Participant Blogs

After getting out of our comfort zones in the North, we could not wait for some relaxing beach vibes in Phuket. Everyone knows about the island’s amazing beauty and vibrant culture making it an ideal all year round holiday destination. This of course was not our focus and we were excited to be serving our new host: Roeline Muller (fellow South African) who is ‘not a missionary, only a Christian worker’. This amazing woman has started a NGO called Asia Center Foundation that provides education and support to both children and parents from lower social-economic backgrounds in Phuket. This people...

I really enjoy eating. There is just something about the smell of good food that awakens a joy from deep within and like a magnet I am instantly drawn to the source for a nibble. Over the years however, my body has changed and that wonderful teenage bottomless pit suddenly resulted in more feminine curves. My lifestyle also changed: less running around like a hooligan and more sitting in front of a desk working. With all these changes came some genetic health obstacles also (low blood pressure, low sugar levels, low iron levels) that resulted in a more controlled and...

Every Luke 10 faith journey looks different. The single similarity however is the golden thread of God’s greatness that is weaved into each adventure. This greatness is often displayed in the provision, protection and extraordinary miracles God does through ordinary people. With the memory of my previous 3-day journey from Mthatha to Jeffrey’s Bay still in the back of my mind, I felt slightly nervous hearing about the next level of trust: 7 days (and 7 nights) relying on God to lead, provide, cross a pretty broad language barrier and use us to display His glory in a foreign land...

The Global Challenge scavenger is a very unique creature. Without a bashful cell in its body, it can often be sighted at various fast food locations across the globe. Being well trained in adaptation and survival, this scavenger can blend in effortlessly. With heightened observational skills, it can quickly scan a room and determine the statistical probability of success. Having no pressing obligations and often time in abundance while waiting for a flight, this patient creature can linger as long as it takes to ensure satisfaction.  Often the experienced scavengers (dubbed the scavenge king or queen) would adopt an apprentice...

Since being in Colombia I often asked myself how do I love other people? Out of a society where everybody looks for their own interests and tries to get the best out of everything I didn't know how to love others. I know God loves us so much that He gave His son for us and how Jesus loved other people way back in the past. But how does it look like today? So I went and sought God for it to show me how to do it and for opportunities to put the theoretical knowledge into actions.    God...

I remember as a child my mother fed me these medicine pills that looked like dinosaurs. At first glance this gave the tablet the appearance of some sort of sweet which made me volunteer to eat it, but then the bitter betrayal came when I realized this was some sort of vitamin C junk with the taste of ear wax. I feel in a big way a global year is the same. God comes with the proposal of let's travel the world, make best friends, and win people for the kingdom. With big excitement you say yes but climbing out...

There are few things more enjoyable than getting to a bus stop in a new city, after many hours of travelling, and being greeted by a familiar friendly face... And so our stay in Yogyakarta started with our global friend, Annami, and her posy of scooters fetching us one by one from the bus station.   Mental picture time: Imagine five scooters rocking up and lifting us five girls with 2-3 day bags each and weaving through the traffic filled city streets, to drop us at an unknown location, then departing without a word to fetch our friends and our...

I used to fear that lies I told would rise to the surface and make me fall. I used to fear that I would never be enough, not for anybody not for myself. I used to fear that what I did in the dark would come to the light.   That's who I used to be, that's what I used to do. But then I met Jesus, I stood face to face with the biggest truth of ever have to face. To be honest, I couldn't face it. I fell I fell face first to the ground. How do you...

Indonesia: 258 million people spread over 13 000 islands and the reason I joined Global… Generally speaking I have a rule to not build expectations but rather approach every situation with an open mind and teachable spirit. Unfortunately this was not the case in terms of my view on Indonesia. I have never had much interest in travelling to the east so when my attention fell on Indonesia one night while praying, I knew this country was special. Since that evening more than a year ago, I have not been able to shake the idea that God wanted me to...

I glance around to locate the source       of the relentless voices overwhelming my thoughts. Incoherent noise that fill my ears, seem to be a natural expression of my fears, that no longer are contained by dreaming at night as the monsters of slumber now cloud my sight.   Overwhelmed by my senses I seek isolation for just a few moments of quick contemplation but there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide if the problem is not external but comes from inside.   With words at a loss I have nothing to say but continue in...