Participant Blogs

With boxes and boxes of hundreds of Spanish bibles being released to the masses in the space of 1 week, the question remains as to where to distribute them most effectively. And so it is here in Chiclayo, Peru that the word of God is literally being dropped into the hands of school children, youth, teachers, medical professionals and adult passerby’s. What an amazing mission! 

Greetings friends and family from Panajachel Guatemala! We have begun our next ministry stage in a new country, and although we have only been here a couple of days, Guatemala is one cool place! Lake Atitlan on which Panajachel lies, is surrounded by beautiful mountains and even a couple of volcanoes, waiting to be explored I might add! I am so excited for what God has in store for me and working through me here in Guatemala, and I’m looking forward to learning and growing in all areas of my faith through different teachings from the local pastor, working projects and building team relationships. We shall be working in smaller groups on different projects in the area, with the intention to rebuild /fix / relocate a number of homes that have been affected by recent mudslides, which are very regular occurrences in this area.

Reflecting on the last month it is with great joy that I wrote this blog and share about my time and experiences in Peru!

On Sunday 6^th March the Southbound team departed South Africa for Brazil, via Doha. We are currently in the humid city of Ubatuba, working under the ministry and guidance of Agape Church Ministries. Although we have been invited to stay here till the end of March, we are awaiting further instruction from ‘On High’ in regards to a ministry opportunity in Natal, Northern Brazil.

John 14: 12-14- ‘I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things then these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’

The past month I have been traversing round the great land of the east and I have thoroughly enjoyed the culture, the challenges with the language (become quite good at the art of charades I might add!), and the beautiful countryside. Although it has been a very challenging leg of our journey in terms of team dynamics, I have learnt a lot and grown through these situations, both personally and in my faith with the Lord.

Colombia: the land of arepa’s and mazena, rain and mountains, Guerillas and missionaries, drugs and fresh fruit. A country of diversity, violence and disturbances where Christ is worshipped as one who is still on the cross. 95% of the Colombian population is Catholic, with only a small percentage of Christians. While there are a number of Christian groups that work within Columbia, it was our privilege to spend time with New Tribes Missions, who do an amazing job working with local tribes and translating the bible into their own language. We worked at a previous NTM training ground in Fusacasuga, about 1-2 hours north of Bogota, which is now a camp for school groups and church groups to use. Our ministry was to help the maintenance team with work projects around the camp. Our mission was to complete them in 2 weeks. Our inspiration was Christ! What an amazing privilege!    

Hola friends and family! Greetings from Columbia!

Our team is currently helping with maintenance work at a New Tribes Mission camp in Fusagasuga, just over an hour from the capital of Bogotá. We have been here a week now and although the work has been physically tough and demanding, I have loved every minute of it! God has really blessed our teamin providing  this opportunity to be a part of the ministry here. We finish up in Columbia in just over a week and are prayerfully considering how to get down to Peru for our next ministry service place, where we will stay for the  month of May.

What do you think of when I say ‘Luke 10?’

You may say ‘Jesus sending out his disciples two by two; they were sent into the harvest field because the harvest is ripe but the workers are few; so that all men might be saved…’ or something along those lines. Through different teachings and preparing for such a journey we undertook a few weeks ago, we also learnt some very important things: the characteristics of a man of peace; the characteristics of the person going; and the overall purpose of Luke 10 being for kingdom building of those who are willing to go; a time of learning and growth, with many risks involved; and to demonstrate a compassion for the lost so that all men might be saved.

For silver team, our Luke 10 journey started with the scripture God gave me in The Philippines one Sunday at church in July - Acts 9 (which is detailed in my previous blog). After an amazing 2 weeks in Thailand of prayer, seeking the Lord, receiving different teachings on Luke 10, and through scriptures and prayer confirmations, we were told to go ‘fetch our donkey’ in Siem Reap Cambodia, just as the disciples were told to go fetch their donkey in Matt 21: 1-17 for the Lord. Although what Jesus asked them to do didn’t make sense to them at all, it was done in such a way so Jesus could enter Jerusalem and destroy the image that the Pharisees had made Him out to be. Jesus had His Father’s heart in mind for everything, and if all God asked of the silver team was to fetch our ‘donkey’ on Luke 10, then we were to obey and honour Him in that request, even if we didn’t understand the reasoning or purpose behind it initially.

Hi there folks- so this is my first blog and I thought I would introduce myself! Most people call me Ez, and I am from Melbourne Australia. I am 24, love God, music, travelling and doing anything outdoors, especially hiking!

Maayong Buntag everyone…or aayong hapon / gabii depending on the time of day you are reading this blog! We have just returned from working with Church of God Arise children’s camp on Olango Island in the Vasayas region of the Philippines, on one of 7000+ islands here. The Philippino people are really lovely and we have enjoyed getting to know their cultural traits and being a part of their lives the past 8 days.