First day of school... in Ghana

Not to be confused with my blog post from the first day of school as a student teacher in Wellsboro - because there are several differences between the two places:

1) School started Tuesday... but there was no teaching. In fact, there were few students in classrooms. Most students were outside, either playing (elementary school) or cleaning the grounds. This includes:

• cutting the knee-high grass around the school buildings with machetes (boys, ages 8-18 were partaking in this)
• sweeping the classrooms, corridors, and sandy areas with hand brooms (girls of all ages were doing this)
• cleaning up the litter (the waste management system in Ghana is still developing... thus waste is commonly tossed on the ground)
• organizing desks and classrooms 

In Ghana schools, there are no custodians: the kids are the groundskeepers. I will reflect more on this aspect of Ghanaian culture in a future post, but let's just say it is a pretty ingenious structure to build life skills and a sense of responsibility for these kids and their place of learning. However, that does not negate the fact that learning wasn't actually happening on the first day... 

Anyways, all of this was readily occurring with a gentle roar of children uniting after 2 months of vacations. They were all in their pink and green uniforms (which coincidentally match the colors of the school buildings) and seemingly all hard at work... until it rained. 

2) Major differences also lie within responses to weather. In the U.S. (Wellsboro) we have snow days. In Ghana, we have rain days. Because 95% of the kids are walking to school and 80% of those kids don't have rain coats or umbrellas, school doesn't happen when it is raining. How hard must it rain for a rain day? Well, I would say if it is any heavier than what we would consider a steady "spring" rain, students aren't expected to be at school. There is no notification system, but they handle things well: if it is raining at 8 AM (school start time) and stops at 9 AM, you should come to school ASAP (i.e. 1 hour delay). If it keeps raining past 10 AM, you aren't penalized for not coming to school that day (i.e. more than a 2 hour delay). The weather here is about 75 degrees and pretty humid. I will note that it rained pretty hard for 1 hour this morning, then mildly hard for 3 hours this afternoon. It got pretty cool this evening (72 degrees) so I wore a jacket to go out... mind you, this is nothing compared to the -15 wind chill that welcomed me in Wellsboro this past January. :) 

3) I didn't have much to do during my first day. Teachers were running errands/registering new students. Kids were all over the place. My colleague/fellow 4-H advisor left me for several hours... so I just chilled in his classroom with some of my 4-H girls for the majority of the day, teaching them some songs and looking at pictures. I know this was to be somewhat expected due to the Ghanaian culture and sensitivity to time, but I would have hoped to do a bit more. Classes are actually expected to start next week (after a Monday holiday) so I will hopefully see some pedagogy then. 

While my first day of school in Ghana wasn't anything like my previous first days of school, I have had some awesome successes over the past week! Now all moved in and a week-long resident of Oseim, I have been able to engage with 4-H and the community almost every day. 

Last week I visited some more farms with Dustin, a fellow AgriCorps member, as he came to visit my village. We also helped set up the first "home entrepreneurship project" of the year! Samuel is the 4-H lead secretary and he set up his project on a small plot of land outside his house (which is about 300 yards from mine). We constructed about 8 raised beds for carrot production, with the 4_H advisors, Dustin, and the larger kids sharing the hoe and pick axe. Because everything is about community in Ghana, we had about 30-35 observers at all times. We put the small children to work picking trash out of the garden, and I got distracted by some of the babies... but it was a beautiful success! 

Later in the week, I met with my 2 other 4-H adviors to review some key aspects of the club and some major goal areas for the year. I am super excited about what is to come! While I know it will be hard to stay on track with some of the dates I designated for goals, I know there are motivated and supporting people here to make things happen. 

Saturday was the Sabbath at Savior Church (the church that founded the school) and it was also my prepared "Community meeting." AKA about 80% of my 4-H members and their families go to church and were present among the 500-600 people at the service where I introduced myself. I spoke to them a bit in their local language (they laughed), said that I loved their food (they clapped), shared about my 4-H and farming background, then stated my purpose for being here for the year (they seemed to fall asleep a bit...). Overall, however, I think it went well! The community is seriously very welcoming and gracious - I already feel at home here. 

On Sunday evening, we worked in the school garden for a bit... then continued into Monday morning: weeding, cutting, clearing the land. Based on a recommendation from myself about the mass amounts of green cuttings/weeds they were pitching, we made a COMPOST PILE on Monday! My first ever 4-H "lesson," to about 30 students, was a success! I shared that compost = air + water + nitrogen + carbon + microorganisms then, after they all correctly answered the "quiz" questions to check understanding, we got to making a 8 ft by 4 ft compost heap! It's pretty massive... I hope it turns out well! 

Wednesday was quite a bit more productive compared to Tuesday - we had a 3 hour staff meeting for the teachers to be assigned their classes, then a good 4-H executive meeting! I am getting excited for Friday's general member meeting, the first of the year! More to come later!

On the edge of the diving board

You know that moment when you are standing on the edge of the diving board? It’s when you’re hovering over the 12 foot deep pool of water deciding how to best execute the dive – there is excitement, anticipation, a vision of how your dive will look, and maybe a bit of anxiousness over the potential for messing up.

That moment is now.

The past 6.5 weeks of training, transition, excitement, stress, and growth have brought us to this point – we have been training to dive in to our true year of AgriCorps service. While we may have been mentally preparing ourselves for a Liberian pool filled with post-war problems, little to no educational structure, and a very physically challenging environment, we are now finding ourselves standing at the edge of a decently attractive Ghanaian pool – this one with a bit more educational structure, a strong 4-H foundation, and much more room to swim around. I can already see the positive impact of diving in and I can clearly see myself diving deeper than I would have expected to in Liberia.

We have been in Ghana for 3 weeks now. So far, we have had cultural/language training, agriculture training, and we got to go to our our villages for a set-up/scoping visit this past week. Then, after the 4-day village visit, we reconvened as a team in Koforidua for a weekend of review/final training. Although all of us were ready to “get to our village” for so long (because we literally have lived with each other for 6 weeks straight), we certainly were excited to see each other after just a few days apart – mainly because we were all so anxious to share about the awesome things we learned from our placements!! Let me share some of 

• My new home is great! My “host family” is a young couple with 2 small boys under age 6. The father, Richard, is my “counterpart” and one of the 4-H advisors for Savior Junior High School (JHS). He is great to work with and his wife is eager to teach me Twi and how to cook, etc. so I am super excited about this new home and my cheery, spacious room.
• My 4-H club is rocking – it is seen as one of the most advanced in the region in terms of size and scope. The kids have been so welcoming (AKA at least 5 visited the house every day I was there last week) and one of my officers has even started a home garden project even before school started!!
• The community is fantastic. Oseim (my new town) is a genuinely welcoming place and the Savior church community seems like a great area. People are kind and always willing to greet me or help me. I held a successful stakeholder meeting last week with some key persons in the school and community and everyone was willing to work with me and 4-H to improve the lives of the youth and farming community.
• There is already stuff happening... just because they have a foreign volunteer! While at first I doubted that my presence or work would bring much visible “fruit,” I learned quickly that the fruits are already present... even before my official start time! There is a very prominent Cocoa farmer in my town who is also head of the entire Savior church in Ghana. He is currently in the U.S. for a conference or event (as he is the World Cocoa Foundation President) and will be back soon, but he apparently is excited to meet with me. Plus, he donated about an acre of land for our school 4-H to expand its garden program... and he did this before I even arrived! Even more, there are some larger animal farmers in the area who are willing to donate pigs and rabbits for our 4-H to start one of the first school animal raising projects in the region!
• My school and community have high expectations of my time in Oseim – this is where the “anxiousness” of diving in is sourced. I know I will not have all the answers: I will mess up. But I am still so excited to work WITH the youth and community to empower them for sustainable agrarian and economic change... and let’s not forget how many awesome public speakers will come from Savior 4-H by the time my year is over!

I am sincerely excited to dive in to my year of service. There will be problems and barriers: I will get frustrated with the relaxed culture, especially in professional settings. I will miss home and I will feel lonely. I recognize these things, but I embrace them for they will allow this new “job” to be an all-encompassing growth experience.

So what next? Well, after a lovely weekend of team reflections and preparations (and some down time at an ACTUAL pool at a local hotel), I am ready to head back to Oseim tomorrow to GET STARTED! Classes start next Tuesday (September 16) and I have no idea how school will look or what my teaching will look like, but I will be teaching integrated science classes.

Here I stand at the edge of the board. The pool of opportunities is huge. Room for impact is unknown yet promising. I am ready to dive in.

And now you get to enjoy photos of the last 2-3 weeks, since I was unable to upload them for my last blog!

This is my school's 4-H garden!! Check out that welcome sign.

Ag training in Atiwa district (2 weeks ago) with extension officers

That time I wanted to do individual farmer interviews and my counterparts set up a meeting of 11 farmers with me and 14 farmers with Melissa... It didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped but it was fun to talk to them!

Piglets we may be getting for our 4-H program!! I am SO EXCITED! They have pretty nice structure and genetics!

Another local hog facility - some pretty nice stuff... 

Dog breeding at a local farm! They weren't quite pure bred, but they were cute.

This chicken farmer has 15,000 layers at his farm - he has been to ag trainings all over Europe and imports his chicks from Germany... crazy.

That one evening a herd of cattle made its way through our school yard... (note: cattle are NOT common here)

My cheery room and my new mosquito net! It makes me feel like a princess... really!

Good reflection and brainstorming occurred this past weekend in Koforidua with my AgriCorps family!

Check it out: I am starting to develop my own head carrying skills! I am excited to learn so much more while I am here!

"We are each other's keeper"

Day 10 in Ghana...

Ghana? Yes, Ghana. So I’m in West Africa? Yes... finally?

This is how my mind has been working lately. I am here: I see the people, smell the smells, taste the food, and see the array of incredible things there are to see... but what do I feel? That’s been an interesting concept; I think I will come back to that in another blog post.

While it’s been less than 2 weeks since I’ve blogged, a lot has happened! Just that things are finally happening is an excitement in itself! We’ve been waiting so long for arrival in country, and here we are! But what have we been up to? Rather than just list events, I have found myself casually recording intriguing quotes by key persons over the past week and a half, so I will “reflect” with them.

“We are each other’s keeper”

~Mark, our awesome cultural and language trainer (who is also a pastor)

Ghana is so culturally different from the US: People smile and greet people. You feel safe around people you’ve just met. You are comfortable asking anyone for help, because they will help you. Kids run around the streets because other parents are watching them. Goats are frequent...

But really, people care about each other. They want us to feel at home. They offer up generous yet not overbearing services and kindness to welcome us. They care for each other in genuine and visible ways. I already can tell I will love the people here, which is great because people are what make cultural and international experiences so incredible!

 “YƐ frƐ me Akosua, me firi Pennsylvania wƆ Amerika.”

~Me, introducing myself in Twi; translated: My name is Akosua, I am from Pennsylvania in America.

We have been learning Twi, the predominant language in Ghana and you can BET I am SUPER EXCITED to use it to incorporate with the people! It really is not that difficult of a language so far, with only 2 unique letters and a few non-phonetic spellings. We had 3 intense days of training and I will definitely be learning from my host family shortly...

Oh, and Akosua is not Allison in Twi. Here, people take a general, gender-specific name that reflects the day of the week you were born. I was born on a Sunday and I am a female, so I am Akosua (along with 1/7^th of all Ghanaian women).

“4-H is a concept, it can be used for any organization”

~Regional 4-H director, giving training on how to start a 4-H club in an area

I found this to be a humbling ideal for development work – we don’t need to brand everything. 4-H is doing great things. When we get to our communities and have the opportunity to add 4-H esque concepts to an existing youth organization, we should do it!

AgriCorps is officially collaborating with 4-H Ghana for our year or service. This is pretty exciting, as 4-H Ghana is doing a fabulous job so far at creating positive change. However, they are only working in 2 of the 10 regions (provinces/states) of the country. We are focusing on one of the existing regions to further the reach of the current, “hub,” programs to surrounding rural communities. Given their strong foundation, we will be able to make a more sustainable impact than in Liberia, where all that we would have done would have been new and exciting, yet perhaps not as acceptable to the post-conflict culture. (P.S. keep praying for Liberia, it’s bad.)

We will be working with existing club advisers and 4-H enterprise gardens to improve practices, develop the youth leadership components of the clubs, and reach out to the homes with improved home entrepreneurial projects. More of this to come...

“What you do is just build on what they have – that’s where the magic is.”

and

“If we see you as part of us, it is easier for us to get what you have.”

~Eric, Eastern Region Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Education Service, speaking about the standards used for teaching and working in schools in Ghana

I will leave you to pick through these quotes yourself, and I will use them to dig into the entire concept of our being here and what my year will actually look like!

Ghana is actually a hub for development organizations. As one of the more developed West African countries, the development work seems to have been paying off. With that said, Ghanaians are still incredibly excited to see us, invite us in, and have us help them. Recently, an agricultural extension director from another district actually seemed upset that none of us would be placed in her district. In my mind, development is a positive thing, but feeling as though you need it and actively seeking out an oboruni (“foreigner” in Twi) to help you is not something I would expect. Then again, Ghanaians do not have the sort of American pride I am accustomed to. So, it has been refreshing to feel so “desired.” Nonetheless, I need to keep humbling myself with the truth that I do not have all the answers, for many of them already lie in the mind of these wonderful people with whom I will work. All I must do is “shut up and listen” (another quote, this one from a Ted talk we watched during reflections last week).

Well, there has been some more exciting news with all of this training and preparation. We finally learned where we will be stationed!!!!!

I will be living in the small town of Oseim, located in the Eastern Region of Ghana. This town is about 40 minutes north of Koforidua, the capitol of the region and headquarters for 4-H Ghana. I am going to be working with a decently large and developed 4-H program in the Savior Junior High School, a 3-year school of about 250 students.

The most exciting piece of my entire time in Ghana so far is that I got to SEE my town and school already! Part of our training included a visit to a local program and “4-H meeting” and it just happened to be mine! We even chilled out at my host family home for an hour before the 4-H meeting as we waited for the downpour of rain to stop (something that prevents much from happening here).

I am really pumped. But still a little “bleh” overall – I am not sure what to feel. We have seen awesome things so far. Last week, when we arrived, we toured some cool areas in the capital city of Accra. Then we got to stay in a pretty nice hostel in Koforidua for training. Now we are in another town for agricultural training. Next week we get to do a 4-5 day “site visit” to gather data about our towns and move in. Then, after a few days reflection, we begin. We begin? Hmmm, what does that mean? I am still not sure, and I am still figuring out how to feel about it. Nonetheless, I am content with where I am and I am learning new things daily.

"Life is now, and so it shall continue to be as it goes on. I will continue to embrace it as it comes."

Akyire yƐbƐhyia (pronounced “eh-sheer-ey yeh-bey-shia”)!

See you later! 

(sorry for lack of photos - the internet is prohibiting that kind of data upload right now... hopefully soon!) 

Wait, we leave tomorrow?

WOHOOOOO I finally get to get on a plane and leave the country - TOMORROW!

While I have been learning a LOT about contentment over the past several weeks, I (and my entire team) am SO ready to get moving to West Africa and get on the ground in our villages. While I still don't know what village I will be working in, I know we will be in the "Eastern region" which is the area to the east and south of the giant lake Volta (largest man-made reservoir in the world). We will arrive on Sunday night after a flight to Amsterdam (and hopefully some "outside" time during our 7 hour layover there), then we have 2 days in the capital city (Accra) before moving to our region for cross-cultural training.

What has happened in the last week? Well... a lot. But it has been great. After a week of work and learning at the ECHO farm in Fort Myers, we had a nice day off on Saturday - so, being in Florida and all, we of course went to the beach.

Then we drove to Gainesville on Sunday - did you know I lived in Gainesville for 8.5 years? My mother worked at the University of Florida for those years between being born and (currently) residing in State College, PA. So to majority of my childhood occurred in that humid college town! It was weird being back under these circumstances, but nonetheless refreshing to visit my favorite childhood restaurant (Sonny's BBQ) and even SEE MY CHILDHOOD HOME (which is for sale if anyone is interested)!

The best BBQ restaurant ever. 

On Monday, we presented our agricultural lesson plans to some AEE faculty and PhD students at UF - in the same building my mom used to work in! Talk about deja-vu... it was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to meet with (or re-unite with) the outstanding faculty at UF. We also got great teaching tips to take with us to Ghana!

My mom's old building - where we spent Monday morning

Lesson practice!

It was fun to have some of the experts serve as students for activities... 

Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon we were occupied with preparations for and execution of a "leadership day" at the Boys and Girls Club. Again, I experienced some flashbacks, as I had spent some of my summers at this exact club (not very fond memories, mind you) in NW Gainesville. However, we got some good "facilitation" experience with the group of about 30 kids, ages 10-14. While they went a little crazy and were hard to handle and several of us left very frustrated, I was pleased to get the chance to interact with them and love on them, as several of those youths come from low SES or struggling backgrounds. Also, working as a counselor for the YMCA day camp for 4 years probably left me with a greater patience level for these kids...

Tuesday night was a lovely evening with some great people - Lisa Heinert is a member of the AgriCorps board, and her husband, Seth, is a UF AEE PhD student. Their adorable 4-month old son, David, has been of great stress relief and comfort to us (they were present at the training in East Texas a few weeks ago), so I am glad I got to spend some time with all of them at dinner on Tuesday.

David is not angry - he just has the funniest facial expressions of any baby I have ever seen... he seems so mature in how he looks at the world! 

Wednesday morning we had some medical and safety training from a former Peace Corps medical officer (who happened to work in Ghana) before hitting the road! After 8 hours of driving, we arrived in our slightly planned mid-point overnight spot - New Orleans. It was a first time visit for 6 of us, so we wanted to be sure to see the city. It was quite an interesting night - there are very interesting folk in New Orleans, and Bourbon street is a fun place! Nonetheless, we got to unwind a bit after some crazy transitions. Then, on the road again to arrive in Dallas last night!

Melissa and Dustin were in as much need of a night off as I was! Note: Courtney in the background :) 

Twilight view of Bourbon Street, New Orleans!

While I love this group of people dearly, I needed some "away" time after 21 straight days in this group - and thankfully I get to see a friend tonight. She is living and working in Fort Worth and she is going to take me touring around Dallas tonight!

I am definitely ready to get on that plane tomorrow... but I am so thankful for the last several weeks of crazy travel, learning, and fun! It almost doesn't feel like we are leaving tomorrow - I have been so content just 'being' that it hasn't become a reality in my mind that we will be in a village, teaching, within the next few weeks... This year of service is not at all what I've expected it to be so far, but it has nonetheless been a great time for personal growth and new experiences - even if we still are in the U.S.

Let's just say that the inaugural group of AgriCorps will most likely never, ever be duplicated in their experiences...

With love from Dallas!!

Pondiferous moments

Pondiferous: (adj) to ponder, mull over, consider, or discuss; usually of deep philosophical context (but does not have to be)
(Word credit: Courtney Angel, 2014 AgriCorps member)

Today would have marked a week of being in Liberia... but we are not in Liberia. We are in Florida (similar climate, severely different culture).

Today also marks 2 weeks of being with my AgriCorps team: learning, traveling, laughing, dancing, living. I have learned much over the past 2 weeks: whether it is learning about the lives of those who I am with, how to cope in unique situations, about tropical agriculture, how to make a trellis, or simply learning how to be content... we'll ponder contentment a little later.

So here I am in a lovely guest house on the ECHO Global Farm property in Fort Myers, Florida. After 2 full days of driving from Dallas, we arrived on Sunday evening to two spacious guest houses with full kitchens - lots of space to spread out (we all got our own rooms after being squished in an apartment and hotel rooms for 4 nights!). We definitely needed some decompression time, but then we got to jump right in to a week full of learning and fruitful labor! While here at the farm, we've been able to attend a daily seminar/lecture about some aspect of global agriculture/travel. Topics have included: nutrition, problems in tropical ag development, cultural immersion, underutilized crops, appropriate technology, and a few more. Our composition note books are filling up with lots of useful information.

Appropriate Technology talk - these are Rocket Stoves!

A rice hull cooker - super hot and efficient

Carpet gardens - using wicking technology in an "urban" setting

In addition to great talks, we got to work with the ECHO interns around the farm over the past several days. On Tuesday, I was given a machete (yes, I have been waiting a while for this, please see former machete post) and asked to take down some past-production banana stalks. Talk about using built-up energy! After chopping apart 2 full grown stalks, we helped sort seeds in the seed bank before lunch... I have a new found respect for white sesame seeds. Wednesday's labor included building a trellis from bamboo stalks - Leah and I may have struggled a bit, but we eventually got one up! Then yesterday was "farm day" where all the interns and some employees break out to do weekly farm tasks - Cassella and I worked with an intern and volunteer to move over 100 cinder blocks from one location to another to disassemble and set up shade garden tables... talk about full body pain... it was good hard work!

Everyone got to partake in the sesame seed sorting due to the thunderstorms :)

Fenangling a trellis together with Leah for Loofah plans!

The final product! Please do not lean, climb, or blow on the trellis. 

Other than the pain that can ensue from literally carrying around a ton of bricks, we have been having a great time so far. Today is a work day to catch up on our "assignment" of developing 3 full lesson plans (each) of relevant content for west Africa - a great thing to have to do when in walking distance of one of the best tropical agriculture libraries in the U.S.!! While I do have some lesson planning experience, this will be a good refresher and means of learning a bit more about the agriculture I will have to experience.

Tomorrow will be a good "down" day - we're going to a local beach for the day :) Maybe get to see a nice Florida sunset like this one I caught on our way down here...

THEN, on Sunday, we will be traveling up to my ex-hometown, Gainesville!!!

We will be working further on our ag education background and teaching experiences by teaching one of our lessons to some Ag Ed faculty and PhD students at the University of Florida! I am excited to see Gainesville again, as I haven't been there in over 10 years, and I am super excited to tap into the great AEE resources at UF!

On Wednesday and Thursday we will travel back to Texas to prepare for our DEPARTURE TO GHANA!!! Yes, we are leaving next weekend - we will fly out of Dallas on Saturday, August 16 with just one layover in Amsterdam before arriving in the capital city of Accra!

Now for some reflective and pondiferous writings...

Has it sunk in that we will be in Ghana in 9 days? No, not really... but that probably has something to do with all the craziness over the past 9 days. Just 9 days ago, we were expecting to be leaving shortly for Liberia. Meanwhile, the whole world is freaking out about Ebola virus - something that was still not of concern to us due to our non-affiliation with medical places. However, I was feeling pressure from my family and friends about the situation and their discomfort of us going (and my team mates also felt said pressure). I was torn for several days - trust our AgriCorps leadership with wise decisions (which were still pointing to Liberia) or avoid the uncomfortable situation of causing constant anxiety for my family... thankfully I didn't have to choose between the two, and thus began the crazy change in plans/places. Let's keep this organized:

• Morning of Tuesday, July 29 - we still thought we were leaving for Liberia on Thursday
• Evening of Tuesday, July 29 - we were told departure was delayed 2 weeks to assess Ebola situation
• Evening of Thursday, July 31 - we were told we were going to Ghana instead of Liberia
• Thursday and Friday nights - all of us share a 1 person apartment (with sufficient floor space) before roadtripping 
• Morning of Friday, August 1 - we were told we leave the following day to drive to Florida for a week at the ECHO farm
• Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3 - drive to Fort Myers, Florida with a stop in Mobile, Alabama
• Monday to Wednesday, August 4-6 - work at ECHO farm with no knowledge of the following week's plan
• Wednesday, August 6 - we were told our plans for the following week: Gainesville, drive home, fly out Saturday the 16th 
• TODAY, Friday, August 8 - I think we now know how its going to look... at least until we get to Ghana... 

As you might imagine, all of these changes, transitions, and places of residence could easily frustrate and irritate our team... however, I feel blessed to be in a group that is so flexible and mature at handling the situation. I personally have been learning more and more about what it means to be content. 

No, I don't picture myself in Ghana in less than 2 weeks. Yes, I am enjoying where I am right now. Yes, I get frustrated at times, but it passes quickly. Yes, I am living in contentment. 

Paul sums it up pretty well in this letter of his to the Philippians: "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

But to place that verse in context, I will leave you with the whole passage - one that reflects the struggles that will continue over the next year... and ending in the verse that will hopefully find true meaning in my life in Ghana.

[Philippians 4:10-13]

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Just as an added bonus, here are a few shots from a hiking path I found this morning at a local nature preserve.

Until next week (or until something drastically changes again) - I'm signing off for a nice relaxing day at a Florida beach :) 

An update on that first, unexpected post!

"It's Ghana be a great year!"
~Trent McKnight, AgriCorps Founder

If you're a pun-lover, you may catch up on the irony and informative nature of this sentence... yep, we will be going to GHANA!

Due to the severe and growing concern of Ebola in Liberia right now, we will be re-assigned to work with 4-H Ghana for the coming year! There still remains much to plan/organize/discover, but we are so excited to still be going to West Africa - even if we are upset it is not to Liberia.

Ghana is several countries removed from the Ebola situation and currently has prevalence of the disease. While there still remain the typical concerns of traveling to a developing country in West Africa, we feel prepared and motivated to learn all about the country and its agriculture in preparation for departure.

So when is departure? We are hoping to leave within 2-3 weeks from Texas.
But before we do that, we are driving to Fort Myers, Florida this weekend for a full week of volunteer training at the ECHO international tropical ag farm!!! I'm really excited, as I've always wanted to go there!
What comes after that? I'm not quite sure, but I know it will be great...

I am glad that we don't have to go home, considering we have all prepared our hearts and minds to leave home and go abroad. I think it would just be too confusing and difficult a transition to go home for a few weeks... and I love this group of people, so I am excited to continue spending life with them!

Okay, that's enough blogging for one week. I'll keep you in the loop!!

Keep West Africa in your prayers! Ebola is a dangerous evil that seems to be out of control and ruthlessly claiming several lives - we should pray for patience, peace, healing, and a cure.

Not what I was expecting for a first blog post.

Well, there has been some changes in my life plans over the past several days. But let me first give you an introduction into this next chapter of my Ag Ed/global experiences life.

I am currently serving as a member of the AgriCorps for the 2014-2015 year. Me and my six teammates have been selected to serve in Liberia, Africa for the next year by teaching agriculture, managing a school garden, and facilitating a youth leadership club (4-H) to build life and livelihood skills of post-conflict Liberian youth. There exist many problems in Liberia that call for agricultural development attention, and specifically focusing on youth is seen as having great potential due to their current lack of interest in agriculture and farming. AgriCorps' mission is to use the U.S. 3 circle model of agricultural education as a model for development. This is the first full year of AgriCorps work in a developing country, but the program has been developing for several years. You can learn more about it here.

I have been anticipating this exciting new chapter in my life for some for some time now, especially since it encompasses my heart for the nations, my love for agricultural education, and the new edge the program has in the development field. I accepted the offer to serve as an AgriCorps member back in April and was looking forward to this first "job" since then. I am currently in Texas, where is have been for the past week with my new team, engaging in training about ag education, leadership, 4-H, and more. We have sincerely enjoyed our time together, even though we will be in separate villages in Liberia.

With all of that said, I will share that we will NOT be leaving the U.S. tomorrow, as was planned for months. The organization leadership has decided to delay departure to assess the current situation in West Africa and determine what the most appropriate and safe next steps will be. Why are we delaying departure? Well, I am not sure if the world outside our no-internet training site has been as informed as a few of my close family members, but there is currently a medical epidemic making its way through serval west African countries. Starting in Guinea, the Ebola virus has spread into Liberia via Sierra Leone. Several cases have developed in Bong county, where we will be located. While Ebola virus is very deadly (60-90% fatality rate), it is only transferred via bodily fluids from persons showing symptoms (which could appear from 2-22 days after exposure due to an incubation period). Therefore, almost all cases have been recorded in medical clinics and care providing locations. Obviously, medical workers have the most risk of transmission, whereas normal travelers and citizens have almost no likelihood of transmission. You can find more information about it here.

While I was previously not concerned about this virus when it was first suspected in Liberia earlier this year, I still do not believe we would be at risk were we to leave tomorrow. I also believe that the preperation for this experience and it's expected impacts are significantly high to simply call off the year. However, in attempt to be logical and wise in reaction to situations of the world, I do recognize that the trip would not be worth risking one of our lives if we knowingly go into a dangerous environment. There are other ways to serve in development, other opportunities to make a difference, and other countries that need invested in. Regardless, there still exist a lot of rapid and dramatic reactions to the situation that, frankly, have been sparked by the diagnosis of an American doctor in Liberia. While this man, who is still alive, is certainly a human that has a connection to U.S. Citizens, my heart still goes out to the over 700 individuals who have thus far died from the diseas in West Africa. They all have homes and families whose needs will further increase in this time of difficulty. My heart calls me to serve and love people in the suffering and unjust regions of the world, and since my decision to go to Liberia with AgriCorps, it seems that this passion is all the more necessary for action.

While I was upset about the decision to not continue with our exciting plans and be in Liberia by Friday, I am relieved that there will be more time for processing and appropriate decision making... And even though I would not have minded being in Liberia, knowing how to avoid the virus, I know that my heart would be heavy with the weight of concerns of my loved ones back home in the U.S.

So here I sit in a coffee shop in east Texas, waiting to see where The Lord will take us... Knowing that my desire to GO will not fade and that my heart was fully prepared to leave the county tomorrow, I believe that an awesomd experience will come from this year. Our leadership has promised that we would not be placed in harm's way and that we would experience a beneficial year of agricultural education development work. I firmly believe this, even if we may eventually go to another country to perform our duties.

For now, I am thankful for the blessings of my wonderful new "family" of fellow AgriCorps members... Whether singing 4-H songs, learning about the agricultural education model, sharing personal stories and reflections, or golf carting around the farm we are staying, it has been a wonderful week with a team who is dedicated to a positive attitude and a shared passion for the world and it's needs. We are AgriCorps.

My lovely new AgriCorps family!! From left to right: Melissa, me, Dustin, Leah, Courtney, John, and Cassella