{"id":2677,"date":"2024-04-12T11:38:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T11:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana\/?p=2677"},"modified":"2024-09-24T00:35:10","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T00:35:10","slug":"stretching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/2024\/04\/12\/stretching\/","title":{"rendered":"Stretching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We get stretched.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes it is with anticipation, excitement, and willingness.\u00a0\u00a0At other times, a soft prelude of anxiety plays in the morning before dawn — the stretching is coming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday morning, we left our oversized luggage garden and began the trek to Northwest Ghana. Our friend Laurie picked us up at the airport and provided a spare bedroom.\u00a0\u00a0We know the accommodations and hospitality well, and take the opportunity to clean up, nap, and sort through the nine assorted bags of gear and gifts.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hard work begins tomorrow, but we took a break to drop off some of our supplies and meet up with staff at the Philip Centre.  The normally locked gates were flung open in anticipation.  Bright Ghanian voices rang out immediately upon our arrival.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re Welcome!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaming smiles, sweaty hugs, and laughter suddenly teleported thoughts lingering in the suburbs of Chicago to the soul of West Africa \u2013 people.  Even for frequent travelers, it is all too easy to be distracted by scarcity and see razor wire, unpaved roads, and open sewage in gutters. But abundance is everywhere \u2013 love, joy, and peace welcome us. I consider the abundance my heart pursues. Can I be stretched?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The colorful new banners mounted on the walls at the Philip Centre are splendid!  Before long, the staff shows off the new studio, where music, videos, and podcasts are being recorded.  The work here is more vibrant than the colors of Africa \u2013 full of enthusiasm and compassion. Wow.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This morning we fly to Wa<\/a>, a city in the Northwest corner of Ghana. Ray has spent the last two days driving the old truck north from Accra to meet us.\u00a0\u00a0The rough roads have exhausted him.\u00a0\u00a0When we arrive, I will take the wheel for the remainder of the trip and give Ray a break.\u00a0\u00a0The entire journey will stretch us \u2013 physically, spiritually, and mentally.\u00a0\u00a0The 2000km path will traverse through some of the harshest bush in Ghana. A heat wave is approaching.\u00a0\u00a0Temperatures will often be well over 100F, and the rains are threatening to arrive.\u00a0\u00a0The prelude has faded.\u00a0\u00a0The stretching has arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We get stretched.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes it is with anticipation, excitement, and willingness.\u00a0\u00a0At other times, a soft prelude of anxiety plays in the morning before dawn — the stretching is coming.\u00a0\u00a0 Wednesday morning, we left our oversized luggage garden and began the trek to Northwest Ghana. Our friend Laurie picked us up at the airport and provided a … Continue reading Stretching<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-19"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2677"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2904,"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions\/2904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leopardshark.com\/ghana-trips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}