Our journey back to South Africa was undoubtedly paved by the hand of the Father. The moment we heard the seriousness of Corona, we as teams were called to meet together at a central place in Brazil - a house in the mountains near a very small town. ...
I'm leading a team this year! In less than four years God has come and radically changed my life for the better. I believe that each and every single one of us are led to lead. In other words Christ leads us to lead others to him. What a privil...
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...
Hello, my name is Johan Bruwer. I am on the brink of a 10-month journey where I will see and be a part of the establishment of God’s kingdom in the nations. I believe that the great commission is not an option to be considered, but it is a command to...
After finishing a blog on how God changed my mindset, about things I did not like doing and showing me other wise, I was not convinced that that was what I was supposed to share. After some amazing teachings this past few days and spending some...
Thailand!! Wow it's an incredible place! Filled with beauties that only seeing in person can be understood! It definitely lives up to its phrase "the land of smiles" everyone here is just amazing. This country is special for me! We started in Bangkok...
And just like that we were saying our good bye's and getting on a plane, watching South Africa disappear beneath us and bidding it farewell for the next 8 months. Hidden World is officially in the nations. It still seems unreal to us. 8 weeks ago we ...
An exciting update from the GLA eco campus construction site! We would like to give a shout out to the small businesses in Jeffrey's Bay- Beesland Slaghuis, Vyeboom Takeaway, RS Fruit and Veg (Croix Street) and Mengelmoes Kardoes We would like to th...
The Global Challenge Expeditions Team of 2015 has created an initiative to increase financial support, called the Break an Egg, Build a School Challenge . This challenge is to create a video of you breaking an egg in a creative way and donate at www....
Day 2!!! WOW, again God is Good, amazing, exciting!!!!!!!
We arrived in Kasane at about 8am Wednesday morning! We hiked for 1km before we met John who gave us a lift on the back of a sand lorry.
We were heading towards the Zimbabwe-border. We went through with no problems. We then walked right into our first pothole!!!hehhehe.
We started to negotiated with the drivers to go to Victoria falls. They wanted $100!!! that was so funny, only because we were very tired!
Tired in a way because we slept on a bus, but had walked for almost 3km with our backpacks on.
In considering in partaking in this amazing year I knew that my30th birthday would not be shared with my immediate and close family. A bit of a con on the pro´s and con´s list I know. And it is just a birthday. Still, the child in all of us do enjoy birthdays. And maybe 30 is a bit more special (and scary) than say turning 29. But God will not take us where even in an special event like this He will not provide. So my new family of 17 came through in an amazing way. The actual day was...
Wow, what a fun and exciting time we had! This was probably the most rural and cultural EA has ever been… We drove for hours through land where there’s nothing, and then finally, you could see little red dots moving amongst goats or sheep every now and then… this was it, we’d finally reached Masaailand.
Arriving at our frist country with such a low expectations thinking that we will probably be camping ouside the church due to lack of rooms but was so surprised to us sleeping in warm beds (no one expected that) but the beds were not the only things that was warm,but the hospitality of loving people that live here was over all the best experience of all.Welcoming us with open arms showering us with love and blessings.Making each of us feel so important to them,appreciating everything BIG and small thing we do and blessing us with so much FOOD. this community blessed us...
Many of times we hear how much God loves us and wish nothing but the best for all his children; the ones that know his love and the ones that don’t know it as much. Looking back at my life, knowing all the wrong that I have done to others and myself, I’ve said and done things that I will always be ashamed of, the worst was not knowing if I am really forgiven. I’ve read the scripters and have said the words out loud, but still every detail of my past was not forgiven; well at least not all,...
Boom! Woke up at 00:00 am 13 April Wednesday, first 9 hour sleep I have had in a long time! So now I have time until I go get my emergency sertificate ... oh, the lady at the embassy WatsApped me to say it is ready. Quess like I am coming home! So after a while I read Living Water, and this constant seeking of hope just after Jesus gave me full hope and preace must stop! I have become soft and complain to fast when I feel like the precence of God is not with me, but little do...
The blue team has been scattered over Malaysia and Thailand this month. Some who went to Thailand gave English at a University. Others help to build some houses and the rest who staid at Malaysia are helping at a school for underprivileged children with odd jobs and teaching. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 For just as the body is a unit and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form only one body, so it is with Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed one. For by one Holy Spirit we were all, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, baptized,...
East Africa
A breath of fresh air Traveling through Africa has truelly been a great challenge
Because of my tall body and long legs I very much disliked the overlanding parts of the trip. What has been amazingis how a taxidriver can fit 25 people into a 19 seater plus the cunducter, and all that with some kind of animal on top .Over the year I have become more humble and more teachable to my team and the people around me . I must admit that I struggle sometimes when Taxi drivers try to trick you , to keep my cool.
God has been speaking to me about that, and for good reason two. So when we were in Ethiopia Abel extended his stay by simply loosing his passport so the 5 of us with Kagiso flying because of medical reasons and all set out to kenia we soon met 2
dudes from Nottingham UK. The 7 of us traveled all the way from Addis Ababa Ethiopia to Kenya Nairobi. The travel down to Moyale (the border)was very nice, we had gteat seats with lots of legspace and lots to talk about .And that’s where Murphy’s law kicked in, for those who don’t know : for every action there is a direct and opposite reaction. In Moyale we booked our 24our bus to Nairobi and went to a nice restaurant for some boerewors and bread. While eating much to our surprise it wasn’t meat sausages but infact blood sausages. Wow what a breath of fresh air . The first night in Kenya and I had already made a friend . We talked into the early morning about a common subjects : military army , Life and love for gadgets. The next morning we walked to the busstop for our cheapest way to get to get to Nairobi. It was cheap for a reason.And so began the longest and worst most uncomfortable bus trip of my whole Life
Do you know what a power plate is ? It’
s a machine in the form of a pad that vibrates until your legs itch, It is said to increase bone density and stimulates musle groth and all that Jazz. I think God intended to make the road from Moyale to Isioloone long power plate exercise session. So for 12 hours we were ratling away at the back of a truck with seats and the Bus coworkers being high on chat ( a type of leaf that makes you stay awake and Hipper) while the security guard‘s .303 rifle barrel wading from side to side in your face while he falls asleep. Even then I met awesome people like a man whose goal was to point out any living creature next to the road, whether it was a goat to a gazelle or the man from Nairobi visiting his grandparents in the middle of nowhere.
The point is that all of them wanted to have a conversation, it was as if skin color didn’t matter and we all were equal. Some time before sundown the “bus” turned around and went searching for something. It turned out to be
something that looked like a pump that broke clean off the frame of the bus. They picked it up threw it into the bus and there we went on. After Isiolo there was Tarmac and so ended our exercise session for the year. It truly was the worst 24hours of the whole Explore Africa experience. It was all worth it. Nairobi felt just like Home there was big shopping malls with Steers and Panaroties and ice-cream and every thing .It was the best reward after 24hours of Hell… One of the Stupidest things I’ve ever done this year was sending back my sleeping bag. I have to start from the beginning. When we were in Niger it was so hot so when the chance arose that I could send my sleeping bag, I didn’t hesitate. Soon me and Abel realized that East Africa wasn’t hot enough for just our Ethiopian air blankets. In Nairobi I slept in my tent and literally put on all my clothes on top of each other and when that didn’t work I climbed into my bag for
warmth. The next day I bought me a gray dog blanket and that is now my main source of warmth at night. Kenya is the best country this whole year. Our Ministry point is so much fun . We worked under the simple churches here and the Pastor here had us doing discovery Bible groups , so everyone was actively a part of the conversation we will soon be going to Uganda to go work with the churches here . God had blessed us with awesome people. People that makes us feel at home and feeds us with more than we can eat.
