Sponsoring Teen Challenge summer camp, Ukraine

Morning ritual :)

As in previous years, we want to sponsor the annual summer camp in Ukraine which is being organized by Teen Challenge Ukraine and the Jewish Messianic congregation in Berdychiv.

The camp is a special time for men and women who are (or have been) in drugs- and alcohol rehabilitation centers all over Ukraine. But also volunteers, workers, leaders, pastors, church members, children and family members are welcome.

They are expecting around 200 participants this year.

A mid week camping out, playing games, laughing, Bible study, music, food, prayer and friendship is a very special time for the participants. For many it will be the first time they go on a summer trip like this, especially if they have lived in the streets or been in prison.

Jan teaches Biblestudy

Last year we (Jan and Marja) participated in the camp, from peeling potatoes to giving Bible studies to praying for and with people.

We had a fantastic time. This year we have been invited again to come and share some Bible studies. The camp will be held from July 9-13, 2018 and it costs about 25 euro per person to attend this summer camp.

Many people do not have the financial means to pay for this camp. So, we promised to help again.  We know and have seen and experienced that this week can be life changing for many people!

If you have it on your heart to help, please send 25 euro (or a multiplication thereof) to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention: SUMMER CAMP.

Enthusiastic students

Sponsoring the summer camp is a very direct and practical way to give heed to the Biblical calling:

Go and make disciples of all nations...

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Current projects:

Project Teen Challenge women's home Slievana, Lithuania

Project sponsoring summer camp, Ukraine

Road trip Germany and Poland (2)

The gate Wroclaw

From Berlin (see our previous post) we drove to Wroclaw in Poland. A beautiful city with a colorful historic center and lots of students: about 120,000! Last October we visited The Gate, the youth work of Teen Challenge in Wroclaw.

The Gate is run by young people from local churches and is known among students as an 'alternative club' because of the alcohol-free zone. The club offers opportunity to talk about the more serious things in life.

The Gate organizes worship evenings, mini concerts and workshops, as well as meetings on the university campuses and they are active during festivals and theme weeks.

Book signing

Every week a growing group of students comes together. For some, a visit to The Gate is the first introduction to the Christian faith.

The Tuesday night we were there, it was a full house, how wonderful! We had many interesting conversations, there was music, singing, prayer and we were invited to share bits and pieces  of our life stories. We were able to give away many copies of Łaska dawania, the Polish edition of Marja's book Grace of Giving.

ETC annual board meeting

We had the privilege of supporting The Gate earlier this year by sending a donation and it was great fun to visit them again. We would like to continue our encouragement.

The next morning we walked around the historic city center and then we left for Krakow to participate in the annual Europe Teen Challenge conference.

Every year, staff, students, volunteers and interested parties from around 30 countries come to the conference. Most are involved in Christian rehabilitation work. Traveling Light also attends the annual board meeting.

With Janusz and Bogusia

We come together for encouragement, fellowship, sharing stories, strengthening the various friendships and praying with and for each other.

For Janusz & Bogusia of Teen Challenge Winiarczykowka we collected 1,300 euro in our secondhand shop Twinkeltje in April. Well, that's a way to make people happy 😁

Gesi from TC Albania

Gesi Hysenaj, from Teen Challenge Albania, handed us a copy of 'The Cross iand the switchblade' in Albanian language. Wonderful, Traveling Light has co-sponsored the translation and publishing of this edition. It is the first time in history that this life changing book is available in Albania.

Well, we could share for hours about all the beautiful encounters and the gratitude we receive for you (the donors)! At such a conference we see and hear how all donations have been used and how the support and encouragement from the Netherlands is appreciated.

THANK YOU!

👉We are currently collecting funds for Teen Challenge's women's home in Lithuania. We have planned a short visit beginning of August. Please, send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: LITHUANIA.

When in the USA you can donate to: Eastern Europe Outreach Inc, make sure to mention: LITHUANIA.

Road trip Germany and Poland (1)

Posing in front of the moving van of Casa Bet-El

Just like last year, we made a tour of Europe in early May with Jim & Lynda Hayes. On our way to Krakow in Poland, where the Europe Teen Challenge conference was held, we visited several people and places ... and each and every one of them was so special.

Last year we visited Casa Bet-El (nice website by the way) in Berlin, Germany for the first time. Casa Bet-El is a christian rehab for men with addiction problems.

The A-team :)

We were very impressed by the wonderful (and difficult) work that Vito and Anna Katrin Franceschin and their team are doing there. We kept in touch and were invited to spend a few days with them.

Community living means doing life together: eating and cleaning up, barbecuing and exercising. But also praying with and for each other. Of course there were some technical problems for Jan to solve. He doesn't go anywhere without his  toolbox!

During breakfast Vito shared how God saved him years ago from a life of drug use, trafficking and crime. Quite a bizarre story and at the same time the motivational factor to do this work (Vito and Anna Kathrin live from donations).

Lunch at Casa Bet-El

We furthermore had the opportunity to teach from the Bible and to have many personal conversations with the staff and men in the program. We had a powerful evening of worship in which God's Spirit was present with deliverance, healing, restoration and comfort.

Casa Bet-El has revenue from El Rastro, a second-hand store in Berlin, and from a moving business. With the truck (see the photo above) staff and residents go around town to pick up stuff, move furniture and clean out homes.

By the way, the truck needs to be replaced with a new one. If you are called to help with that, donations are always welcome. Make sure to designate your gift CASA BETEL. We will make sure your gift gets to them!

Jan shares encouraging words with the Nehemiah Gemeinde

This visit was a huge encouragement for all of us. As always, we go out to give (funds, love, time, fellowship, words of the Spirit etc.) and we end up receiving blessings in return.

On Sunday afternoon we were also guests at the Nehemiah Gemeinde in Potsdam. We have known them for years and it is always good to see old acquaintances and meet new people in this church.

Jan shared an encouraging word and we were blessed with a generous gift for one of the projects of Traveling Light.

Tuesday morning we left for Wroclaw, Poland. More about that in the next blog!

Gifts (large and small) for the various projects are always welcome! St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

PS: Click on the photos for an enlargement.

Check out our BLOG.
Current project: TEEN CHALLENGE LITHUANIA

Project Teen Challenge women's home, Lithuania

Teen Challenge women's home in Slievana

It is always nice to introduce a 'new' country on this blog. Well ... new, Lithuania is not new of course, but it is the first time that we will support a project there.

We have been in contact with the people of Teen Challenge in Lithuania for years, although we have not been there yet (we will definitely do so!).

Teen Challenge has been active in Lithuania since 2001. There are now three drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers; two for men and a house for women.

Rasa Pakėnienė.

The women's center is located in Slievana, near Kaunas. The house has fifteen beds and women can live and recover safely, together with their children! Rasa Pakėnienė is the director of the women's center.

A while back we received a request for financial assistance. The roof of the women's center is leaking and water is flowing through it. The current roof is too old to be repaired, so it needs to be replaced with a new one. 

Replacing also means insulating, so that it will stay warm inside in the winter and cool in summer. The roof surface is about 200 m2.

This means quite a big job that requires extra funds (estimated quote: 12,000 euro). We would like to help Teen Challenge Lithuania, so that when winter comes again, women and children will stay warm and dry.

Teen Challenge women's home, Lithuania

If we team up, it should be possible to raise at least part of the funds necessary to complete this construction job. We hope you want to help in giving the women and children in Lithuania a new roof over their head.

Please, send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: LITHUANIA.

When in the USA you can donate to: Eastern Europe Outreach Inc, make sure to mention: LITHUANIA.

Travel and project news

Board meeting ETC, Krakow 2018

We recently made a trip to Germany and Poland, together with Jim & Lynda Hayes. We made some encouraging visits on our way to Krakow, Poland, where the Europe Teen Challenge conference took place. We will tell you more about that trip soon. Keep an eye on this blog!

"Let your light shine before men ..." [Matthew 5:16] is the motto on our website. Everyone who has been reading this blog for some time, will know that we do this on a local, regional, national and international level. Shining our light simply by (for example) offering a helping (technical) hand, raising money for a new washing machine in a rehab or through sharing personal prayers and encouraging words.

Over the last few years we have been organizing monthly prayer meetings: for Europe, for our region and for individuals. We meet on Fridays and Tuesdays in our secondhand shop Twinkeltje and pray for unity and a spiritual revival in our county.

It is therefore that we would love to sponsor the Slingeland festival that is being held from June 22nd to 24th June. Every year this festival is being organized by Hart voor de Waard, an interdenominational organization that aims to share the Gospel in a simple and outgoing manner.

Far away and close to home, let's support outreach events and in doing so encourage one another! You can send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: FESTIVAL.

• We were able to transfer 3,000 euro for project village kitchen Navazi in Georgia. As soon as we have photos/news, we will post it on this blog.
• The next project will be the support of the Teen Challenge women's home in Lithuania.
• This Friday, May 25, we organize a special Israel event in Twinkeltje. We have al kinds of products, snacks and drinks. Doors will be open between 19:00-21:30. Korenbloemstraat 20 in Papedrecnt. See you there!

Prison ministry

Cora Donk

Traveling Light visits and supports (small scale) projects throughout Europe. We are also very active in our home town, particularly since the opening of our secondhand shop Twinkeltje in September 2016.

Twinkeltje is so much more than a coffee house, we use the facility to organize workshops, prayer evenings, mission events, bicycle lessons for new immigrants and discipleship trainings.

👉 But did you know that we are involved in prison ministry as well?

Board member Cora Donk is the owner of Twinkeltje and takes care of daily business there, but she is also involved in prison ministry in the penitentiary prison in Dordrecht. She serves as a volunteer in the interdenominational team that organizes the church services and since last year she is involved in giving the Alpha course.

Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. Alpha is run all around the globe, and everyone's welcome. It runs in cafés, churches, universities, homes and prisons. More than 24 million people worldwide have done Alpha. In the Netherlands there were more than 265,000.

The current course is coming to an end and Cora has bought a nice present for all participants. The prisoners may choose an inspiring book, such as 'The Cross and the switchblade', 'Run baby run' and 'Knock-out'. All of them stories from people who have personally experienced that God can and wants to give everyone a new beginning!

Changed lives! It keeps us going because we believe it is always possible.

Gifts (large & small) for the various projects are always welcome! Make your gifts payable to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Project Udruženje Restart, Serbia

Drugsprevention lessons

In the past we have supported Udruženje (foundation) Restart in Serbia. An organization that aims to reach and encourage homeless and addicted people to leave the streets and enter a faith-based rehabilitation program.

With a team of volunteers, initiator Boris Štrbac is committed to helping people get a start on new life. The team of volunteers regularly visits the streets of Novi Sad and Subotica to make contact with homeless people and addicts. They also provide drugsprevention and information lessons in primary schools.

Good connections with rehabilitation centers in Serbia and neighboring countries are a must. At the end of last year, Teen Challenge Macedonia organized a 'Living Free' training in which participants from Albania, Romania, Slovenia and Serbia were present.

Living Free training

Living Free is a course that can be followed by people who do not want to enter a residential rehab but nonetheless are struggling with addiction problems.

According to Boris, one of the biggest problems today is to help people, who have finished rehab, to find useful jobs. Restart helps as much as possible and has now begun to raise funds in order to buy a van and to start a moving business (following the example of Teen Challenge Slovenia). In addition, the old computer equipment in their office needs to be replaced.

We received a request for support. Restart can do the work thanks to donations and a great team of volunteers. We know how that is!

Volunteers in front of the Restart office

Traveling Light would like to see that all the good work in Serbia continues. There are various christian organizations working in the field of rehabilitation and street outreach. Reintegration in society is certainly part of this work and ideas to create employment surely make us happy.

Restart is a ministry of the New Life in Christ Church in Novi Sad.

You can (indirectly) let your light shine in Serbia by sending a gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention RESTART.

If you know of someone who can help with equipment or a van, that would be great. Contact us!

Events & year report 2017

Free market Kingsday 2018

On April 27th we celebrate King's Day in The Netherlands, it is the birthday of our king Willem Alexander van Oranje. It is a public holiday with lots of festivities going on everywhere.  Our stall at the free market was busy all day long. Thank you to everyone who came by for a visit. We sold secondhand stuff for 300 euro.

That amount will be fully added to the revenue of our 2nd hand shop Twinkeltje this month. The project of the month is Teen Challenge Winiarczykowka, Poland. This is a home where the elderly and lonely can live safely and work on the farm.

Making cupcakes

Earlier this week we were pleasantly surprised by a gift of 250 euro from our church the Hoeksteen in Etten-Leur. The children made cupcakes and sold them last Sunday. This amount will fully benefit the work of Brian Slater in Israel. His organization Abundant Bread of Salvation helps the elderly, single people and immigrants in Netanya.

Last week Jan visited the rehabilitation centers of Teen Challenge in Latvia. Wonderful work is being done there! The adventure continues, more about this on our blog soon.

Our annual (financial) report 2017 is short and simple... and in in Dutch only (sorry). But we can quickly share the results: 12 countries visited and over 58,000 euro donated to more than 25 small-scale projects. Yes! Click HERE for the annual report.

Gifts (large & small) for the various projects are always welcome! We are currently collecting funds for project church kitchen Navazi in Georgia. Make your gifts payable to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Activities and project news

Presentation in Alblasserdam

Tuesday April 3rd, Marja and Cora gave a presentation about the work of Traveling Light  at the PCOB (Protestant Christian Elderly Association) in Alblasserdam.

The Easter message (new life) was illustrated with practical examples: the down and out receiving new life at the Teen Challenge rehabilitation centers throughout Europe. We were encouraged by all the kind comments.

On Thursday April 5th, Michel & Janet van Boxtel of non profit organization Embrace were present at our mission night in our second hand shop Twinkeltje. They shared about their work among the homeless people in Budapest, Hungary. We were able to bless them with a nice check of no less than 2,300 euro. That was the revenue of Twinkeltje over the month of March and the offering we took up.

Cora presents the donation

The mission nights we organize from time to time are an ideal opportunity to bring supporters and the people behind the projects together!

Thursday April 19th you have another opportunity to sponsor Traveling Light and well by participating in the Lukassen & Boer non-profit Run.

Join our team!

Each participant can run or walk a maximum of 10 km and the organization will donate 1.50 euro for every 2.5 km round towards the Traveling Light account. Entry cards are available at the start. Take your Traveling Light t-shirt with you or ask Jan or Cora for one

It promises to be an exciting event again. feel free to come and join us. It is great to be outdoors!

In The Netherlands we celebrate the King's birthday on Friday April 27th. We will be present with our sales booth at the flea market in Papendrecht. Used books, clothes and household stuff ... we have it all. Every year we are able, thanks to your purchases, to donate a nice amount towards our projects.

Kings Day 2017

Come by for a cup of coffee, a chat or just for fun!

We receive many requests for help and the waiting list is growing. Without your gifts we can help no one. So donations are always welcome! Spread the word.

Please, send your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Project church kitchen Navazi, Georgia

Temuri & Mziya and their youngest son

We have received your generous gifts for project garlic farm in Georgia, we are able to donate 4,000 euro. Thank you! We will keep you informed about the developments.

We will stay in Georgia for the next project as well.

In January we also visited Temuri & Mziya Muzashvili. We were welcomed in their home with much love and hospitality. Years ago this couple started meeting with a small group of believers in their house. Their fellowship was given the name Evangelical Faith Church.

Soon, the house became too small for the growing group of people. So, on a plot of land next to their house Temuri started the construction of a church. That building project lasted three years and in 2016 the doors were opened. Now, even more villagers can come and hear the good news.

Visit to the church building

It was obvious to us that this couple has a great vision for their region. The building has an upper floor where a Bible school is located. Every other week about 30 students gather for Bible study.

These lessons are provided by the Evangelical Alliance in Georgia and pastors / teachers who come from far away are welcome to stay the night. There are two nice guest rooms next to the classroom (we were kindly invited to come and give lessons).

Evangelical Faith Church

Every month the church prepares and distributes food parcels for 15 poor families in the Navazi village. It is obvious that this is much more than just a 'church', they also provide humanitarian aid. Temuri, full of enthusiasm, shared the plans to expand the church building with a communal kitchen. A kitchen where they could cook meals, eat together, organize events etc. It would be a great outreach tool to the community.

We just love such practical ideas. To distribute not only spiritual food, but also natural food. Temuri and Mziya furthermore have plans to facilitate an Alpha Course, so the kitchen will be useful for this purpose as well.

Handing out Russian editions of Grace of Giving

The intention is to start construction this spring. Traveling Light would like to help them get started by sending a donation which will be used to buy the first building materials and possibly also some kitchen equipment. Temuri is a real doer, so you understand that he is eager to start :)

We find it very encouraging that in the remotest corners of Europe, people hear and obey God's call to share His love with a world in need. Be doers of the Word, not hearers only!

You can (indirectly) let your light shine in that region by sending a gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention KITCHEN.