Participant Blogs

  "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones."    Words that kept playing over and over again in my mind as the lights of all the cities of Africa came alive to guide us to a place that feels like home. I finally understand why they say "Your home is where your heart is."    Israel...A place where Jesus' presence screams : 'HERE I AM , COME FIND ME!" And boy did I find Him. Oh Israel, how I've longed to walk the streets of your ancient cities and gaze upon their splendor and beauty. How glorious the...

One thing we experienced in an abundance during the last three weeks was how God loves to provide every single thing we needed. And sometimes even more than only our needs but even what we desired without any real need for it. God as our provider. This may sound familiar for you - so it was for me as well - because I heard a lot of teachings about this. But to experience his love and care for me in a daily way was something totally different. It was and is just mindblowing!!! Here are some examples: On the sea...

My time in Guatemala has drawn to an end! What a wonderful time it has been.

Let me share a bit of a testimony with you.

It's sunrise in the Himilaya mountains, India. The sun is painting the clouds pink and is revealing mountain after mountain...silhoutted against the ever changing pink and red sky. The mountains are proudly displaying their incredible snow covered peaks.  As I'm looking in awe at the peaks, I am experiencing God's perfection and almighty power and above all...his amazing love. The mountains are huge, over 7000 m high, but so perfectly created, every detail perfect. It's overwhelming to think that the same God that has the power to create such incredible beauty, created us with the same perfect touch. We can't even...

China isn抰 what we expected it would be.   The dirtiness came as a shock to us. Because it抯 winter it抯 also very colorless, brown and grey.  Maybe that is how God intended it.  It抯 easy to love a place that抯 beautiful.  It抯 more challenging to grow to love it, when it抯 not what we expected it to be.  Even so, the feelings that develop are lasting one抯.

One of the highlights of China...

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,...

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...

    The Philippines! Though we only have about two weeks here, they are going to be two weeks full of what the pastor here calls “maximum.” 

 

Distant Islands.  In a team sense, only the islands are true, because we are not distant from each other at all!  Paul, Clara, Annelize (Arthur's mom) and Elle (Ashleigh's mom) can testify to this.  Why?  Because for a few weeks, they were part of our Distant Islands family!

 

    Our journey kicked off in Cancún, Mexico, where we had to travel for 10 days and meet up with the rest of the team in Guatemala. My group got a lift to Merida which is a big city in Mexico where we spent our first night sleeping at the bus station where we got chased away at 12pm. We found another bus station where they let us sleep.    Early morning we started hitchhiking towards Campeche. The lady we got a lift with was actually on her way to Cuidad del Carmen which was even better for us....