Fun in the Sun

January 15 began quite early. We had a 4:15 wakeup call to catch our 4:40 taxi in order to catch a bus at 5:00 in order to catch our 6:30 plane! It was the earliest we had been up in a long time. After a 3 hour flight, we arrived in sunny Portugal! The ‘fun’ had just begun when we arrived. In order to get to our hotel, we had to catch two buses. We just missed a bus when we first arrived, so we waited awhile. Then when we got to the bus terminal (after taking the first bus), we had just missed the second bus. This gave us a chance to get a bite to eat. We found a little cafe on the marina and enjoyed our first moments in the warmth and sunshine. When getting on the second bus, we (mainly Micah) freaked out a bit that we really had no idea where we were suppose to get off. About half way through the bus trip, Micah felt like we should be getting off, but since we didn’t really know where we were or where our hotel was, we decided to stay on till the terminal. (We later found out the point where Micah wanted to get off was about a 3 minute walk from our hotel...we should trust his gut in the future!) Once we arrived at the terminal, the lady behind the ticket counter told us that our hotel was not in Albufeira and didn’t really know how to direct us. So we walked into the city centre and found the information office, where we were again told the hotel was a ways away. Micah wanted to walk there (to save money), but Lucy by this point was tired! Lucy got her way and we took a taxi. It didn’t end up being super far away (and it was in Albufeira), but it was worth the taxi ride (says Lucy). Once we finally arrived at the hotel, we were tired and ready to relax, but the hotel room was a bit below our expectations. There was a bit of mould and no real bed (two sofas that could be pushed together). After the initial disappointment of the room, we realized it was still pretty nice for how much we paid! The late afternoon was spent in the sun by the pool, buying groceries, playing cards and finding a place to eat dinner. Then we crashed early after a long day of travel.

Our room with our little kitchenette.

The pool.

Sunday began in the most perfect way! We went to walk on the beach soon after waking and discovered walking paths along the cliffs on the coast. The views were breathtaking; the sun was warm; the crashing of the waves against the cliffs was so peaceful! Afterwards, we laid out in the sun by the pool, played games and read. We discovered one of our favourite aspects of Portugal: the oranges. With loads of orange groves throughout the area, the oranges were cheap, fresh and amazing!! These quickly became a staple in our diet! After lunch, we continued to enjoy the sun (tough life!) and then went to get groceries for the next day. After grocery shopping we walked on the beach again before heading to a pub to watch the Tottenham game (soccer). Because so many people in Albufeira are British, most pubs show the Premier League. Somewhere close to 50% of houses are being purchased by Brits in Algarve (the county Albufeira resides). There is no shortage of chippies, football and British grocery stores. After the game, we headed out to another delicious dinner!

Along our morning walk.

Monday began in much the same way as Sunday...with a great walk along the cliffs. After the walk on the beach, we headed to explore the town a bit. We discovered ‘the strip’ which has tons of restaurants. We couldn’t understand why the hotel receptionist pointed us in the other direction for restaurants, but we soon discovered almost all the restaurants on the strip were closed for the season. They are only open from mid-February to November. Next was time in the sun (of course), followed by lunch and then more sun and reading. The afternoon was spent on a 4-wheeler tour. We were picked up at our hotel and headed off to a small town outside Albufeira. Once there, we got acquainted with the 4-wheelers and then headed off. We enjoyed traipsing through the orange and lemon groves, seeing almond trees in bloom, going down the steep embankments, and stopping at a country Portuguese cafe before returning to the base. It was a lot of fun to get out of the city and see a bit of the countryside. The owners of the 4-wheeler company, Claire and Rory, (who happened to be British) gave us great suggestions on what to do in the area and places to eat! By the time we got back, it was quite chilly (for Portugal standards), so we enjoyed some tea to warm up, before heading out to dinner. For dinner, we headed out in search of Chicken Piri-Piri (a local dish suggested by Claire and Rory). It was really good and quite spicy!

From our morning walk again.

On our quad.

Looking out over the almond trees into the valley

The pretty almond trees.

Through the lemon grove.

LEMONS!

Tuesday we walked to the centre of Albufeira along the cliffs and coast. We explored old town, the marina and walked in the water...where we got a little wetter than planned! After walking about, we enjoyed a picnic on the beach before heading to another suggestion from Claire and Rory...a cake shop! We got big, big pieces of cake and yummy coffee before walking back. Then it was time for our daily dose of the sun by the pool before dinner (which was another suggestion from Claire and Rory!). We ate at a fish buffet. It is not a buffet in the sense we would have thought, but rather the waiter brought around different types of fish for us to sample. By sample, we mean half of a grilled fish! The dinner started with bread, potatoes and olives before getting into the fish. The first fish was an amazing salmon steak! It was among the best salmon we have ever had. Next was sea bass. It had amazing flavour, and Lucy’s even had an eye (kind of creepy!). The third piece was pollock. Neither of us liked this one much. It was flavoured with sea weed, which wasn’t our favourite. The forth piece was halibut. It was so meaty; it almost was like eating chicken! The fifth was grilled sardines, which was a lot better than anticipated, but still lacked a little flavour. The sixth and final piece was squid. This was super chewy and an interesting flavour! We really enjoyed getting to taste all the different types of fish and left the restaurant stuffed!

A view of Albufeira.

Wednesday we followed another one of Claire and Rory suggestions and looked into car rental for a day. We found a place that was reasonably priced and let us return it to the airport for free, which avoided the crazy bus route on the way back. Afterwards, we headed to the beach for our daily walk. Then it was time for the sun by the pool, lunch, more sun and sangria at an outdoor cafe. For dinner we headed to find kabobs (another local dish). Micah was not convinced on the place Lucy decided on, but soon came on board. We had delicious kabobs with 4 different meats (steak, chicken, sausage and veal). For dessert we had some almond cake since almond trees are a dime a dozen. The best part of the restaurant was the owner. He had a lot of Portuguese character and had spent some time in the states so his English was amazing!

Our morning walk again...

Thursday we started with our daily walk on the cliffs and reading. Then it was time for some sun, lunch and more sun! In the afternoon we went and got sangria at the cafe again, before heading back to play some games. For dinner we had omelettes, which was another common dish.

Friday began by playing games (no walk...which made us sad!). Then we headed to the car rental place to pick up the car and head west. Our first stop on the journey was Silves to visit the local castle. It was up on the hill, which provided great views and it is always interesting to see buildings from the 12^th century! After Silves we headed onto Monchique. In Monchique we climbed to an old monastery, which looked a lot cooler from the below. It was really run down! Then we walked though the oldest part of the city, before driving to the highest peak in Algarve. The peak is 922 m. It may not seem that high, but since it is the highest point and so close to the coast, the views were breathtaking! Also, there were tons of Eucalyptus trees, which smelled amazing as we drove up to and back from the peak! Then we drove farther west to ‘the end of the world’. Cape St. Vincent was referred to as the end of the world by early explorers as it looks off into the west over the Atlantic Ocean. We saw a few old forts and a light house. Then it was time to drive back to Albufeira. For dinner, we had two delicious dishes, cataplana and paella. Paella is a rice, meat/seafood and seasoning dish that is baked over a fire (traditional in Spain). Cataplana is a traditional Portuguese stew with seafood/meat, tomatoes, peppers and onions served over rice. They were both delicious!

Silves Castle

A beautiful orange tree inside the castle.

The church outside the castle.

Yes, the picture doesn't lie. It is a Hustler Z! Made 5,000 miles away in Hesston, KS!!

The cliffs at Cape St. Vincent

Lighthouse in the distance.

One of the many palm trees Micah loved!

An old fort along the coast.

Beauty!

A HUGE old fort.

Saturday was the cloudy day, but luckily (or unluckily) we were heading back to Belfast. After returning the car, we went through security and found out our flight was delayed by 1.5 hours. So we had bit more time than we desired in the airport, but by 11:45 we were on the plane. Once back in Belfast we got a bus into town and Sharon, Thomas and Larry picked us up to bring us back home. Micah headed to the Ember for dinner and Lucy headed to a women’s cell gathering. There were 22 women, fondue (cheese and chocolate) and lots of goodies to dip in!

Our cute little car.

Today we headed to church, enjoyed a long lunch and are enjoying an afternoon of relaxing. Tonight we are heading to Joy and Bobby’s to catch up with them over a popcorn and cheese dinner!

We are so thankful for the amazing weather and time to relax and reconnect with each other that Portugal provided. God knew just what we needed!

Battling the Bug

Sunday January 2 we headed to church and then took the train to Carrickfergus. We got a deal on a ‘romantic’ night away. We didn’t know what to expect for dinner since it came with the package, but we were pleasantly surprised with the options! We were able to order any main course on the menu!! Since we are Mennonites and want the best value for money, we went with the most expensive items! Micah had a nice steak with potatoes and Lucy had grilled duck. After dinner, Micah decided to pass on his cold to Lucy. So Lucy felt pretty rubbish for the next few days, which wasn’t helped by loud neighbours causing little sleep! So much for the romantic night away!!

Carrickfergus Castle

Looking back towards Belfast.

Monday began with a huge buffet breakfast. Then we tried to go see Carrickfergus castle, but we were there 1 of the 2 days per year it closes. So we walked along the sea and headed back to Belfast. Once home, Lucy didn’t leave bed for a few days. Micah did a great job taking care of her! Matthew (a long time friend of the community and new core member) moved in!!

Tuesday, Lucy was still in bed all day. Micah went to a team meeting and then worked in the office. Micah headed to the Ember for dinner and was able to meet the new live-in assistant, Susan from Germany.

Wednesday, Lucy was still in bed all day. Micah had a meeting in the morning about Root Soup with Maria and Allison. They came up with a new idea for fundraising and broadening the target area of Root Soup, called ‘A Touch of Nostalgia”. It will be social events, mainly targeting middle to upper aged people, including cinema nights and supper club events. The first event will be ‘A Dinner to Die For’, which will be a murder mystery supper. Root Soup will cater the events with nice food and will hopefully make a good profit! Wednesday night, Micah headed over to Joy and Bobby’s house. A friend that had been staying with Joy and Bobby made a Cajun meal for his farewell party. (He is from Louisiana.) The food was really nice (and Lucy got leftovers!).

Thursday was Lucy’s first day back among the living. It was a rest day, but we spent a lot of the morning cleaning and the afternoon building the chicken coop. Micah, Bobby, and Micah (Bobby’s friend) worked a few hours struggling to get anywhere. THEN, Sam came into the picture. Sam attends City Church and lives just down the road. Sam worked as a builder before his current job and he took over (in a good way) the building of the coop. Soon enough it had 4 walls, a roost and a door for the chickens! All that’s left is to put siding on, add roofing, build the run and build the nesting boxes. We really are almost to the point to buy chickens! Thursday evening, we headed to Peter and Jenna’s house (the MMN volunteers) to play cards.

On Friday, Micah and the clan headed up to the allotment. They got manure, worked in the freezing cold, dug soil from down the hill to transport to the allotment and went shopping for the chicken coop. Lucy worked in the office in the morning and the Ember in the afternoon.

On Saturday, we were in the Ember. Micah and Thomas went to Common Grounds to volunteer. Lucy and Jillian spent the morning browsing charity shops, having coffee, shopping at the green grocer and getting Jillian’s hair done. In the afternoon, Lucy and Jillian cleaned Jillian’s room. Micah helped Thomas with his laundry. In the evening, Thomas and the two of us headed over to Scott’s house to babysit his three kids. After a pizza dinner and a few games, the kids headed off to bed (except the youngest who really wanted to see mama). He eventually fell asleep in Micah’s arms.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning and then hung out at the Ember a bit, because James and Faythe were back for a visit. (James was an assistant when we got here and Faythe was the volunteer coordinator.) We enjoyed a nice dessert and a trip to the pub with the lads. The rest of the day was not too memorable.

Monday began with prayer and a team meeting. Micah had a meeting in the afternoon to further discuss Root Soup with Alison, Valerie and Maria. The big news of the day was the house across the road (which started collapsing on itself) is being torn down. Ever since we arrived, cracks had been growing on the top floor and before the New Year the roof and front of the top floor fell in. Nothing was done for awhile, but now it is being taken down bit by bit. The odd part is they are trying to save the other half of the duplex which is also cracking. The pictures explain it best!

Picture taken after the initial part fell in, before they started taking it down.

Guys from the City Council working on taking it down bit by bit.

Tuesday we worked in the office in the morning and afternoon. In the afternoon, Lucy got a pretty bad migraine, so she headed to rest yet again. Micah went with the rest of the community to the Loom (the prayer space in North Belfast) to pray and then have a welcome party for Matthew at the Ember. Lucy just rested.

Wednesday, Root Soup kitchen training began! The group met in the Ark to make sandwiches and assemble light supper boxes for a L’Arche fundraiser later on in the day. Lucy headed to women’s cell in the morning and then worked in the office in the afternoon. After work, we did some grocery shopping before heading the L’Arche cinema night. There is a theatre in Comber (a nearby village) that is used for charity events or private functions. It was a real success! A lot of people came and the movie was great!

Night at the Flicks.

Today, we had a rest day. Lucy had a meeting in the morning and since then we have packed and done errands for the trip to Portugal! Tonight we are going to babysit for Padraig and Porter (Joy and Bobby’s kids).

Tomorrow is our last day of work before holiday! Micah will be up at the allotment, building new raised beds. Lucy is in the Ember all day with the lads. One last day before a good, long, warm break!

We are really excited about our week in Portugal! It is suppose to be fairly warm and sunny and we should have plenty of time to relax! Pray for our safety in travel and that we take advantage of the opportunity to rest! And start preparing...2 months from Saturday we will be back in the States!!

Welcome 2011

The 20^th of December began with a prayer and team meeting. After the meeting we went shopping for our final KK (Kris Kindle) gifts and food for the Christmas celebrations. We spent the evening in the Ember for dinner and hanging about. Micah joined Bobby, a couple other guys and a visitor of the Orf family (also named Micah) at the pub for a boy’s night out.

Tuesday we were suppose to have training, but Scott decided that it was a beautiful day for a walk by the Lagan. It was FREEZING! Our feet were numb by the time we arrived at Sharon’s house for tea. In the afternoon, Lucy had a meeting with Maria and then Micah had a meeting with Maria, Scott and an interviewer for a training program.

Wednesday began Micah’s fight against sickness. He was suppose to go to the Root Soup kitchen in the morning, but since he was not feeling well, decided against cooking. Probably a good idea!! We relaxed most the day and then headed to Bobby and Joy’s house for a shepherds’ meal. A tradition in Micah’s family is to have a shepherds’ meal close to Christmas time. It consists of a simple meal of bread, cheese, meat, fruit and veg and the reading of the Christmas story, all in candle light. It was a really nice evening with the Orf family and a great way to really get into the Christmas spirit!

Thursday was another day to rest up before the holiday celebrations. In the afternoon we went on a walk. Micah had desired to walk down a street that we pass frequently, so we ventured down and found a beautiful snow-covered field. A development had been started so there was a road and street lamps, but no houses had been built. It was the perfect place for a wee walk! In the evening we ventured out to a Japanese restaurant with the other volunteers to have sushi! It was so good and a really nice evening out.

Everyone getting ready to enjoy some sushi

Friday began with the KK celebration. Throughout the 4 weeks of advent we were giving gifts (in secret) to one person in the community. On Christmas eve we all gathered to guess who our KK was. Micah was way off, but Lucy guessed right. It was a nice way to start Christmas eve. The afternoon was free, and the evening consisted of a party for the family members of the core members and another shepherds’ meal with the people who were going to be around for Christmas day. This is the first year for 2 Thanksgiving dinner and 2 Shepherds’ meals. We are truly blessed here! After the shepherds’ meal we headed to a midnight mass at Maria’s church. It had lovely music and Thomas loved it because we were not back until 12:30! He loves staying up late. Thomas and Makiko slept over in the Ark for the weekend so they wouldn’t be alone in the Ember. It made a full house!

Christmas day began with a big breakfast of baked French toast and egg casserole. Afterwards, the 6 of us (Thomas, Frans, Julia, Makiko and the two of us) opened presents. It was mainly Thomas opening presents because he has a lot more connections in Belfast, but we all received a few. After opening presents, we went on a walk. We headed to the same field that we had been in earlier in the week. It was quite beautiful still and there was enough open space for a snow ball fight and snow angel making! Once we were back in the Ark/Ember, it was time to dress up for dinner. In Maria’s tradition it is important to look nice for Christmas dinner. Scott’s family, Maria, and the Orf family all joined the 6 of us for dinner. It was nice to have the ‘extended family’ over for the meal. We enjoyed a lovely dinner of salmon, potatoes, lots of veg and lots of yummy desserts. After dinner, we headed back to the Ark to talk to our families. It was really nice to be able to chat with them on Christmas day. Once the 6 of us were all gathered in the Ark again, we put together puzzles, did crafts, ate lots of food and hung out! What a lovely and busy Christmas!

Sunday was Boxing Day in the UK. Traditionally the rich would box up leftovers for the poor after the big Christmas meal. Now-a-days it is another excuse to eat lots of yummy food. People who were around the community were invited over to Matthew’s house (a soon to be core member) for a huge smorgasbord prepared by Roberta (Matthew’s mum). We had 5 meat dishes, 2 potato dishes, 1 veg and 7 desserts! SO MUCH YUMMY FOOD all for 11 people! There was just a little bit left over! In the evening, Lucy helped Jillian off to bed and Micah watched the Tottenham game with Neil.

Monday was a rest day, which was essential since we had been with lots of people for the past few days. After some time just resting, we headed over to Bobby and Joy’s house to discuss the event the next night...the Mexican Extravaganza! One thing we really miss here is Mexican food so we decided to bring Mexican food (or at least our version) to Belfast. We spent the afternoon dreaming about all the delicious things we could make and then making the shopping list for the next day. Then we headed over to the Ember with Bobby and Joy to help them make their weekly meal for the core members. In the evening we got the joy of talking to Lucy’s extended family (on her dad’s side). Afterwards, we headed back over to the Orf’s to babysit for their 2 kids while they ventured out to a birthday party.

Tuesday was Mexican Extravaganza day! It was also the day that our water got turned off kind of. More on that later. Micah, Micah (the Orf’s friend) and Bobby went shopping in the morning (for like 3 hours!!). Then the two of us headed over to help with the preparations. Lucy mainly played with the kids, while Micah did more of the prep. In the middle of prep, we had to leave to go to Emily’s leaving prayer. She had been a volunteer for 4 months, but was heading back to the states for a bit and then hopefully Germany. Then it was back over to finish preparations for the Mexican Extravaganza. For dinner we had 3 homemade salsas ranging in spiciness, enchiladas, Mexican rice, and stuffed chillies. The locals were not big fans of the stuffed chillies; they were a bit too spicy for their flavour. After dinner we played ‘la familia’ and another game that we do not know the name of! It was a really nice evening.

On Wednesday we were back in the Ember. Sickness has been going around the community so it was just the two of us in the Ember with the guys. Jillian was the only one who went to the centre; the other three were on holiday. Larry and Micah went grocery shopping in the morning and then Thomas, Larry, and the two of us headed to IKEA to buy a new wardrobe for Thomas. IKEA was crazy busy, so we were hoping to get in and out, but alas the first wardrobe we purchased was broken and we only saw it after we were on the way to the car. So Lucy headed back into the store to exchange the wardrobe, while Micah and the lads headed to the car. BUT...stupid IKEA doesn’t exchange things, so Lucy had to return the wardrobe and then go purchase another one. BUT...there wasn’t any more to be found. Luckily, a friendly IKEA man found another one for me. When we were back home, we started to put the wardrobe together before Micah and Thomas headed to Common Grounds to volunteer. After Lucy had dinner with Larry and Emily, she went back to finish the wardrobe to discover that the wardrobe was not put together right. The sides were switched, which meant the shelves did not fit! BUMMER! Once Micah was back, we decided that we would try to fix it the next day.

Thursday was another day in the Ember. Again due to sickness, we were the only two on. Thomas and Jillian headed to the centre, but Larry stayed home. We spent the day cleaning, doing laundry and fixing the darn wardrobe. After a few frustrations, the wardrobe is together although a little worse for wear. After dinner, Lucy helped Jillian off to bed and then we watched Mr. Bean with the lads. Larry was ready for bed early, and Makiko offered to help Thomas off to bed because the two of us were exhausted from the 2 long days. Thanks Makiko!

Friday was a great day in Micah’s book. Scott, Micah, Bobby, and Noah started to build the chicken coop. It currently has 3 walls, a roof and a floor, but it is really starting to look like a coop!! After the guys finished for the day, we walked up to Forestside to get some goodies for New Years Eve. We spent the evening at the Orf’s with a few other people.

Padraig is such good help.

Today we are being pretty lazy. Micah is still not feeling great, so we are taking it easy. Tonight we are heading to Peter and Jenna’s (MMN volunteers) to play some games. It should be really nice.

Lately in Belfast, lots of people have been without (or with little) water. There have been problems with leaks in pipes that are leading to low reservoir levels. We have been fortunate to have some water all the time, but we haven’t been able to flush our toilets since Tuesday (we can be thankful for bucket flushing) and there are about 2 showers a day for the 4 of us. Supposedly the leaks will be fixed by next week, but Scott informed us that as they are trying to fix the leaks they are also discovering some pipes are wooden dating back to the early 19^th century. It sounds like a bit of updating is needed on the water system!

We hope you all are healthy and happy at the beginning of 2011. Pray for Micah as he continues to try to get better! Looking forward to seeing many of you in a few months.

Christmas Video

Hello dear family and friends!

Here is a sneak peek into our Christmas celebrations. We will write more soon!

First Pot of Soup!

Sunday the 5^th December began with church. It was a really relaxing afternoon of Christmas movies and playing games.

Monday began with prayer and a team meeting. The weather was a bit yucky, but Lucy ventured out for a chiropractor appointment in Bangor. It was decided that Lucy could start decreasing the amount of times she had to go to appointments, because her neck is in line and will hopefully stay that way!! Micah did a few errands and then stopped by Bobby and Joy’s house to drop off some leftovers. We ended up staying for dinner and watching one of Bobby’s favourite shows, River Cottage.

Tuesday was decoration day at the Ember. The morning was spent organizing decorations, buying a tree and untangling lights. The rest of the decorating happened in the afternoon when the core members were back, but we did not help because Lois and Wayne arrived. Lois and Wayne attend Lucy’s home congregation and Lois was Lucy’s mentor through high school. They are currently living in London volunteering as care workers for MMN volunteers. There is a MMN couple that recently moved to Belfast so they were able to combine visiting them with visiting us. They arrived about dinner time so Peter and Jenna (the MMN couple), Wayne and Lois, Frans and Julia (our new housemates) and Thomas joined us for dinner. It was a good evening of catching up and playing the Mennonite game!

Wednesday was another Root Soup day. Micah and Bryson (a trainee) went shopping at IKEA for additional kitchen supplies before returning to the office. Lucy worked in the office all day. She met with Frans and Julia to make sure they were settling in and to give them a chance to talk through some of the new ways of life that L’Arche provides. After work, we headed to the Ember for dinner and then Wayne and Lois returned from a day out (they stayed in our guest room) so we enjoyed chatting with them.

Thursday we went on a walk along the river with Wayne and Lois before heading to Protection of Vulnerable Adults training. The evening was pretty low-key.

Friday was a garden day for Micah. They worked a lot of transplanting and weeding. Lucy had the morning off so she took the chance to do some reading and cleaning. The afternoon for Lucy was spent in the Ember. Lucy helped Thomas get KK gifts and Lucy got her first present from her KK!! It was a great present of clementines and assorted nuts! Friday night we headed to city centre to meet up with Peter, Jenna, Wayne and Lois to listen to some traditional Irish music. The music was suppose to start at about 9, but the upstairs (where the music was) didn’t open till 9:30 and the musicians didn’t start playing till after 10. Then they only played 2 songs before heading out for a smoke break! Bummer! We only heard a total of 4 songs before heading back home, but it was really good music!

Saturday was an Ember day. Micah headed to Common Grounds with Thomas to volunteer. Lucy helped Jillian up and around before heading out with her to get some fruit and veg from the green grocer and buy some toiletries. Then afternoon was spent up at Forestside doing Christmas shopping or lounging around the beautiful Christmasy living room! In the evening we all headed down to the Ark for ‘Larry’s Pub Night’. Larry loves the pub but is often too lazy/overwhelmed by the number of people there to actually want to go to the pub, so we brought the pub to Larry. It was a great night of charades, singing, dancing (mainly by Jillian) and chatting.

Sunday we headed to church with Wayne, Lois, Peter and Jenna. After church we all went to a nearby sandwich shop before parting ways for a few hours. The afternoon for us was spent relaxing and napping! For dinner we headed over to Peter and Jenna’s house for jacket potatoes made by Lois and Wayne.

Monday started as usual with prayer and a team meeting. After lunch, we headed to the train station because Lucy had a chiropractor appointment. Lois, Wayne, Peter and Jenna had all headed to Bangor earlier in the day and we met up with them after the appointment for a cuppa tea. After getting back to Belfast, we headed to the Christmas market and then out to dinner at a great eclectic place called ‘Made in Belfast’. It had lots of character and really nice food.

Lois and Wayne headed to the airport on Tuesday morning. We decided to head to Ian’s bakery for breakfast since it had been a few weeks since we had gone. It was as good as ever. Afterwards we headed to buy some toiletries at Forrestside. Christmas shopping is making every shopping centre crazy busy!! We will avoid them if possible till after Christmas! We worked in the afternoon in the office then headed to the Loom, a new prayer space for the community. We had dinner and decorated the space. After the gathering, the live-in volunteers had Volunteer Night Out at a pub with Irish music. It was good craic!

Wednesday was an exciting day for Root Soup. Micah and Bryson made the first pot of soup for Root Soup! Lucy went to women’s group in the morning only to find out she should check our cell phone more often because it was cancelled. So after a cuppa tea, it was back to work in the office. Once the soup was made, 11 people enjoyed a bowl and some yummy wheaten bread. It was a big step to actually make a pot of soup! After work and dinner, we went to cell group where we enjoyed festive food and good company.

Thursday was a rest day (finally!). We used the morning to go grocery shopping and clean up around the house a bit. Then we took some time to relax before heading to Common Grounds for dinner and ‘Carols in the Cafe’ put on by our church here.

Friday was a different sort of day. It snowed quite a bit during Thursday night, so Jillian and Thomas weren’t able to go to the day centre. Jillian spent the day baking with Julia; Thomas spent the day with the two of us cleaning out his room. Thomas got rid of a LOT of stuff and his room is now dust free J. After work we learned a new game called 66.

Saturday we were back in the Ember. Lucy and Jillian headed to the green grocer and out to coffee. Micah went to Common Grounds with Thomas to volunteer. The afternoon was spent Christmas shopping, hanging about and going to IKEA. After we were at IKEA (looking for a new wardrobe for Thomas), we had a wee snowball fight. Thomas, Jillian and Larry were not impressed. Jillian kept yelling ‘cut it out’!

Today we went to church and then have spent the afternoon playing games and enjoying warm tea!

The past bit we have enjoyed Christmas’ arrival, from the Carols in the Cafe, to the snow, to the Christmas cards from Church of the Brethren members. We are looking forward to celebrating Christ’s birth next weekend. We will try to post pictures in the next few days, but for now we will leave you with warm holiday wishes!

Thanksgiving and the beginning of holiday season!

Tuesday the 16^th of December we began with a community conversation. During the community conversation we talked a lot about how we viewed ourselves in the community and things that were easy and hard for us in community. It was a great time of vulnerability within the community. After the community conversation, we were both wiped out so Maria suggested we take the afternoon off and go for lunch and a walk. It was really renewing to spend some time together. After the afternoon out we did a couple hours of work. In the evening, Thomas came over for dinner and we went to the chippie (fish and chips aka French fries). The rest of the evening was really low key!!

On Wednesday morning, Micah headed to the Root Soup kitchen and he and Bryson worked on continuing to clean the kitchen. Lucy went to women’s cell in the morning. They both were back in the office in the afternoon. The weather was NASTY in the evening so we stayed in from our cell group and watched a movie!

Thursday was a rest day. We went to the chiropractor in Bangor (Lucy had an appointment and Micah tagged along). After the appointment we went to a coffee shop before heading back. By the time we walked 30 min, took the train for 35 min, spent a couple hours in Bangor and returned by the train and walking....that was pretty much our day!

Friday was a dirty day :) Micah and Scott spent the morning hauling soil through the house. A delivery of soil came in the morning, but the truck could not fit down the back alley so they dropped 2 tons of soil in the front of our house and the majority needed to be in the back...bad news for the carpet! Lucy watched all the dirt being brought through while working in the office. In the afternoon Micah went to the allotment and Lucy went to the Ember. Micah and company spent the afternoon working on their new allotment plot, cut back fruit bushes and weeded. Lucy spent the afternoon with Jillian and Thomas. Thomas went to get a haircut and Jillian went to visit her favourite green grocer Michel. Then it was time to cook dinner! Larry headed out to a fancy dinner with Maria. He even wore a bow tie!

Saturday, we were back to the Ember. Micah headed out in the morning with Thomas to volunteer at Common Ground Cafe. Thomas helped to serve people, while Micah did a lot of dishes. Lucy, Julia, Jillian and Maria went to an art exhibition in the morning before Lucy and Jillian went to get Jillian’s hair cut. Jillian LOVES the hairdressers, because she gets coffee and pampered. The women there LOVE her! Afterwards it was back to the Ember for lunch. In the afternoon the boys (Micah, Larry, Neil and Frans) headed out to the Belfast Beer Fest. It had tons of local brews. Jillian, Lucy and Thomas went to the opticians because Thomas needed new glasses. Jillian whistled when Thomas found the right pair! By the evening we were all pretty tired so it was a low key night!

On Sunday we headed to church. After church, Joy and Bobby invited us over to lunch to meet Joy’s parents who were in from the states. It was a really nice afternoon of takeout and chatting.

Monday began with prayer and a team meeting as usual. In the afternoon Lucy headed to Bangor on the train for a chiropractic appointment. Micah took the chance to relax a bit on our rest day.

Tuesday the whole day was spent in First Aid training. We learned everything from CPR to treating burns to how to help if someone is choking. It was a full day! Afterward we were out of it so we decided to cancel on having Thomas down for dinner like we usually do on Tuesdays. We ended up eating dinner with Frans and Julia which was a nice chance to get to know them better.

On Wednesday, Lucy headed to a women’s cell group in the morning and Micah headed to the Root Soup kitchen to keep cleaning and buy a fridge. He had a lot of fun picking out the fridge with one of the men, who is taking part in the training in the kitchen, from the Open Door Housing Association. The afternoon was back to the office for both of us. In the evening we went to cell group before calling it a night.

Thursday was a rest day (kind of since it was Thanksgiving). Lucy headed out earlyish in the morning to go to Bangor for a chiropractic appointment and Micah and Larry went out to breakfast at Ian’s Bakery. After getting back from breakfast, Micah started cooking. Lucy joined in when she returned. The rest of the afternoon was spent cooking Thai sweet potato soup, baking pies and rolls and making gravy. Micah then ran out to pick up our turkey (we had it pre-cooked by the local butcher since our oven is quite small!!). While Micah got the turkey, Lucy, Makiko and Julia worked on setting tables and decorating. Then it was time for all 22 of us to have some yummy dinner! Although Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday here, we made a proper dinner with a lot of help from the community!

Our beautiful bird!

The desserts and punch.

Good times!

Friday was an allotment day for Micah. It was a big day at the allotment. New people, Paul and David, came up for the first time for the training that is starting at the allotment (part of Root Soup). Frans and Micah got manure for the Ark and then went back for more for the allotment. The afternoon was spent “conquering the new world and expanding L’Arche’s empire” aka taking over a new allotment that will have about 12 raised beds and lots of fruit bushes. Lucy spent the morning cleaning the house after the Thanksgiving feast and then headed to the Ember in the afternoon. After work, we had Thanksgiving #2. (Our first experience of 2 Thanksgivings!) We were invited by other Americans at church to a Thanksgiving celebration with a number of other couples/families. It was a really nice way to get to know some more people from church (and eat a lot more good food).

Cooking apples over the fire after our aluminum foil lunch was ruined.

Matthew weeding through the snow storm.

This is what makes cold, snowy days at the allotment worth it.

The snow falling over the Strangford Lough.

Matthew after he broke the knob of our water spicket.

Saturday we were back in the Ember. Micah and Larry dropped Neil and Thomas off at Common Grounds and then headed back to clean out Rosie (the community van, who was very dirty from hauling all the manure). Lucy headed out on the slippery foot paths to get Jillian’s eye brows waxed. Afterwards it was time to head up to the shopping centre for a lot of shopping and to pick up Thomas’ new glasses. He looks quite sharp with his new specs. Larry purchased some Christmas movies while we were shopping so the afternoon/evening was spent getting into the holiday spirit via films.

Sunday, we headed to church in the morning. Then we set out on a mission to find advent candles, which was much harder than expected. They either were smelly, expensive or the wrong colours, but we finally succeeded (in the 5^th store!!). The afternoon was spent at a community gathering to kick off KK (Kris Kindle). It is a L’Arche Belfast tradition, very much like Secret Santa. In the evening, we watched a movie. We do not recommend the “Nightmare before Christmas”!!

Monday began with prayer and a team meeting. Then we both headed to Bangor to go to a chiropractic appointment, do some shopping and go on a date! It was a beautiful, cool, crisp day!

Tuesday we headed in the morning to Holywood with the rest of the assistants for a walk and a cuppa tea/coffee. Rather than training we just enjoyed some time together! The afternoon was spent in the office. After work, we went to Joy and Bobby’s to babysit for their two kids, Padraig (2 years old) and Porter (6 months). Micah and Padraig ran laps around the house and read lots of books and Lucy and Porter spent a lot of time bouncing because Porter wanted his mommy! Thomas came over with us for awhile to have dinner, which Padraig really enjoyed! After Joy and Bobby were back and the boys were off to bed, we chatted for a few hours before heading home.

Wednesday, Lucy headed to women’s cell in the morning and Micah was planning to cook for the first time for Root Soup, but the two guys that were suppose to come couldn’t make it. One had a doctor’s appointment and the other had the flu. It was a bit of a bummer for Micah, but it was understandable. The afternoon was spent in the office. After work, we went grocery shopping.

On Thursday we had a rest day. Lucy headed...again...to Bangor for the chiropractor. Once back we headed up to get our Christmas tree. It is a bit like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, but we love it! The evening was spent drawing and crocheting...quite nice!

Our wee tree.

Friday was supposed to be an allotment day for Micah, but alas the dusting of snow/ice on the roads made it impossible to get up the last hill to the allotment. So instead, a group of us headed to an Indian buffet for lunch. Much nicer than being out in the cold anyway! Lucy spent the afternoon at the Ember, mainly chatting with Thomas. After work, Lucy scrapbooked and Micah went to whiskey night. It is a chance for guys from church to gather and hang out around a bonfire.

Today we headed to city centre to go to the Continental Christmas Market and do some Christmas shopping. The market was a cool collection of stalls from around Europe and beyond. There was lots of good food and pretty crafts! The rest of the day will be spent doing as little as possible!!

Overall life here has been filled with holiday cheer, lots of chiropractic appointments and a bit of a cold for Lucy. We are anticipating a visit from Wayne and Lois Hochstetler next week. (Lois was Lucy’s mentor from church through high school and they are currently in London with MMN.) We hope you are all able to find time to slow down and enjoy the advent season!