I remember standing at the edge of a cliff. Looking out at the big wide blue ocean. Looking down and seeing a beautiful scary blue unknown. My heart pounding in my chest like the sound of an epic climactic drum solo. Should I jump? Should i let go of every fear, every doubt every what if? Should i abandon all i thought i knew? Should i trust that the fall will bring freedom instead of regret? I was standing at the edge of my seemingly ordinary, but yet surprisingly weird and random life, Our omnipresent creator whispering: “Do you...
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Global Challenge Missions Blog Archive: These are real blogs, from real people, bringing real change...
I always thought the words and then were a prelude to something wonderful. Like seeing a ship come in or finding a note in your letterbox, when you weren't expecting one. That swift, surprising transition from nothing to everything. And then . Two little words that hold a world of promise. And then the light pierced through the dark sky, and the rain stopped falling. And then I met you. Uganda, experiencing you was like being ten hears old again, scaling a tree with my eyes bright and skyward, wanting to get higher and higher...
I have no idea what on earth I expected, but I never even considered that language would be such a big gap to bridge when it comes to ministering in South America! Well, being a Vrystaatse farm girl, that considers English as a forreign language, you can just imagine what went through my mind as we stepped off the airplane in São Paulo, Brazil... Never mind English , everything was in Portugese !!! And I mean EVERYTHING and everyone! The stop signs, ATM's, soda names, stop signs, custom ladies, exit signs, DVD's, television programs....oooh and I can go on...! But...
wow so much...not enough time or words... i'm going to theme this one : Restoring the joy of my salvation! and i'm going to start off with an apt piece of literature written by a man who seemed to have a true revelation of the Grace of God: DAVID.
From Biblical times until today, the Middle East has been a region subject to near constant unrest and war. Throughout the generations, the kingdom of Jordan has been a safe harbour offering refuge to countless people fleeing from war torn countries on all sides. In an oasis like this, one finds many interesting people with inspiring stories. Stories of death, pain and destruction; stories of perseverance, courage and relief; stories of hope, love and a Saviour found. On top of that, one finds foreigners from every corner of the earth with the same heart who came to bring relief and...
19:46, 24 April 2013 Today was our third day in Bogota, Colombia. As I'm sitting here, looking back at this day, Max is playing songs on her guitar...voicing all my heart is trying to say: . We went to a market in the center of the city, hopping on public busses and looking like real tourists, I enjoyed that a lot. Man, the market...even as I think back on that I can feel a little girl jumping up and down inside of me, soaking in all the colours. Oranges , purples , greens , blues , reds , pinks...
Taking a peek back on the journey, I realize how you really only see the bigger picture of God's master plan, once you turn around and look at the memory. It feels like it had been a year since we left Fusagasuga, but that's probably just because we have been in 5 different countries in the last 4 weeks, with a program jam-packed with ministry and spiritual growth. Having our first little period of rest while waiting on the Lord, I have been trembling the white beaches of the Barbadian bliss, looking back on the journey, recapping and rewinding. In...
In the late afternoon dusk the city is settling down under a cloud of dust. A few blocks away the image of dreary stone coloured houses is broken by a blue and green kite that sweeps over and through the buildings. Yells of delight are carried on the early evening breeze toward where I am sitting. Sarah sits on the steps outside her house, crying. Her brother has passed away today. The image of a broken girl is a far cry from the one I met this morning before school. Laughing when she introduced herself, screeching as she ran after...
"All of us have the devine spark within us and we so desperately need the breath of God to bring us to life and light. Jesus wants to set the church on fire so the world can warm themselves around us and find light and safety. We are here on earth to be a home and a refuge for the lost and broken. But first we must learn the art of togetherness and celebration. To welcome people into the party of true freedom of finding Jesus we must first be students of that very way of life. We need to...
Europe WoW!! What an amazing journey. While we were still in Canada serving at one of the camps, there was a team helping to facilitate activities for one of the churches at the camp. This organization’s name is Athletes in Action and they spread the gospel through sports ministry, when they heard about our idea to cycle through Europe they helped us get in contact with Athletes in Action in the Netherlands. When we arrived in the Netherland, they welcomed us with open arms as family, an awesome feeling. During the next few days they helped us get bicycles...
Israel - the Holy Land. The land overflowing with milk and honey. The very first nation we encountered. With a lot of faith and no set plan we arrived at Ben Gurion in the early hours of the morning. This was it. Too late to look back, too soon to say what lay ahead. We just knew it was going to be a grande adventure with Jesus. And it was. Sleeping on the rooftop of a hostel with the most incredible view of Jerusalem, spontaneously dancing at the Western Wall - we did it all. All that the city had...
You never know what you can live without until you have to carry everything in one bag on your back -JS This week has been the craziest and probably most frustrating time of my entire life, we didn't get our Macedonia visas and had to come to Israel earlier. I have never felt the need to make notes of what happens to me until I experienced this week and knew I had to tell you guys all about it. I am currently sitting in my tent and decided I HAVE to write. Everything I am using now fits into my...
Taking a 16 hour bus ride to Nairobi was quite an experience. Our bus driver was so confident in his driving ability that cars on the road seemed insignificant; he would proceed to gently run others off the road if they were in the way. There was no toilet on the bus and we stopped about every 5 hours, one being a break on the side of the road with no bushes… This poses as a much easier break for men than women. We arrived in style at our ministry point taking a taxi that lit up the night...
I don't really know how to start or how to write this blog. How does one explain 6 countries done living by faith for one month just a few sentences... I'll try my best to just give you a glimpse of my experiences of our time in central America. It's been a complete faith journey the whole time. Have you ever wondered how life would be like if you put your trust 100% in God? Well... He might just ask you to pioneer Mexico and do your Luke 10 from Cancun, Mexico to Guatemala for 10days. But that...