Participant Blogs

There is a first time for everything. During our stay here in Santa Marta, I experienced several firsts:

Expecting the unexpected is quite easy when you have no expectations to begin with. It also leaves a lot of room for you to be awed around every corner. And that is exactly what happened in Nepal. From the very moment we stepped off the plane the adventure of not knowing what would happen next, began. After we spent quite some time to sort out an unexpected visa situation, we were greeted by Pastor Padam and Rudra, our Nepali hosts, with welcoming scarves and big warm smiles- a taste of what would be two weeks of heart-warming hospitality. We really...

It is a freezing August morning in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. Bravely, Andri and I head up a very steep hill to witness the sunrise over the snow covered mountains and the age old buildings of the city situated in the valley. With coldish coffee we witnessed the break of day with the beautiful red and orange colours that start to play over this endless possibilities of a new day. Looking at pictures like this, the reality strikes you once again: I am in another continent! The reality of knowing that you are far away from the sun...

Where the jungle book lives The best way to retell the next bit of my venture, must be to start with where I am at. You'll find me, under a large tree, with plastic wrapped lights and a dripping glass of cold water, it is almost the hottest part of the day, and my soul has longed for a quiet clean place, as it has seen many salt & sandy places. We just spent three weeks in Guyana, the country tightly fit between Brazil and Suriname. A country where kisses are blown freely, army officers, and mountains of rice. But...

    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.” 

 

Watching Survivor on television has always been entertaining, seeing the good and bad of the people come to front and seeing how they survive within their natural surroundings, not knowing what their next meal will be or where it would come from, living in the bush with people they hardly know. The moment I was placed in the same situation all the fun and entertainment suddenly seemed to disappear.   During the last week we finally got to meet our team/family for the next year and  we were taken to the bush just outside of town for some teambuilding, at...

Was wuerdest du tun, wenn du dein Visa beantragen wuerdest und die Botschaft dir das Visa verweigern wuerde? Wuerdest du es nochmals versuchen? Oder gar ein drittes und viertes mal? So jedenfalls haben wir es gemacht, als wir uns von Gott nach Bolivien gefuehrt gefuehlt haben. Hier eine Zusammenfassung dieser fuer mich so unglaublich lehrreichen Story: Angefangen hat alles in Lima Peru, wo der Botschafter persoenlich uns empfangen hat und gesagt hat das die Papiere in Ordnung seien, er uns das Visa aber nicht geben kann, weil wir zuvor nach Chile reisen wuerden. Als wir dann in Chile in der...

So our time in Kenya is coming to an end. . .Maasai land was awesome. Had a great time building a bush kitchen and a shed. Spending time with the Maasai people and learning their culture - how they do church was also a highlight. Some of us had the opportunity to preach and share our testimonies. We also bonded as a team and set the cornerstone for the year to come. Afterwards we travelled to Kilifi, Mombasa to debrief our experience of Kenya. Our time at Distant Reletives eco lodge and backpackers was really edifying. Thanks to the expedition...

It has truly been another blessed day at Work Your Way. We got up early as usual to have some quite time spent with God. Welman and Philip(who is convinced his stomach is starting to grow at a way to rapid pace) also decided it is about time to go for a jog with Tobi around a beautiful lake. De Necker, Freddy and Henro sat at the lake and read the Holy Bible, while Angelo and Bernard were kind enough to stay at home and wash the dishes aswell. For breakfast we had probably the most famous Global Challenge meal,...

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...