Visit to Teen Challenge, Albania

First of all, we would like to wish you all a blessed 2025!

An update on the Christmas package campaigns will be coming up, but first this...

At the end of November, we (Jan and Marja) were in Albania, where we participated in the Europe Teen Challenge leadership conference in Dürres.

Several people from Global Teen Challenge were present as were directors of Teen Challenge rehab programs and centers from more than twenty European countries. Orges & Blerina Hysenaj, the directors of TC Albania, provided a great welcome and a blessed stay.

During such a conference, updates are given about the various rehabilitation centers. There is room to pray with and for each other, to meet each other, and several seminars were given about the challenges of this time and age. [Click on the photos to enlarge]

Think of other/new types of addictions such as vaping and gaming, additional problems such as self-mutilation (cutting) and trafficking, and the fact that the age at which addiction occurs is getting younger.

We have talked with everyone as much as possible 😀 and we also visited the Christian rehab center STREHA near Tirana with the entire group. A fairly small farmhouse where 14(!) men are currently staying, don't ask us how.

It is great to hear and see how lives are completely changed and how the parents and family members are also affected by this. They often have a Muslim background and now see with their own eyes that Jesus is truly the Healer and Savior!

Every month Gesi & Blerina organize a meeting with the parents and families. They share the Gospel, pray and worship together. They cry together, lift each other up, and remind each other that Jesus is alive and able to change the lives of their sons, husbands, and brothers – and their own lives too because they need Jesus as well.

Because the house is now far too small to accommodate everyone who comes for help, a piece of land was purchased last year where a new rehab center will be built in the near future! But that will take some time (and quite some funds). We will keep you informed.

Among the men currently staying in Streha, there is a lot of creative talent. They paint pieces of wood and put scriptures on them. We all received such a work of art.

We want to continue to support the work of Teen Challenge Albania in order to change the city and its surroundings, 'one person at a time' so to speak. Will you help?

You can send a donation in different ways:

💛Send your financial gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC ALBANIA.

💳 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 ALBANIA

Project coffee house work Teen Challenge Albania

👉First of all, we would like to wish you all a blessed 2024. Hopefully, it will be another year in which we can support many projects together that change people's lives.

Thank you very much for the recent gifts we received. We were able to transfer 5,000 euros to Teen Challenge Ukraine for the purchase of a house near the women's home in Berdychiv!

We also mentioned the work of Teen Challenge in Albania in the previous news blog. We stay informed about life in the rehabilitation center in Albania through newsletters and social media messages.

Director Gesi Hysenaj writes; 'The center is full and we are grateful for the men. Our coffee house in Tirana is also busy.' A coffee house is often the first place where addicts hear that help is available, that addiction does not have the last word.

By having conversations, sharing testimonies, and offering a listening ear, it is possible to reach men who are seeking true freedom from their life-controlling problems. This is true for anyone seeking help, whether they have a Muslim, Atheist, or Orthodox background.

The point is that they are coming into contact with the love and grace of Jesus Christ, often for the first time.

Addicts and the homeless are also reached through street evangelism. It is also nice to hear that many people have now found Teen Challenge and are asking for help.

This year, Gesi would like to see the men in the program become more involved in the coffee house work. They can address those still stuck in addiction like no other.

We would like to support them at the beginning of this new year with a donation for the coffee house work (rental building, coffee/tea, books, Bibles, and other materials). In any case, support is always needed to run the center, because almost everything is paid for by donations.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so in different ways:

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

Thank you again for your help!

Project maintenance Teen Challenge rehab center, Albania

Kind regards from the Teen Challenge Rehabilitation Center in Albania. Director Gesi Hysenaj keeps us informed of the daily happenings through his newsletters.

It is encouraging to read how lives are changing in Albania because God intervenes, and people decide to leave their old lives behind and start a new life.

In September, they baptized one of their students. Sometimes, entire families come to faith because a son or father has changed.

In the residential program there is time for Bible study, personal studies and counseling, but also for work activities in and around the center.

The team is reaching the hopeless and addicted through street evangelism and coffee house work. It is also good to hear that more and more people know where to find Teen Challenge when in need of help.

They recently had some problems with a leaking roof and a request came in for (among other things) new mattresses.

In any case, support is always needed for running the center, because they rely almost entirely on donations.

By the way, later this month we hope to catch up with Gesi & Blerina again when we meet them at the Europe Teen Challenge fall conference in Italy.

It is a privilege that we can maintain personal contact with the people behind all the projects we support.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so in different ways, please take note:

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and mention TC ALBANIA
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC ALBANIA

Thank you again for your help!

Visit to Teen Challenge Albania

Earlier this month Jan and Merijn (from Atelier De Schor) visited Gesi & Blerina Hysenaj from Teen Challenge in Albania.

It was wonderful to spend a few days together and to catch up, listen, pray, and get around in Tirana.

Of course, they visited the rehabilitation center where men with addiction problems can live and follow the Teen Challenge program. A touch from God is something most of these men have never experienced before.

Running such a rehab center demands a lot. Sometimes men come in totally devastated and without hope and after a few days decide that they can handle life again and they leave... back into the city, back to their addictions. Some have been staying in the house for months and suddenly run away.

And fortunately, there are also men who do complete the program, they are baptized, join a church, and are often reunited with their families. We must always keep in mind: every life counts!

During Prayer for the Nations last Friday evening, Jan and Merijn showed photos and shared more about their visit. The proceeds from Twinkeltje and Atelier De Schor this month will go to the work of Teen Challenge in Albania.

Gesi would like to see an extension of the coffeehouse work, which is often the first place where addicts and homeless people come into contact with the gospel. There are churches that have indicated that they want to start a coffee house.

The photo shows Gesi talking through the bars to drug addicts in the basement of a hospital where there is a detox center. A special form of street evangelism!

If you would like to make a donation for his work, you can do so in different ways:

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC ALBANIA
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention Teen Challenge Albania

At the beginning of Febrary we hope to meet Gesi & Blerina during a training/symposium "Best Practices for Running a Day and Evangelism Program" at Europe Teen Challenge in Portugal!

Update Teen Challenge Albania

In April of this year, we wrote about the expansion of the Teen Challenge rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol addicts in Albania.

Orges Hysenaj, the director and founder of Teen Challenge Albania, keeps us regularly informed about the ins and outs of the 'Streha' center.

If you are interested and want to stay informed you can follow TC Albania on Instagram

Through the coffeehouse work, more and more addicts come into contact with the work of Teen Challenge. It is there that they often hear for the first time that there is HOPE and that they do not have to struggle with addiction all their lives.

It does mean, however, that they have to take the step to turn their backs on the old life, someone else cannot do that for them! Every human life is precious and we are pleased to see that human lives are changing, one by one… also in Albania.

The work in 'Streha' house depends on donations. More men in the program also means more funds are needed for the day-to-day business (food, drink, gas, light, salary of staff, etc.).

If you have a heart for Albania and want to indirectly help to bring hope to the hopeless ...

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC ALBANIA
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention Teen Challenge Albania

Project expansion Teen Challenge, Albania

At the beginning of last year, the Teen Challenge rehabilitation center for drugs and alcohol addicts in Albania was officially opened. There are currently five men in the center!

Orges Hysenaj, the director and founder of Teen Challenge Albania, oversees a number of coffee houses in the country, where the troubled and addicted often have their first encounter with the Bible and God's love.

From there, they can sign up to follow the residential program, if they are really ready to start a new life.

At the moment there are several men who have indicated that they want to build a new life, so it is actually time to expand the number of beds.

It is Orges' desire and plan to change the room that they use as an office into a toilet and bathroom, so they can have another room in which to receive students, the capacity going up to 10 students!

Donations are currently being received for these building activities and for the purchase of two solar panels that can at provide hot water. It has been estimated that this will cost around 3,500 euro.

Will you help us again? If you have a heart for Albania and want to bring hope to the hopeless...  you can send a gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht and make sure to mention ALBANIA.

👉When in the USA you can make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention: TC ALBANIA.

We recently posted a prayer for Albania on our YouTube channel, which you can use as inspiration to pray for the country!

Please, subscribe to our channel.

Cross and the switchblade in Albania

Coffee house Tirana, Albania

The work of Teen Challenge among the homeless and drug addicts often begins in so-called coffee houses. Coffee houses are meeting places where once a week or several times a week the door opens for people who need a chat, prayer and coffee, of course :)

How do people know where to find a coffee house? Well, simply because Teen Challenge teams hand out flyers and invitations on the street and at methadone clinics for example. Starting a coffee house is like planting a seed that will bring change to a nation ...

Blerina & Orges Hysenaj

Orges & Blerina Hysenaj live in Tirana and last year they started a coffee house in Albania. We were able to be of service with a financial gift for the start-up, a visit and through maintaining regular contact.

Orges now has quite a group of interested men who visit his coffee house, most of them are in serious addictions. Yet, Orges gives Bible studies and has conversations with the men about Jesus and His love for mankind. One day he expects to open up a Teen Challenge rehab center in his country!

One way to get in touch and seriously talk with addicts is still the book 'The Cross and the switchblade' by David Wilkerson (the founder of Teen Challenge). The book has been translated into more than 30 languages ​​and millions of copies have been sold.

The books are distributed throughout the world and used to reach the homeless and drug addicts with the good news that another life is possible if you choose to live with Jesus Christ!

The book is currently being translated into the Albanian language and Orges wants to print 2,500 copies for distribution. We want to help him to pay for the costs of translation and printing of the book. We know that the message will bring hope and a chance for a new life will to many Albanians.

Do you believe in changed lives? Do you have a heart for the nations of Europe? Then send your donation to  St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U. and do not forget to mention ALBANIA.

Visit to Teen Challenge Albania

Jan & Orges in Tirana

Earlier this month Jan went to visit Orges & Blerina Hysenaj in Tirana. They have recently opened a Teen Challenge coffee house. Orges took Jan to the streets ...

Orges has a heart for the hopeless addicts in his city and he speaks regularly with them in the streets. In doing so, he establishes good contacts and invites the men to come to church and to the coffee house ...

In front of the coffee house

The coffee house is a nice place to meet and to have further discussions. It is awesome to see how hopeless men receive hope again as they begin to realize that another life is possible with the help of God. Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe with a long history of Communism and Atheism. More than 60% of the population is Muslim.

By the way, Albania is a beautiful country. Jan and Orges went around Tirana on bicycles, a nice (and Dutch) way to see everything! They invited three men to come to the church and later to the coffee house, and the came. One of them decided to give his life to Jesus, victory over darkness. Pray for him.

The didn't mind to take a photo with Jan

While in Albania, Jan stayed in a guest house of Hope for Albania, an organization that also has its roots in Papendrecht :) He was very well looked after by a sweet Dutch couple: Koos & Dinie.

Orges has hope for those who struggle with addictions. One man, a small beginning. We would really like to encourage and support him in his work among the least of these. Funds are needed for the rent of the coffee house (250 euros per month), for a coffee machine and a kitchenette, evangelistic materials, music, movies ... you name it.

Stunning views

Do you dare to have hope for a nation where many people have never heard of the love of God? Please, make your gift payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and don't forget to mention: ALBANIA.

Let your light shine!

Project Coffeehouse Teen Challenge, Albania

the Hysenaj family

It is a huge encouragement for us each time we meet people who take the call of God's heart seriously by letting their light shine in their street, city, region or country.

Orges & Blerina Hysenaj are such people. They live with their two children in Tirana, Albania. Some time ago they took the initiative to start a Teen Challenge coffeehouse in Tirana. A meeting place of hope and friendship.

Orges (or Gesi as his friends and family like to call him) has a heart for people with addiction and other life threatening issues and he can see how the problems are piling up in his country.

He found a small building where he started a coffeehouse and he now meets with several guests every week for talks and Bible study!

It may sound simple ... start a coffeehouse. But there is much to consider: first of all prayer for wisdom and protection. Furthermore of course financial resources to pay the rent, buy furnishings and materials. We would love to help him be with that!

Albania is a country with a turbulent history: oppression, poverty, communism, atheism, unemployment etc. The country is struggling to break free from all these things. It's awesome to see what happens when people discover that surely there is a God who wants to give them a hopeful future, a God who loves them.

Darkness must give way to joy, just look at those smiling faces!

Do you want to help to reach people in Albania with the good news for a hopeful future? You can do so by making a donation which will help Orges and his team of volunteers to expand their work in the coffeehouse. 

Please make your gift payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and don't forget to mention: ALBANIA.