate more ice cream before going for a run. Eating ice cream before a run is a bad idea just in case you didn't know!

Saturday was a day at the Ember for us. It was a pretty quiet day amongst the busy community days. The two of us headed up to Forestside with Thomas and Larry to do some errands. Then we made some yummy wraps for lunch. The afternoon was filled with lounging. In the evening we made delicious veggie burgers instead of our usual Saturday dinner of fish and chips! It was a nice healthy change.

Easter Sunday began really early with a sunrise service with City Church. It was held at the park around the Malone House, which is a old, big country house. We had a lovely service followed by some bacon baps! It was a good way to start the Easter day. After we went to Joy and Bobby's for some much needed coffee, before returning to bed for a few hours. Once we were a bit rested, we got ready for our Easter dinner. There were about 20 of us that enjoyed salmon, corn casserole, green beans, lots of different salads and LOADS of desserts! It was a nice way to finish off the Holy Week but we were glad when all the busyness was finished!

Monday was a rest day (which we were very thankful for!). In the morning we went for a 6 mile run! Woot Woot! Afterwards we went to get a coffee before going grocery shopping. In the afternoon we spent a few hours making lasagne for Makiko's leaving prayer (on Tuesday). After we were done, Lucy got a bit sick from a bad headache so it was pretty much straight to bed for her!

Today was another rest day. We tried to go to IKEA with Joy and Bobby, but alas the buses in Belfast are still on a holiday schedule so there were no buses going to IKEA in the morning. It is an interesting difference between Northern Ireland and the USA that businesses take holiday even when the could be making money. So instead we ventured to Starbucks. You can always count on the American chain to be open! This evening we had Makiko's leaving prayer. She has been in L'Arche for almost a year and is returning to Japan on Saturday. She has brought a lot of life to the Ember so it will be sad to see her go! After the prayer, we had a huge dinner and good fellowship!

It has been a busy week, but we have enjoyed the community time celebrating Holy Week. We hope that everyone had a chance to celebrate Easter and all that it means! (We will upload pictures of Easter in a few days...our computer is hopefully being fixed by a friend!)

Back for Year Two

On 15 March we headed to the airport at the awful hour of 4 in the morning. Thomas was convinced he wanted to drop us off but for some reason he couldn’t find anyone to drive us, so we stuck with our original plan of taking a taxi. After a lot of hours of travelling we arrived in Chicago to be greeted by Lucy’s mom and sister, Anna. It felt good and weird to be back in the USA after a full year. We spent the next 3 weeks visiting, Lucy’s family in Bloomington, IL, Micah’s family in Hesston, KS, Micah’s sister in Tucson, AZ and our old stomping ground in Goshen, IN. We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with family and friends!! On 5 April we began our journey back to Belfast and arrived back to our house at about 11 in the morning on 6 April. We took that first day back to relax and sleep, go visit Bobby and Joy and their boys who had grown so much and have dinner with the community at the Ember.

Lucy getting friendly with a cactus.

At the Mirror Lab, where they make the worlds largest mirrors for telescopes.

The Loucks Fam.

Our niece Ashley on an Easter Egg Hunt.

Our new nephew Syler, who we met for the first time.

On Thursday we were back to work (after we slept about 12 hours overnight!). We worked a bit in the office responding to many emails, getting caught up on how much Root Soup had grown in the three weeks away, returning phone calls and doing other tasks that were left while we were away. In the evening we were pretty quick to go to bed! Getting over jetlag yet again took awhile!

On Friday, Micah headed up to the allotment. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine. The allotment crew built raised beds, planted, weeded and enjoyed the sun! Lucy had a rest day so she headed over to Bobby and Joy’s and joined them for a trip to Botanic Park and for lunch. After Micah got back we had a few friends over for a BBQ before Micah headed to Street Pastors’ training.

Saturday was a day in the Ember for both of us. Micah headed up to Forrestside with Larry in order to buy a DVD. Lucy mowed the grass at the Ember and picked up trash around the garden. After lunch, we all headed to Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park for a stroll and some ice cream. For dinner we had another BBQ at the Ark. After the BBQ, Thomas, Sharon, Matthew and Lucy went to a ‘Crosslink’s’ performance that May was involved in. The ‘Crosslink’s’ group is a cross-community group (takes both Protestants, Catholics and other minority groups) to work against stereotypes and bullying. The performance revealed a lot of stereotypes held between groups and involved dancing, singing, artwork and drama. It was a nice evening out!

Sunday we headed to church in the morning. After church, we went to Joy and Bobby’s for lunch and sat in the back garden for hours in the sunshine picking dandelions and chatting away. After we left Joy and Bobby’s we met up with Pam and Kendra (two fellow BVSers). Pam was working at Quaker Cottage in Belfast and finished this past Monday. Kenda is working in Hamburg Germany working at a peace organization. It was great to have dinner and play cards with them!

We were back at the prayer and team meeting on Monday. In the afternoon we met up with Pam and some of her co-workers at the Eg. Then we went to a kebab place. Lucy hated the kebabs and Micah loved them!

Tuesday we had a formation on the future of L’Arche Belfast. We looked at what it meant to be a leader and decided qualities our next community leader needs to have. Then we worked in the office for the afternoon and then cleaned the Ark. After work, we had dinner in the Ember.

Wednesday morning, Micah went to Root Soup and Lucy went to women’s cell. We both enjoyed being back! After Root Soup, Micah had a meeting with NOW Project. The NOW Project is interested in a contract with Root Soup to either receive training or buy soup for their cafes that employ people with learning disabilities! So exciting to see God at work in Root Soup! After dinner at the Ember, we headed to cell group which met at the church because our church was participating in the 24/7 prayer movement. Currently in Ireland and Northern Ireland every day of this year, people are praying 24 hours a day for different cities on the island. The month of April, the focus is on Belfast so different congregations are providing prayer spaces for people to pray in 24 hours a day. City Church hosted the movement for 2 days so we were able to focus on the Holy Lands (the area that is right around our church), Belfast and Northern Ireland.

Thursday was a rest day but we attended a meeting about Project Able. Project Able is a scheme providing work placements to people on the autistic spectrum and they are working in collaboration with Root Soup. They provide trainees for the allotment. In the afternoon we were really lazy (we can still blame it on jetlag!). In the evening we played games with Frans and Julia.

On Friday, Micah worked at the allotment. The garden crew made raised beds, weeded, put up lattice for the peas to grow on. Lucy worked all day in the Ember. In the morning she helped Thomas get up and around. In the afternoon she coloured with Jillian and then cooked dinner before watching a bit of TV with the lads. Larry is away on holiday leading a retreat in Poland with Gosia and Maria so things have been quieter in the Ember (even though Larry is a very quiet man!).

Saturday was a rest day, but instead of resting Micah had a meeting from 9:30-3 with the Community Leadership Programme. The meeting was led by a facilitator who was selected for Root Soup because of his fundraising expertise. The group talked about Root Soup mission, vision, aims and outcomes in the morning and fundraising in the afternoon. It was a very long meeting but also very beneficial as Root Soup continues to grow. During the meeting, Lucy babysat for Scott’s 3 kids (since Scott was at the meeting and his wife was in Scotland). After the meeting, we went on a walk and stopped by Joy and Bobby’s house before spending the evening resting!

Sunday we went to church and then spent the rest of the day at Joy and Bobby’s. Micah and Bobby went to pick gorse (a yellow flower) in order to make gorse wine. Lucy and Joy hung out with the kiddos.

Yesterday began with prayer and a team meeting. Afterwards we went on a run and went shopping for some toiletries. We went to the Ember for dinner and came back to do nothing! Micah spent the evening looking at computer possibilities because ours is on the fritz. Bummer!!

Today we are having a full-on rest day. Other than Noah’s birthday prayer we have no plans! Woot woot!

It has been a period of adjustment since being back (especially for Lucy), but slowly we are settling back into our daily routine and the life of the community. The end of this week is full of community events preparing for and celebrating Easter. It will be a time of lots of laughs and probably a bit of frustration, so keep us in your prayers that are hearts remain full of joy during the celebrations!