Heifer Training Weekend

I flew out to San Jose early on Friday morning for the first West Coast Heifer University for Area Volunteer Coordinators. All of the current & future volunteer coordinators from both the NW & the SW regions gathered for a weekend retreat at the Raindance Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains. From Seattle, we had myself & my dear friends Lisa, Erik, Carla & even baby Lars! It was a great weekend of discussing, brainstorming, learning & listening. I got the chance to reconnect with some of the people I traveled to Honduras with, as well as the joy of meeting some wonderful new people. My work with Heifer certainly adds many dimensions to my life, not the least of which is the variety of incredible people I meet & form connections with.

It was an interesting discovery for me to find out that on the West Coast, our Seattle volunteer group is the model. This gave me mixed feelings, as I was immensly proud, but also a little uneasy as I generally feel rather unorganized & worried that I don't have the time to provide my volunteers with what they need.

My highlights from the weekend were:
--meeting & hearing Heifer's history from Jan West, the daughter of Heifer International's founder
--learning about the incredible work that Heifer is doing in sub-Saharan Africa in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic
--having a break-out session with my Seattle group & setting some great goals for the future of our volunteer group
--running trails through the sunlit Redwoods at the retreat center

This weekend served as further confirmation that this is the organization I want to work for. Please pray for this to happen for me!

Relax time on the deck of my cabin.

The view from where I am laying in the previous photo.

Carla & happy Lars.

My Heifer "boss", Isaak.

Adam providing a little music.

Lisa & I enjoying Saturday evening's wine.

Taking notes during a break-out session.

Jan West, Carla, & Lars.

The moon through the trees on my trail run.

Sunlit redwoods along the trail.