Friday, March 29, 2013

Start construction chapel Teen Challenge Slovakia

Construction prayer chapel has started!
A few months ago we donated 2,500 euro to Teen Challenge Slovakia. That money was  designated for the building of a chapel at the Teen Challenge grounds in Sered, where there is a men's rehabilitation home.

Well, they have made a start with the construction. Teen Challenge Slovakia opened a special page on Facebook where you can follow the building process (even if you don't have a FB account). They have already posted several great photo's showing the preparations, for example the removing of an old structure. By the way, the chapel will be called David Wilkerson Chapel, after the founder of Teen Challenge.

You can help and encourage the guys by visiting the David Wilkerson Chapel Page, and if you have a Facebook account you can leave a comment and clicki on LIKE of course. The construction of the chapel is a great work project: the guys in the program are helping! We hope to support them again, later on in this construction process, with a financial gift, so keep an eye on this weblog as well.

Isn't it wonderful to see how our gifts are being used? Once the chapel is finished, you will all be able to say: 'wow, I contributed to the realization of this prayer house...'

PS: we are about halfway our desired goal for Project VW Sharan Europe Teen Challenge. We want to get them going (literally) as well!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Thank you note from Israel


Every now and then we post thank you notes on this weblog. We receive all kinds of cards, emails and Facebook notes from the people behind the projects we sponsor. We love to share their thankfulness with you of course, because we believe that after donating to a project it is nice and encouraging to get positive feedback.

So, here's a note from pastor Israel Pochtar from Ashdod, Israel. Thanks to your quick response we were able to donate 2,000 euro for their sister congregation in Kiryat Gat. They had major damage to their building after someone threw a molotov cocktail inside.

Shalom
I was touched by your generosity, thank you and to your organisation for this support.
Your gift and prayers are helping us to continue share the word with people of Israel even in the middle of difficulties that we face now.
Blessings

This is how simple and direct we can offer a helping hand, and this is how sinple and direct we want to keep it.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Project VW Sharan Europe Teen Challenge

Tom & Terry Bremer

A few weeks ago we received an email from Tom Bremer. He is the director of Europe Teen Challenge, ETC for short. Tom and his wife Terry are the driving force behind this organisation. They are doing what we desire to do as well: traveling around Europa, visiting the Teen Challenge staff members and students everywhere and encouraging them.

They do this work with a lot of love and passion. They also organize the annual conferences where staff, workers and volunteers from all over Europe come together. They live and work in Portugal where the ETC office is located.

Tom emailed us about the problems they are having with the ETC vehicle, a Volkswagen Sharan. The car has always been maintained by the ETC mechanic... but it now needs a new clutch and the injectors need to be replaced. A job that will cost around 1,900 euro. Such unexpected expenses are never funny, for no one :) Whether Traveling Light is able and willing to help...

Of course we want to, we LOVE to! Paying car repairs may not be the first thing that comes to mind when talking about offering a helping hand, but we know from our own experience that such help can be a huge relief. After mailing back and forth about technical details, we have decided to raise 2,000 euro for Europe Teen Challenge. We pray that this will give them a good night's rest, so that they can spend their time and energy on more important matters: helping the down and out and addicted.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

News and prayer

HOORAY! You have done it again. In record time we received the donations for our latest project in Israel. It is heart warming to see your responses.

  • About two weeks ago we announced that we wanted to bless the Messianic Congregation in Kiryat Gat with a gift of 2,000 euro... well, thanks to you all, we are able to do so today. Thank you very much everyone. As a result of an arson attack their building caught on fire and lots of damage was done. We are happy and thankful that we can encourage them with a financial gift. It is good and certainly necessary to keep praying for the Messianic believers (Jews and Arabs!) in Israel, because they are being persecuted by several Orthodox groups.
  • We have a new website. At this point it is only in the Dutch language, sorry :( But we will do our best to add an English translation in the future. In the meanwhile you can use Google translate and just enjoy the photo's. Please help us to get more (international) supporters by telling others about us and by sharing the posts on this weblog on Facebook and Twitter.
  • We would love to support projects in all countries in Europe with gifts and encouragement, but we will take it one step at the time. For our next project we will go Portugal, to the Europe Teen Challenge office. They are having car trouble... more about that in our next post.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Investing in human lives

Maksim, Sergey and Gena, set free by Jesus

Once addicted, always addicted. Once a thief, always a thief. That's right, or isn't it?

Thank God, at Traveling Light we know this is NOT true. Every year we encounter tens, if not, hundreds, of people who have received a new life against all odds. Men like Maksim (do you recognize him?), Sergey and Gena from Kiev. (Please check our projects tab to see how you were able to help them in 2011 and 2012) 

They can tell you bizarre stories of their lives on the street, in prison, on drugs and alcohol. Horrible stories of a life in hell on earth. Condemned or ignored by society because of their wrong choices. If we wouldn't know any better, hopeless cases...

Maksim in New Dehli, India
Maksim used injection drugs for sixteen years and has been in prison twice (five years). Gena lived on the streets and was involved in criminal activity for thirty years. He also used injection drugs for twenty years and was in prison. twice. Sergey used drugs as well. Hopeless cases? That's what most people would think.

Somehow they came in contact with Teen Challenge. During their time in the rehabilitation program they encountered the love of God. A God who showed them unlimited grace and picked them up from the deepest pit of darkness. 
Gena has many reasons to smile again
Maksim has been clean for more than three years, Gena more than four years and Sergey even longer. Last week Maksim returned from a mission trip to India with YWAM as part of the DTS (Discipleship Training School) he attended. Gena travels all over Ukraine and gives drugs prevention classes. And, oh yes, Sergey is the National director of Teen Challenge Ukraine.

Hopeless cases? God has a different opinion and so do we at Traveling Light. Please, never forget that your gifts are so much more than just funds to support a program or project. Humans lives are being changed, forever, for eternity! There is no better investment... this is literally storing up treasures in heaven. (And by doing so you will never be in a financial crisis).

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. [John 8:36]