Participant Blogs

"I like talking with my life, if necessary use words." The words of pastor Marcos at our one ministry point in Rio. Amazing how the meaning of this and the saying- actions speak louder than words- are making sense for the first time. When you experience something literally it's not only head knowledge any more, it changes the way you act and think. It becomes revelational. I've experienced so much of God's blessing, favour and goodness through people's hospitality and love and without being able to say a word. The language barrier at first frustrated me a lot but then...

Pink dolphins in the amazon, wild horses on the Guyana plains, red parrots in the Iwokrama forest in Guyana, coconuts of varies kinds just falling from trees around you, small wild mangoes, cake for breakfast, free condensed milk coffee on the amazon, acai, brigadeiro and more acai... Sao Paulo Brazil. The first thought that popped into my mind about the people here was: ''Wow these people are really entering my personal space with all these hug-and-kiss-on-the-cheek greetings!'' Lets just say physical touch did not score very high on my love languages test. But nonetheless I felt loved. I felt at...

After about 7 weeks of training in Jbay where I was challenged not only spiritually but also physically and emotionally, we started our journey. Ready to step out in the army of God, ready to be obedient to Him, ready to be spiritually led, we arrived in Kenya. Suddenly I didn't feel so ready any more- the practical side seemed more easier said than done. I struggled to understand what my place/role in the team was, doing this for a whole year overwhelmed me a bit and totally out of my comfort zone isn't always an easy place to be...

As I am writing this We are on a shuttle on our way to Bonfim which is on the border of Brazil and Guyana. We just got of the boat a few days ago and starting traveling towards Guyana.This is where we leave Brazil and all its diversity. As I look out the window it has the feel of deep Africa. Dry and open. A big contrast to the Amazon we experienced a week ago. That goes for the cities in Brazil as well. Diverse. So many cultures and different ways of doing things. It is a ever changing landscape...

Lush green jungle, mountains, waterfalls, hummingbirds and big blue butterflies. This was the setting of our first ministry point in South America. Our mission in Itatiaia was the fulfilment of a vision God gave Mariana Adolpho 10 years ago: to build a prayer room on the mountain where people from all over the world could come and spend time with God. There is a big witchcraft influence in the area and hotels and houses ran empty as a result. During our time there we helped to build the prayer room, painted the house in bright, life giving orange and yellow...

To the clang back home, this is just an update of how the team is doing and our experiences in Rio De Janeiro.   So after saying a few teary goodbyes to our new friends in Sao Paulo,  we, the green te6am, travelled by bus during the night to Rio De Janeiro.  We were all very excited  to embark on this leg of the journey, experiencing the city known for it's famous carnival, gang rivals and tourist attractions.   But on our arrival at first glance the city did not fully meet our expectations or match the pictures we painted...

Atatiaia After arriving in Sau Paulo the big team split up into two groups, as you all know the green team stayed behind in Sau Paulo while the Yellow team went on to Atatiaia.  Picture an orange and yellow painted house in a nature reserve on a mountain with an amazing view of the valley below, capouchen monkeys swinging around in trees that towers over the house and hummingbirds swiftly flying past not afraid to sit on your finger to drink from the sweetend water on the porch railing. It was a wonderful experience as we went to visit many...

After two months of training and preparation the day finally arrived for the international leg of our Global Challenge journey to begin! It was with much excitement and expectation that our entire group of 36 students got on the midnight flight form Johannesburg to Dar Es Salam. On arrival we stepped out into the pressing humidity of an early morning in Tanzania. Everyone scurried about to pick up their bags and hurry off to catch the next mode of transport which would take us to our various destinations. When the commotion died down it became evident that my bag might...

Are you coming to the war? Where fire burns and fear is great. There is no means of escape. Where Death is like a lingering shadow tracing behind His victims. Horrible things have happened here. This is where life and death meet face to face, in a battle to see who will win. This is the birth place of chaos and destruction, this is war.  Today I saw a different life. A life filled with fear and anguish. A life that was consumed by flames. Today I saw true hopelessness. Today, I looked into the eyes of a war refugee. ...

Because Africa is my place of birth I have always loved the continent, it's culture and all who live there. Yet as our journey began in Zanzibar I saw a side of my continent that I have never even thought existed. The image I had in mind of white sandy beaches and fancy hotels did not last, when we got off the ferry from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar the picture I saw infront of me was the total opposite. As we drove through the busy streets on our way to our hosts home, I came to realise that when...