Road Jes Traveled

In the fall of 2016, shortly after announcing that I would be leaving for the World Race, I was at my weekly Rotary meeting at the Waikiki Yacht Club. I remember this night because of instead of sitting with my usual gang of Nicole, Rich, & Paul, I sat next to James Ham. I got to tell him some of my story and about the race. When I listed my route to him he told me that he had a contact in Ghana. He knew a doctor there who worked in a hospital that our Rotary club helped fund in some way, he sent an introductory email right then and there and that's where months of correspondence with Dr. Gavin Apio began. I had no idea at the time how big of an impact this would play in the months to come. As many of you know, our time in Ghana was extended. Instead of spending month 6 in Burkina Faso, we spent both months 5 and 6 in Ghana. Our last two weeks in Ghana were classified as "ATL" which stands for "Ask The Lord". This means we were not assigned a specific loc...

"Currently sitting on a blue plastic chair under a mango tree. Heat index is 101. Humidity is over 80%. Every part of my body is dirty. Every part of it is moist with sweat. I'm used to my own smell and the smell of my team by now. Every 5 seconds I am killing an ant on me or swatting a fly away. I can't keep the dirt off of my feet even with shoes on. Even a shower isn't worth looking forward to. When you replace a shower head with only a bucket of water you don't ever feel fully clean. And the second you are done you begin sweating again. And with our $4 per day food budget and lack of options at any "grocery store" or market, the term "meal" is used loosely and I don't imagine feeling full anytime soon. Even sleep is tough to feel excited about. The 7 of us lay on the floor next to each other like sardines packed together in a room with one fan and a tin roof. The Islamic music, chickens, roosters, and children form a soundtrack that...