Saturday, November 28, 2015

Christmas gifts for sailors

Lots of joy last year!
Seafarer's evangelist Guus Peters e-mailed us at the beginning of October. 'We'll be handing out Christmas gifts to the sailors again. Do you want to support us?'

Of course we will help again! Each year Guus and Annemiek Peters head down to the cold and windy ports of Antwerp, Gent and Terneuzen on December 25th and 26th to hand out Christmas gifts to the sailors.

And each time they see the smiles on the faces of these sailors, who often miss their families during their long voyages around the world. 

For many years Guus has been working among sailors, building relationships, listening to their stories, praying with them and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ.

Each year this project is made possible because of gifts from people like you! For 8,00 euro you can sponsor a Christmas gift. This year the men will receive a warm sweater, some sweets and a dvd.

If you would like to bless the sailors this Christmas, send your donation of 8,00 euro (or a multiple) to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U.

Make sure to mention SAILORS as we have several projects coming up in December.

Let your light shine in a dark world!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Project lawn mower tractor Teen Challenge, Serbia

Fields around the men's rehab center
This project request has been on our growing stack (read: waiting list) of emails since this summer.

Our friends at Teen Challenge Serbia need a new lawn mower (tractor). Currently they have a tractor and two hand mowers that all have seen quite some hours and need to be replaced.

Always lot's of work to do!
We have posted pictures of the two rehabilitation homes in Novi Sad on this blog before (check it out). Both houses are situated on big pieces of land.

We have a warm heart for the work of Teen Challenge in Serbia and we have been able to help them several times over the past few years with the realization of different projects.

We would like to do so again by making a contribution to the beautiful work that God is doing in Serbia: changing lives forever, one person at the time!

They need about 2,500 euro to buy a tractor mower in Serbia. If you have a heart for the work of Teen Challenge or for technical projects :) .... please make your donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

At the women's center
When in the USA, send your tax-deductible gift to Eastern Europe Outreach, make sure to mention TC Serbia

We will make sure that all gifts will be sent to their destination as quickly as possible and, of course, you will get to see a picture of the new mower once they have purchased one!

Thank you in advance for your help!

COMING SOON:

- Christmas goodie bags for sailors
- Teen Challenge, Slovakia
- Comunita Brezzano, Italy
- Teen Challenge, Georgia

And much more!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

School children in action

Sometimes there are initiatives that leave us speechless! Just after the summer holidays we received an email from the teacher of group 8 at the Queen Beatrix School in Papendrecht (right, that is where we are located) ... whether we could use a gift for one of our projects.

Official opening Bertine House
We then sent her information about Bertine House in Ukraine. Do you remember? The women and children from the rehab home in Donetsk had to flee for the war and they were without a permanent address for a while.

Earlier this year, a big house could be purchased in the city of Poltava and last September the new Bertine House was officially opened. The house is open for mothers with their children that come out of sometimes horrible situations: addiction, prostitution, abuse and poverty. They can safely live  there and they get the chance to experience the love of Jesus.

The children of the Queen Beatrix school collected 350 euro for Bertine House. A gift that can be used for buying food, paying the heating bills and the purchase of necessary household items

On behalf of the mothers & children: thank you!
We are very happy with this gift! Before we transfer the money, we want to ask whether there are churches, home groups, organizations, companies or families who want to follow the heartwarming and inspiring example of the children at the Queen Beatrix elementary school?

Within Europe additional gifts can be made payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: Bertine.

When in the USA, send your tax-deductible gift to Eastern Europe Outreach, make sure to mention TC UKRAINE BERTINE.

Together with the students of the Queen Beatrix school we can help to provide a warm and safe home for the mothers and children at Bertine House this winter!

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Why we're special

Charlotte Petersen and her girls in Moldova
Traveling Light is not your every day non-profit, we're special in many ways. It won't hurt to say that once again :)

We are special because, unlike most other organizations, we support small-scale projects and we personally know the initiators behind the projects.

Summer activities Roma childeren, Macedonia
The trips we make, the cards we send, the events we organize .... it's all volunteer work from a growing team of sweet and active people.

The gifts that come in are used for NOTHING else but the projects.

We are special because we also try, as much and often as possible, to share what happens with the donations we send out.

In order to keep building on the relationships with our contacts in over 20 countries (!) we regularly present new or follow-up projects for so-called 'old' friends. This allows our sponsors to see the developments in a particular country, which makes praying and thanksgiving very practical.

Animal barn Berdichyv, Ukraine
As a result of this personal approach we receive a constant stream of photos, news-letters, mails, cards, messages and invitations from all corners of Europe. Too much to share on this blog really, but feel free to send us an email if you want to know something about a particular project.

A selection of recent project reports:

November 14, 2015 Pilgrim House, the girls home in Moldova will be opened!

The cross and the switchblade in Georgia
The past summer activities for the Roma children in Skopje, Macedonia, were a huge success. The group of teenagers was bigger than ever.

The animal barn in Berdychiv, Ukraine, is almost ready! A beautiful roof, windows, doors, even a wood stove inside, everything is there. What a great job these men have done.

In Georgia everyone can now read The cross and the switchblade, a book that sold more than 16 million copies, in their own language .... thanks to your donations!

Kitchen appliances shelter Belarus
In Belarus they started the modelling and furnishing of the kitchen in the shelter and rehabilitation home in Baranovichi. The building materials and kitchen appliances are all purchased domestically. This is good for the economy!

We not only look back at great projects, we also have a very long waiting list of projects we really need your help with. We can only continue to do our work if donations keep coming in.

Would you be so kind as to tell someone about the work of Traveling Light? Maybe you know a colleague, family member, friend, home group, business or church that is looking for a practical project to sponsor ....

THANK YOU!

Within Europe donations can be send to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.


PS: Can you tell we just LOVE the work of TEEN CHALLENGE ?