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!

Project heating TC rehab center in Zaporozhye, Ukraine

Zaporozhye is located in the southeast of Ukraine and there is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center (and church) called  'Hope of Generation'.

This Teen Challenge center is home to both women and men who have sought help for their addiction problems.

As a result of the war, refugees from the region now also live in the house, including a number of children. There are currently ten students in the program, but they can accommodate a total of fifty people.

That's quite a lot, especially when you consider that they often have to spend time together in the basement. The fact that the work continues is a miracle in itself!

Tatiana Kochieva (Tanya) is in charge of the daily operations at the center. She herself spent sixteen(!) years in prisons as a result of her criminal history. But God radically changed her life and now she helps others, how beautiful is that?

With winter approaching and frequent power outages, there is an urgent need for a generator, fuel, and some heaters.

We are in contact with Sergey Glushko regarding this project and we have promised to do our best to raise a nice amount for the center in Zaporozhye.

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 UKRAINE ZAPOROZYHE
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC UKRAINE ZAPOROZHYE

The sooner we can transfer a gift, the better!

In the Netherlands we may grumble about the high energy prices (and there is certainly something to be said for that), but frequently being without electricity or gas is even crazier!

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Project Restart Detox Clinic

From September 29th to October 3rd, Jan visited Serbia. He attended a Teen Challenge and Living Free training seminar that covered topics such as rehabilitation, relapse, and addiction.

The training was given in Novi Sad in the church of Pastor Dusan Beredji Bera who runs a men's rehab center, where Jan also received great hospitality and a bed to sleep in! He visited New Life women's rehab home and the coffee house of Restart, an organization that we have been supporting for a long time.

With a team of volunteers, founder Boris Štrbac is committed to helping people start a new life, free of addictions and other life-controlling problems.

They do this through outreach, drug prevention lessons at schools, and a mentoring program for ex-prisoners.

During the visit to the coffee house, Jan spoke with visitors and also had the opportunity to pray with people for restoration and healing and the courage to take steps toward recovery. The photo on the right shows the new expansion that Restart was able to build in 2021 thanks to a gift from Traveling Light.

There are currently plans to open a Restart Detox Clinic and support center. Boris is in contact with the city council about this, in particular about finding a suitable location.

Many addicts are hesitant to sign up for a long-term rehab program, often because they are still working and have a family and can therefore continue to function more or less. Detoxing, a discipleship program and therapy can help this group.

Most of the work Restart is doing can be carried out thanks to donations. Boris asks for prayers and funds to open a detox clinic. As Traveling Light, we would like to contribute to the lives that are about to change in Novi Sad!

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 RESTART
• 💳 Give by card

Baptisms, Alpha, and travels

We can look back on a wonderful baptism fest that we organized on Wednesday September 21. We had the privilege of baptizing five people.

The weather was exceptionally nice and to get a bit of an impression of the event you can watch the video trailer here! We are extremely grateful for the choices that were made.

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From September 29 to October 3, Jan will visit Serbia. He participates in a Teen Challenge and Living Free training seminar where topics such as rehabilitation, relapse, and addiction will be discussed. The training will be given in Novi Sad and he will also visit the Restart coffee house there, for which we plan to raise funds again soon.

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A few weeks ago we started another Alpha course in Twinkeltje on Monday evenings. We have six participants!

It is wonderful to sit around the table with a new group of people who have an interest in God and the Bible. We have great conversations together!

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The proceeds from Twinkeltje and De Schor this month will go to the work of the Embrace among the homeless and the poorest in Hungary. Krijn and Cora visited there during their vacation in August.

In October, the proceeds will go to the work of Radko and Nevin Kratsov among the Roma community in  Bulgaria. So come and visit us in Twinkeltje on Saturday or Monday afternoons.

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
• 💳 Give by card

Project support coffeehouse The Bridge, Macedonia

Last year March we were able to support the work of Jordan & Vesna Stoilovi in ​​Macedonia with the proceeds from Twinkeltje. They run a coffeehouse in Tetovo.

It's been a while since we visited coffeehouse The Bridge, but that doesn't mean we've forgotten them!

We regularly receive newsletters and stay well informed about what is going on in Tetovo, a city in the north western corner of the country where mainly people of Albanian descent live. The vast majority of the population is Muslim. Others belong to the Greek orthodox religion.

Jordan wants to reach the people in his city who do not know the love of God. He is present in coffeehouse The Bridge a few days a week, where he talks with visitors.

He also studies the Bible together with those interested and last month, in collaboration with friends from the USA, a street outreach campaign was organized which attracted many people.

They handed out more than 200 water bottles labeled with a Bible verse and The Bridge's phone number. The evenings were very encouraging for the team and for Jordan himself, who sometimes feels frustrated that he only reaches a handful of people, while in reality he could reach many more.

That is understandable, yet every person is important in the eyes of God. It is not always about large numbers, but about the love that is distributed to individual people who do not (yet) know Him.

We certainly want to encourage Jordan and Vesna to keep going and continue to invest time and kindness in people's lives in order to reach the farthest corners of Macedonia with the good news that there is a faithful God who loves all people.

Do you also want to contribute to spreading the good news in Macedonia?

Then send your gift (large & small) to Traveling Light, IBAN account number NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U and mention TH|E BRIDGE. You can also

💳 Give by card

Fundraising efforts, Alpha, and prayer meetings

On Thursday, September 8, we will again run the Lukassen & Boer Verenigingsrun with an enthusiastic group of walkers and runners in order to bring in funds for Traveling Light.

During the event, you will run a maximum of two (if you are younger than 15 years old) or a maximum of four (if you are 15 years old or older) rounds through the Oostpolder sports park. A round is about 2.5 kilometers long. You can run or walk. Each round yields 2 euro.

Youth starts at 6:30 PM and adults at 7:30 PM. Start at the athletics track of AV Passaat, Andoornlaan 38. Hopefully, we'll see you there.

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On Monday September 12 we will start the Alpha course again, for the third time. Do you want to know more about the Christian faith? Then sign up via janandmarja@gmail.com.

The course will take place on Monday evening in Twinkeltje (Korenbloemstraat 20) and always starts at 6:00 PM with a scrumptious meal.

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👉 Please note: For the coming season we have moved our prayer meetings in Twinkeltje from Friday evening to Sunday evening. Which means:

1st Sunday evening of the month: Regional prayer Alblasserwaard

2nd Sunday evening of the month: Re-Store (healing room)

3rd Sunday evening of the month: Praise evening De Hoop Dordrecht

4th Sunday Night of the Month: Prayer for the Nations

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Henk Swijnenburg's bicycle campaign in August raised almost 1200 euro in sponsorship gifts for Bertine House in Poltova, Ukraine. Bertine House is part of the Teen Challenge family and offers a safe place to mothers (and their children) who want to kick their addiction habits and start a new life.

Traveling Light will double that amount, so we can transfer 2400 euro to Bertine House. Fantastic, thank you all for your donations!

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During their vacation, Krijn and Cora Donk visited the work of Embrace in Hungary, Teen Challenge Armenia, and Teen Challenge Georgia. More pictures of it coming soon!

The proceeds from Twinkeltje and De Schor in September will go to the Embrace!

Donations are always welcome, you can do so in different ways, please take note:

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

165 km cycling for Bertine House, Ukraine

We are very happy and grateful for all the loyal supporters of Traveling Light. Without donors, volunteers, prayers, and financial contributions it is impossible to support so many projects in more than thirty (!) European countries.

It is of course a great joy for us when people come up with fundraising efforts... whether that is baking cake, ice skating, running or cycling! It is always exciting when someone wants to perform in exchange for support... for an excellent cause.

Henk Swijnenburg from Bleskensgraaf is well known from the Weissensee ice skating campaigns. To stay fit during the summer, Henk goes cycling, as many people in Holland do.

This weekend he wants to cycle a 165 km trip with a group of friends to raise money for Bertine House in Poltova, Ukraine. A project that we have been supporting for years.

Bertine House is part of the Teen Challenge family and offers a safe place to mothers (and their children) who want to kick their addiction habits and start a new life.

Henk has also ice-skated for this project in the past, but it seemed good to him to set up a summer campaign for the mothers and children because they could definitely use some encouragement.

Bertne House was first located in Donetsk, but in 2014 they had to leave everything behind because of the war. In this blog post you can read more about the fundraising efforts we did then.

They were able, partly through an American donor, to buy a house in Poltava. In recent years, dozens of mothers and children received a new life by getting to know Jesus Christ.

Despite the fact that there is now another war, life in Bertine House continues 'as usual', children are born and marriages are planned. Hope is alive, certainly under these circumstances.

Henk is planning to cycle 165 km on Sunday 21 August, from Bleskensgraaf, via Dordrecht to Rockanje and back. A beautiful route!

Surely, we would welcome your support. Any amount is welcome, large or small. The full 100% will go to Bertine House in Ukraine, with whom we have direct contact.

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 BERTINE
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC UKRAINE-BERTINE

Project children's home Teen Challenge, Armenia

For those who have been reading our news blog for a while, the work of Teen Challenge in Armenia is not unknown. In 2020, our ice skating team raised a nice amount towards the purchase of a second drug and alcohol rehab center.

The war situation and political unrest in the country led Gagik and Lusine Mkrtchyan to also establish a ministry for orphaned and at-risk children.

Over the past few years, they have been able to remove numerous children and women from burning villages and very dangerous places.

Many children are at risk to use drugs and alcohol and being out on the streets. To this end, the couple wanted to establish a school. We were also able to make a gift towards that initiative in 2021.

Last May, at the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Prague, we had time to catch up with the Mkrtchyans. They told us that, in addition to their own five children, they have taken in ten orphans.

It will come as no surprise that there is an urgent need to build an addition to their house so as to create extra (bed)rooms. The plans are there, and now the funds need to be raised.

In the month of July, the proceeds of our shops De Schor and Twinkeltje will go towards this project. But of course, it is also possible to make a specified donation for this purpose if you feel prompted.

Let's bless this special family with a substantial gift so they can start with their construction work.

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 ARMENIA
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC ARMENIA

THANK YOU in advance for your donations and prayers! The situation in the country is still unstable Gagik and Lusine would like to see children grow up in a safe and loving home environment.

Project and travel updates

Greetings to all of you from Sergey Romanenko and the men at the Teen Challenge rehab home in Berdychiv, Ukraine.

Thanks to your help, we were able to transfer a generous gift for repair and maintenance work on the men's rehabilitation center there. (Click on the photos to enlarge).

They are currently working on the installation of drainage around the outer walls, quite a job that requires participation of everyone currently in the program. Repairing the stucco will be next.

Work projects are part of the daily rehabilitation program, in addition to participating in Bible studies and doing household chores. The men always love it when there is a nice job to do. It is very rewarding to see the home well maintained!

Thank you to everyone who has donated to this project.

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Last week Jan drove to Slovenia, accompanied by one of our faithful supporters. Together with staff and students from Teen Challenge they drove from there to Montenegro to attend Čuvar Brata Svoga or the 'My Brother's Keeper' conference.

It is already the ninth time that we participate in this event, as Traveling Light. It is a powerful weekend for men from all Balkan countries (former Yugoslavia) and reconciliation, forgiveness, unity, and spiritual growth are central themes. They covered a lot of miles in a week!

It is an enormous privilege for us to witness what God is doing in the Balkan countries! Music is a big part of the conference program. See this video!

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Also, many thanks on behalf of port evangelist Alexander Eberson for the donations. We were able to transfer an amount of 400 euro for the purchase of Russian and Ukrainian Bibles for the sailors on the ships.

It is always great to see how you respond to such a call for help.

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At the moment we are still receiving donations for the construction of a new Teen Challenge men's rehab center in Moldova! 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 MOLDOVA
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC MOLDOVA.

Zurich, Alpha course, TC Finland, and port evangelism

Two weeks ago we (Jan and Marja) were in Zurich for the annual meeting of Comunita Brezzano. Together with all those present, we commemorated our friend Maria Meier who passed away last February.

She has been running the Christian therapeutic community in Tuscany for almost thirty years. We have been there many times, taking different groups with us. We were invited to lead the afternoon prayer meeting in Zurich. Prayer about how to proceed... 

All in all, it was an inspiring and encouraging weekend, for everyone.

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Last week we (Krijn, Cora, Jan, and Marja) attended a business meeting of Alpha Netherlands in Driebergen. That meeting was very encouraging and inspiring as well. We are partakers in the dream of reaching 1 million people in the Netherlands with the gospel, through the Alpha course.

Anyone can become a 'dream bearer' through sponsorship, which is a great investment! Visit the Alpha website wherever you are. In the past year, we have facilitated an Alpha course in our secondhand shop twice and we want to start the 3rd one in September!

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On Monday, June 13, Cora will again participate in giving Alpha in prison, this time in the Rotterdam detention center. The Alpha course will be held on Monday afternoons.

So, please note: there will be NO Tea & Talk in our shop Twinkeltje from June 13 to July 25. Instead, we are open on Wednesday afternoons from 13:30-15:30 hours. Tell your friends!

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Speaking of our shop, in May the proceeds (from Twinkeltje and Atelier de Schor) were more than 1,000 euro, which we donated towards the work of Teen Challenge in Lithuania. For June we have chosen Teen Challenge Finland as a project.

Led by Niklas and Heidi Furu (see photo), a fantastic group of volunteers are reaching out to addicts, homeless people, the poor, lonely, and displaced persons. They don't have a TC rehab, but their street outreach is fantastic. They also run a second-hand shop. Surely, they can use some encouragement.

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Finally (but certainly not unimportant): Harbor Evangelist Alexander Eberson makes an appeal:

"During my ship visits, I experience an increasing demand for both Russian and Ukrainian Bibles. In my opinion, there is no better chance at the moment than to give Bibles to these sailors who are open to the gospel. With a Bible we give the best we can to them:  'the forgiveness and comfort of the Lord Jesus!' For 1.75 Euro you can give a sailor/woman their own Bible. Will you help?"

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 name of project/country.
• 💳 Give by card