Traveling... where to and why

A non-profit called Traveling Light is on the road, a lot 😀. In recent weeks we have been to Italy and Poland.

👉Our mission is threefold, namely to provide practical help, financial support, and spiritual encouragement to ministries in need all over Europe.

We travel (always at our own expense, of course, your donations go entirely to the intended projects) to visit and encourage people, to participate in theme conferences, and to roll up our sleeves when needed.

Last week we (Jan, Marja, Krijn and Cora) visited the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Warsaw, Poland. About 250 people from more than 30 countries were present.

Participants are all involved, in some way or another, in running a faith-based drug and alcohol rehab center, a coffee house, a shelter, or some other program that helps people to find Christ. They can be a leader, volunteer, supporter, or former student (ex-addict).

For us it is always a wonderful opportunity to meet so many people, the Traveling Light network is enormous. That is also the special thing behind all the projects we support... we know the people personally!

At some point, the participants were asked who had been blessed by the help of Traveling Light and more than half of all hands went up. Amazing, right?!

During the many trips we make, we can always provide spiritual encouragement, also at an international conference like this.

Marja was asked to open the board meeting with a devotional time on Thursday and on Saturday Jan and Marja gave a presentation in the large conference hall.

We also took a lot of time to pray with people,  think together, and brainstorm about ideas and initiatives.

The first photo is from an encouraging session with our friends Sergey and Irina Romanenko from Ukraine with translation assistance from our friend Jenja Buzinovskaya from Kazakhstan.

Of course, we were also present with our book table, special this time because a Polish translation was available of Marja's book 'Spirit of Truth.' A meeting with the translator and editor was also arranged.

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The week before the trip to Poland we were in Italy for a work week in Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany. For more than 10 years we have been there every year to chop wood for the winter.

This time we helped with cleaning out existing ditches and digging new ditches for better water drainage. The six of us stayed in Casa Shalom and the Swiss team stayed in Casa Nuova.

It was hard work, but we really enjoyed this time together as a team. It is wonderful to give others a helping hand.

After the death of our friend Maria Meier (who ran this Christian therapeutic residential community for many years), it has been quite difficult to pick up the thread again.

The community is no longer a rehab, but more of a place where people can relax and find peace, a retreat center. Due to the good connections with Messianic congregations in Israel, the community has already been able to provide retreat time to various congregation leaders and their families.

In addition to the hard work, we enjoyed peace, beautiful scenery, good food, playing games, many conversations, and relaxing reading time. Worth repeating as far as we are concerned.

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Speaking of Israel, the project of the month in our shop/coffee house Twinkeltje and Atelier de Schor in April was the work of Brian Slater and Abundant Bread of Salvation. We were able to donate 1,800 euro! Thank you all. We were also able to transfer 4,000 euro for support of the work of Teen Challenge in Slovenija. The next project is the work of Teen Challenge in Georgia, more about that soon.

We can always use your donations to support all these wonderful projects and programs. You can send a donation in different ways:

• 💛Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention which project or country
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉You can also donate directly via our website!
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention which Teen Challenge center you want to support.

Travel and project updates

About a month ago, we wrote on this news blog that we had plans to go to Comunita Brezzano in Italy for a work week in April.

Well, we will go this week with a group of volunteers and help to level the path to Casa Shalom (which is located on top of a mountain).

In 2013 we stayed at Casa Shalom for the first time, with a group, and since then we have returned almost every year.

Casa Shalom is a family home that lives up to its name. A wonderful place for a retreat, group meeting, or prayer week. We will definitely enjoy it and report back soon!

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After that week in Italy, we will go to the Europe Teen Challenge conference in the first week of May, this time being held in Warsaw, Poland.

This annual conference is always a great opportunity for us to meet staff, students, and volunteers from the various Teen Challenge rehab programs all over Europe.

Ron Brown will be the main speaker in Warsaw. We know him from California! We also saw Marja's name on the program 😀

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We are currently raising funds for the Teen Challenge rehabilitation center in Slovenija. We wrote about this in our previous post. We will undoubtedly meet in Warsaw. The photo is from a recent graduation ceremony, showing guys who have beaten their addictions and successfully finished the program.

Earlier this month the men went to a conference in Sarajevo, they made a video of it which is fun to watch!

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The project of the month in Twinkeltje and Atelier de Schor is the work of Brian Slater and Abundant Bread of Salvation in Israel. So, that's where the total revenue from the stores will go at the end of the month.

They need our support now more than ever. You can also transfer a specified donation, but make sure to include ISRAEL.

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We can always use your donations to support all these wonderful projects and programs. You can send a donation in different ways:

• 💛Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention which project or country
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉You can also donate directly via our website!
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC SLOVENIJA.

Project solar heating Comunita Brezzano, Italy

Recently, we visited our friend Maria Meier in Italy. Maria runs Comunita Brezzano, a Christian therapeutic community in the interior of Tuscany. People with all kinds of problems (psychological, addiction etc.) can stay there for an extended time, rest, and get to know God better.

Comunita Brezzano exist thanks to donations, partial government support for each guest, and the sale of local produce.

They also receive people doing community service, they are put to work in the surrounding villages maintaining flower beds and painting village benches, nice work!

We (Jan and Marja) rented guest house Casa Shalom for a week and enjoyed a wonderful vacation. It was also a great opportunity to catch up and gather some information to support a new project.

On the roof of the men's house Casa Nuova they want to place two (used) solar collectors for hot water supply. This will make a significant difference in the electricity bill.

In addition, they want to connect the existing hot water boiler (which is also heated by solar energy) to the central heating and radiators in Casa Shalom.

So no more wood-burning stove to heat the radiators, but solar energy. In this way, the house can also remain better heated in the winter months.

Traveling Light would like to help with funds. If you want to join us, please

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention BREZZANO, or you can
• 💳 Give by card

Project support PLUS

At work with the wood splitter

In one of are previous blog posts we wrote about the many projects that we have supported in recent months. But at Traveling Light we do so much more than just fundraising!

Let's go back to the end of August ... For the sixth time we went to Italy for a work week in therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano. Chopping, sawing and stacking firewood for the cold winter months. It is not only a nice job, but also very useful. The evenings were pleasant on the grape-covered terrace of Casa Shalom, where we discussed our theme for the week: 'the voice of the Shepherd'.

Morning devotion at TC Kazakhstan

In September we visited Teen Challenge in Almaty, Kazakhstan. We will tell more about that later because a number of projects, that we may be able to support, emerged from that visit.

We stayed in the juvenile home. We visited the men's rehab center where Jan shared a word for the morning devotion and after that we visited the women's home where currently 20 women and 20 children are staying. We had time to pray and prophesy over each woman that was present that afternoon. It was such a sweet atmosphere of the Father's love. On Sunday we spoke together in a church and we had some time to see the beautiful nature around Almaty.

Israel night at Twinkeltje

In September we organized another Mission night in Twinkeltje, this time with guests from the USA; Jeroen & Robin Honingh. Each year they volunteer in Israel for three months and they have lots of stories to tell. We were able to encourage each other!

The Israel evening in Twinkeltje was also a success. We had a nice display of products from Israel  and many  people came to shop and to have fellowship around the table, filled with delicious snacks.

Visit to Lisbon during the Training Week

From October 10-17, board member Cora Donk (owner and director of coffee house/secondhand shop Twinkeltje) participated in a Rehab Training at Europe Teen Challenge in Fanhoes, Portugal. During this training all the ins and outs of faith-based drugs and alcohol rehabilitation were discussed. Participants came from various European countries, so the week-long training was also a great networking opportunity for her.

And as if that is not enough 😁

• The Alpha prison courses started again in September. Cora and Krijn are involved in this.
• Saturday November 2nd, we are hosting a WORSHIP night in the basement of Atelier Café De Schor, Bosch 6 in Papendrecht. Coffee and tea are available from 19:30,  prayers will start at 20:00 hrs.

GIFTS (large and small) go directly to the projects and are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Report work week Tuscany

The Italian editions of Marja's book are a blessing

We are looking back at a very special time in Italy. The weekend prior to the work week in Tuscany, we (Jan and Marja) visited the city of Genoa.

We took a tour of the sea aquarium and the old city center and on Sunday morning we spoke at Chiesa Ev. della Riconciliazione.

We have known Pastor Daniele Marzano for many years through our Teen Challenge network. With a team of volunteers he runs the street and coffee house in Genoa.

Team work

As we drove back and forth between Genoa and Recco (where we stayed with friends), we noticed how centrally located the bridge is that collapsed on Tuesday, August 14th. Wherever we went we passed it.

The disaster has had a huge impact on the city, somehow also for the better ... hands are being put together to help the hundreds of people who had to leave their houses (under the bridge).

On Monday we continued our journey towards Tuscany. We met the rest of the group in the medieval town of Massa Maritima. From there we drove together to the therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano.

Another great job done!

For the fifth year we organized a work week there.

With great enthusiasm we chopped a huge amount of wood, sawn it, split it and piled it up. In the evening we sat outside (by a campfire) to think and talk about our theme: Hope for the Future. The scripture we used for that was Romans 15:13.

We had a wonderful time together, a week in which we learned a lot from each other, not to mention from God himself who gave us the words through the Holy Spirit to pray for and with each other.

Sunday morning Bible study

Thank you Adrie, Anja, Henk, Jan, Marja, Teske and Ynse for a great job done. It was nice to spend a week together. Who knows what we are going to do next year ...

Donations for our projects are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

We are currently fundraising for project Teen Challenge rehab center in Lebanon.

Work week Italy & project Casa Shalom

During last year's work week

Summer vacation is almost there. For Traveling Light it means ... preparing for the work week in Italy.

[If you want to know what a work week is like, you can read HERE about previous years.]

From Monday August 27 to Monday September 3rd, 2018 we will be in Comunita Brezzano in beautiful Tuscany.

We still have room for 1 or (max.) 2 strong men who want to join us. Please contact us if you want to come.

The theme for the coming work week is 'Hope for the future'.

Afternoon break

We also made a promise to Maria Meier, who runs Comunita Brezzano.

The bathrooms and showers in Casa Shalom (where we stay every year) have to be remodeled to bring everything up to code. They need around 1,500 euro to get this job done.

It would be nice to help her not only with wood cutting, but also with the maintenance of this beautiful Tuscan guest house.

And back to work...

Renting out Casa Shalom brings in funds to run this Christian therapeutic community, a small-scale rehab facility that is largely sponsored through donations. People with serious addiction and / or psychological problems can live and work here for an extended period of time.

They can find peace and get to know God.

Your cheerful gifts are always welcome at St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention: CASA SHALOM.

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CURRENT PROJECTS:

Project Teen Challenge women's home Slienava, Lithuania

Project sponsoring summer camp, Ukraine

Project Casa Shalom, Italy

Work week Italy 2016

Italy group 2016

We all returned safe and sound from a wonderful work week in Italy, which we organized for the third year.

With a small group of volunteers we stayed at Casa Shalom for a week. It is one of the houses in the Christian therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in beautiful Tuscany.

Massa Marittima

We all worked very hard, sawing, chopping, cutting and stacking firewood to replenish their supply for the winter. The three houses in the residential community are being heated by wood stoves, and this requires quite some wood before winter begins.

With the help of Adrie, Anja, Arno, David, Henk Jan, Johan, Marja and Michael the job was done.

hard work with a smile!

The theme for the week was more than conquerors and each night we did a Bible study on that topic. It was a good combination of fun and seriousness... a day at the beach, a visit to the medieval town of Massa Marittima, and praying, talking, and singing together. We got to know each other better each day and also to function as a group.

We can truly say that all of us gained some new insights about gaining and keeping the victory!

We were able to let our light shine in Italy and it is our prayer that it will have a great and positive effect on the lives of the people there as well as on us as a group!

It is so much more fun to give than to receive.

See our photo album on Facebook.

Preparing for work week Italy 2015

Boris with the new grader

At the beginning of this year we gave a donation to therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany for the purchase of tractor parts.

In the picture on the left you can see Boris with the new grader. There is always lots of work to do! To support him and Maria Meier (who leads the community) we did organize work weeks in Italy in 2013 and 2014.

What do we do during a work week?

With a small group of volunteers we are staying in Casa Shalom, that is one of the houses within the community. During this week we all work hard... we cut and stack the wood supply for the winter, we help with other chores, we clean and repair where needed.

Awesome evenings

So, we expect that you know how to use your hands and strength. In the evenings we have Bible studies, we make music, we sit around a camp fire and enjoy the peace We also take time to go to the beach!

Are you ready to leave your daily routine behind and would you love to help the people in Comunita Brezzano? Please, contact us by sending an email to janandmarja@gmail.com.

And yes, being tourists as well!

Cost for the week is 250 euro per person + travel (you either drive, or fly to Pisa where we will pick you up).

This year we have planned the work week from Wednesday August 26 to Wednesday September 2nd.

Don't wait too long to sign up, we have limited space available.

Project tractor parts Tuscany

That's him...

Our Weissensee 2015 fundraiser for the girl's home in Moldova is in full swing. In the meantime we will take the opportunity to present (as announced earlier) our next project, namely financial support for therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany, and well for the purchase of tractor parts.

The grader

Maria Meier runs this christian therapeutic community in Italy, where people with life controlling problems can live for a while. In 2013 and 2014 we did organize work weeks during which we came with a group of young and strong people to cut firewood for the winter.

Loading container

While we were there last September, we asked Maria if there was anything else we could help her with. She told us that for several years there has been a need for two big tractor parts: a grader and a loading container.

The grader is much needed to make road repairs. Comunita Brezzano is situated in the Tuscan hills and the three homes (men's home, women's home and guest house Casa Shalom) are connected by unpaved roads. During winter time the roads suffer from ice, snow and rain and are in need of repairs. The loading container will be used to transport firewood, building materials etc. etc.

Roads in need of repairs

The purchase of these parts will cost 2,700 euro. Apart from some government support and client participation, this community (like many other christian initiatives) can only exist because of donations, the sales of jam and other products and rental income from Casa Shalom. Often there is no room to make big investments, like this one.

That is exactly the moment Traveling Light want to come alongside and help.

Bible study

This is a practical project, that will benefit us as well... We do have plans to organize yet another work week in Tuscany at the end of August/beginning of September this year. 

Lives are being changed here, forever! And that is something we like to invest in. You can help us by sending your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: TRACTOR.

Work week Italy 2014

Working hard and always smiling

As we did last year, Traveling Light again organized a work week in Italy. Offering practical help with a group of volunteers in Communita Brezzano, a Christian Therapeutic community in beautiful Tuscany.

[click on the pictures for an enlargement]

Camfire

Communita Brezzano consists of three old Tuscan homes in the mountains. Maria Meier (a German widow who has been in charge of the community for many years) lives in one of the houses and receives women with emotional, psychological or addiction problems.

Her long-time helper Boris lives in one of the other houses and receives men with similar problems. The third house, Casa Shalom, is being rented out as vacation or groups home, which brings in some income to keep the work going. We rented Casa Shalom for a week.

pizza from the wood oven

Each day the guys disappeared into the woods to cut trees and chop wood. They did a tremendous amount of work and stacked enough wood for the upcoming winter in the cellar of the men's home. A very labor intensive job, that would cost Boris weeks and weeks to accomplish.

All three houses are being heated through wood heaters, and so they need a huge supply to survive the cold months. Thanks to the help of David, Jan, Menno, Nick and Teun this job was done in several days. Thumbs up for our faithful volunteers!

The theme for this week was 'spiritual warfare', we did Bible studies on this subject every night. Those were precious evenings, sitting together talking, praying, discussing, and singing songs. Teun brought his guitar and was leading the group each night in worship. He did an awesome job!

Sunday brunch with Maria and Boris

Thank you very much David, Menno, Nick and Teun for your endless energy, humor and enthusiasm. Together we were able to let our light shine in Italy and it is our prayer that our time given will bring forth much fruit in the lives of the people there, as well as in our own lives.

It is indeed so much better to give than to receive.

Check out our photo album on Facebook.

News and events

The beautiful city of Potsdam

It has been quiet at the digital home front for the last few weeks. At Traveling Light this means people are working very hard behind the scenes :) Just to mention a few things:

We (Jan and Marja) were invited to speak at several places in Germany: at Full Gospel Business Meetings in Berlin and at the Nehemia Church in Potsdam. We are looking back at precious and very special meetings, seeing old friends and making new ones. A very special moment was a talk we had with a Jewish lady from Ukraine. She was so happy with our teaching on Law & grace; it was the very first time in her life that she saw Old and New Testament come together, like folded hands!

Visiting Teen Challenge Slovakia

After we picked up volunteers Jim & Lynda Hayes at Bratislava airport, we visited Teen Challenge Slovakia. In Sered the construction of the David Wilkerson Memorial chapel at the grounds of the men's rehab home continues. In 2013 we have helped them twice with a donation, and we will certainly do so again this year. The construction of the chapel has already lead to great conversations with curious people from the neighborhood.

We also visited Teen Challenge Slovenia. The program at the men's rehabilitation center is running well. Again and again new men in desperate need of help and healing are entering the center. It is so encouraging to see how God heals and delivers them from a life of addiction. We are thankful for the staff and students who organized a huge bbq for Jan's birthday.

bbq at Teen Challenge Slovenia

One of the neighbors came for a visit. He joins the Bible studies regularly. He has cancer and is undergoing chemo therapy. When we prayed with him he literally felt God's love and peace enter him, as he later described!

With Jim & Lynda we participated in the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Rimini, Italy. We were inspired and encouraged and made several new contacts, for example with people from Lebanon, Georgia and Latvia.

After the conference we spent several days in Comunita Brezzano, in Tuscany. Again, lots of interesting meetings, good talks and much prayer with people in need. It brings such joy and satisfaction to be able to shine our light in all corners of Europe, sometimes in dark or difficult situations and to experience that praying together really makes a difference!

Our faithful volunteer Jan Visser

In the meantime in Rotterdam: our friend Jan Visser ran his first marathon in a time of 4:23:11. Such a great accomplishment. He raised about 1,200 euro for the Teen Challenge men's center in Castanheira, Portugal. If you are looking for a small scale project to sponsor, don't hesitate to contact us...

This coming Thursday the annual Rabobank Run for non profit organisations is being held in Papendrecht. If you want to join and run/walk for Traveling Light, please contact us for more information.

Saturday April 26, 2014 we will celebrate KINGSDAY in The Netherlands. We will have a stand with second hand stuff at the free market. So, if you're in the neighborhood, come and visit us and say hi. We have lots of cool things to sell. All proceeds will go to Traveling Light projects.

Next project: water treatment installation for Winiarczykówka Teen Challenge in Poland.

Seder meal at Comunita Brezzano, Tuscany. Nine nations represented at the passover meal!

Work week Italy

Beautiful place to chill

The mission of Traveling Light is three fold: to offer financial support, spiritual encouragement and also practical help. Sometimes that happens all at the same time :) as with our project Casa Shalom in Italy. This July we donated 5,000 euro to this therapeutic community in Tuscany and last week we went there with a group of nine people to work and to give Bible studies.

Team work week Italy

It was the first work week we organized as Traveling Light. We (Jan and Marja) drove in our car to Pisa. Along the way we visited the lady who translates my books into Italian and we were also invited to speak at an evangelical church in Genoa. Monday afternoon September 2nd we arrived at Pisa airport, meeting with Alen Grasinar. Alen is a Teen Challenge graduate from Slovenia. He overcame his heroine addiction and just finished the program and wanted to join us for this work week. He drove all the way from Ljublijana.

Lots of chainsaw work to be done

We picked up six other volunteers who flew in from Holland. Nine people + luggage + guitar + groceries in two cars.... needless to say we had a blast! We rented Casa Shalom for a week, a beautiful old Tuscan house in the mountains, only accessible through an unpaved winding road several miles long. We had a wonderful and intense week together. Every day the seven men disappeared into the woods to cut trees, saw blocks and split them into smaller parts.

Practical help

The guys worked like horses and they must have cut more than 5 m3 of wood which they stacked in the cellars of the women's and men's home. A huge job done, which really surprised and pleased the directors. They were very much impressed with the fact that our guys were willing to unconditionally sacrifice their time, money and labor to help Comunita Brezzano. We also picked kilo's and kilo's of raspberries. Maria makes jam and juice which she sells elsewhere.

Each evening at eight o'clock we would all gather at the peaceful patio for Bible study and talks. The directors (Maria and Boris) and the three men that are currently there for rehabilitation joined us. They were very thankful and enjoyed the time, attention and fun that we shared with them as a group.

Great bbq with the whole gang

We can really say that we were able to shine our light in the lives of these people. They asked us when we would come again :) As a group we also learned from each other. We hope to organize more trips like this in the future.

A big thank you to Alen, Andreas, Frank, Geert-Jan, Menno, Sjanna and Teun (aka Antonio) for their unlimited energy, humor and enthousiasm. The theme for this week was Giving it all. And that's what we all did. What we do for others, we do for the Lord!

The photo's of this work week can be viewed by clicking on this LINK.