Project port evangelism

Alexander & Tonja Eberson

At the beginning of this year we received an e-mail from seafarers' pastor and evangelist Alexander Eberson. In search of encouragement and support, he ended up on our blog. Always nice 😃

And so we (Jan and Marja) drove down to Terneuzen (bordering Belgium) for coffee with Alexander & Tonja to get further acquainted. There was an immediate click and their little daughter Hannah thought it was great that we came to visit.

Personal contacts are the foundation for everything we do at Traveling Light.

Alexander has been active for many years as a seafarers' pastor/evangelist in the seaport of Zeebrugge, but as of January he is also doing this work in the ports of Terneuzen (Sluiskil etc.) and Ghent.

Alexander with several sailors

Alexander is affiliated with the Sailors' Society, an English organization. This means that he receives a small allowance from them, but furthermore every evangelist must build his / her own network and support.

The work as port pastor / evangelist is twofold. First, there is the regular contact with Christians on board the sea vessels and second, there are the conversations with sailors who do not yet know Jesus. Alexander enjoys both aspects and to him every meeting and conversation is meaningful.

Various materials and gifts

His question to Traveling Light was whether we can help with finances for the purchase of materials such as Bibles, books and DVDs, but also calling cards so that the sailors can call home.

Of course we want to help. As most of you know, we have supported seafarers' evangelist Guus Peters for years. After he passed away at the beginning of last year, we no longer had contact with anyone who worked in the ports of Ghent and Terneuzen.

We are therefore happy with the contact we now have with the Eberson family. Alexander also knew Guus personally.

If you have a heart for sailors and want to help Alexander to reach them, make your gift payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention SAILORS.

Thank you very much for your support!

Successful fundraiser for Teen Challenge Moldova!

200 km tour on the Weissensee, Austria

We promised to give a final report on our Weissensee fundraiser 2019. Our ice skating team raised more than 8,600 euro for the expansion of the Teen Challenge rehabilitation home in Moldova! The home offers a Bible based program for men with life controlling problems.

It is the first time that such an incredible amount has been raised and we are very grateful for the support we received. On January 29th ice skaters Krijn Donk (Papendrecht), Henk Swijnenburg (Bleskensgraaf) and Henk Vlot (Oud Alblas) entered the 200 km tour on the Weissensee in Austria.

winter style bandage

It was a freezing minus 16 degrees Celsius at the start and their water bottles were filled with ice, even the bananas were frozen. Snowfall had caused  many cracks in the ice and our skaters experienced quite a few falls

Henk Vlot broke his hand due to such a fall on the ice and he had to quit. Fortunately, and thanks to many prayers, he just received news that surgery is not necessary and when the doctors replaced the cast he told them everything about the fundraiser adventure.

Krijn Donk finished the 200 km in 7:41 hours, he finished in thirty-fourth place. Not bad at all, out of thousand participants! Henk Swijnenburg finished the tour without major injuries as well! Despite the fact that the men have not been able to break their personal records, they look back at a fantastic event and successful fundraiser.

The skating team experienced an overwhelming response. Krijn entered the tour for the seventh time for Traveling Light. 'The amount that our sponsors have pledged this year is an absolute record', says Krijn, 'we are very grateful for all the positive comments!'

The amount will fully benefit the project in Moldova. The expansion of the existing teen Challenge men's home will consist of a second floor. Of course we will keep you informed on this blog.

We would like to thank everyone who has, in any way, contributed to this fundraiser. If you have not yet transferred your pledge, please do so as soon as possible at St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U stating: WEISSENSEE.