Participant Blogs

I've recently been given the opportunity to enter the households of several Syrian refugees. This concept might seem frightening or uncomfortable to most, but some men and women actually travel from all across the world to come and play a part in this global crisis. I've even had the privilege of getting to know a few volunteers whom have commited themselves to serving these households on a more permanent base. For myself, however, it's been an encounter with the reality of the situation in the Middle East - and not just the pictures we watch on a screen from the...

Well, I guess some people will like to hear about our camel ride in the shadows of Giza's pyramids, or maybe something about what the Nile river looks like, but Egypt confronted me with something a little more significant. It came in the form of a question that was placed on my heart during our last couple of days, and it sounds something like this: When last has 'going to church ' been a decision of laying down your life in order to experience just a little bit more of Him? And when I say "laying down your life," I'm...

The time of sitting in teachings; receiving words of prophecy and encouragement; being sent out into the streets with no more than the clothes on our bodies and a heart full of faith; and being under the watchful eye of our leadership, has finally come to an end. A sort of abrupt one.    It's strange that you've been waiting for this moment for so long, and yet, on its arrival it still catches you a little off guard. Luckily the preparation process was thorough, which provides a sense of peace at the thought of heading into the unknown for the...

Have you ever wondered how olive oil is made? I suppose many of us have given it a fleeting thought, but I'm pretty sure that only a few have sought to fully comprehend this intricate process (don't worry, neither have I). Luckily this message will not be an extensive explanation thereof, but rather one about how God has started the process in me - merely a month ago:   I've been plucked and tossed in a basket with many other olives - all eager to become what the Farmer has called us to be; whether it be as food on...

"I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves." (Zech 12:2-3)   I might be quoting out of context, but I can assure you that the world is still swooped up in an attempt to drink every last drop of this "intoxicating" city! We've recently had the privilege of walking its streets and meeting its people, and...

  I'm in a quick moving tin shell running underground with many souls on board. No word is said  No sound is made Eyes don't wonder off their screens, books or newspapers,  And I can only wonder how one of the biggest cities in the world could become so quiet? Eyes that look up, hastily shy away with a hint of fear within - what are they looking at? What will they see or say? I can merely smile with sadness,  My heart filled with compassion for a people who have lost the ability to interact.    What will become...