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 updates and lots of thanksgiving

In June and July, we were not only able to send in donations to various projects, but we also traveled quite a lot.

Visiting, showing your face, listening, praying with people, speaking words of encouragement and prophecy, teaching... you name it. It's all part of the traveling work we do on behalf of our non-profit Traveling Light (hence the name!).

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At the beginning of June, we were guests at the 25th anniversary of the Teen Challenge men's center in Sluknov, Czech Republic. Very nice to be there and even nicer that we were approached by several men from the program about the Bible study sessions we gave there in January. One man came running to tell us that his shattered wrist (which he had been unable to use for years) had been healed after we prayed for it. Praise the Lord!

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When we returned home, Jan got on his motorbike and drove to Teen Challenge Slovenija. The next day they went from there with 2 vans and 12 men from the rehab program to the 'My Brother's Keeper' conference in Montenegro.

Hundreds of men from all the Balkan countries gathered there. Those of you who have ever joined Jan for such a conference know that these are very blessed gatherings with lots of prayer, music, liberation, and healing. This time again dozens of men gave their lives to Jesus. Also a number of men from the TC program in Slovenija. Praise the Lord!

After the conference, Jan stayed an extra day in the TC center in Slovenija to teach the Bible a, pray with the men, and speak into their lives. This picture (click on it to enlarge) says more than a thousand words, right?! 💓

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On the way back home, Jan visited Dirk & Meike Hellmann, they have been directors of the Teen Challenge rehab center Gutes Land in Germany for many years. We have visited them regularly over the years.

Dirk has been struggling with cancer for a long time, he also had a bone marrow transplant and was not doing well. Jan was able to encourage them both, prayed with Dirk, and even went swimming with him (which he really wanted). He visibly improved. Praise the Lord!

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At the beginning of July, we were among the guests of honor at the celebration of 35 years of Teen Challenge in Poland. What a party it was! The celebration took place on the grounds of the men's rehab center in Lekinia, which we have visited several times in the past. There were many visitors, including officials from the city and many former students.

TC Poland has several rehab houses for men and women, a network of 50(!) coffee houses, church plants, and much more. On behalf of Traveling Light we accepted a beautiful glass plaque as an appreciation for the many years of help and support.

Again, it was so encouraging that people came to us who recognized us from previous visits, who remembered what we taught about years ago, or who just wanted to tell us that prayers had been answered. Here too, a lot of gratitude for the work of Traveling Light. Praise the Lord!

On Sunday, 14 men and women were baptized in a nearby lake. What testimonials we have heard!

Only God can restore broken lives, reunite families, save marriages, heal disease, and break addictions.

Among the international guests in Poland were also Stephan & Marianne Barendse from Teen Challenge Netherlands. Good to spend some time together again.

Actually, we visited them in Heerhugowaard at the beginning of June. TC Netherlands is once again going through a difficult time. The Cyan thrift store has closed (they had to leave due to zoning plans in the municipality) and the care department of Life House has also closed (because that was largely paid for by the proceeds of the store).

Prayer is needed on how to proceed.

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Meanwhile, our dear friends, volunteers, and loyal donors Piet & Anneke Stehouwer were vacationing in Croatia and they decided to visit the new Teen Challenge coffee house in Solin, for which we recently collected funds (read here).

They had a blessed meeting with TC director Ico Matulic and the man who runs the coffee house. These kinds of visits and meetings are so important and valuable, believe it or not.

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Both the financial support and the personal visits are the heart of our work. None of this would be possible without your help.

Your donations are always welcome. You can send a gift in different ways, please take note:

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention 'general' or otherwise which country or project.
• 💳 Give by card

News + prayer points

New kitchen

The awesome thing of supporting small-scale projects is the direct contact with the people involved. We regularly receive emails with words of gratitude and of course lots of pictures. Look how practical gifts were used recently.

Storage room

In July, we placed project renovation kitchen Winiarczykowka, Poland on this blog. They have worked hard in the past few months to meet all government requirements.

The kitchen was upgraded, bath and washrooms redone and the pantry is equipped with nice storage racks. Residents, staff and volunteers can now enjoy even more living, working and rehabilitating in a safe and clean environment, partly a result of your generous donations. Thank you very much.

Later that month, we announced project Campaign Nick Vujicic, Slovenia. Pastor Steve Telzerow mailed a detailed report of the event where thousands of students were present and thousands more followed it on television.

Nick and interpreter Barbara Telzerow

It was an honor for them to work with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport and many new friendships were made. Nick's prayer with and for the President of Slovenia was a special moment. Let's pray many will get to know the Lord in Slovenia. Pastor Steve writes in his newsletter:

Grateful for volunteers

"We are very grateful for the participation of so many that made this broadcast and event possible. I want to say a special thanks to Stichting Traveling Light, Josiah Venture (Društvo Več), Beltway Park Church, Christ Community Church in Harrisburg PA, HarvestNet in Ephrata PA, Gosport Church England... "

Last month, we asked for help on behalf of seafarer's evangelist Guus Peters in project Tagalog Bibles. Thanks to your quick response the Bibles could be purchased and Guus has already been handing out the first copies on the ships.

Happy with the good news

He sent us this photo. We like to see happy faces! Again, thank you for your generous gifts.

Last week Jan attended the Europe Teen Challenge Fall Meeting in Norway on behalf of Traveling Light. For us it is always a good time to speak leaders from many countries. 

Europe Teen Challenge family

Traveling Light received a lot of positive feedback from all over Europe. Please continue to pray for our work, so we can continue to bless those who need it most!

PS: We already received more than 3,000 euro for project bedroom sinks Teen Challenge Łękinia, Poland. So we are well on our way to reach our goal. Fantastic! If you would like to help, please send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention LEKINIA.

If you are viewing this blog online, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Action L@ND

We have just returned from a short trip to Kazakhstan where we visited various Teen Challenge crisis and rehabilitation centers. We will share more about it (and show some pictures of course) in our next blog post. We were able to donate 2,000 euros towards project renovation kitchen Winiarczykowka in Poland. Thank you very much. Funds are also coming in for project campaign Nick Vujicic in Slovenia, so we'll keep that open a little longer.

Earlier this year we started action L@ND, an idea that came out of  our prayer gatherings (Prayer for the Nations) which we are holding every month. L@ND stands for 'love a nation dearly'.

fact sheet

Action L@ND calls families, home groups, prayer groups, churches, businesses and organizations to 'adopt' a country in Europe and to pray specifically for that country. We make sure you will receive a fact sheet about the country you have chosen. This fact sheet will be a reminder to pray specifically for a country (the government, economy, churches, your holiday address, etc.) and for a local Christian initiative run by people we are in contact with. In this way you can zoom in and make you prayers more personal.

We hope that a network of prayer teams will emerge from Action L@ND and that together we will be able to cover Europe with focused prayer. We have no doubt focused prayer will develop a heart for mission and make it possible to see beyond our own world.

Praying for Europe in Intl. House of Prayer, Berlin

Some time ago we gave an inspiring presentation about action L@ND in Christian Church De Hoeksteen in Etten-Leur. The attendees were very enthusiastic about this approach and we hope that many more will follow and embrace a particular country. We are always happy to share our vision and give more information if you desire so!

Our prayers are a huge encouragement, so we hear from our contacts; a network covering over thirty countries. Send us an email or contact our FB page if you want to join!

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96: 3).

News + prayer points

Unfortunately there is a daily abundance of bad news from many countries. We like to share GOOD news of the nations in Europe. Negative news is easy to find, good news we need to purposely search for. Psalm 72:19 says, "Let the earth be filled with His presence Yes, let it be so."

Last week we were guests at the annual Roma conference in Macedonia. Spiritual leaders of Roma communities in different countries (Bulgaria and Serbia for example) were gathered for a time of reflection, fellowship and education. For us it is a unique opportunity to learn more about the Roma culture and the specific issues that arise when they become believers.

Miki & Suzanna

Pastor Radko and Nevin Kratsov shared practical lessons about leadership and marriage. Miki & Suzanna Kamberovic blessed us again with passionate music. This time we stayed at beautiful Ohrid lake in the south of Macedonia, a wonderful relaxed place for good conversations.

It is a huge encouragement for us to see and hear how God works among the Roma people.

God sets people free!

Two weeks ago, it was also time for the annual čuvar brata svoga conference (My Brother's Keeper), this time in Slovenia. We were there for the sixth time in a row on behalf of Traveling Light.

More than 420 men from several Balkan countries (all former Yugoslavia) came together for fellowship, teaching, prayer, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Amazing to see and experience what happens there! Perhaps such things will not appear in the newspapers, but we are convinced that these are major happenings with a huge spiritual impact on the nations.

Teen Challenge Slovenia

After the conference Jan and Jim visited the Teen Challenge rehabilitation center in Nova Vas. The center is always full, and they are currently looking for a larger location.

On September 28, Nick Vujicic will be coming to Slovenia for a major campaign against bullying. The Ministry of Education has given permission to broadcast the event LIVE in all schools! The event will be live on national TV. That is awesome, because Nick brings a clear biblical message.

Pastor Steve Telzerow from Ljubljana pointed out that they started a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money needed to organize everything. Make sure to watch this touching video. Investing in the future of Europe from a gospel perspective. Who would not want that? Seeing all those changed lives is the greatest encouragement.

Summer camp Berdychiv

Furthermore, we were able to donate a nice amount of 2,000 euro for the summer camp in Ukraine which will start next week. Thank you for your generous gifts.

And in our own town...
Teus Donk raised more than 800 euro for the benefit of the second hand store we will open after the summer. With his gift we will be able to show shoppers hospitality by serving free coffee, tea and cookies.

Happy summer everyone!

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 ?

Visiting Teen Challenge Georgia

Changed lives change lives!

Last month, we traveled to the republic of Georgia. We were there to visit the team of Teen Challenge  and they gave us a very warm welcome!

Georgia is a beautiful country with a rich history, culture and breathtaking scenery! Together with neighboring country Armenia they are the only Orthodox Christian country among islamic countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The Teen Challenge men's home

A few years ago a Teen Challenge rehabilitation center for men was established. Men with addiction problems are coming from all neighboring countries to Teen Challenge for help.

Meanwhile Teen Challenge also purchased a property where a women's house will be opened! There's still a lot of money needed for this ...

Open air church 

TC workers Kuanysh and Madina showed us around and took us to some beautiful spots near the capital Tbilisi. We have talked a lot about God's work in this country and the opportunities to be a blessing to the neighboring countries where the love of Jesus is not so well known.

The church service was held in the open air in a beautiful place in the mountains. Giorgi had brought his guitar, we shared a message and then there was a delicious picnic.

Church picnic with lots of new believers

We met so many kind and loving people, we heard stories, we prayed together and were able to encourage many people. It's so wonderful to see that family members of the guys in the Teen Challenge program now also get curious about the love of God: they see the change in their son, brother, husband ...

We came also in contact with the young Iranian pastor R. He now lives in Georgia and has set up CIC Mission there.

Jan gives Bible study at the men's center

CIC Mission is a non-profit that aims to share the love of God with the people from Iran and Azerbaijan. With a small team of volunteers pastor R. starts house churches all over the region! More on that in one of our upcoming blogs.

Also with Teen Challenge directors Blair & Althea we had a good time, useful discussions, powerful prayers and they showed us beautiful spots in the area as well. It was a great encouragement for us to see how a LIVING community of believers is growing in Georgia!

We are happy to be able to help them. On behalf of staff and students of Teen Challenge Georgia, THANK YOU for your donations for project study materials.

December projects

Rehab home Berdychiv

Thanks to your fantastic response and generous gifts we were able to bless many people this December month. Read along:

The offering during the Christmas Eve service in our Church De Hoeksteen was held for our project Coffee house and Rehab homes Berdychiv in the Ukraine. We are happy to announce that we have been able to give a total donation of 3,000 euro towards the work among the addicts, homeless, prostitutes, lonely and elderly in Berdychiv.

Months away from home

We were able to sponsor Guus and Annemiek Peters with a gift for 70 Christmas goodie bags for the sailors in the ports of Belgium. Guus writes: "I had many good talks with the sailors during the distribution of the Christmas goodie bags. One in particular was with Sujith, a Hindu from india. he told me that he became a father 4 months ago and that he had not seen his daughter yet, because he has been on board of his ship for six months...

I told him dat I know someone Who did send His Son to us and then did not see Him for 33 years. The only contact between tehm was through prayer. Sujith asked me to explain more and I could share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him. I always find it so precious that I can do this, making use of a sailor's story. There is always something in the Bible to connect his story with. Sujith was very happy with the New Testament in his own Hindi language. Thank you very much for your help!"

Beit Hallel

We also received a thank you note of Voice of Judah Ministries in Ashdod, Israel. We were able to sponsor the work of Messianic congregation Beit Hallel with a gift. "Shalom!!! Confirming we have received your wire for 1,000 EUR. Thank you for your generous gift! Many Blessings." 

What a great way to end another blessed year! Thank you so much for your faithful, surprising, periodic, one-time, general, specific, small, large, lovely and special donations.

As we are meditating on Gods blessings in this previous year, we are at the same time looking forward to a new year. We already have several practical new projects lined up:

• Plastic for green houses Teen Challenge, Serbia
• Tractor parts for Communita Brezzano, Italy
• Repairs Coffee House Teen Challenge, Belgium
• Shelter for young girls in Moldava

We are looking forward to co-laboring with you all again. Please tell others about Traveling Light.

PS: click on the pictures for enlargement

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!

News items & prayer

We received a kind email from Guus Peters in Terneuzen thanking Traveling Light for the 800 euro we donated, result of your gifts, for project Bibles for sailors. He writes: "You are helping us in a great way. It is often difficult to find sufficient funds to purchase the materials we hand out... Attached is a picture of Rean, he is a shy guy (just 20 years old) from the Philippines on his first trip, and he is really home sick. He still needs to work for seven months. He is a Christian and was very happy with the New Testament Bible in English/Tagalog that he received, thanks to you all. We are very thankful." Let's pray Rean will receive power and joy!

We have already received more than 1,000 euro for project Tamimi family in Jerusalem. We have not set a certain amount to help them financially. The purchase of a good family car/taxi will cost several thousands of euro's and we hope to be able to help them with a big chunk towards that purchase. It is good to take care of our Arab brothers and sisters in the Middle East, to encourage and pray for them. You can make your gifts payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U

Project jewelry from Israel kicked off last week, already three necklaces have found their way to happy owners. Just for clarity: you don't buy these necklaces, you get one for your gift of 50 euro. All proceeds will go to the women's home Ark in the Negev in Arad. Please pray that abused and addicted women will find their way to the women's home.

Sports: our friend Jan Visser turned 50 last month. A great moment to run his first ever marathon... well, that's what he is planning to do. On April 13th he will participate in the Rotterdam Marathon. 

He wants to make it a fundraiser run for Traveling Light and  raise money for the Teen Challenge men's home in Castanheira do Ribatejo in Portugal (we visited the home in January). We pray that Jan will stay in good health and that he will be able to raise a generous sum for the work in Castanheiro. Please, keep an eye on this blog for more news.

In February we visited Macedonia. We spoke in several churches and home groups and went to see the Roma families and the Saraj church in Skopje. It was such a time of encouragement! We are hearing more and more stories of God's Spirit moving among the Roma people in Europe. Let's pray for the wonderful (and difficult) work Sokrat & Lena are doing among them.

We are almost finished with the 2013 year report. The report is only available in Dutch, sorry :) But we can tell you we have booked great results last year, nothing but good news :) The year report will appear on our website.

Isn't it wonderful to see what we can do in Europe when we work together? THANK YOU SO MUCH. And please, pray for the Ukraine.