Global Challenge - South Africa

The End of Another Great Outreach

2009-07-14T04:36:00.000-07:00

The Gauteng Challenge has ended and what an exciting time it has been! We've seen miracles as people throughout the Gauteng Province have come to a saving knowledge of the truth. Praise God for his grace and mercy! We hope that this is not the end of your outreach, but that you continue to be the breath of hope as you return to you homes and communities!

The Gauteng Challenge Photo Gallery is coming soon. If you were a participant in this year's challenge and have photos or a story that you would like to share, please email them to the GC office, challenge@rsa.om.org

Healing Hearts in Hurting Homes

2009-07-09T02:56:00.000-07:00

Another three of our outreach teams are working with Eastside Community Church putting on a holiday club for children in inner city Pretoria. About 150 kids show up everyday for lessons, crafts, games and memory verses. In the first two days, ten children have already made the decision to ask Jesus into their hearts.

Eija, one of this year’s participants, was talking with a ten-year-old girl who had come to her for prayer. After talking for a while, the girl felt comfortable enough with Eija to share that her mother had been beating her at home. Together they prayed that her situation at home would get better, that her mother would realize how badly she was treating her daughter and change, and that the little girl would find strength and hope in Jesus. The next day, the little girl came back with a letter for Eija. In the letter, she thanked Eija for praying for her and said her situation at home had already gotten much better. Most of all, she was thankful for the happiness she found in knowing that Jesus cares for her.

Remember to pray for the teams working with children. They have a tremendous opportunity to plant seeds of truth into young lives. Some of the kids from the inner city are dealing with very grown-up problems at home; pray for openness and trust between the children and counselors. Kids need the hope of Jesus too!

Dancing in the Wards

2009-07-09T02:54:00.001-07:00

Three of our outreach teams are working with The Oasis, a hospital/AIDS ministry in inner city Pretoria. Every day during visiting hours, they go through the hospital wards with guitars and drums and sing praise songs with the patients. The life and hope they bring to the sick and suffering is amazing! On their first visit, an elderly grandmother was so happy to see them that she got out of her bed (holding her catheter bag) and began to dance.

Pastor Ransom, a team member at Oasis, was called over to the bedside of a man who had suffered severe burns over most of his body. He was heavily bandaged and in such pain that he was unable to move freely. Pastor Ransom was able to share the hope of Jesus Christ with him and the man decided to accept Jesus as his Saviour. He was immediately filled with so much joy that he too got out of bed and began to dance! His pain had been relieved and all he wanted to do was praise the Lord!

Please continue to pray for the teams as they minister to those who are suffering and in need. Several patients have made commitments to Christ and we would love to see many more do the same in the final days of the outreach.

Orientation

2009-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Gauteng Challenge is off and running! We opened with four days of orientation, with various speakers teaching on ministry related topics such as evangelism, children’s ministry, preaching, discipleship, religions of the Gauteng region and AIDS awareness to name a few. 236 people from 22 different nations are participating in this year’s challenge and we have already seen God work in amazing ways.

On Wednesday, Surine (one of our participants) was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. Her appendix was infected and inflamed and she was scheduled for surgery the next morning, provided the swelling went down enough to operate. All of the Gauteng Challenge participants joined together in prayer on her behalf. She spent the night in the hospital, but the next morning all of the pain, inflammation and infection was gone! The doctors had no explanation for what happened, but we know that God miraculously healed her. While she was in the hospital, Surine was able to minister to and pray for the other patients around her. Since she was healed, she has been able to rejoin her outreach team and is now out ministering in the community. We praise God for His healing mercy and the tremendous encouragement this was to the teams just before they went out to minister on Thursday.

All 19 outreach teams are now working with their churches and ministries throughout the Gauteng region. We will continue to bring you stories of what God is doing in and through their lives over the course of this outreach. Please keep them in your prayers over the next week. We want to see many lives impacted for the kingdom of God!

Application Deadline- 31, May

2009-05-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

You have less than a week to send in your application for the Gauteng Challenge! Things are gearing up with applications pouring in from every corner of the globe. Secure your place today by making sure your application is sent in by 31, May 2009. To request an application form; click here http://www.om.org/item/G877/0080000000

We'll see you at the Challenge!

Gauteng Challenge

2009-01-28T06:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Gauteng - the heartbeat of the country. It's the economic and cultural center of South Africa. Gauteng is an unique fusion of democratic and traditional values, where people work hard and play harder. So take time to peel away perceptions of business suits and briefcases and discover there is more depth to Gauteng than meets the eye.

Theme: Be the breath of hope
Date: 29-Jun-2009 - 11-Jul-2009
Application deadline: 31-May-2009
Cost: R 1000.00
Outside of Africa $400

Before going out in a team of 8 to 10 participants to partner with a local church, you will be equiped at a three-day orientation which will be held at a local university or high chool in the vicinity of Johannesburg, where all 400+ participants will be together. At the orientation you will receive some teaching in cross-cultural communication and the Biblical basis of missions. You will also receive tools that will be useful on the outreach, like how to share your testimony, how to share the gospel with someone, creative evangelism tools, children's ministry, AIDS ministry, etc. After the orientation you will be sent out in your team to work with a local church in Gauteng.

Pick and Pray

2008-07-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

So far we have heard of the drive-thru doctor but now we have another edition. The Pick and Pray! As teams are doing street evangelism they have many opportunities to pray with people. Heather was one such person. While her team was ministering near a shopping centre she met a woman that needed prayer. When she finished praying for her, two more people stood behind her to also receive prayer. When she finished with that next person she opened her eyes again to see two more people join the line! Most of these people were from a Hindu background. We have experienced that both Hindu's and Muslims are very open for prayer and are quite thankful to receive it. Heather's team also had opportunities to visit a Hindu temple and a Mosque and pray with either the priest or the caretakers there.

Please pray for more opportunities to pray together with those who do not know Jesus and that through these encounters they would get to meet Him.

Take it to the Streets

2008-07-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Take it to the Streets
Many teams have been busy sharing the love of Christ through their hands, by being involved in practical work such as building, caring for children and gardening. However, there is also a very important place for sharing Christ's message of hope with WORDS. This can be a little bit scary, but some teams are combating their fears by heading out into the streets and explaining the gospel to the people of Durban.

Member's of team Chile reported that they were not quite sure at first how to approach the task of street evangelism. What should they day, and who should they approach? They committed their concerns to God in prayer. Imagine their surprise to reach their starting destination and be greeted with cries of "Are you here to tell us about Jesus? Come and chat!". Jesus opened up many opportunities to talk, and they didn't have to approach a single person to talk - the Lord sent the people straight to the team.

Another team was sent out to do door-to-door in a largely Muslim and Hindu area. "Wouldn't you rather be visiting the Christian homes?" they were asked. It took some explaining by the team to convince their companions that just as a physician tends to the sick, Jesus was sent to reach the lost. Whilst some people didn't quite understand their point, one eight-year old boy at the church caught their vision. He became their unofficial escort, giving the rallying cry,"Here's another Muslim home! Here's where some more Hindu's live!" and leading the team to those her realised needed to hear the truth as well.

Other teams have faced opposition as well. For some, this has meant doors slammed in faces, spiteful words, verbal abuse, or simply disdainful looks. One team became intensely aware of the spiritual battle going on when, upon finishing praying with man, they turned around to realise they were literally right in the middle of a mugging (all team members were safe). Despite the setbacks, the teams can be encouraged by Christ's own words:

""Remember what I told you:'servants are not greater than their master'. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also..."John 15:20

We thankfully accept the rejection, struggles and hardships that come with preaching the gospel, because we know that the Lord Jesus Christ understands completely.

Jesus film

2008-07-08T02:12:00.000-07:00

The Jesus film has always been a very effective tool to bring the Gospel to people and it has been used extensively in Africa. This year we are very excited to be using the Jesus film for kids, especially since we have it in all the official languages of South Africa. On Sunday evening a team in the valley of a thousand hills showed the film to their community. The film touched peoples hearts and the woman was weeping when they showed the scenes of Jesus on the cross. But the best news is that afterwards ten kids came up out and gave their their lives to Jesus!

Drive Through Doctor

2008-07-08T02:10:00.000-07:00

We have been constantly amazed by the many people God has put in place to be a part of this outreach, even if not as participants in teams. People have donated food, given transport, lended sound equipment and other areas of expertise, not for praise or recognition, but simply and humbly as an offering to God. One such example yesterday was by a lady we would now like to call "The drive-through doctor".

Jackie, on the team leaders from Barbados, has been feeling a bit ill for a few days, but it finally reached the point where she needed to see a doctor. Now the quandry: in a town that none of us are all that familiar with, and with limited budgets for things like Doctors' visits, where do we take the sick people?

One doctor who had heard about the Global Challenge agreed immediately (during her sleeping time - she was on night shift) to help out. She heard the symptoms over the phone, and directed Jackie and her overseers to the hospital car park. Here, amongst the cars, she consulted with Jackie, right in front of the hospital! Imagine the look on the car guards face when she pulled out her stethoscope! She provided her services free of charge, and had even already purchased the antibiotics Jackie needed before the green overseer "ambulance" pulled up in the Doctor drive through.

People like our drive-through Doctor are the unsung heroes of the Global Challenge. We have been blessed by their contribution, and know that so much of the Challenge could not be pulled-off without their help. Something so simple as a Doctor's consultation in a car-park has been a huge gift for the kingdom.

Prayer points - 7 July

2008-07-07T02:51:00.000-07:00

- Please continue to pray for health. Although some of the participants that has been sick is much better, others have fallen sick. Cold evening temperatures in especially the rural areas is not helping.
- Pray for the participants as many of them is faces with death. Two participants has each lost their dad during the outreach and another team sees it eevry day as they work with people infected with HIV/AIDS.
- Pray for perseverance as the team have full schedules and they are getting tired.

The bucket thing

2008-07-07T02:50:00.000-07:00

One of the beautiful things of the global challenge is the cross-cultural situations that team members experience. Yesterday a few told us about their experience with 'the bucket thing'. In a time where most of us are used to showers and baths not everyone has the same luxury. These team mebers that we talked with were all in a situation where there was no such bathroom. Only a bucket, some cold water and a wash cloth! Especially one young girl was shocked when they just have her a pan and she did not know what to do with it. But she just prayed 'Jesus help me' and she continued on bravely. Many others are struggling through different types of cross-cultural situations such as the places they sleep, the food they eat (there is a lot of curry out there), but they are determined to push on to be a witness for Christ.

It starts at home

2008-07-07T02:49:00.001-07:00

Although Esther's team has a lot of ministry opportunities she confided with us that a lot of her ministry might be at home. The team stays with various host families from the church that they are working with. The family that Esther is staying with has a Hindu friend who came to visit the first morning she was there. Showing a lot of interest in what she was doing the Hindu lady started asking a lot of questions about Jesus and Esther had the chance to spend a larrge part of the morning with her and answering her questions. She was even able to give the lady a bible which she eagerly accepted.

Please pray for this Hindu lady as she reads her bible and that she would get to know Jesus.

Building up the temple of the Lord

2008-07-07T02:46:00.000-07:00

The extreme makeover team has not even a chance against team UAE!

For the first two days of the outreach,the team was given the opportunity to display love in action through a building project. A widow and her ill daughter were living in poor conditions, in a home that desperately needed upkeep.With the permission of the family, the 9 member team, as well as people from their hosting church, arrived to replace kitchen benches, fix roofs and paint walls. It was not only the family themselves who were affected by the team's generous actions.

One neighbour visited the "makeover team" with tears in her eyes. "I have been praying for this family," she said."I didn't know how they were going to survive. God is good!"

A contrasting reaction was received from a neighbour on the other side of the house. "Why are you only helping them?"he asked. "We are all poor on this street.What makes them any different?" The team did their best to explain the situation to the man. In the end, whilst maybe still not quite undesrtanding their motivations, of his own volition he erected lighting equipment around the house so that the team could see to paint in the evening.

The highlight of the excercise, the team agreed, was explaining to the many spectators why they would give up so much, travel from countries all around the world, spend money on equipment and work so hard, just for one little family."Did a church send you?"

"No."

"Are you doing this for some special organisation?"

"No"

"Then who sent you?"

God. God sent them. The same God who numbers the hairs on our heads, and knows when a single sparrow falls from the sky, decided he wanted to paint the living room of a lady from Durban. May we all learn to recognise the personal, all-encompassing love of the creator God in the same way that one family in Durban learned it this week.

Prayer points - 5 July

2008-07-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

- Please pray for one of our participants who heard this morning that her father suddenly passed away. She is currently on her way home to be with her family.
- Please pray for health. At least two of the teams have a few sick people and they find it discouraging. Pray that God will heal them, revive their spirits and use them wherever they are.
- Pray for good opportunities to share the Gospel. Some teams are working in very difficult communities. Team 'Afghanistan' is helping to restore one of the communities primary schools as a way to show love and care and hoping it might attract people that normally would be antagonistic.

Out and about

2008-07-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

First I have to apologise for not posting news in the last few days. Our orientation time was just far too busy for me to be able to write stories. But in the following days I hope to recap on what happened and on what is currently happening on the teams.

The main news now is that all the teams have gone out to their areas they will be working in and have settled down for their first night. Some has already even started ministry today! We are so excited about the different churches we will be working with. They differ greatly in the areas they are based and the ministry they will be doing, but we know they all will have a great impact on the city of Durban.

End of the spear

2008-07-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

One of the most familiar stories about missionaries is that of Nate Saint and his four friends that served and died in Ecuador as they reached out to Waodoni tribe, one of the most aggressive and unreached tribes of their time. Last year the film 'End of the spear' was released based on the story of Steve Saint, Nate Saint's son, that later returned to be a missionary to the same tribe.

The Ecuadorian missionaries' story remains a challenge to us as Christians, as we contemplate if we really are willing to sacrifice our lives for God and to bring His message. As we watched this film last night many participants were processing these same thoughts. Outreaches like the Durban Challenge has no guarantees that everything will go smoothly and safely. As we share the Gospel there will always be opposition and we need to get to a place where we decide if we really are willing to risk it all for God.

Miracle!

2008-07-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

On Monday afternoon we were shocked to hear that one of our team leaders was taken to the hospital with the fear that she might have contracted Meningitis. The reports we received were a bit sketchy in details but as we understood the doctors were really concerned for her life. As a group we all prayed together for her as part of the main programme at 8:30 PM. Yesterday we received the news that at the exact time we prayed there were a radical turn around in her condition. Further we received the news that all her bloodwork is now clear and she is currently recuperating at such an extent that she might be able to rejoin her team tomorrow as they go into the outreach part of the programme. We serve a great God!

Huff and puff

2008-07-04T02:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen the show on TV called the Amazing Race? I have always secretly hoped to one day be able to do it. Yesterday the participants got their very own opportunity to be part of the Amazing Race. Set up as an opportunity to do some team building, the smaller teams were all given a set of clues that they had to figure out. These clues would lead them to a certain location on campus where they would have to an activity of some kind. For example they have to find the tallest tower on the campus and when they reach it they have to build a high tower from spaghetti. So the contest needed some brains and some speed.

It was 'amazing' to see the level of excitement the teams took to their tasks and the first team to arrive did so in a record time. Which was easy enough as we have never done this activity before =) For us it is always wonderful to see how the team start to 'gel' together. Every year the task of putting teams together is a big project that needs a lot of prayer. And we thank God again for the way He has put together this years teams. Please continue to pray for the teams and their unity.

Refuse to be offended

2008-07-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

Its 7PM. The hall is filled to the brim (more than 500 people) and everyone waits in anticipation for the Durban Challenge to officially start. Suddenly the music starts and the hall is filled with waving flags and people dressed in the costumes of the world. Walking up and down and finally coming to a stop where upon we all joined together in worship before the Lord. What a beautiful picture it was to stand together, friends from across all the cultures.

Mike Hack, a long-term OMer, shared with us on how we can live out the message that we want to bring to Durban: "You are loved". The best way to do that, Mike shared, is to love one another. Not an easy thing to do, especially in outreach teams made up from different cultures and people who has never met before! But if we make the decision to refuse to be offended, then we truly can live out love for one another and ultimately show Durban the love of Jesus.

Crazy Day

2008-07-01T08:56:00.001-07:00

The crazy day! That is what I would call the first day of the Durban Challenge. As participants arrived from across the world (some even traveled for three days), organisers were running around packing up people form airports and bus stops, while others were sorting out the accommodation and main programme venues.

But in all our running around we have to praise God for the way He has come through for us. We have faced every conceivable thing that could go wrong: electricity problems, no sound equipment, broken printers,but God came through and helped to put everything in place.

Personally God has taught me (Herman) how dependent we are on Him. Praise Him for He is good!

On the way!

2008-06-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

With only a few days left to go to the launch of the Durban Challenge, preparations are moving into high gear. Although the preparation team has been working very hard up to now, the last few days are always a time of tons to do and not enough time to do it in! Most people will start to travel to Durban on Sunday or Monday but some people already started today.

From Monday onwards, just like last year, I will keep you up to date with whats happening on the challenge and bring you the fresh stories as it is happening. I hope this will keep you inspired and praying for us the whole time.

Here is some facts and prayer requests for now:

We will have slightly over 360 participants this year (hard to know exactly until they show up)
These participants will be working together with 39 churches and organisations that we are partnering with.
Most of the teams will be Durban, Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas.
In these areas there are many Muslims, Hindus and Animists.

Prayer Requests

For safe traveling of all the participants
For the preparation team and their mad dash to get everything right
For the Holy Spirit to start working in the hearts of the people that our participants will be meeting
Praise God for the churches and organisations that we are able to partner with!

Durban: you are loved!

2007-12-31T04:14:00.001-08:00

Durban is known as the playground of South Africa, but behind the fun, sun and surf is a city filled with pain and suffering.

Join us as we reach out to the diverse cultural and religious groups in the Durban area. Get involved in a variety of ministries that vary from taking care of HIV/AIDS sufferers to sharing Jesus creatively with children. Even a bit of beach ministry might be involved!

Help us share God’s message with Durban: “You are loved!”

Information
30 June - 12 July, 2008

Cost:
South Africans - R900
Application Deadline: 30 May 2008
Apply before 1 May 2008 and pay only R790

From outside of South Africa? Please contact us for more information

Contact:
OM Global Challenge
Private Bag X03
Lynnwood Ridge
Pretoria 0040
South Africa

(t) +27 (0)12 807 0161
(f) +27 (0)12 807 0164
(e) challenge@rsa.om.org

Lots of lots of pictures

2007-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Outeniqua Challenge Picture gallery is finally available here.

The Outreach Ends With a Bang

2007-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad time for many of the participants as they said goodbye to their hosting churches and hosting families as well as to their fellow team mates with whom they have formed a tight bond in a very short time.

There was an awesome church service this morning praising and thanking God for all He has done during the Outeniqua Challenge as the nearly 400 participants joined back together for the Final Celebration. After having one final time of praise and worship with the band from Doxa Deo Brooklyn Campus and one final challenging devotion from Richard Chalklen, we heard many testimonies of what took place during the Outeniqua Challenge. Not only did the outreach participants experience God do amazing things by drawing people into a relationship with Himself during the Outeniqua Challenge, but many experienced God do amazing things in their own lives as they trusted God out of their comfort zones and were challenged to take further steps beyond this outreach in being available to be used by God to bring glory to His name.

We can only give God glory for all that was experienced over the past two weeks. There were some amazing things that took place and we know that we can trust God to complete the work that He has begun in the lives of the participants as well as in the lives of the many new believers.

Please join us in praising the name of the One who is worthy of praise. We saw God do amazing things, and we know He did much more than we even realised. Ephesians 3:20-21 sums up what we have experienced. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Peter Tarantal, OM South Africa's National Director, giving thanks during the Final Celebration

Final day

2007-07-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to believe that it is already the end of the outreach. Time certainly has flown by. Many of the teams will be ending their ministry today with special farewell kids parties and spending time with the churches and families that hosted them during the week.

Tomorrow we will all meet together back in George for a final celebration meeting where we will give honor to God for what He has done during this outreach. Afterwards the participants will continue to their respective homes with many new memories and experiences to share.

We are are very excited and thankful for the many churches and organisations with whom we could partner and we know that we can leave the follow-up work in capable hands.

Please pray for safe transport as many have long drives and flights ahead to get back home.

New friendships

2007-07-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

Minibus taxi's are the dominant form of public tranport in South Africa, therefore the local taxi gathering area is a great place to meet lots of people. One team in Oudtshoorn picked this place to go and do street evangelism with great success as people were very open to the gospel and even a few made commitments to Christ.

Hercule and Ursula (South Africa) started up a friendship with the vendor and discovered their new friend Mohammed was actually a muslim man from the Comoros. During the week their friendship grew as they were able to spend a lot of time together. Hercule learned from Mohammed that when he came to South Africa he wanted to give Christianity a chance and that he went to visit a few churches. Unfortunately what he saw convinced him that Christians were not real and he stayed with his Muslim faith.

Hercule was hoping to show Mohammed that Christ is real if His children truly follow Him and not just get caught in religion. Please pray with us for Mohammed and Hercule's friendship to grow and that Mohammed will be able to see and understand what Jesus did for him.

Facing pain

2007-07-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

While doing family visits in Oudsthoorn two participants, Shannon (South Africa) and Lyndsey (Ireland), discovered how hard day-to-day life could be for some people. In one of the houses that they were visiting they met an elderly lady that was living in very basic circumstances. This lady was suffering from Tuberculosis with no-one to take care of her. Furthermore the monthly pension stipend that she receives is not sufficient for her to be able to buy medicine to take care of her sickness.

Shannon and Lyndsey was able to spend some time with her and also pray together with her. The next day they also returned to bring her some warm clothing. But it seems so little if you look at the big picture.

There are many people suffering like this and it sometimes feels like we can do so little. Please continue to pray for the many people that are suffering, that God will meet them in their need and that His hope will be established in their lives

Making a difference

2007-07-11T02:03:00.000-07:00

"How long have you been working together" was one of the first questions faced by a team working with the Life Community Center in George. People were amazed to hear that this particular team has only known each other for three days. The team has been experiencing a wonderful time with each other but most of all they have connected with the children that they are working with.

Working with children from poor and disadvantaged areas, the team has been able to make a difference in their lives through small but meaningful experiences. Even just smiling at the children really affects their lives. Part of their work is also to help feed about 200 children but instead of making them stand in line to receive their food, they let the children sit down and then serve them the food in an attempt to improve their self-worth and dignity.

The team will also be visiting some other shelters during the rest of the week. Continue to pray for their health as they have been struggling with sickness and also for their contact with the children they are reaching out to.

Showing the love

2007-07-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

"Every time I sit down, 6 or 7 kids immediately come sit on my lap or start climbing over me" said Jaco. Jaco's team is working in Stilbaai, a quiet beach town, and the surrounding community especially with kids. The team noticed that even though the kids with whom they are working were quite unruly they were constantly looking for attention and they soon established a bond with them.

They spent a big amount of time just playing with the kids and showing them love. Most of their parents are fisherman and many of the kids live in rough circumstances. Nigel, the team leader, is especially concerned about when the team leaves at the end of the week, realising that the children will need continued input into their lives.

We are glad to report though that one of the outreach organisers will be moving into their area in the next two weeks with a new ministry that will be focusing on helping children and parents with the moral upliftment of their community.

Shine the light

2007-07-10T04:03:00.000-07:00

Street evangelism can be quite a difficult ministry to be involved in but there are times when we see God just preparing hearts beforehand for divine encounters.

Wouter and Christelle were walking in the township of Riversdale talking to people when they came across a group of young men. One of the men immediately asked them if they were Christians and continued: "When I saw you come around the corner I knew you were Christians". They were able to continue their conversation as he opened up to them about problems in his life like drugs. What makes this so amazing is that he was doing this while he was surrounded by his friends, a situation that usually inhibits people from opening up.

In Heidelberg another team came across a lady that has had a difficult life and was heavily into drugs. During their visit to her home she got up, went to her cupboard, took out all her drugs and washed it all away in her kitchen sink!

Please continue to pray for the people with whom our teams are having contact. That they may truly accept Jesus into their life and change their lifestyle accordingly to His will.

Age matters!

2007-07-10T02:25:00.000-07:00

George is a beautiful city situated close to the sea and the mountains. Therefore this beautiful setting attracts a lot of elderly people to come and retire in George, spending a lot of their time playing golf, fishing or taking walks.

However when people like Annette (Australia, 60) and Regina (KwaZulu Natal, 66) come to participate in the Outeniqua Challenge, it really amazes many of the churches that these elderly ladies are so active and involved.

Annette has been working really hard and ministering with all her energy and this has been a huge testimony to her church. Regina has been described by fellow team members as a "legend". Her love just radiates and people from the community is constantly attracted to her affection.

This shows that age certainly is no limit when you allow God to use you. We have seen that the wisdom and love that more elderly people bring to teams are worth their weight in gold!

What are we going to do now?

2007-07-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you were attending an outreach in an unknown area and then arriving to discover that no program schedule has been set-up. This certainly did not discourage one of our teams that are working in Pacaltsdorp that ended up in exactly this situation.

Team leaders Chris and Manuela immediately sat down with the local church elders and discussed with them what the greatest need was in their community. Soon it came out that the church was struggling a lot with nominalism, and so a program was arranged for the week that will help the church to refocus on God and get involved with their own community.

On Sunday morning God already started working in the church. Naphtali, a Nigerian pastor in the team, was conducting the preaching and challenged the church to make a strong commitment to Christ. 28 members came forward afterwards and amidst their weeping and confession before God the team was able to pray together with them to recommit their lives to Christ.

In the afternoon they met together with the elders and deacons in a special meeting and worked together through the book of 1 Timothy. Once again God worked in hearts as the church leadership rediscovered their role in the church and committed themselves quite seriously to His work and their own responsibilities.

We believe that God is working powerfully in this church and we would like to ask for your prayers as church members get serious with God again. The church is in a position to have a powerful impact on their community. Even though the team that is ministering to them consist out of normal people, God has certainly put them together for a special mission of reawakening the church.

Who needs a translator?

2007-07-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last friday morning Jessica and Derecia, together with fellow team members, set out to visit families in the local farming community that they were working in. Already feeling quite unprepared for what was awaiting them, they also learned that they would have to do these visits in Afrikaans. Since none of them were comfortable in Afrikaans they confessed to "being freaked out".

However God was with them and gave them the ability to converse in Afrikaans. In one of the houses they visited, two ladies opened up to them and shared about their struggles with sickness and also in their family. The team was able to pray together with them and also shared on a personal level about their relationship with Jesus. At the end of the visit they asked the ladies if they wanted to commit their life to Christ and they did want to do so. Derecia then did the sinner's prayer with them. Afterwards Derecia was quite surprised to find out that she did the whole prayer in Afrikaans, a fact she never realised at the time.

In the next week the team will still be visiting a lot of families. Please continue to pray for opportunities to share Christ and that the team will be able to do so in the language that the families understand!

The cold is coming

2007-07-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

Up till now the weather has been quite fair with a bit of a chill in the evenings, but today the cold front seems to be moving in. Most of today has been cloudy and drizzly and with that a bit of sickness has poked out its head in the teams. In one team in George, five of the seven members have been hit with flu and in another the person who should be preaching two sermons tomorrow is also down with flu.

Please continue to pray for health and good wather.

A changed life

2007-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

God certainly uses many ways to change a person's life. One of the particpants in the Challenge has grown up in church most of her life, but coming to the Challenge gave her a new perspective on her own faith. Realising that she does not have a personal relationship with God herself she requested to take leave of the team.

Two of our leaders were willing to take her home but along the way they felt compelled to stop and share with this girl what a real relationship with Jesus was about. Finally realising what Jesus did for her, the girl wanted to accept Him in her life and now we praise God together for another person who has found her hope in Christ!

2007-07-07T04:11:00.000-07:00

Learning some gospel rope illustrations

Comissioning service

One of the teams working with teenagers

GET OUT!

2007-07-05T01:01:00.001-07:00

Today the big day has arrived as we wrap up the orientation part of the Outeniqua Challenge. From 2pm the 44 teams will be fetched by their churches and start working in the communities. Everyone is quite excited to see what the next 9 days have in store and we will be keeping you up to date with the stories of the individual teams.

OM's slogan is "transforming lives and communities" and we certainly hope that God will use us to do just that in the Southern Cape. Yesterday we learned a lot about the needs in the area. Things like the huge inequality between rich and poor, the abuse that is happening under the youth and within families and even the struggle of finding work in one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

Continue to pray for safety as our participants move out and pray for opportunities to bring the love of God and the hope He gives us, to these communities.

Being silly

2007-07-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

During the afternoons a lot of workshops were presented for the participants to attend. This ranged from door-to-door ministry, how to prepare a sermon and many more.

Suzanne was also attending the workshops but the ones she wanted to do was already full. Eventually she sneaked into the creative minisitries session that was teaching evangelistic drama's. She admitted herself that she is quite self-conscious about appearing silly before other people, so this session was initially very difficult for her. But the more she saw the others around her participating with all their heart, the more she got involved herself and eventually she admitted to enjoying the session. Even some others who were hesitant at first finally came around and excitedly told us that they want to take this back to their churches and teach them the dramas.

Dramas, rope illustrations and so many other things are innovative ways to reach out to people with Christ. Remeber Paul's words: "I will become all things to all men, in order to save some". Even if this means we have to be fools for Christ!

Tough but meaningful

2007-07-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last night we took some time out to look at a big issue in South Africa namely HIV and AIDS. Belinda Smith who works with AIDSHope, a ministry of OM South Africa, shared with the participants about the challenges but also the hope that comes with this epidemic. Especially one line she said struck my heart: "We cannot call this situation hopeless because that means we take Jesus out of the equation." She continued with the evening helping the participants understand not to be afraid of this disease and also how to help people that are infected and affected by AIDS.

Afterwards the movie "Beat the Drum" was shown. This is a South African film about a little boy that lost his parents to AIDS and his story as he goes to the city to find income to support the rest of his family.

This might have been a very tough evening listening to this huge need. But I believe it was very meaningful as people are exposed not only to what HIV/AIDS is about but also that Jesus wants to bring hope to lives and He wants us to do it.

The Blessing

2007-07-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

We constantly seem to be a bit behind with the updates. That's just because we have such a busy time here! Organizing workshops, making sure all the teams are ready, taking care of the sick ones. There is a million things to do and not enough time to do it. But we are so appreciative of all the people who have come in to help us. The ones who are making sure the tea times run smoothly, the speakers investing in the lives of the participants and even the more experienced missionaries that are around giving advice and supporting those who are struggling a bit. God has blessed us with an amazing group of people that are very motivated to go out tomorrow and make a difference in George and the surrounding areas.

Please continue to pray for strengh and that the last few hours of the orientation will be a blessing and upliftment to the participants.

Great impact

2007-07-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

"I was hoping to use my skills as a nurse to help children suffering from AIDS" we were told by Christina Chin. Christina certainly got her wish and a lot more as she attended last years challenge in Mpumulanga. Although she only took out time for two weeks to attend the outreach, her encounter with God was so strong that she joined missions work full-time this year! Now she is attending the Outeniqua challenge again as a team leader and will impact even more people in South Africa. What is her wish for this year? "That I can deepen my relationship with God even more".

Christina is one of many people that has been inpacted by the global challenges. Please pray that many participants will hear God's voice and to implement it in their life.

Day 2 of the Orientation

2007-07-03T02:36:00.000-07:00

As I type this message, Mr. Mickey Walker from OM Ireland is sharing with the group of about 400 participants about evangelism. We have had four more people arrive today from Australia, South Africa and Uganda.

Things are going well so far. It is exciting to see the participants sit and soak in the teaching. After an awesome time of worship this morning, Mr. Richard Chalklen, from OM South Africa, shared the morning devotion. He challenged everyone to spend time in the book. "You can't get the Book in you, unless you get into the Book!", says "Chalkie", as he led us in a study of Romans 1.

Dave and Joy Skinner led an interactive session on culture to prepare the participants for working in a team cross-culturally as well as ministering cross-culturally. Then Mickey Walker took the stage after a quick tea break.

Please continue to pray for us in George. The sun is out again today, but it is quite chilly, especially with no heating inside. Pray for the participant's health with this cold weather, especially those who have come from warmer climates. Pray also for the attitudes of the participants as most of them are out of their comfort zones already and some are still recovering from long travels.

The Outreach Has Begun

2007-07-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Earlier today was the kickoff to the Outeniqua Challenge 2007. We had about 140 people arrive on 1 July with the rest arriving today, beginning at 02:30, with the arrival of two by bus. Some people spent many hours on a plane to travel to George. Others were on a bus for 18 to 24 hours traveling to the city hosting the Outeniqua Challenge. And still others began the journey to George on 28 June from Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria, finally arriving in George today after five days on the road and many buses.

With nearly 400 people needing to be checked into their rooms, things seemed to go quite smoothly, despite being split between 2 high school campuses. There were many flight delays and some difficulties with finding some of the participants at the bust station, but everyone seemed to get where they needed to be. Two from Australia missed a connecting flight in Johannesburg and will have to arrive tomorrow.

Tonight was an exciting opening to the Outeniqua Challenge. The evening program was the first session of the 3-day orientation. It was quite a dramatic start to the program and to the outreach with the students from the Training Team performing an impressive parade of nations, as they marched around the hall with cultural costumes and country flags, with lights, smoke and lasers.

After a worshipful time of singing praises to God, there was an excellent program put together with some introductions, an inspiring challenge from Theo Dennis, a testimony from Christina Chin, a girl who attended last year's outreach, and three dances from the Ubuntu Dancers, a local dance ministry. Even though the temperature was very cold, the warm atmosphere of bringing praises to God and looking with anticipation to what God will do during the next two weeks was experienced by all.

It has been a very long and tiring day. Tomorrow we will be having many training sessions.

Please pray for all of the participants. Pray for the warmth as some did not bring proper warm clothes or sleeping bags. Also, pray that their eyes and hearts will open to what God wants to teach them. Ask God to draw each of them closer to Him during the orientation, prior to being sent out to be a light to the community.

Please also pray for J.P. and Pollyanna as we are both being worn down by all of the work over the past days and are experiencing some minor effects of this in our health. We both have sore throats and Pollyanna has quite a rough cough.

Thank you for praying. Please feel free to post any comments or messages to be passed along to participants.

Take care for now.

Keep on rolling

2007-06-29T03:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend the wheels are starting to move on several cars, busses, trains and airoplanes as our participants make their way to George. Please pray for the extensive travelling that will take place and that everybody will arrive safely and without troubles.

Just over a week to go!

2007-06-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

We have a little more than a week to go before about 400 people arrive in the city of George for the Outeniqua Challenge! We have received applications from about 390 people and we will have about 40 people who will attend our 3-day orientation and training in George from 2-5 July. There will be a total of 33 countries represented by these people.

We are continuing to work on the last minute details, but things seem to be in order. We are seeing God strengthen us as well as provide some extra hands for these final details. We can definitely bank on the fact that God is in control!

Please join us in praying for the final things that need to be done that J.P., Pollyanna and Bonny will be working on. Also, pray for the nearly 400 participants who will be coming to join the Outeniqua Challenge. First pray that God removes anything that can be used to prevent them from coming (better options, family, finances, visas, etc.). Next pray that God prepares these individuals to be used by Him during this outreach. There is amazing potential with 45 teams being sent out around the Southern Cape. We are excited about seeing what God is going to do in and through the participants.

We greatly appreciate your prayers and welcome any comments or encouragement you would like to post on this blog. Thanks.

It keeps on growing

2007-05-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Currently there are 360 participants registered for the outreach. After the orientation they will be split up in teams that will be working with churches all over the Outeniqua area. There are 40+ churches lined-up that we will be working with.

God has really blessed us with the amount of interest in this outreach. Please continue to pray for His guidance and blessing

What's up with the name?

2007-05-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering why this year's outreach is called the Outeniqua Challenge.
You didn't? Well I'm going to tell you anyway.

Down in the Southern Cape (the very south of South Africa) there is a beautiful mountain range called the Outeniqua mountains (pictured in the top of this blogsite). Hence the name! The main city around there is George (the same city where we will be holding our orientation meetings from 2-5 July) but the teams participating in this outreach will be spread out from Swellendam and Oudtshoorn in the west, up to Uniondale in the north, and as far east as Plettenberg Bay. To the south of course is the sea and Antarctica but we couldn't find any towns down there, so we won't be sending teams in that direction.

By the way we have a quote that we are using as the theme for the outreach.
William Carey - "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."

We are all expecting great things from God during the Outeniqua Challenge, and we hope that the participants will be willing to step out of their comfort zones and attempt great things for God!

Introductions are in order

2007-05-30T02:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog site! We hope to keep you in the loop of all the activities running around the Outeniqua Challenge outreach. But first up introductions are in order. The Global Challenge team that runs, breathes, eats and sleeps (and sometimes organises) the outreach is ...

Middle: J.P Hall
Left: Pollyanna Hall (J.P.'s lovely wife)
Right: Bonny Davids (newest member)

These three are working from Pretoria in the OM South Africa offices.

Another key person for this year's outreach is Christo Crafford. He lives in Riversdale in the Southern Cape and is OM's Regional Representative for this area. He has had his hands full as he has been lining up churches with whom we will partner during the Outeniqua Challenge and doing the ground work. He has successfully lined up 45 churches/ministries who will host a team of 6 to 10 people for 9 days.

If you need to disturb these guys for any reason, you can do that by emailing them at challenge@rsa.om.org.