Spirit of giving a family trait

Teaching youth in Morocco. Helping prevent child abuse in Costa Mesa. Establishing fish farms in Zambia. A lovely summer wedding at a Temecula golf resort.

Though seemingly disparate, these are all activities of the Ferber family from Encinitas.

Aaron Ferber, 33, married Ashley Lund at Temecula Creek Inn on Aug. 30. His sister, Samantha, 26, and brother, Jesse, 29, arrived a few days before from their Peace Corps assignments in Morocco and Zambia, respectively. Aaron, a graphic designer at an architectural firm, works with The Kids Table, a component of Costa Mesa’s nonprofit Raise Foundation, which provides basic needs to help families avoid abuse.

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"It was a fabulous, beautiful wedding," said Andrea Ferber, mother of the three siblings. "It was in the Stone House, built in the late 1880s for miners to cool off. It wasn’t as hot as we worried about. It was all shaded, under huge oak trees."

Aaron’s wife, Ashley, shares the spirit of contributing to the community. When family friends in her home state of Washington lost their home in July to the fires there, Ashley and her sisters quickly started a

gofundme.com fundraiser to help them rebuild.

"She is a very strong go-getter," Andrea said. "Ashley was part of the family immediately. Samantha and Jesse said she’s the sister they never had. We all felt she was the missing piece of the puzzle."

With Samantha and Jesse returning home for the wedding, all the puzzle pieces were in one place, which delighted the whole family.

Jesse hadn’t been back to Encinitas in seven months, three of those devoted to Peace Corps training. A Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) volunteer in Zambia, he lives in a mud hut without running water or electricity. The goals of RAP volunteers include improving rural livelihoods through fish farming.

Jesse was happy to be home, but experienced a bit of culture shock.

"I was looking forward to spending time with family," Jesse said. "My grandparents are getting a little older, so it’s good for me to see them. The hardest thing is the fast pace of activities here. I’m very used to having my daily routine: Wake up, walk to the well, cook breakfast, visit with farmers and do work for the day. It’s a nice, long, hardworking day."

Samantha also admitted feeling culture shock, as one of 10 bridesmaids in a wedding with around 160 attendees at Temecula Creek Inn. After training for the Peace Corps in January, she was assigned to Morocco, where she teaches art, exercise and English at a youth center.

"The culture is very hospitable," Samantha said. "My first host family took me in and called me their daughter, even though I didn’t know their language. I work for different camps all around Morocco. The kids are eager to learn. It’s been enjoyable, especially learning about the culture. I’m really loving it."

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