Back to the clouds and rain!

24 January began with a team meeting. Then we caught a ride into town with Jenny so that Lucy could head to a chiropractic appointment and Micah could head to city centre. When Lucy got back to the house, Micah was a bit worried because Micah’s parents had emailed to ask to skype about ‘something important’. We had just talked to them the day before so it was a bit troublesome. No fear though...they were just calling to wish Lucy a happy birthday a day early! Since we missed dinner at the Ember, Bobby and Joy dropped extras over for us. The rest of the evening was just filled with relaxing.

Tuesday began with ‘breakfast in bed’ for Lucy. It is a L’Arche Belfast tradition to get breakfast in bed on your birthday, but since we are early risers compared to much of the community, it was not in bed, but still quite lovely. The rest of the morning was spent in a formation on supervision. In the afternoon Lucy accompanied Maria, Frans, Larry and Jillian to a talk at a college for future teachers. It is always wonderful to see Larry and Jillian using their gifts to inspire others! Micah spent the afternoon working on stuff for Root Soup. For dinner we headed over to Bobby and Joy’s for Lucy’s bday dinner. Micah made delicious meatballs! They were so yummy!

On Wednesday, Micah headed to Root Soup in the morning and Lucy headed to women’s cell. At Root Soup, they made a lip-smacking potato and leek soup! In the afternoon we worked in the office. When we were on holiday, a few assistants helped Larry steal Micah's clothing that he left behind (because Micah picks on Larry a lot). So in order to get his clothes back, he had to wear an outfit of Larry's over to the Ember. Larry is just a bit smaller than Micah so the picture below says it all!

Thursday morning Micah and Bobby came close to completing the chicken coop and run. In the afternoon we moved the stones from the chicken run so that they will be able to scratch around. Before dinner we did some grocery shopping for our house. For dinner we had a celebratory party because L’Arche Belfast was inspected by the local quality control and passed!

On Friday, Micah headed to a training about strategic planning. Micah felt that the training showed that Root Soup is on a good path and showed a few ideas for improvement. Way to go Root Soup! Lucy spent the morning in the office and the afternoon in the Ember.

Saturday we were in the Ember all day. Micah went to Common Grounds Cafe with Thomas in the morning to volunteer. Afterwards, Micah and Matthew worked on the chicken coop. Lucy spent the morning with Jillian getting coffee and doing some shopping at the local green grocer. In the afternoon Lucy and Thomas did some crafts in the Ark. After dinner we all watched a movie. It was Matthew’s pick and not that great.

Sunday began with church. Lucy had her first experience in the crèche (aka the nursery) at church. Since we were there a bit early to set up the crèche, Micah got selected to be a part of the drama during the sermon. The sermon was on Jacob and Esau and Micah (being so smooth skinned) was chose for Jacob. He got to put on part of a bear costume to make him hairy during the deception part! Lucy is pretty disappointed she missed this!! It sounds pretty classic! We made a yummy lunch and then enjoyed an afternoon of scrapbooking, drawing and movies.

First thing Monday morning we had a team meeting. Afterwards we continued to work on the chicken coop. We got it close to complete! In the evening we headed over to the Ember for some dinner!

Tuesday began with a second formation on supervision. In the afternoon, we worked in the office. Micah headed to the store to buy a few odds and ends for the Root Soup kitchen. The early evening was spent almost finishing the chicken coop!

Wednesday started with Micah heading to Root Soup and Lucy going to Women’s cell. After Root Soup, Micah went to IKEA with Matthew before he accompanied Matthew to the dentist. In the evening we headed to the Ember for dinner and then went to our cell group.

Thursday was a great day! We headed to IKEA with Bobby to enjoy the free coffee and tea that we get for being an IKEA family member! After having some lunch, the two of us headed into city centre to get some scrapbooking materials. The evening was spent scrapbooking and drawing.

On Friday, Micah headed to the allotment for the day. It was super windy so they made lots of raised beds and tried not to get blown over! Lucy spent the morning in the office and the afternoon in the Ember. Micah worked until dark finishing the chicken coop while Lucy and Thomas made some dinner in the Ember.

Saturday we were in the Ember all day. Micah went to Common Grounds with Thomas to volunteer. Then Lucy, Micah, Larry, Thomas and Jillian headed up to Forestside to buy toiletries and a DVD. Larry and Micah then headed to Bobby’s to brew some beer. Larry was in heaven! Later on, the rugby match between Ireland and Italy was on. Then Lucy, Jillian, Thomas and Makiko headed to the Ark to do some painting and crafts. The evening was spent relaxing in front of the TV watching Thomas’ favourite show (Casulty)...an awful hospital drama.

On Sunday we walked to church in the rain! It was the first time it rained on us when we were walking to church on a Sunday morning! Pretty incredible since we live in N. Ireland! Bobby, Joy, the kids and Jessica (a visitor of Bobby and Joy’s) came over for lunch. We were planning pizza, but ended up doing hamburgers because the local grocer didn’t have what we needed for pizza. Our ‘lunch’ was finally started at about 4 p.m. but it was really nice! Micah did a great job grilling the burgers! Yum! Then Bobby and Micah went to Sainsbury to buy groceries for the Superbowl. Once back, our chickens came!! Nigel (a guy from church) brought us 3 chickens from his father-in-laws farm. After clipping their wings, they were put in the coop for the night. After the chickens were safely put away, Micah went out with the volunteers to a pub. (Lucy was exhausted by this point and needed a bit of alone time before people arrived for the Superbowl!) Micah arrived back just in time to welcome people from church for the Superbowl which started at 11:30 p.m. here! Most people watched the first half and headed home, but Micah, Bobby and Malc (the pastor of City Church) were hardcore and watched the entire game. Micah got to bed about 3:30 a.m. Crazy boys!

Monday began with Lucy leading prayer and then we had our team meeting. In the afternoon, we did our visa application that we will be trying to renew in about a month! This process took much of the afternoon. In the evening, Joy, Bobby and Sam stopped by to chat and then we had dinner. By this point in the evening, we were both exhausted after the little sleep the night before so we watched a movie and headed to bed!

On Tuesday we learned all about food hygiene! Woohoo! In the afternoon we worked in the office. Lucy is trying to recruit a volunteer for April and has not found anyone yet so please keep that in your prayers! After work, we headed over to the Ember for Megan’s (Scott’s wife) birthday prayer. After the prayer, we hurried back to the Ark to get something to eat before Jenna and Peter (the MMN volunteers) came over to play some games.

Wednesday started with Micah heading to Root Soup and Lucy heading to women’s cell. In the afternoon we both worked in the office. After work, we went grocery shopping then headed to the Ember for dinner before going to cell.

Today Lucy went on a walk in the morning with Joy. We are planning this afternoon to head to Ian’s Bakery for a traditional fry and then walking in the Castlereagh hills. We will just see what the rest of the day brings!

It has been a busy time, but Micah is pumped to have chickens (even though they haven’t laid any eggs yet L ). It is hard to believe that we have almost been here for 11 months, but we are getting excited about the possibility of seeing many of you when we are back in about a month to renew our visas! Pray that we can have patient hearts as we wait to see family and friends again (especially Lucy!).

Our 3 beautiful hens!

Our coop and run.