“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