Saturday, October 19, 2013

We just LOVE our sponsors!

Meindert van der Wal
We have written it before and we'll say it again: a non profit organisation can only exist and survive because of volunteers, friends and sponsors... (yes, we're talking money here).

Meindert van der Wal is such a sponsor! In July of this year we were in Poland with him, and his son Jan, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Teen Challenge Poland. Meindert has been visiting Poland for many years and he has a very special friendship with  Zbyszek & Ewa Urbaniak, the founders and directors of Teen Challenge Poland.

fundraiser flyer
When Meindert heard about our project heater Teen Challenge Poland, he came up with a fundraiser idea. He decided to print a big stack (1,000 pieces!) of flyers with a picture of the current heater and the request to donate 10 Euro's for the replacement of this old heater.

Well, you can imagine... anyone who crosses Meindert's path receives a flyer ;) What a great idea. Gifts are beginning to come in and we are very thankful for that. The costs for a new heater are about 7,000 euro's. We have already passed the halfway mark, we still need about 3,000 euro's.

Dining room in the Lekini men's center
This huge wood burner takes care of the heating in many of the rooms of the men's center in Lekini. A system of underground pipes transports the heat to the various buildings on the grounds of this former military base. We are very thankful for the 52 men that are currently living there. Men that have decided to change their lives for the good. How great will be the happiness in their families.

Will you help us to support this life changing work in Poland?

Thank you!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Spiritual encouragement

Coffee break during a conference
Through this weblog we try to keep you, as supporters and those having interest in our travels, up to date on the latest happenings at Traveling Light, as we move around in Europe and the Mediterranean area. However, the posts on this blog show only a fraction of everything that's going on.

We are always fundraising for one, or at the most two, projects at the same time, which we will always mention by name. So, you know where your money is going. No games, no gimmicks. Most of the time we have a waiting list with projects coming up, but to keep things clear and simple we have decided to concentrate on one or two countries at the same time. At the moment we are fundraising for Project heater Teen Challenge Poland. We still need about 3,000 euro for this.

Behind the scenes much more is happening. We constantly receive emails and phone calls from people and organisations somehow connected to our Traveling Light network. Quite often these contacts lead to new projects. Beside the many conversations we have wherever we go, we always hand out booklets (like What on Earth am I here for?), CD-Roms and DVD's.

When traveling we have Marja's books available for purchase (hey, we are trying to make a honest living). But we give away many free handouts as well. Anything that points to Jesus Christ as the Messiah and savior of the world can change and touch a human heart. We have materials for Jewish people, Muslims and gentiles, so to speak.

Sometimes we get those materials donated (from super sweet people in our network), but often we purchase everything with private money. It is such a joy to give away material that brings honor to God and that is food for a good discussion. Sometimes people just need to go home and read everything in silence and contemplate.

We are very grateful users of all forms of media to reach people with the good news. We often give away DVD's like God of Wonders, which is a beautiful film about creation. Currently we have books in English and Arabic from evangelist Guus Peters: Navigating to the Muslim heart. We will write about his ministry in the near future.

Next week a man, we are acquinted with through the Hoeksteen Gemeente, will be going to Moldova and he will be taking 100 cd-roms containing the Bible in many languages, such a s Hebrew, Yiddisch and Russian. We were able to get the CD-Roms through Israel en de Bijbel and we are very grateful that our brother will be taking the Word to Moldova. It is one of those countries where we have contacts, but that we have never been able to visit (yet). It is exciting to know that we can send spiritual encouragement ahead :)

A gift is so much more than a little money, it is seed being sown into the fields of Europe, even into the farthest corners of the continent. We can expect a great harvest!

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
[2 Corinthians (9:10]

Saturday, October 5, 2013

New chances

At Traveling Light we often talk about 'projects', but seriously... it is always about people! It is always about changed lives by the power of God! Please take some minutes to watch the video below, it shows the story of human lives that were changed in the program of Teen Challenge in Poland. You can see the guys, the husbands and fathers that started a new life. This is so touching. You can see views of the women's home and the men's center (where the new heater is needed), but what really makes this video so special are the faces of people who are thankful for the new life they received. Isn't it wonderful to know that your donations towards these men will have eternal impact?


We have received more than 3,300 euro so far for project heater Teen Challenge Poland, we are almost halfway! We still need 3,700 euro. We are very happy with all gifts, whether big or small, one-time or monthly. You can send your gift to RABO bank number 1185 82 275, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 and BIC: RABONL2. When in USA: send your gift to Eastern Europe Outreach and make sure to mention TC Poland, HEATER.
THANKS!