Follow-up project Mission Return, Belarus

Back in May, at the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Rimini, Italy, we met with our friends from Belarus. It was quite some time ago that we were able to talk face-to-face, so it was truly a joyful time!

In this picture, you see team members from several rehab centers as well as the general director of all TC work in Belarus, Michail & Rufina Balakirev. Such an honor to meet with them all again in person (it surely beats Zoom meetings).

Sergey & Kristina Tsupa are our English-speaking contacts as far as the work of Mission Return (Teen Challenge) in Belarus is concerned. They took care of the translation for all Russian-speaking guests at the conference in Italy. He is also the one who translated Marja's book 'In My Name' into Russian!

Sergey is the director of the 'Overnight Home' in Baranovichi which we visited back in 2015. Over the years we have helped them on several occasions by raising funds for the work among the homeless, the addicted, and women in crisis situations.

The women's shelter is full, the men's shelter for 75%, as well as people in rehabilitation. Sergey said: "We rejoice, when we see changes in people's lives. Pray for those, who are struggling and hope that God's victory would happen in many more lives!"

Last year they started to renew the facade of the second building. They were able to plaster about half of the building. All the work was done voluntarily by brothers from their church.

There is still some more work to do on the outside wall (they are actually thinking of giving the outside a nice color as well). They also want to fix up the big hall in the middle of the building. It will be used for the common meetings.

They are even contemplating opening up a secondhand store, that would be awesome. Sergey wrote: "We praise God for you and want to thank you one more time for your participation in this project. It is easier to serve when there are people assisting you. May God bless you and continue to multiply your ministry!"

If you have a heart for the broken and hurting people and a heart for the nations of Europe, sow a seed into the work of Teen Challenge in Belarus. You can give in several ways. Please direct your gift at:

• St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and don't forget to mention: TC BELARUS
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA it is also possible to make a tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention: TC BELARUS.

Project expansion overnight Home, Belarus

We have donated several times to the work of Mission Return (Teen Challenge) in Belarus. Read our posts about that HERE.

Director Sergey Tsupa of 'Overnight Home' in Baranovichi recently sent an email with the application for a new project.

In addition to the crisis shelter for women, there is also a section on the other side of the building where homeless people can go for food and a bed. When someone seeks shelter, a medical check is always carried out in the clinic, as is protocol.

However, if no one is present at the clinic late at night or on weekends to do such a check, the homeless person is officially not allowed to stay. That of course causes distressing situations.

The team would therefore like to set up a separate room where new guests can stay until they can be officially admitted. A kind of isolated room. Fortunately, there are still unused spaces in the mission building (a former school).

Some work will need to be done in order to make the living spaces presentable. in particular, heating must be installed in that particular room and several connected rooms and the corridor. In short, another renovation is just around the corner :)

According to the estimates, a total of 2,700 euro is needed to initiate all this. We want to help them, especially because we have seen with our own eyes what a great job is being done in Belarus among addicts and homeless people.

If you want to support this beautiful work, then send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: BELARUS.

💳It is now possible to give by card as well!

Greetings from Mission Return in Belarus

Earlier this year, we were able to donate a wonderful gift of 5,000 euro to Mission Return (Teen Challenge) in Belarus to support one of the twelve (!) drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, the one in the Lyahovichi district.

There are 10 men in the center, some of whom are disabled. There are only a few small churches in the area that support them financially. So they made a plan to turn the center into a functioning dairy farm.

The money we sent was intended for the purchase of dairy cows, the renovation of an existing cowshed, and the purchase of a small milking machine, dairy refrigerator, and a machine for producing milk products. 👉 A few weeks ago we received photos and a report.

It is so nice to read how our donations were welcomed. They purchased three dairy cows. In the meantime, a calf has been born and two more calves are on the way! Yes, once there is a small beginning...

All the necessary machinery and a small generator have been acquired and at the moment they produce 800 liters of milk every month. A little less than half of that is being used to make sour cream and cottage cheese, which they sell to generate some income.

The other half is for personal use, of course. Just think about how much they will need to feed between 10 and 15 men every day.

It is great to read how the center is moving towards partial self-sufficiency. Taking care of the cows and making and selling the products are also part of the daily chores.

On behalf of director Michael Balakirev and the men in the program, thank you very much for this gift! It was an enormous help for them and they regard it as a blessing that funds have been collected for them in the Netherlands.

Please, pray for Belarus. For stability, peace, tranquility, and freedom to continue to do this Christian work.

By the way, another project in Belarus will be up on this blog soon. GIFTS (large and small) for all our projects are always welcome and can be directed at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Investing in human lives

This year we obviously travel less than in previous years, so we are more dependent on maintaining contacts via email and social media. We recently received photos and a long letter from our friends in Belarus.

We have supported the work of Mission Return several times over the past few years. One of their projects was the completion of the second floor of the women's shelter 'Overnight home'. Director Sergey Tsupa writes in his letter to Traveling Light:

"We sincerely thank you and all who financially participated in the major overhaul and improvement of the second floor. Due to your support, we were able to restore the walls, floors, windows, to buy bathroom accessories, and to install doors.

Previously, we only had one room for women who suffered from domestic violence. During the past four years, we were able to help 24 women and 22 children. Now that the second floor is finished, we have 5 rooms, so we can accept more women with children who suffer from hardships – people from vulnerable groups.

The new rooms are separated from the homeless shelter we operate in the same building, which satisfies a claim of the authorities concerning sanitary regulations and hygienic safety.

So, now we have already accepted 48 women. Some from prison, some without a home, some without documents, and some without a job, but all willing to change their lives. With God’s help, they were able to come back to full life, to find a job, to restore relations with their relatives, and even to start a family.

Tatiana (see picture) married Alexandr (who was in one of our rehabs). She is now a member of our local church, has found work and accommodation, and she got her child back.

Natalia is now also married. She completed the rehabilitation program, was set free by God's power and grace and is now affiliated with the church in the Svetlogorsk region. The women often take up volunteer work in the 'Overnight home' and /or the church. 

The women in our center have the possibility to hear the Word of God, to come to the Lord with repentance, to accept His love, to believe in His forgiveness, to turn their backs to sin, and to live the holy life. They do not only get spiritual help but also food, night lodging, clothes, and other things.

Our goal is to promote the restoration of the whole personality - to become mentally healthy, emotionally balanced, socially adapted, spiritually alive, and to become a part of a local church, society, and a family."

What an encouraging message from Belarus! Too important not to share. Your donations are not just money you give away. No, they are investments in human lives. How awesome is that!

GIFTS (large and small) for all our projects are always welcome and can be directed at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

👉Please pray for Belarus and the work of Mission return.

Project news

Happy with the truck

It has been a while, but halfway 2018 we sent a gift to Teen Challenge in Latvija for the purchase of a truck with a crane for the transportation of wood. They needed quite a sum, but they finally got all the funds together.

The barn that needs to be fixed

We recently received some photos. Great to see how donations are being used in a practical way. The cutting, transportation and sale of firewood helps the rehab center to be self-supportive. Thank you again for your help.

We are currently raising money for Mission Return in Belarus.

The drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in the Lyahovichi district needs about 5,000 euro to purchase 3 dairy cows, a small milking machine, dairy refrigeration, and machine for making milk products and the refurbishing of an existing cowshed. See our message HERE.

Work in progress

If you want to help, please send your gift to St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention COWS.

In the fall of 2019 we sent a donation to Carmen Ullersma for the installation of a heating system in a daycare center for the elderly in Moldova. The work is in progress and it is looking good, hopefully the center can be opened soon.

Carmen sent a few photos so you can see how for yourself how your gifts are being put to work.

Furniture for TC Albania

And then, we also sent a donation to Teen Challenge in Albania. The first Christian drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Tirana will be opening soon.

The house has been thoroughly renovated with the help of many volunteers. Hope for Albania donated furniture!

Many people and organizations have been blessed by your generosity!

GIFTS (large and small) for all our projects are always welcome and can be directed at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Project cows for Mission Return, Belarus

Staff and students at Lyahovichi center

Our Weissensee fundraiser is in full swing. So, we take this opportunity to announce the following project, this time in Belarus.

In the past we have supported Mission Return (Teen Challenge Belarus) several times with donations for various projects. We also catch up with each other during the annual Europe Teen Challenge conferences.

We recently received an email from Michael Balakirev with a project proposal. Michael is the director of Mission Return and we know him personally.

Big farm house

Mission Return has 12 drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers at various locations in Belarus. On average, around 150 men and women live and work in these centers, receiving new life. Most houses are fairly self-sufficient, for example because they have livestock and land and make artistic products.

In the Lyahovichi district, however, there is a center that could use some help. They currently have 10 residents, some of whom are disabled. There are only a few small churches in the area that support them financially.

They have pigs, chickens and sheep

Now, they have made a plan to turn the center into a working farm. The question for Traveling Light is whether we want to help with funds for:

• 3 dairy cows
• refurbishing an existing cowshed
• a small milking machine, dairy refrigeration, and machine for making milk products

A total of 5,000 euro is needed to get this all going. Well, we wouldn't be Dutch if we were not excited about such a project 😄. We want to help them, especially because we have seen with our own eyes what a great job they are doing in Belarus among addicts and homeless people.

Do you want to help? Then, please send your GIFT (large or small) to St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. make sure to mention COWS.

This way you can shine your light in Belarus! How beautiful is that?

Changed lives in Belarus

In April we visited the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Zeewolde (Netherlands) where about 450 people from more than 40 countries were present. For us such conferences are always a wonderful opportunity to catch up with the people behind the projects we support.

For example, we sat around the table with the staff of Mission Return from Belarus. We have helped them several times with finances for the expansion and renovation of an old school building in Baranovichi in which a shelter for homeless people, classrooms for people in rehabilitation and a crisis shelter for women are located.

Renovation and building work is still going on at the 2nd floor in the left wing. The women's shelter, also known as the 'Overnight Home' is on the first floor.

Since the opening (2016) 16 women and 18 children have found safety and a new start through the shelter.

One of these women is Anna (29). She was addicted to alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes and had sexual disorders in her life. Anna has 4 children from her first two marriages and is now married for the third time. Her ex husbands took her children away from her through the court. They mocked her when she was drunk and put it on the internet.

Anna was very depressed and started looking for a way out. She understood that she would soon lose her children and asked around for help. She was advised to seek help from Christians. Deep in her depression Anna came to the crisis relief center early this year and immediately agreed to go to the rehabilitation program in Kukovo.

There, Anna received prayer, she repented and received freedom from her addictions. She is now visiting a church and has found work. Thanks to the prayers, she has also been reunited with 3 of her children.

Anna's story is one of the many stories we heard. How wonderful that there is a place for first contacts, a place that helps women to move on to one of the Christian rehabilitation centers elsewhere in the country and get free! Those first encounters and conversations, that first sign of hope ... it is often the beginning of change.

The proceeds from our secondhand store / coffeehouse Twinkeltje over March went towards the work of Mission return in Belarus.

👉 Your cheerful donations for all our awesome projects are always welcome at IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Follow-up project shelter/rehab, Belarus

The proceeds of our 2nd-hand shop Twinkeltje over the month of October (700 euro) will go towards the crisis shelter for women in Baranovichi, Belarus. We would like to raise that amount to about 2,000 euro. Last summer we donated the first part of a nice sum for the renovation and expansion of the shelter that is located in an old school.

Various building materials have already been purchased from that gift and soon some specialists are going to come and help with the  construction of necessary walls. Also they were able to place and connect pipes in preparation for the  heating system to be connected to the 2nd flour. The work sometimes slows a bit, because there is not always enough manpower available. Keep in mind that construction work is mostly carried out by men who are in the rehab center. Working is of course part of their therapy.

New Overnight Home

In the past two months more than just preparatory work has been done for the renovation of the 2nd floor. They have been working in different sections of the building and finished the new overnight home for men. At the location where they sheltered the homeless until recently, new classes for the rehabilitation center have been built.

The overnight home is a shelter for homeless people. The shelter is separate from the rehabilitation program where men and women sometimes stay for a year. The homeless are often elderly people who cannot or will not go through an extensive rehabilitation program. But that does not mean that they should be left alone. Mission Return wants to share the love of God with them as well... in a practical way: shelter, food, clothing.

New class room for rehab students

The old school is slowly but securely becoming a multi functional building and a blessing for the city. Many men and women find peace and security here. As soon as we receive more photos of the construction work, we will show them on this blog.

If you want to support this beautiful work and help to give women and men a warm and safe place, then send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: BELARUS.

PS: Most of you will receive these blog posts by email, but if you have time and are behind your lap or desktop, then check out our BLOG for a complete overview of projects and reports!

Project expansion women's home, Belarus (3)

My name is Sergey. I’m 39 years old and I was born in Belarus (one of the countries of the former USSR) in an orthodox family where I actually never heard about God. When freedom came to our country Christian booklets sometimes got to my hands. It was interesting to me to read about God.

One day I watched a feature film on TV and one of the heroes in that movie read a passage from the Bible – from the Sermon on the Mount. When I heard the words “but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” tears appeared in my eyes – I could not see such love in this world!

I understood that those were the words from the Bible. And I decided to find a copy and to read in it (I did not even have a small part of the Bible yet). I found and bought the Gospel of John and the Revelation of John and started to read. I repented before the Lord at home and started to pray regularly and considered myself a Christian. But I was alone and did not tell anyone about my faith. Sometimes I would read the words 'brothers and sisters' in the booklets and I also prayed the Lord’s prayer “our Father in heaven…' and I noticed that it was written 'our Father…', not 'my Father…' and I understood there should be other Christians with whom I should pray.

Women's crisis center

I wanted to find an orthodox priest to talk about this but then I decided that it was better to pray and ask 'Lord, where are my brothers and sisters?' Several days after that I was passing a small Christian library in the center of our city and at that time a man from this library talked to me and offered me a booklet. I said that I had it. He offered me another one and I answered that I had it as well. Then he said “look, you will not be saved by books”. I went home and a thought came to me: 'this man offered Christian literature, maybe he is the brother that I’m looking for?' I went back to him the next day to talk and he invited me to a church service.

Renovation 2nd floor is necessary

I visited the church and at the end of service I gave my life to Jesus. When I came out of the church I knew I had found what I was looking for. At that time I was almost 16 years old at and very happy to be in God’s family. Through all these years I have never regretted giving my life to Jesus. After some time, when I already served in a rehabilitation center, the Lord told me that He would send me to the people whom the world does not bless but curse. Several years later I was sent to serve with homeless people.

The Lord blessed me with a sweet wife and 4 children. I praise Him for everything He has done in my life and for everything He will do in the future. Glory be to Him!    

Sergey is coordinator in the Baranovichi center and he is also our interpreter and guide. Because of him we can stay in good contact with our friends in Belarus. The donation thermometer for project expansion women's home has risen to 4,000 euro. yeah!

Gifts are still welcome at St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: BELARUS.

Project expansion women's home, Belarus (2)

Meeting up with Sergey and Joseph

In the previous blog post, we shared the story of Svetlana. She serves in the women's house in Baranovichi. In September 2015 we visited the building (formerly a school) and at that time the renovation of the ground floor was still in full swing.

During the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Italy last May, we sat down with our friends from Mission Return in Belarus, Sergey and Joseph.

They told us about the daily happenings in the center, which has been divided into a homeless shelter, a drugs and alcohol rehabilitation program for men and for women and a women's crisis center (an overnight home).

Ingang vrouwenhuis

There is an urgent need for the expansion of the crisis center for women. The plan is to completely renovate the 2nd floor, quite a job. Whether we want to help with fundraising...

Well, you probably already know the answer, of course we want that! They are doing such a great work there: providing a safe and warm place for women who have been abused and/or have no place to go and to share the love of Jesus with them.

Stairs to 2nd floor

We received a list of materials needed for the renovation, from cement and tiles to wash basins and electricity. The calculation is that they will need about 8,000 euro for the entire renovation. Well, we'll see how far we will come.

If you have a heart for the work among women in crisis situations, you can send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: BELARUS.

We have seen with our own eyes how Mission Return works and how well they have spent the previous gift (for the kitchen). We have full confidence in the social and spiritual work they are doing there.

We trust we can make them happy with a generous gift!

Project expansion women's home, Belarus (1)

My name is Svetlana. I am 42 years old and I was born in Belarus in a family of common people. My father was a hard-working man, he repaired houses and furnaces and after work he brought alcohol to our home. My mother worked as a weaver and in her free time she sang in a local restaurant.

In the evenings my parents drank alcohol and usually they started to argue about «who took the money». They screamed, cursed and beat each other. Several times my mother beat my father with the knife. My mother was an aggressive woman, she beat us so we afraid of her. Several times she tried to commit a suicide but every time she was saved. As children we were waiting until our parents went to sleep so we could do our homework for school. My brother Slava said: "when I will grow up, I will destroy all shops with alcohol”. Now I understand that these words were said because of despair.

When everything became quiet I looked through the window up to heaven and asked: “God, if you are somewhere – do something”. Teachers from school sometimes visited us but we never told them what was going on at home – we were afraid to be sent to an orphanage. When I completed the basic school I entered the music school (to learn to play accordion). My parents were not interested in my education and I was not a good student at all: often I missed the lessons and I started to visit discotheques, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. At the age of 17 I became pregnant and people advised me to do an abortion. Often I wept in the nights. I couldn’t see my future. 

Svetlana and her family

But one day Valentin (the father of my child) and his mother came and took me to their village. I had turned 18 and we got married. Our healthy and beautiful daughter Viktoria was born. When Victoria was 3 years old I entered the Specialized School of Culture in a big city in our country. I brought alcohol and cigarettes and offered it to my friends to celebrate my birthday. One girl, Elena, said that she did not drink alcohol or smoked cigarettes but that she believed in God. Elena invited me to the service in an evangelical church. People were greeting each other and smiling. I had never seen such sincere, kind and loving relationships between so many people. For me it was amazing. It was interesting for me to observe the faces of people there. I could see the sense of hope and future in their eyes. I heard songs about God and tears appeared in my eyes. I understood that God Himself was in that place and that He touched me.

Women's home in Baranovichi

The thought came to me: He is the One I need! There was a call for those who wanted to accept Jesus in their hearts. I went forward and was prayed for. I began to visit a small group of believers and on Sundays I visited a church in a neighboring village. After three months I was baptized in a local river. My relationship with Valentin and his parents was not good, but when I believed in Jesus it became even worse. After 6 years of marriage he divorced me. I did not wanted to go back to my parents so I moved to another city and started to work there as a teacher in an art school. I visited church and gained many new friends, who supported me in a difficult times. I continued to communicate with my parents, brother and sister. I told them about the love of God for mankind, about the sacrifice of Jesus. From time to time I visited my parents.

Every time I visited them I remembered the scenes from my childhood and I felt again like a defenseless, helpless child. God touched my brother Slava and he opened his heart for Jesus, but living with my parents he also drank a lot of alcohol. Looking at him I remembered how he told me in his childhood that he would destroy all alcohol shops when he had grown up. But he also became an alcoholic. My mother kicked me out from her home and cursed me. My father and mother died in one day because of alcohol. Later Valentin and his parents also died from alcohol.

Group studies at the women's overnight home

I moved into the flat of my parents and started to work as a music teacher in a school in Baranovichi. Nothing was functioning in the flat, no gas, electricity, water or plumbing. Brothers from the church came to help me with this and so I met Evgeniy who had been in a rehabilitation center where the Lord had set him free from addiction. We got married and the Lord gave us three children: sons Michael and Ilya and a daughter Vasilisa. My oldest daughter Viktoria helped me in everything.

During this time my brother wanted to become free from alcohol and nicotine. He went to a Christian rehabilitation center. Although he had been an alcoholic for many, many years, the Lord set him totally free. He married Lidia and today Christians come to their flat, they praise the Lord together, sing songs and testify about what God has done in their life. The neighbors see this and are astonished how much Slava has changed. Now Slava serves in the rehabilitation center and helps addicted people to find freedom.

My husband Evgeniy and I serve also in a rehabilitation center: the women's home. We have women who do not have a place to live, who came out of prison and who were refused by their relatives. When I talk with these women I learn that almost all of them come from a family of alcoholics and in their childhood they had the same experience as I had. I understand their inner feelings. I know that only Jesus can heal these wounds and I point them to Christ. I thank God for His love.

Gifts for the much needed expansion of the women's home are very welcome! St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Do not forget to mention: BELARUS.

Greetings from Belarus

Back in the fall of 2015 we visited several rehabilitation centers and shelters of Teen Challenge in Belarus. Миссия «Возвращение» is the name for the rehabilitation work, which means 'Mission Return.

One of these centers is located in an old kindergarten school which had been standing empty for seventeen years. They have worked hard to make the building habitable and livable for various groups.

The center has been in operation for quite some time now. There is a homeless shelter, a rehabilitation program for men and a crisis center for women. Thanks to a gift of Traveling Light they were able to step-by-step install a professional kitchen (tiled walls and floors, cabinets and all appliances).

We received a nice email and photos from the director, he writes:

"We are preparing meals in the new kitchen with new equipment! God not only blessed us with the equipment, He also blessed us with people who work there. The Lord spoke through a dream to a sister (Nina) from the church (she is a former professional cook) that she should come to the Center to prepare breakfasts during the next three years. Also, the Lord put it on the hearts of some other sisters from the church to come and prepare meals and to bake rolls. All of them do it voluntarily. 

Since the Center was opened, more than four hundred people came to ask for help. Many of them in addiction, with poor health, without documents, without work, and quite many of them are invalid. To all of them the Bread of Life as well as physical bread was offered. Through this project 'Kitchen' we see that God cares for these lost people...

During the last year the Lord also sent us women (the work with them started in January 2016) and we are able to serve many of them. The place of the overnight home is often overcrowded – 16 beds and up to 24 people – people are sleeping in the corridors and on the floor, but the Lord miraculously helped us and gave the possibility to fix new rooms so we can soon expand the overnight home."

Fundraising, distributing the gifts, but also letting you know how the story unfolds... We believe that is good stewardship. We will try as much as possible to keep you informed about ongoing projects.

We are happy and thankful that we will soon be able to offer the Russian edition of Marja's book Grace of Giving to our friends in Belarus. A book to give away, a book with a beautiful and powerful message of generosity that will surely touch the hearts of the men and women in the centers. We believe it is possible ... "Go into the world and make disciples of all nations ..." The books are tools for this purpose!

PS: Gifts for our current Project bibles and cows are still welcome at St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

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 ?

Project shelter/rehab Baranovichi

Crowded celebration service

Recently we were in Belarus for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Teen Challenge in that country. Миссия "Возвращение" is the name used for the rehabilitation work there, or 'Mission Return'.

A beautiful name that reminds us of the story of the prodigal son who returns to the father. There are currently nine men's and women's centers in Belarus, two of which we have visited while there.

We want to tell you more about one of these centers; it is an old nursery school that was vacant for seventeen years. Mission Return has very good contacts with the city of Baranovichi and the building was given to them for free a few years ago. It currently houses a shelter for homeless men and a men's rehabilitation center.

The renovated men's center to the right, the kitchen will be in the middle, the women's center on the left is being renovated

Homeless people can get a bed, clothes and food for up to four months. During that time they are encouraged to make the decision to enter the rehabilitation program, where they will live, work and study for at least eight months. We are happy to hear that many of these men have decided to begin a new life!

Inspection of the rooms :)

At the moment hard work is going on, at the request of the city council, in order to open a crisis center for abused women. The rooms are almost finished! The work is mainly done by men who are in rehab and with a lot of help from churches in the area. All in all, the former school houses a few dozen people already and they are in urgent need for a professional kitchen.

Traveling Light has received a specified gift for the purchase of the necessary kitchen appliances, which we have forwarded to Mission Return. Well, we do not have to explain how happy the Belarus team is with this gift :) Once the kitchen is placed, we will share more photos.

To the left the renovated part of the building

We are very happy and thankful that we can contribute a bit to this beautiful work by donating and by visiting this beautiful home. We are very impressed with the work among the addicts, poor, homeless and abused in Belarus.

Dining hall at the shelter

It is great to see how strong God's light can shine in the darkness and how God's love changes people's lives, one by one!

Do you have a heart for people in need and do you want to support these kind of projects?

Then please send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.