Participant Blogs

 After an amazing truly wonderful year I am now home! Ready to rest in God! ALL the Praise and Thanks be to GOD for all the guidance, protection and provision through the year!!  I arrived back in South Africa about 2 weeks ago. After a surprise visit to my parents I then had to drive off to Jeffereys Bay where we spent our last two weeks together as a team. Spending time in Debrief and just working through all the great stories, trails and especially the many miracles God has done and is still doing. It was truly a blessed two...

It’s the last week before heading down to Jeffrey’s Bay:  preparing, packing, making final arrangements, saying goodbyes, eating way to much of my mother’s food, dealing with emotions (mostly those of my parents) …  All of this in just a few days!  But the thing that keeps me preoccupied for the most of these last days, are my (lacking) funds for the year – who will help me with it, how much will they give, what more do I have to do?  Then it hit me, practice what you preach, and go overboard!   Yes, you heard right, go overboard! ...

Many people believe that the earth is flat, the rest think it's round. Does it really matter? Because ultimately there will always be the hills on the road, mountains with snow hats, valleys with lush forests, oceans with roaring waves, rivers with tons of water which you will encounter and to conquer, cross, climb or swim, requires more than just a strong mind or body, It requires faith and the ability to have no fear. 

These first few weeks have been a journey of faith. On this journey God will test your faith, leave you with nothing, but give you everything at the same time (Luke 10 journey) He will create character in you and He will restore your identity by challenging your faith in Him. 

He has found me in a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness He led me about. He instructed me and kept me as the apple of His eye. He has searched for a remnant that is willing to walk this journey to listen and obey, to lay down your life out of love for Him. His sons and daughters don't believe in Him so that they can go to heaven. We don't read the bible or pray because we know that's the right thing to do. We walk with Him because we love Him. 

His spirit will beautify you and prepare you, cleanse and sanctify you. The  journey lies ahead. 

"We feel we would give anything if only we could, in actual experience, live on High places of love and victory here on earth - able to react to evil, tribulation, sorrow, pain and every wrong thing in such a way that they would be overcome and transformed into something to the praise and glory of God forever. As Christians we know, in theory at least, that in the life of a child of God there are no second causes, that even the most unjust and cruel things as well as all seemingly pointless and undeserving sufferings, have been permitted...

HOW do I describe a week (past 5 actually) that tossed and turned, uprooted and uplifted, shook and revolutionized my life... It's hard to explain the impact of the event to those who didnt experience it first hand, but I will try my best to do so without scaring anyone off...   > My HISTORY is not my IDENTITY - may past is part of me but does not need to own me! We all make mistakes (and fall short of the glory of God - Rom 3:23) - but we can and are forgiven and can move on  and...

From the streets of China to the mountains of Nepal. This was where I was taught that 'different' and 'dark' may have been studied from the wrong angle. People are scared of being different- People avoid standing out. People love to blend into the crowd with tame words and pedicured appearances. Keeping the gardens trimmed and neat while the living room is in utter chaos. People are experts in being moulded by the world. "Please look at the garden but PLEASE don't look through the window". Jesus wasn't bothered by being controversial or 'exposing' Himself. He didn't really fit into...

Tunisia is very much the opposite of  South Africa. We have the most Southern point of Africa, they the most Northern point. We drive on the left side of the road, they on the right. South Africa's main religion is Christianity and Tunisia's dominant religion is Islam. 

  Weet jy nie, weet jy nie jys 'n tempel? / Don't you know you are a temple?   The last little while I've been reminded of this children's song; being a temple and what that means. The song speaks of being a temple for the Holy Spirit. Spending some time in 1 Peter as a d-group we discussed what it means to build our "spiritual house" on the cornerstone of Christ. Not by chance I am also busy journeying through Kings, the story of the extravagant building by Solomon; a place for God to live, for His glory to...

Welcome in Turkey was the sign as we entered baggage claim at the Istanbul airport after our short flight from Egypt! There is always excitement when entering a new country and this time is no different. After a trip of 9 hours on the bus from Istanbul the bus stopped in Kusadasi, 25km from Ephesus on the coast. While we waited for the guys to find accomodation, Obi entertained us by competing with a couple of kids street dancing. Aunt Fielie, Nita, Dinnie and Marelize joined us for our time in Turkey and there is great expectation of what is...

Since my scoliosis operation in July of 2010, I have been hearing the words "You will never" quite often. "You will never carry more than 10 kilograms at a time"... "You will never be able to walk more than 5 kilometers at once"... "You will never be able to ride a bicycle again"... "You will never be able to do road-running again".