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.