The final days of Ghana Discovery 2010
Tuesday August 3rd: In the morning, the leaders will conduct their final feedback session and then the team will split up into their home culture groups in order to focus on preparing for their re-entry process. The Ghanaian participants will go out to lunch at a place that closely reflects their usual lunch out experience as students; they will talk about what it feels like to be separated from their ex-pat friends as well as how they feel about the discovery program and re-entering their various situations. They will also have some "fun" choosing some type of activity that is typical to how they usually have fun together with their friends. Meanwhile, the Ex-pats will be taken out to lunch at a Western style take out place (something they have not experienced since the trip began), and discuss together how they are feeling about the experience. After that, they will be culture stressed as they are taken to a luxury hotel to spend time swimming and journaling about what they are feeling and thinking. John will also guide them through some discussions about re-entry and reverse culture stress; the idea behind all of this is to give them an opportunity to experience some of that while they are still together and can learn some skills to help them when they are begin encountering it on their own.
The team will reunite in the evening, (we have found that separating them for a few hours and then bringing them back together again before the final good-bye seems to make the departures less traumatic the following day.) Then they will host a dinner party for as many of the Ghanaian alumni from previous discovery trips who are able to come and participate. The alumni are always excited to meet the new Discoverers and hear how the people in the project sites they were assigned to are currently doing. This year the new Director will address the group, as well as a couple of other Ghanaian members of GILLBT, something we are very excited about!
Wednesday August 4th - After one final devotional time together, the team will have the day to finish packing up for their coming departures and to hang out together; those who are ready to depart will have the option of going exploring wherever they desire in Accra together. The Ghanaian participants will leave at different times throughout the day, with the ex-pats scheduled to fly out in the evening; many of the Ghanaians will try to hang around long enough for a last lunch out together as a team...but most will have departed before the ex-pats head to the airport. After John sees the ex-pats off, I can predict he will return to the guest house and go to bed before 9 pm!
Thursday August 5th- The three leaders will spend the day debriefing the debrief :-) and writing up notes so we can make necessary changes for the next trip. Often, the Ghanaian leaders will want to leave in the afternoon to return to their homes....and John will head to bed even earlier then the night before.
Friday August 6th- Monday August 9th- This is the time we slotted for John to have some R&R before beginning his activities for the Well. During this time he will be joined by our son Jordan, who will arrive on the 6th from S Korea, where he has been teaching English to school children for a little over 4 years. Jordan is moving to Ghana to begin a his graduate studies at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, mission and culture. John is looking forward to this time with Jordan as well as the opportunity to visit the campus, which is located about an hour outside of Accra. We are so thankful for how God worked this out for them to be together during this window of time we had scheduled months previously!
And that will take us up to John's time with the Well....more info about that in our next blog update! Thanks so much for your prayers throughout the Discovery trip; we would appreciate your continued prayers as John seeks to refresh and recharge before beginning 10 days of traveling and visiting various churches and pastors for The Well.
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