Dear friends,

My name is Will Farrell. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church. Last year I graduated from the College of Wooster with a BA in Cultural Anthropology.

Being part of a multi-racial family has allowed me to embrace the richness of diversity. I have always been keen to meet people and hear about their life stories. Recently I have made a life changing decision to serve as a Young Adult Volunteer.

I first heard about the Young Adult Volunteer when I lived in Lima, Peru with my family. My parents hosted a group of five “YAVs” the same year that I completed my high school career. At the time, I knew a very general amount about where each volunteer was living and what kind of work they were involved in. However, if you were to tell me that I would be embarking on a journey of my own in five-years time, I would have said: “Yeah right”. And yet, here I am getting ready for a year of volunteer work in Kenya with the Presbyterian Church USA’s Young Adults Volunteer program.

After interviewing with one of the program coordinators and sharing my newly found interest in agriculture and the environment, I was selected to be part of a group of five volunteers that will work in Kenya. Each volunteer is placed in a certain area of Kenya depending on the organization they will be working with. I have been placed at the Victoria Institute for Research on Environment and Development located in Kisumu, Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria

There are a lot of ways to describe how I feel about this year abroad. There is a part of me that cant wait to step onto that airplane and begin my year in Kenya. And then there is another part of me that is hesitant and aware that when it comes down to it, I have no idea what this year has in store for me.

This year’s experience is going to be life-changing for me. It will involve living outside my comfort zone and focusing on the needs of others. It will have both the good and the more challenging. Yet, I am confident that all the YAVs this year will plant seeds of friendship, make paths of peace, and open themselves to receive God’s word through the people they meet wherever they go.