Happy Ending and New Beginning

       Even though this amazing trip is coming to an end this has been a wonderful experience for everyone that we will remember forever. To start off our day Claire, Sydney, and Avery made everyone an amazing breakfast. Then afterward Heather, the spiritual coordinator for L'Arche Hamilton, came for closing reflection and had great conversations about our experiences here. We shared about the different core members that gave us a gift or taught us a lesson about life that we will remember and carry with us. We discussed some challenges that we faced in the beginning and how we have learned and grow from them. It was a great closing reflection seeing how much everyone has grown and really enjoyed themselves on this trip. It is one that none of us will forget and it will stay close to our hearts forever. 
        After the closing reflection with Heather we went to the 541 Eatery and Exchange. 541 Eatery and Exchange is a a non-profit café where you can pay-it-forward by turning dollars into buttons. A button equals a dollar and anyone can use up to 5 buttons from the jar each day. Not only does this help feed those who need help paying, but it also nurtures the community there. When entering in the café even though it was small it felt cozy and at home. We had a wonderful lunch there and the service was great. This place was very lively and full of energy that we had a great time. We were just able to sit down and relax and really get to know one another. 
       After lunch we headed to the day program to get some souvenirs for home. Everything that we bought were made by the core members at the day program so these souvenirs have some sentimental value to us all. After our little shopping spree we first went to see Tiffany Falls and it was amazing to see. It was a little rough getting to the falls with some parts of the trail being icy, but we were able to go around it safely and made it the falls. It was such a beautiful site even though it was frozen, however the water was still flowing in the back of the ice block. We really bonded and laughed a lot during this part of the day with us struggling to avoid the huge ice patch and falling down. The majority of us did fall in some areas but we had some laughs about it and it was nice and relaxing. Then after Tiffany Falls we went to Webster's Falls and it was stunning as well. The trail for this was better and the waterfall wasn't all frozen. So, it was great seeing the water flowing down during the winter season. We just walked around the area and took many pictures together throughout our time at both of the falls. It was such a nice and fun activity to do together on our last day. 
      Later this evening we drove back to Sherman House and prepare ourselves to head over to our houses for our last dinner. We laughed, played, joked, and had many great last conversations with the core members and assistants. The connections we made is something we will take with us going forward. We will truly miss everyone here and hopefully someday we can come back and visit again. We made our last night really last and even though we are leaving we are taking a part of each of them with us. Our journey does not have to end here and we all have received a gift here that we will definitely use in the future. Hope the world is ready for us to spread this wonderful gift we each have! See you all soon!! 

Love, 
Angelika