Travel and project updates

Oh, how quickly time flies. It seems like only a while ago that we were in Iceland. But Jan has now also been to Germany, Slovenija, and Croatia... on his motorcycle this time.

On June 18th, he left after work heading for Slovenija. Together with the staff and students from the drug and alcohol rehab center of Teen Challenge, they drove in a van to Croatia for Čuvar Brata Svoga or the 'My Brother's Keeper' conference.

It was already the eleventh time that Traveling Light participated in this conference. It is an active weekend for men from all Balkan countries (former Yugoslavia) in which reconciliation, forgiveness, unity, and spiritual growth are central themes.

Also this year, a number of men from the TC program in Slovenija surrendered their lives to Jesus! 💓 Reason for great gratitude and joy, of course!

After the conference, Jan stayed, as usual, an extra day at the TC center in Slovenija to teach the Bible, pray with the men, work on cars, and receive prayer!

On the way home, Jan stopped by the former Teen Challenge rehab center Gutes Land in Germany. We have visited there many times over the years. It is our prayer that the farm will be used for this purpose again.

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Thanks to your fantastic support, we have now been able to transfer generous donations to:

• CIC MIssion guesthouse in Georgia (4,000 euro)
• Outreach and coffee house work The Bridge in Macedonia (2,000 euro)
• International rehab center Teen Challenge in Georgia (4,000 euro) and
• The work of Roma Ministry International and YWAM in Bulgaria (1,500 euro)

We sometimes call that a tour of Europe 😁 How wonderful it is to be part of the great commission that Jesus gave us: Go, and make disciples of ALL nations!

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For the month of July, the project in our secondhand and vintage shops is the work of Teen Challenge in Iceland. We are closed in August!

The next projects we want to support are the TOV house in the Netherlands, the work of Teen Challenge in Kazakhstan and in Berdichev, Ukraine. More about that soon.

We are always happy with 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 in Europe you want to support.

Visit to Teen Challenge Iceland

We (Jan and Marja) went to visit and encourage Teen Challenge in Iceland from June 7-10. It was the first time they organized a conference and we were invited to speak there.

TC Iceland does not (yet) have a rehab center, but it is possible for people who struggle with addictions and want to get rid of them to follow a day program.

We were already aware of this through the meetings with Katrinn, who started the Bible studies for this group of people a few years ago. We already donated the proceeds from our shop Twinkeltje in December 2020 for the benefit of that work.

The group lessons for New Life from Teen Challenge are used in the day program. Yes, the same lessons we are currently using in our hometown Papendrecht with a group (Highly recommended for your church or home group of new believers).

Jóhann and Svava were our hosts during these days. Svava is now the director of Teen Challenge Iceland and during the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Warsaw, last May, we agreed to come and visit them.

They looked after us very well and also showed us beautiful tourist highlights. We enjoyed it, even though it was a very busy weekend.

Friday evening we went straight from the airport in Reykjavik to Vegurinn church where they can use the coffee room for studies and meetings.

The TC team regularly takes it to the streets to talk with addicts and invite them to the 'coffee house' and participate in the group lessons.

It is very encouraging to hear the testimonies of those who have accepted Jesus into their lives and the changes they have gone through. It's not just about addicts, by the way. We also heard testimonies from (young) people who came to to Jesus from New Age and Satanism. Oh, that gives so much HOPE!

👉On Saturday we spoke during a morning, afternoon and evening session about the importance of knowing and communicating with the Holy Spirit. We received many grateful responses to our simple and practical teaching.

Sunday morning we went to a church in Selfossi where Svava spoke. We were asked to invite the Holy Spirit to speak through people so that they could encourage and build each other up!

If you are ever in Iceland, there are plenty of churches you can go to!

We were extremely encouraged by the stories and people we met in this remote country where addiction is a major problem. There is a hunger for the truth, people are open to the gospel and God is working... always and everywhere!

We should remember that Jesus sends His followers to the ends of the earth with the assignment to make all nations His disciples 💓. What a blessing to be part of that.

If you also want to sow seeds in the fertile soil of the Teen Challenge work among the hopeless and desperate in Iceland...

Then send a donation in one of the following ways:

• 💛Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC ICELAND
• 💳 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 ICELAND.

They are currently raising funds to purchase a van with which they can transport students to and from church services, Bible studies, and meetings.

Travel and project updates

Last week we (Jan and Marja) attended, on behalf of Europe Teen Challenge, an official event in the Kreuzkirche in Ergolding, Germany.

Our friends Dirk and Meike Hellmann received an honorary prize from the Sinn statt Sucht foundation as an appreciation for their years of work among the addicted.

For more than 28 years, they opened their hearts and home in Gutes Land, a farmhouse in the countryside of southern Germany, to men with addiction problems. The work was part of Teen Challenge Germany.

We have visited them several times over the years and always received a warm welcome. We were also given the opportunity to encourage and teach the men from the Bible.

Dirk has been battling bone cancer for a number of years now. It was therefore good to spend time together, pray with each other, and encourage them.

Gutes Land is currently no longer a rehab center, but who knows, maybe that will happen again in the future.

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In April we sent a donation to the Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. We previously helped them with a donation for the purchase of a generator and heaters.

The staff and students had come up with the idea of ​​starting a cleaning company and using the income to open a coffee house.

With our donation, they were able to purchase various professional vacuum and pressure cleaners which they will use to clean out the stairwells of apartment complexes.

We like such practical ideas to generate income. And to rent space for a coffee house where they can reach more people is always a good idea! Moreover, working is part of the therapy. We wish them many blessings.

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Our friends from the Teen Challenge rehab centers in Berdychiv, Ukraine, are busy renovating, expanding, and refurbishing the men's and women's centers.

Partly thanks to support from Traveling Light, they were able to thoroughly renovate the kitchen in the men's home (where we have been several times). It looks beautiful and the extension creates much more space!

(In the photo at the top the old situation and below the new situation. Click on the photo to enlarge.)

The floor in the women's center has been partly replaced and cabinets were purchased and installed, much to the delight of the mothers and children who live there.

Despite the challenges, difficulties, and frustrations the war brings, the team continues to do their work. They see often that pain and loss bring people to the feet of  Jesus where there is healing and restoration.

In addition to the spiritual encouragement we provide during our visits, we can also provide financial support thanks to your help. We love combining the spiritual with the practical!

We also love to provide you with regular updates about our visits and the projects we support. This way you will stay informed.

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We are always happy with 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 in Europe you want to support.

Project guesthouse CIC Mission, Georgia

In our previous newsblog we wrote about the work of Teen Challenge in Georgia. As most of you know, we also support the work of CIC Mission in Georgia.

Throughout the years, we have supported the work of founder Reza Nadirashvili several times with financial donations and visits (Krijn and Cora were there in the summer of 2022).

Reza has a Muslim background and is originally from Iran. He has a heart for reaching and teaching fellow countrymen and he founded a training center (Bible school and practical vocational school in one).

The accompanying farm provides employment to students and people from the village and partly provides income to run the school. The farm has expanded enormously in recent years!

Currently, funds are needed to complete a guest house where key leaders from surrounding countries can stay during their training at the Bible school.

👉We hope you understand that all information about such projects is sensitive and we cannot and should not share too much about it on social media.

But that does not change the fact that we would once again like to help Reza with a gift to complete this guesthouse so people can come and feel welcome.

You can (indirectly) help to disciple the nations by sending a gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U, make sure to mention CIC MISSION.

USA supporters: CIC Mission is considered an approved 501c3 by the US government, so tax-deductible receipts can be provided.

👉You can also donate directly via our website!

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Project international rehab center Tbilisi, Georgia

During the last Europe Teen Challenge conference in Warsaw, we were also able to catch up with our dear friends Kuanish and Mada Akkuzova, the directors of Teen Challenge in Georgia.

Over the years, we have supported their work in various ways, with donations, with visits (Krijn and Cora were there in the summer of 2022), and with online encouragement.

Teen Challenge Georgia staff and volunteers run a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for men and one for women in Tbilisi. Kuanish & Mada are also pastors of an active and vibrant church and Sunday school in Tbilisi.

They also do street work and are actively involved in children's work in refugee camps.

The two are originally from Kazakhstan. Kuanish has a Muslim background and overcame his addictions in a Teen Challenge center there. This is how he also came to know the Lord!

For the last two and half years they have been busy completing and setting up a large International rehab center for Muslims with addictions, from surrounding countries. We have seen the very beginning of that center. A lot has already happened.

The facility is a 4-story building. The 4th floor is renovated and furnished. This floor is occupied by the men's rehab for Georgians. The 2nd floor, where guest rooms are located, is currently being used as a mission school for Chinese believers, who will be sent out to Muslim countries in the Middle East.

The first floor has been completed for 80% and will be used for the church auditorium. This coming Sunday will be the first service. The current auditorium has become too small. 

The renovation on the 3rd floor is finished. This floor can accommodate about twenty people and it is there, that they want to offer help to men from Iran and Azerbaijan, among others.

Current need: furnishing of the 3rd floor which includes a studio for workers, four dormitory rooms for rehab students, and a classroom. 

The demand for Christian help is great! It is so beautiful that God wants to reach all nations and all peoples with His love and grace. And yes, sometimes this is done through rehab centers 😁

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 make sure to mention TC Georgia
• 💳 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 Georgia.

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 support for Teen Challenge Slovenija

The Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Slovenija was one of the first projects we supported as Traveling Light.

In 2010, the house (then still a rental) opened its doors and soon there were three men in the program, ready to start a new life.

In 2011, a few months after the launch of  Traveling Light, we posted an appeal on our blog to raise funds for the purchase of a chainsaw.

And wow, a lot has happened since then. The purchase of that one chainsaw ultimately resulted in a professional company that cuts and prunes trees. A form of income for running the center.

Nowadays, between 8 and 18 men stay in the center at a time. Often for a year, sometimes longer. In 2021, plans were made to renovate and expand the existing center so that even more men with life-threatening problems could find a place there.

Applying for permits and the right papers is a long-term process. Raising the necessary funds, in addition to the daily activities, was (and still is) a challenge. About a year ago, the news came that 70% of their monthly support (coming from the USA) would be stopped.

Despite the bureaucratic and financial setbacks, the entire team of staff and volunteers sees the hand of God in their work every day. Lives are changed, marriages are restored, families are reunited, men complete the program with good results. It's always worth it!

Last June, Jan visited (by motorcycle) and was so encouraged (as always) by the testimonies of the men!

We would really like to help Teen Challenge Slovenija with a donation for the daily running of the center. We hope you will join us 💓 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 TC SLOVENIJA.
• 💳 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 farm rehab 'Centar Duga', Serbia

It has already been a year since we were able to send a donation to the food parcel project 'Ruka za Druga' (which means 'Hand for a Friend'), part of the Protestant Christian Fellowship in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Pastor Dusan Beredji (known to us as Bera) regularly sends news items about his church's homeless project and also about the drug and alcohol rehab center 'Centar Duga'.

What started 15 years ago as a small shelter to help addicts, has over the years expanded to a center with 30 beds!

Men with life-threatening problems can go there for a long-term rehabilitation program.

The rehab center is largely self-sufficient thanks to a moving van service, a chicken farm, and vegetable greenhouses. They also gladly receive donations.

Bera would like to see the farm expanded with more greenhouses and chicken coops and a pigsty.

The farm has multiple objectives:

• It enables a reduction in food costs for the beneficiaries - by improving their nutrition and through the sale of surplus products.
• It contributes to the path of self-sustainability, which is the goal, by reducing overall costs.
• It serves as a therapeutic work component for the center's beneficiaries.
• It provides beneficiaries with a sense of self-worth, as their work contributes to the center's operations.
• Beneficiaries acquire new skills that can benefit them in their future lives.

We would like to help them with a donation to expand the farm, to build new greenhouses, buy seeds and plants, etc. etc. If you also want to help....

Your donations for the work in Novi Sad 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 CENTAR DUGA.

💳 Give by card

👉You can also donate directly through our website!

We really like these kinds of practical projects. Jan has visited the center and has seen with his own eyes how they run the center on a daily basis, and how lives are being changed there, every day.

Project refugee housing Teen Challenge Armenia

In recent years we have supported the work of Teen Challenge in Armenia on different occasions. Directors Gagik & Lusine Mkrtchyan run a drug and alcohol rehab center there.

In addition to their own five children, they have taken in ten orphans and are active in humanitarian work among the poor, widows, and orphans.

Last year they started a new initiative. During the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Milan last November, we had time to catch up with the Mkrtchyans. They have taken in several refugees from both Ukraine and Russia on a piece of land where they have built a small home.

These people have been living there for a while now. In addition to helping them with recovery from addictions, Gagik & Lusine also share the gospel. A real eye-opener for the guests. If we have the peace of Christ in our hearts, we can live in peace with each other. Yes, even as neighbors.

The residents work the land, look after each other, help Gagik where necessary, and will build a second floor on the existing house (!) so that even more refugees can be accommodated.

We would like to encourage them with a gift that can be used to purchase building materials. If you want to join us in raising funds for them, you can send your donation in different ways:

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC ARMENIA.
• 💳 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 ARMENIA.