ECHO Training in Florida!

 Hello Everyone!

So this week I flew to Ft. Myers Florida for an ECHO workshop required as part of my preparations for Gabon. ECHO is a global farm, whose goal is  "Honoring God through Sustainable Hunger Solutions." For the past 30 years ECHO has been developing practical solutions to the planting, feeding, watering and storing of agriculture in order to provide sustainable solutions to hunger in impoverished countries. 

How does this apply to medicine you might ask? 

I asked that question myself, here's what I'm discovering so far: it's one thing to cure someone's illness, it's another to prevent illness before it starts. Many of the diseases faced in impoverished nations could be prevented by availability of clean water and balanced nutrition. 

Day 1 down, 4 more to go! I'm sure by the end of this week I will have a much more developed answer to that question, and I am excited to learn... 

Come learn with me! 

I'm going to post pictures and facts that I'm learning each day so you can be part of it too. 

A taste of pictures to come...

A new friend outside our classroom. (And no, I'm not posting a picture of the snake! =)

So yes, SNAKE. You heard right. A lot of you know I have a snake phobia that I've been working through the past couple years, because I feel like that's a lame reason not to follow God's call.
I've come a long way from reflexively throwing the encyclopedia across the room every time I hit the "S" section, but I'm still not a fan.

So I spent a month in Swaziland, Africa and a couple weeks in Gabon, Africa and NEVER saw one snake.

I come to to Florida and see one in the 1st hour!

My Dad laughing asks me, "What do you think this means Amanda?"

"Well God obviously isn't calling me to Florida!"

In all seriousness it is a good reminder that's it's not about where we are in the world, but who is always with us. Africa or America, I am going to see a snake when God allows me to see a snake, black mamba and all...He's with me.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOl4vwhwkW8&feature=youtu.be

We learned about these solar bottle lights today and saw one in action in a shelter on the farm.

It's pretty ingenious! Check out the youtube link to see it in action.

I really was pretty clueless before starting class today what the ECHO farm is all about.

For more information check out www.echonet.org

Love from Florida,

 ~Amanda

The Main Building with our classroom, library and bookstore.

Friends from Bongolo!

 

Keir and Joanna Thelander; Jack and Carolyn Ewig; Christopher Edman, myself; Bill and Marly Wilson 

In August we spent a wonderful evening together at the Ewig's farm in Dayton Ohio with Keir and Joanna Thelander, on furlough from Gabon! Joanna and Keir have served 5 years in Gabon with their two children Luke and Sarah. Keir is a surgeon and Program Director of PAACS at Bongolo. Dr. Bill and Dr. Jack are the two surgeons who were kind enough to let me tag along with them on their trip to Bongolo in March =) Bill and Jack have made an annual trip to Bongolo for the past several years, training the surgical residents and operating on cases of their specialties. Their wives, Carolyn and Marly have been very supportive in their role there. Christopher is exploring a possible future role filling existing needs for project management and/or I.T. support.

It was encouraging to get together over a meal and hear the updates of how God has been working in Bongolo and to begin planning future trips! It was a blessing to gather with friends who all share a common bond of serving the Lord in different ways at Bongolo Hospital! (See newly added slideshow for photos from our trip in March to Gabon...)