Participant Blogs

I've appreciated the concept of being real and I've seen the impact it has in other people's lives, but I've never really been as real as I need to be.    To live in the nations is not a joke. I've gained respect for people who leave their country to go and do the work of God in another country. There is a lot of challenges like cultural differences, language barriers and the unfamiliar. You learn to not seek your comfort in people, coffee, sleep and the list continues. All things are only temporary in this world and you will...

We all get those days where we feel down and think we're not going to rise again. It's in those times that we really want a comforter.    Some of the downs that I had resulted in me being angry and restless. The impact of the storm was big and I wanted to get out. I tried, but I failed. Hope was disappearing and I wondered whether the storm will get to an end. Is there a solution? Can someone maybe help me? I was caught in this storm for a few days. It tossed me around and didn't respect...

Black is standing next to white. Rich and poor is going through the day doing their daily tasks. Billion dollar buildings are towering above Mumbai while the slums decorate the background. You will find clean competing with dirty. Contrasts are the clothes India wears with a face of friendliness shining like the beams of a torch.    We might have had plans, but God had better plans waiting for us. The team thought India was going to be a restful 5 days, but it was completely the opposite. God directed our path in India in such a way that He...

It's important to realize that God is at work and we must just join Him. My time in Uganda was a time of taking hands with others and reaching out. We didn't bring an agenda, we only joined God with what He is busy doing in Uganda.    It's sometimes tough to sit and listen for 3 hours to a group of people, but God taught me a valuable lesson. Every day belongs to Him, we must just surrender. It was wonderful to talk to the people in the ghettos and hear their stories. They touched my heart so deeply...

This is a country where kites soar above your head while people peacefully go about their daily tasks. It wasn't always like this. Rwanda has a dark history which is so dark that one would not think that this is the same country as 25 years ago.    In 1994 for a period of 100 days the streets of Kigali, the capital, were drenched in blood. A million people lost their lives. The smell of dead bodies flooded the air while dogs feasted on human flesh. Neighbours turned against each other and even family. Fear, rape, abuse and hate dominated...

A feeling of fear goes through me... Am I safe? What about the other two in my team? Is it only me that is feeling like this?  I pray to God. My character is being moulded. Vulnerability is looming in the air around me. I feel the fear again, but I keep on praying. The responsibility of looking after my teammates is resting on my shoulders like a heavy boulder. I force myself to be diligent as the wheels of the truck keeps on rolling. As time goes by and the gap between us ans our destination, Jeffreys Bay, crimps...

I didn't expect to be doing a journey this year. There wasn't a thought about Global Challenge in my mind, but God had other plans.    One thing that we must realise is that God's plans are better than our dreams. I had other plans for 2019, but it wasn't the right plans. So on the 9th of January, a day before training started, I talked to Louw Burger and Reinhardt Foley and that's where my journey started. Unprepared, nervous and with a sleeping bag the size of a tent I arrived at GLA the next day.   God started...