by Inga Rohde, Outreach Coordinator
We know from our history that mutual relationships lead to personal transformation, and that is what we hope for our participants. We wanted to ensure that the invitation to the wider community is both to the activities and also into relationship – both with L’Arche staff as well as with one another.
The cooking class adventure called “Chocolate Zucchini Cake” is a great example of our hopes being realized. Most of the participants had gathered for class, and we were waiting on a young woman named Megan. Pat went to the parking lot and found Megan and her mom, sitting in their van. Megan was very upset, as her mom was planning on dropping her off and having Megan take the Pierce Transit Shuttle home. Megan didn’t think she was ready to ride the shuttle home from this new place and knew she didn’t want to go the class. That is, until Pat said the magic word: “Chocolate!” That word caused Megan to nearly leap out of the van and race into the Welcome Center. From that point on, Megan was overjoyed to be at the cooking class. She helped crack eggs, measure flour and mix it all together. Megan’s friend, Jenny, also attended the cooking class. Jenny was a bit more hesitant to dive into the class, hanging back with her mom. Megan was not about to let Jenny get away with that, so before long Megan started chanting, “JENNY! JENNY! JENNY!” and encouraged her friend to come over and help make the cake. The combination of Megan’s enthusiastic support and her mom moving to another room allowed Jenny to take a deep breath, roll up her sleeves and help incorporate the dry with the wet ingredients.
Each participant may have come to the class with their own challenges and hurdles, but the moment they bit into the sweet chocolate treats, all those worries left them. The only thing remaining was excitement and hopes of more cooking classes to come. And, at the end of the class, Megan boarded the Shuttle for her first, fully-independent ride home!
