Good November morning everyone!

Good November morning everyone!

Here's a quick update for today, a better one with GREAT NEWS coming later tonight-

I have been occupying my time by learning all I can to be a better asset to the world of relief work.  I am studying Health Sciences in Kaplan University Online (thank God for online classes for those of us who fear being on one campus for four years).  This is something that I felt told to do one really devastating day in Haiti last summer when I saw the tragedies that result when simple access to healthcare is not available.  I had an angry discussion with God that went something like "Why would you make me care so much and then not tell me where to go with it?"  Turns out, sometimes we just have to ask to get the answer.  So, I absolutely love my classes and cannot wait to apply everything in the real world.  

A few days a week I spend at E.C.H.O. (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) learning about agriculture, otherwise known as "playing in the dirt".  ECHO is a 40-acre farm divided into sections that represent different ecosystems of the world.  The only place I know of in Fort Myers, Florida where its possible to plant Bok Choy in Asia, terrace crops in Honduras and harvest sweet potatoes growing in urban roof-top gardens (no soil experiments to make plants grow using rubber car tires full of Coca-Cola cans)   There is so much to learn.  Pretty interesting people seem to conjugate there.  Every time I go I'm always surprised by new, simple and practical innovations to feed the hungry.

The point is that I do this stuff because I love it; an explanation that's frequently met with crinkled noses and confused looks followed by more questions.  But, I can't think of any other reason!  I did not have a specific mission in mind, just a desire to be prepared, to keep eyes open, my heart listening.  I felt like I was getting ready for something, I just didn't know what yet...but at any rate, what could all this hurt?  So, I'm making the most of it, enjoying every minute!
~Stephanie