Ice skating fundraiser brings in €9,600 for Teen Challenge Moldova

Our ice skating fundraiser on Lake Weissensee in Austria on Friday, January 23rd, brought in a fantastic €9,600. This will be donated entirely to the Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Falesti, Moldova.

On that day, Krijn Donk skated 200km in nine hours. A remarkable achievement, especially considering that two weeks earlier, he had fallen at an ice rink in the Netherlands and sustained a knee injury. Krijn reflects:

"It was a tough day with beautiful weather and fairly good ice. The temperature was -11C at the start. What I was most afraid of was that my knee wouldn't hold up to the 200km. But it didn't bother me; it didn't even swell! Praise the Lord, because prayers were made for that. Thank you all."

Two years ago, Krijn visited the Teen Challenge men's center in Moldova, having skated for them before. "The directors found such a skating event unimaginable, skating 200km in one day!" said Krijn.

"I was able to explain that God gives me the strength to do this and that He blesses each giver. And also that the amount of money they receive is a gift from God. They could confirm that and understood why I do such things."

Worldwide, there are approximately 1,400 Teen Challenge centers in 140 countries. Men and women with all kinds of life-threatening problems can go there and (often) get to know the Bible and the love and grace of Jesus Christ for the first time. The students often stay in the program for a year or longer. They cook, take care of vegetable gardens and animals, and study according to a curriculum.

Traveling Light supports dozens of these centers in Europe... with prayer, finances, and visits. We'd like to sincerely thank everyone for their contributions to this fundraising campaign. Without your support, it wouldn't have been possible. You've invested in transformed lives; never forget that.

We are always happy with your donations. Make them payable to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. You can also give by card or donate directly via our website!

Project updates

Today was the day: Krijn Donk skated the 200km on Lake Weissensee in Austria. He did it in 9 hours. With his campaign, he wants to raise money for the Teen Challenge men's rehab center in Falesti, Moldova.

Well, he's definitely succeeding, because over €6,000 has already been raised, and donations are still coming in—fantastic, of course!

It was -11°C when he stood at the starting line at 7:00 AM this morning. A more detailed report and, of course, the final proceeds of this campaign will follow soon.

You can still sponsor his tremendous efforts to help the guys in Moldova. You can do so directly through our website or by transferring your donation to NL91RABO0118582275, payable to Traveling Light with the reference "Weissensee."

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

Last Saturday, we (Jan and Marja) attended a special meeting of Transform Iran. This is the organization we have been supporting for years with their Operation Christmas Joy project, specifically for children.

The organization has been around for 35 years, and it was time to transfer leadership. The festive service concluded with a meal. It was very encouraging for us to see and hear that Iranians are full of hope that the current regime in Iran will fall and the door for the Gospel will open. We pray that this will not take much longer.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

This month, the proceeds from Twinkeltje and De Schor will be saved for the work of Sokrat & Lena Apostolovski among Roma children in Skopje, Macedonia. These dear people have been doing this children's ministry for many years.

They've long wanted a dedicated space so they don't have to move around all the time. This year, they started a fundraising campaign to purchase a building. We'd love to help them with that, of course! So come visit us. Your purchases always go to a good cause.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

We are always happy with your donations. Make it payable to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. You can also give by card or donate directly via our website!

Weissensee 2026 fundraiser for Teen Challenge Falesti, Moldova

January is always an exciting month for Traveling Light, because we have our biggest fundraising event of the year.

Depending on ice conditions, marathon ice skater Krijn Donk will skate on Lake Weissensee in Austria on Friday, January 23rd, or Monday, January 26th.

Krijn has been training for months for the 200 km (!) tour, just like he does every year.

He wants to raise funds with his athletic achievement for the Teen Challenge men's rehab home in Falesti, Moldova.

He has skated for them before, but that was years ago. The Teen Challenge home in Falesti is a Christian rehabilitation center for men who struggle with addictions and other life-threatening problems.

They can live there, work with their hands, and above all, have an encounter with the living God and start a new life!

Because this type of Christian ministry depends on donations, they strive for self-sufficiency as much as possible. For example, by growing their own vegetables and raising animals.

But of course, running such a house with 10-15 men always requires funding.

Moldova struggles with large numbers of alcohol and drug addicts, and there is always a need to expand the number of beds. To this end, a second floor was added to the existing house a few years ago with the help of a team from Teen Challenge in the Czech Republic.

Krijn, Cora, Jan, and Marja visited in December 2023. Now, two years later, the new floor has unfortunately not yet been officially opened.

As you can see in the pictures, much has been completed, but electricity has not yet been connected, and sanitary facilities need to be installed. This must be done by professionals (click on the photos to enlarge).

How wonderful it would be if the funds raised by "our" plumber Krijn Donk could be used to finally bring this project to a successful conclusion.

This year, Krijn will be skating for the 14th time in favor of one of Traveling Light's projects. This skating season, he has already completed over 4,000 laps on the 400-meter ice rink in the Netherlands, and he feels fit to take on this upcoming battle with the elements.

We are confident that a substantial amount will be raised again this year through sponsorship. This amount will be fully donated to the Teen Challenge Falesti project.

We hope you are willing to sponsor Krijn with an amount per kilometer, an amount for reaching the finish, or a general donation.

If you decide to participate, please send an email specifying your donation amount to krijncora@gmail.com.

You can send your donation in different ways:

• 💛By bank transfer to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention WEISSENSEE.
• 💳 Give by card
• 💡Donate directly via our website!
• 👉When in the USA, you can make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC Moldova.

We'll leave the ice skating up to Krijn, but we need your support to make this a successful campaign for Teen Challenge Moldova.

Good times and bad times

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is world news. As you know we have many contacts and friends in that country. The Teen Challenge network is now looking at how they can help (Zoom prayer, collecting and getting money there, helping TC centers and churches in border countries to take in refugees, etc.)

Please pray for peace, wisdom, and protection) Monday will be a day of prayer and fasting!

In the meantime, our brave skaters Krijn, Esther, and Marieke skated 200, 100, and 76 km respectively on the Gulf of Bothnia in northern Sweden last Thursday. A tough, memorable day, according to Krijn.

With their action they want to collect money for the completion of the second floor of the Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Falesti, Moldova. Almost 5,000 euro has already been pledged!!!

You can still donate towards this cause. We have now heard that refugees from Ukraine also arrive in Moldova and are offered shelter. Any amount is welcome.

Meanwhile, the Christian Evangelical Community Issacar, just outside Torino in Northern Italy, is busy installing a roof on the shelter next to the church. Traveling Light was able to send a donation towards this project at the end of last year.

We are receiving various photos of the progress of the construction project. The center will be used for practical and humanitarian aid (preparation and distribution of meals and emergency shelter).

From Italy we received the sad news that our friend Maria Meier from Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany has passed away from a cardiac arrest. Her passing is a shock to all who knew her.

Every year we visited her therapeutic community (with or without a group of volunteers) and she was a guest in Twinkeltje on several occasions for a mission night. She will be missed by us and many others!

Please pray for her children (Tobias and Manuela) and fellow worker Boris. We are going to Zurich at the beginning of May for a meeting with the board of the Comunita...

And then this: The project of the month we are raising funds for in Twinkeltje and De Schor is the work of Embrace in Hungary.

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
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention which Teen Challenge center the gift is for.

Extreme ice skating for Teen Challenge Moldova

Skating on sea ice! That is possible in Sweden. From February 24 to March 5, Grand Prix ice skating competitions will be held on the Gulf of Bothnia near Luleå in Swedish Lapland.

Besides the Grand Prix race, an ice skating tour will also be organized with various distances. On February 24th, Traveling Light skater Krijn Donk hopes to participate in the tour in the far North together with his daughters Esther and Marieke. 

Krijn will take on the 200 km and both ladies the 75 km tour.

Father and daughters would like to link their sporting achievements to a project that Traveling Light supports, namely the completion of the second floor of the Teen Challenge men's rehabilitation center in Falesti, Moldova. The center offers a Bible based program for men with life controlling problems.

Back in 2019, our skating team collected a wonderful amount for the construction of a 2nd floor on the existing rehabilitation house. You can read that amazing story HERE!

After that fundraiser, we transferred some smaller amounts for materials and further construction. The work was carried out with the help of a team of men from Teen Challenge in the Czech Republic. The planning was that the final finishing phase would take place in 2020/2021... but that has not happened (travel restrictions, lockdowns, quarantine, etc.)

The photos show that many building materials have already been purchased, but that a lot of work still needs to be done before the floor is ready for use.

With the skating campaign, Krijn, Ester and Marieke Donk want to make it possible for contractors, electricians, plumbers, etc. to finish everything so that the capacity in the center can be increased. How beautiful would that be!

👉It is possible to sponsor Krijn, Esther, and Marieke as a team or individually:

• with an amount per kilometer,
• with an amount for reaching the finish,
• with a general amount, or
• with your own idea (e.g. for improving a PR)

If you decide to participate, please send an email stating the amount you want to give to krijncora@gmail.com

Of course you can always send a gift directly to

• St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC Moldova. Or
• 💳 Give by card, or
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention Teen Challenge Moldova

We hope it will be an exciting event with a great outcome in many ways!

3rd phase project Teen Challenge Moldova

TC home Falesti

In September of last year we posted about phase 2 of the construction work at the Teen Challenge men's home in Moldova.

The Weissensee fundraiser we organized in 2019, brought in a nice sum for the expansion of the Teen Challenge rehabilitation house in Falesti. The house provides help for men who struggle with life-controlling problems.

A team of students from the Teen Challenge program in the Czech Republic traveled (twice) to Moldova to help insulate the roof, finish three rooms and a classroom and install all the electricity. The third phase, installing plumbing, lighting and heating, was planned for April 2020.

2nd floor Falesti home

Due to the travel restrictions that currently apply to many countries, this planned trip had to be canceled. A later date will be chosen.

What we can do in the meantime to encourage them, is to collect funds so that the construction team can get to work as soon as the green light will be given.

TC rehab home in Soceleni

If you want to help (again), you can send your precious gift to St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: TC MOLDOVA.

In October 2018 we visited Moldova, you can read that story HERE. The new rehab home for men, in the village of Soceleni, is also in full operation. For sure they can use some (financial) help there as well.

So, we think it is the right thing to do to raise funds for the work of Teen Challenge in Moldova, because the work among the desperate never stops!

THANK YOU ALL.

PS: We raised 5,000 euro for the cow project in Belarus!

Project news

New addition (kitchen area) men's rehab

We have supported many projects in recent months, so here are a few updates, in order to show you where your donations were put to work 😁

The proceeds from our shop Twinkeltje over the month of September were 1,000 euro's and we donated that to Teen Challenge Ukraine as an addition to the kitchen extension project in Berdychiv, (we went there for a visit early July).

A lot of work has been done there on the new kitchen, an extension to the existing house, as you can see in the photo. This gift will hopefully help to finish the project as much as possible before winter sets in.

Visit to women's home in Slienava

We have also been able to transfer a donation of 4,000 euro to Teen Challenge Lithuania for the completion of the women's home in Slienava. With those funds they can continue with the construction work on the inside: floors, walls, rooms, electricity, plumbing etc. (we were there for a visit end of July).

It is still a huge job, but we are confident that it will all work out before the winter, and that more funds will come in at Teen Challenge Lithuania through various channels.

Traveling Light was one of the first organizations to send a gift (10,000 euro!) to Teen Challenge Belgium for the purchase of a building that they are already using (since September 1st) as a residential rehab center. We are happy, thankful and excited to announce that Teen Challenge will be buying the building!

With their campaign, they raised 150,000 euro up to and including September 30th. So, not yet the entire amount required, but apparently enough to close the deal. Thank you very much everyone who contributed to this and please consider giving a donation if you haven't done so already.

And, yes there is more, we have also been able to donate 3,000 euro to the phase 2 Teen Challenge men's home project in Falesti, Moldova. A team from the Czech Republic arrived there last week to further help with the construction of the second floor.

Construction 2nd floor men's home Falesti

The men send their greetings.

The support of all these great and practical projects is only possible thanks to your donations, which are always welcome by the way, at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Let us never give up encouraging one another.

And as we often say: keep the giving going!

Phase 2 project Teen Challenge men's home, Moldova

Team work in Moldova, last June

Back in June we wrote about the construction work in Moldova. Our annual Weissensee fundraiser, which always takes place in January, brought in a nice amount for the expansion of the Teen Challenge rehabilitation home in Falesti. The house offers a residential program for men who struggle with life controlling problems.

A team of men from the Teen Challenge program in Czech Republic traveled to Moldova to help with the construction work, they did an awesome job.

An entire floor was built on the existing house. As with many construction projects which are paid for by donations, the job is divided into different phases. Phase 2 is about ready to begin.

During phase 1 of the construction project

On October 1st a team from Czech Republic will travel to Moldova again to help with the insulation of the roof, the finishing of three rooms and a classroom and the installation of all electricity.

The plan is to install the plumbing and heating in a third phase. All depending on the gifts that come in for this construction project.

Plans for phase 2

We have promised to raise funds for phase 2 and come up with at least portion of the required amount. It would be nice if we could send them 3,000 euro so that the work can commence on October 1st, as planned.

If you want to help (again), you can send your precious gift to St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: TC MOLDOVA.

Update Weissensee fundraiser for TC Moldova

As we wrote earlier, the Weissensee fundraiser 2019 for the expansion of the Teen Challenge men's home in Moldova is in full swing.

Our ice skating team will leave for Austria this weekend and skate the 200 km long tour on Tuesday January 29th!

A lot of pledges have come in and many donations have already been made.

It is great to receive such nice responses from everyone!

Several local newspapers published favorable articles about the fundraiser, for which we are thankful. We have made a simple chart of the pledges so far ... and the thermometer is still increasing, daily 😀

Next Tuesday you can follow the performances of our skaters Krijn Donk, Henk Swijnenburg and Henk Vlot LIVE via this link: http://live.ultimate.dk/uploads/2019/iceskating/weissensee/ and then choose the 3rd alternative Elfstedentocht. You can enter our guys as your favorites and follow them all day.

Pledges have been made for starting the tour, for finishing and for breaking personal records.  The current personal records are as follows:

Krijn Donk: 7:21

Henk Swijnenburg: 9:18:59

Henk Vlot: 10:57:53

👉 You can still sponsor our skating team by sending a direct donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U stating: WEISSENSEE or by making a pledge via krijncora@kpnmail.com.

The entire proceeds will go towards Teen Challenge Moldova!

Weissensee 2019 for Teen Challenge Moldova

From left to right: Henk Vlot, Henk Swijnenburg, Krijn Donk

January is always an exciting month for Traveling Light, because we have our largest fundraising campaign of the year! On Tuesday January 29th the Traveling Light skating team will be ice skating on the Weissensee in Austria.

Our ice speed skating team has been in training for the 200 km tour for months. From October on, the men train a number of times a week on the ice skating rink in Breda.

This year Krijn Donk (Papendrecht), Henk Swijnenburg (Bleskensgraaf), Henk Vlot (Oud Alblas) and Adrie Swijnenburg (support & care) want to raise money for a great building project: the expansion of the Teen Challenge men's house in Falesti, Moldova.

The farm in Falesti (which we visited recently, namely this last October) is a Christian rehab home for men with addictions and other life-threatening problems. They can live there, work with their hands and above all have an encounter with the living God and start a new life!

We have encouraged them in the past with donations for the purchase of a dairy cow, the construction of a dairy kitchen and with personal visits.

This type of Christian help usually depends largely on donations. The program in Falesti is pretty self-sufficient though. They grow their own vegetables and keep animals.

Teen Challenge men's home in Falesti

In the picture you see another house in the background, that is a rehab house for women. Moldova is struggling with large numbers of alcohol and drug addicts and there is an urgent need to expand the number of beds.

The intention is to build a second floor on the existing house. The men in the program will do as much of the construction as they can, with the help of a team of men from Teen Challenge Czech Republic 💪

For the men in the Czech Republic program (who often have a background in construction work) it will be a great mission project ... going on a trip to help others! How beautiful is that? Helping hands extended, it will be a wonderful joint effort.

dorm room

We are expecting a great response to our Weissensee fundraiser. The full amount of donations coming in will benefit Teen Challenge Falesti.

You can sponsor Krijn, Henk and Henk as a team or individually:

• with a donation per kilometer,
• with a donation to finish,
• with a general donation, or
• with a donation according to your own idea (for example for breaking a pr or last year's time result)

If you decide to participate, please send an e-mail with your pledge and encouraging words to krijncora@kpnmail.nl.

With the Teen Challenge team at the Falesti church

Of course you can send a direct donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U.

May records be broken in every possible way!

We look forward to your heart-warming reactions and we wish the ice skating team lots of success and likewise perseverance.

Visit to Moldova

The Petersen's home

Last January we introduced Johannes & Charlotte Petersen for the first time on this blog. This Danish couple has been living and working among the poorest people in Moldova for over twenty years.

Last week Jan visited them on behalf of Traveling Light. It was our first trip to the poorest country of Europe.

Community living

Over the years Johannes & Charlotte lived in several different places in Moldova. Their home is a colorful trailer which has kept them mobile... fitting the name of their ministry: Pilgrims International!

They have planted several churches, a Teen Challenge rehabilitation home for men and a women's home which will be opened soon. They provide humanitarian aid and organize children's summer camps. On their website you can find more information.

Almost done, girl's room

For the first time in all these years they now, more or less, have a permanent lot where they have put down their mobile home; it is the piece of land where the Shelter is located... a home for girls and young women who haven been rescued from human trafficking.

the Shelter

Johannes & Charlotte truly share the pure Father heart of God with the people they help: the addicts, the poor, the lonely, the young girls (sometimes only twelve years old) that are offered up for sale by their parents, ending up in prostitution and human trafficking.

It is heartbreaking to see how much suffering there is. But it is also great to see that there are people who are not hesitant to obey the call of God's heart and humble themselves to help others.

Teen Challenge men's rehab

The gift we gave last August was used to buy a Frysian milk cow and two calves! That's a good deal :) At the Teen Challenge men's rehabilitation home they are now (if funding comes in) going to build a dairy kitchen which will enable them to process and sell the milk.

We are grateful for the gifts we received from you all for the beautiful but difficult work of Johannes and Charlotte in Moldova.

The new calves

They are letting their light shine in the darkest corner of Europe, and we certainly want to encourage them! It is great to see that much can be done with little money and that our gifts are being used wisely and practically.

Please, let us not forsake to do the will of God ... on earth as it is in heaven ....

Youth room in the church

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. (Isaiah 58: 6-8).

[PS: Click on the pictures to enlarge!]

Gifts are ALWAYS welcome at IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Project COW for Teen Challenge, Moldova

Teen Challenge rehab in Falesti

Earlier this year we were able to donate a good sum to wards the work of Johannes and Charlotte Petersen in Moldova and well specifically for the construction of the Shelter, a home for girls and women who have been rescued from human trafficking (update will follow).

Johannes and Charlotte have been living and working among the poorest in Moldova for over twenty years. They have started up children and youth educational programs, a church, humanitarian aid and also a Teen Challenge drugs- and alcohol rehabilitation center located in Falesti.

Jura with the Frysian cow

The daily leader of the center is Jura (see the photo on the right). Running a faith-based program means they depend partly on donations and partly on business opportunities. The goal is to become largely independent, for example by growing their own vegetables and fruits and by keeping animals.

Mini zoo :)

The Teen Challenge farm in Falesti currently has two milk cows (one Frysian), one young bull and two calves, the oldest milk cow being at retirement age. They furthermore have pigs, geese, ducks and chickens. Around the center lies approximately three hectares of land on which they have planted nut trees, berry trees, beans, tomatoes and alfalfa.

With the purchase of 1 or 2 new Frysian milk cows it will be possible to generate income (by selling the milk) which will help to run the center on a day to day basis. A good milk cow gives about forty liters of milk a day.

Home of restoration

Being a Holland-based organization, Traveling Light of course LOVES Frysian cows :) and we would love to help them buy at least 1 cow. The price for a Frysian is about 2,300 euro. Well, that should not be a problem, right?!

This is, yet again, another practical, small scale project that has a direct impact on the guys in the program.The work with animals and the keeping of a vegetable garden is part of the therapy and it prepares the guys for a healthy and productive life in society. God loves these men and so do we. Each life counts!

Please, send your donation  to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention TC MOLDOVA COW. 

When in the USA, send your tax-deductible gift to Eastern Europe Outreach, make sure to mention TC MOLDOVA COW.