Participant Blogs

I used to believe everything I write is true, but now I know there are many truths and mine only bears witness. "Truth. What is truth?" is Pontius Pilates rhetoric in response to Jesus who had just told Pilate who He is and what He came to do: "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." John 18:37-38 That afternoon's phenomena would have clarified Pontius' resolve if...

What is the motive behind the model? Recently this question surfaced with regard to the Church Planting (CPX) model and Discovery Bible Study (DBS) tool we implemented in Uganda. Oftentimes I would connect with a person with a premeditated DBS checklist in mind. To get full marks I would religiously implement the ministry tool as though implementing the tool is the great commission. What are you thankful for? , tick. Prayer requests , tick. Share a story , tick. What does the story say about God, you and other people? , tick, tick, tick. Who are you going to share...

You're never going to say it all, but if you want to say most of what moved you and why, it helps to say it soon. The pearl of Africa is an allusion used by many to define Uganda. I often wonder what Jesus meant when he used a similar allusion, "don't throw your pearls before pigs." I have a hunch suggesting pearls and pigs, like light and darkness or good and evil, can't associate with one another. Reflecting on two moments in Uganda, I can't help but recognize what it's like to eat the food of pigs when pearls...

Every once in a while, actually quite often I am brought to a halt, a complete standstill in awe of our Creator and of His creation. A cold night sleeping on the airport, He is there! Midnight running through mud in Kenya, a bucket shower for two to share, Selenge the eland is around somewhere but He is everywhere. Important to remember, but so easy to forget our Father is good and He always remains fair. I used to think that the only way to learn is when a teacher is standing in front of a blackboard, but now I...

In old Jewish culture, people would put precious purfumes and expensive oils in jars made from clay. These liquids where used only on special occasions,  and times of high importance or urgency. But the problem was that these jars were sealed shut after the content was poured in, to keep it safe. So now the only way to get the oil out to use it, was to brake the jar open. There was no screw-on lid for use and re-use. It had to be broken completely to get the good stuff out. Kenya was our first country we visited and...

I use to think that I need to go somewhere to "find myself" but now I know I've nevern been lost, you learn who you are by the choices you make and the chances you take...    So the more times you do something that you wouldn't normally do, you know... that choices you make that's way out of your comfort zone. The important part about those choices are following them through, owning them and your mistakes because thats how you learn. The great thing about learning is it will never stop, even with this year I'm away from everything...

"The reckless truth of travel into countries and cultures far from your own is that sometimes, you're just rolling with the dice. Fate, the tour guide, can lead any traveler, at any moment of the journey, into a labyrinth of learning and love, or the long tunnel of a dangerous adventure. And every traveler knows those moments in the mirror: the last, long look at yourself before Okay, let's do this ." - Gregory David Roberts The two weeks we spent with the Walking with Maasai community was filled with sensational norms like stalking a buffalo and adopting an eland....

I quoted this piece before whilst in Uganda in 2016 when over-quoting was under-rated: "In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and blunt the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dulled and know I had to put it on the grindstone again and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had something to write about, than to have it bright and shining and nothing to say, or smooth and well oiled...

Kenia fue el primer país al que arribamos durante nuestro East Africa Tour - LiveYourWay. En este país , las primeras personas que nos recibieron con los brazos abiertos fueron los integrantes de la comunidad Masai .  Esta es una comunidad afincada desde hace mucho tiempo en las altas montañas de Narok. Conocer su cultura y costumbres marcó mi corazón y me dió una nueva perspectiva acerca de las misiones interculturales. Es reconfortante saber que existen personas con un llamado misionero especial trabajando en la evangelización de esta comunidad además de buscar su integración a la sociedad actual. Kenya was...

We arrived in Kenya at the olkoroi camp after a entire night of pushing 4x4 taxis through mud and over hils. The meaning of Olkoroi is Colobus monkey in the Kimasai Language. The camp got its name because it's located next to a river and the monkeys are commonly seen from the camp's viewpoint.   After about a week the leaders decided to do a split sothat the guys can go for a hike into the forest, and the ladys can have some bonding time aswell. We set of with our small bags with only one pair of clothes and...