BRRR...Warm Up With A Coffee Hot Chocolate Latte Donuts! ... ?

Well, we had a good thing going with our daily cute coffee sign quotes up until today. However, it is important to mention that we tried the donuts discussed in this sign and certainly weren't disappointed.

Here we are. Our last night in Hamilton. How quickly we went from having our L'Arche journey ahead of us to look forward to, to now having it transition into a beautiful memory. Today was a day of reflection, gratefulness, and rest.

We began the day with a closing reflection at the main office with our gracious host coordinator. We got to share and learn from her many experiences throughout the years and were sent off with a beautiful blessing from two special Core Members.

Afterwards, we took off for Cafe 541 to grab some lunch together. The unique part about Cafe 541 is that you have the opportunity to purchase 'buttons' that have a $1 value. The buttons are placed in a jar and can be used to purchase food by anyone who needs them. After lunch we got to have some free time to explore the city of Hamilton. We had a nice time visiting various shops and markets and enjoyed spending time together as a group!

In the evening, we went our separate ways to have dinner one last time with our house communities and to say some tough goodbyes to the Core Members and Assistants that have greatly impacted our life in the time span of just 1 week. These faces have forever changed us <3

Each one of "The Gannon Girls" agrees that this week has been nothing short of life-changing. We are all so grateful for the experience and will truly carry the memories from this week and the hearts of our new friends with us forever.

Some of the things we've learned on our L'Arche Ontario journey:

• "Push yourselves to be uncomfortable, because the end result will be beautiful." - Favour
• How to knit (thanks Brian!) 
• "The value of all types of communication; art, performance, sign language, body language, facial expressions." - Mary Margaret
• That ketchup chips are stellar. 
• How to be more comfortable with silence.
• "To find true community is rare, but when you find it, cherish it." - Meghan
• Various words in French from reading different food products and road signs
• Picking your split ends is bad. (ahem, in the words of a dear friend: "Knock it off, M&M")
• "The importance of understanding the dignity of each human being. Life is a delicate, beautiful thing that should be cherished." - Lydia
• How to communicate certain words/phrases in sign language: 'bathroom', 'thank you', 'beautiful', 'coffee', and 'popcorn'; to name a few.
• That Lydia is extremely prone to dropping/spilling things. 
• The difference in walking WITH someone and doing things FOR them.
• All the words to "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan
• Simply put: "We learned how to encounter another human being with kindness, authenticity, and respect. We learned how to truly see God in them." - Alli

Thank you for reading along with our blog! We'll be sure to check in one last time when we return to Erie tomorrow afternoon!

- Alli & The Gannon Girls

“You Can Do This”- Coffee

Lastly, and the entry you’ve all been waiting for, welcome to the blog by Favour. This morning we started off our day by once again, getting Vintage coffee. Before this ABST trip, I never had a taste for coffee, and now due to the early mornings, busy schedule, and necessary afternoon boosts of energy, I NEED IT. I went with my typical Frappuccino but spiced up my order with an Apple Fritter. Considering we went to the coffee shop every morning this trip, it was no surprise that we were named the barista’s favorite “Pennsylvania girls”, probably because of all the business we brought to them this week and Alli’s persistence.

After coffee, we loaded the van and headed to L’Arche Daybreak, hoping to avoid the morning Toronto traffic. We made it in little time to L’Arche Daybreak thanks to the HOV lane. This was a very special place being that L’Arche Daybreak is the first L’Arche branch founded in America and the second community founded in the world. We were first introduced to Toni; the Day Break administrator. Next year L’Arche Daybreak will be celebrating their 50^th anniversary. Every annual event or celebration usually calls for other L’Arche communities reaching out and showing their support. She told us about the history of L’Arche, what it takes to create a new community, and about the first members of L’Arche, especially one of the original core members, who we had the fortune of meeting today at “The Club”. Father George and and this CM go way back, and it was beautiful to see them interact while knowing the history behind their relationship. We were then all split up into the 3 individual houses within Daybreak, I went to the house that holds the paper, wax, and clay rooms. Sister Carmen and I helped pack blue and white hombre candles ordered for a wedding, with the assistance of a core member. The core member went on to tell us about how she loves using the pottery wheel to make mugs and plates and wishes to someday make a vase or mug with a handle. Another core member shared with us his huge interest in cars, writing, and drawing. It was beautiful seeing how passionate he was and how he really liked expressing his interests. We concluded the day with a prayer led by Father George and Toni, discussing our best moments of the day, and pondering the past and future of L’Arche. Afterwards, we had dinner at Joe’s accompanied by father George. This specific Joe’s is run by people who serve the core members weekly and have a very close relationship with L’Arche. The Gang filed into the Mystery Machine (Scooby Doo reference) and headed back to L’Arche Hamilton.

After a few wrong turns, exits, and a snow storm coming in, we made it home. We were greeted by many core members and B+ Arnold Schwarzenegger and Batman Impressions. This week has been amazing. We have met amazing core members, amazing assistants, and amazing individuals who give their time to volunteer within this family. L’Arche is an experience I will never forget, and I can honestly say, changed me forever. Tomorrow is our last day here and all I can is closing is, thank you. 

-Emmanuella Favour Abara