EarthVision

Washington, D.C. the Student Conservation Association's 50th Anniversary
I am at a 3 day conference on conservation and the future of the environment. I have been doing a lot of talking and networking with some very exciting people. Here is a taste of what has been happening; I had conversations with several influential leaders in the Park service, networked with an editor from Backpacker Magazine and the President of the SCA about trail protection and the size of the organizations that are working for them, met several leaders in the green park design field, I met a woman who is campaigning for a pumps to parks initiative creating abandoned gas stations into green spaces, I met a good friend of one of my mentors and discussed community gardening, heard a keynote address by a motivational newscaster, heard several professors talk about climate change. Basically I have heard a lot of good things and met some neat people, an had some good conversations. If you are concerned about our future and the state of the environment have faith you are not alone. Talk to someone, talk to me, or even write down your thoughts. I have found some books to check out, Organizing social change, Radical Simplicity, Bury the Chains, as well as a few websites to check out The Sundance Channel, Dartmouth dining and sustainability, live-the-solution.com. And the list goes on. It has been great. I have recently realized how much I enjoy talking to people and sharing ideas, it is amazing how small ideas can blow up. I am going to sign off for now. Look for more soon.

First run

I am nearing the end of my college career. As I wrap up my schoolwork (and start my english class) I look to the future. I have been accepted by the Mission Personnel Office of the Episcopal church as a Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) volunteer. I will spend a year overseas in service, struggling to understand new cultures, learn from new people, and build relationships in God's love.

This week I have started my concerted fund raising efforts. It is a daunting task but God always seems to come through. In a recent conversation I was reminded that God is a God of abundance, we should not worry about the money it will come when it is ready.

Lately I have become extremely interested in sustainability and even more recently gardening or urban agriculture. I have always had an affinity to digging holes and this has manifested itself in new and wonderful ways. In high school I got to work with a paleontology club digging up bones in the desert. Multiple service projects and mission trips have offered a multitude of opportunities. Over the years our church camp has had a mudpit that the willing have dug for the masses. Most recently I have had the opportunity to help work the gardens at St. Thomas Episcopal church and Fr. Bill's house. Looking back now it seems to me that God has been grooming me to dig holes for years I just never realized it until now.

We have not gotten an official confirmation yet but word on the street is that I will be working with a large sustainable organic teaching farm called ARI located in Japan. ARI brings leaders from third world communities in for 6 months to a year and teaches them how to make sustainable agriculture work in their areas. When they leave they have a strong knowledge base, resources, and understanding to go home and spread the knowledge. ARI is an ecumenical community that has hosted 2 YASC volunteers in the past.

Going into this program I had thought that I would be placed in South America or Africa doing eco tourism or digging wells, but during my interview we started talking about Japan. Now I don't know about you but that was not the first thing I thought of when I thought of mission. But the more I found out about the program and thought about it I realized that it was the perfect fit. Today I am excited about the prospect and what God has in store for me. I hope you will join me in my mission through prayer and encouragement. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts.