3rd Day

Hello to All!

Day 3 on the ECHO farm, and still learning =)

Did you know.....?

Male Papaya Tree

Papaya trees come in gender specific varieties. If you're going to plant papaya you will need at least 1 male for every 30 female, spaced about 10 ft apart in order to get a good amount of fruit.

"Amanda, how do I tell if it's a boy or girl tree? It's not like I can go around lifting up the tree's skirt."

And well, that's true. This male Papaya tree is distinctive because of it's plethera of light green blossoms which pollinate other Papaya trees. 

Did you know....?

mmm....Bananas.....and mulch?

Banana tress are actually a part of the grass family. This means that after they produce a batch of bananas, they are no longer fruitful. BUT, the stalk and leaves can be chopped down and used as mulch for other crops. Using a natural resource for natural mulch, to increase a farmer's crop, will increase nutrition in places where outside resources are thin.

Happy Roommates....

These guys are having a quack of a time being roommates with Tilapia of all things.

 

(The ducks stay in the top bunk)

Trendsetter

Their housing arrangements look something like this. The flooring allows their droppings to go straight into the pond. This fuels the algae growing, and the tilapia feed off the algae.

This eco-system is low maintenance, relatively clean and provides a supply of duck, eggs and tilapia either for sale to generate income, or for nutrition.

What of the dirty water you ask? Info on that tomorrow! 

A Neem Tree

 The Neem tree is good for shade, but the cool part is you can soak the leaves in water and spread them throughout your garden/crops as a natural insect repellent.

Vetiver Grass

This grass is helpful in keeping away the termites. Just watch out for snakes in the tall grass!

A classroom similar to that in a rural village

While we are learning lots of fun practical ideas out and about on the farm, the majority of our time is spent in the classroom, where agriculture and nutrition are just tools amidst a greater discussion at hand.

How do we convey the message of the Bible to people of a culture so different from our own?

What of our Christian lifestyle is Biblical, and what is just American tradition?

How do we convey important concepts such as clean water, sanitation and good nutrition to a people whose culture is spiritual, not science based? Is there evidence in the Bible to support these concepts?

How do we train the people of the country to be effective health care personnel?

The Nursing students and I in Gabon, visit in March.

These are the students whom I'll be walking alongside, teaching, guiding, discipling when I move to Gabon. 

Please pray for them, these 11 students, that God would even now be preparing them to effectively learn. Pray that their relationship with the Father would be deepening.

Pray for me as I seek the Lord in these concepts and questions, that God would instill HIS vision, to effectively teach and disciple the students and reach the people of Gabon, for His glory. 

Love from Florida, 

~Amanda

"that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." 

Eph 6:19-20.