Project news and prayer points north-western Europe

Last week we shared news about projects in several countries in south-eastern Europe. Now, let's take a look at some projects and prayer points in north-western Europe.

Teen Challenge Netherlands in Heerhugowaard will start a discipleship school later this year. Last month they hosted an open house for anyone interested. Do you know young people who would like to invest a year of their lives in discipleship training? More information can be found HERE.

Earlier this month they hosted a training for Teen Challenge workers from rehab centers throughout Europe. There was a good turnout. The TC building in Heerhugowaard is a beautiful accommodation for a training center and ministry institute.

Last week the freezer broke down. Quite inconvenient when you have a house full of guests. Director Stephan Barendse immediately called out for help and pledges started coming in. Traveling Light will also contribute towards the purchase of a new energy-efficient freezer.

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Last Friday we visited Frédéric & Natacha Hensgens, the directors of Teen Challenge in Belgium. In early February they lost their son Nicolas to suicide. An unimaginable tragedy for them, their daughter Mahora, and further family and friends.

At their center 'Maison Betser' they currently care for a number of people who are in the process of reintegrating into society, a kind of re-entry program. Prayers for comfort and support are much needed.

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Last summer we visited Teen Challenge Iceland. They are active in coffee house work and street evangelism. They have the desire to start a Christian drug and alcohol rehab center in due time. For now, they are looking to open a thrift store, which will offer work opportunities and generate some income.

Let's face it, funds are always needed to pay for rent  (coffee house, day program, etc.), to purchase materials (coffee, tea, study materials, etc.), and to pay for other expenses. Please pray that their efforts to reach people with addictions will be effective and bring forth fruit.

Donations 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 'general' or otherwise which country or project.

💳 Give by card

👉You can also donate directly via our website!

Project Teen Challenge Groups studies for the Netherlands

As most of you know by now, a large part of the projects we support have to do with the faith-based recovery programs of Teen Challenge.

The various rehabilitation centers that we visit throughout Europe are home to men and women who have indicated that they want to turn their backs on their life-threatening problems.

Of course, you cannot force anyone to become a Christian, but over time most come to see that the world has no lasting solution and that Jesus Christ does indeed offer the hope and new life they so long for.

Through personal and group studies the students in the programs learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The studies have been translated into several languages, now also in Dutch.

We have said so many times: "Everyone should follow these studies, they are so practical!" The lessons are really interesting, not just for ex-addicts, but also for new believers, church groups, or groups in prisons.

The Group Studies for New Life parts 1 to 7 have now been printed and are currently being used in two churches in Zaandam and Heerhugowaard. As Traveling Light, we would also like to offer the group studies this coming winter, especially to those who have taken the Alpha course.

👉However, lessons 8 to 14 have yet to be printed. We would like to help Teen Challenge Netherlands with this by making a donation for (part of) the costs. Will you help?

You can give in several ways. Please direct your gift to:

• St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U, and don't forget to mention: TC NETHERLANDS
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA it is also possible to make a tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention: TC NETHERLANDS GROUPS STUDIES

Travel updates and lots of thanksgiving

In June and July, we were not only able to send in donations to various projects, but we also traveled quite a lot.

Visiting, showing your face, listening, praying with people, speaking words of encouragement and prophecy, teaching... you name it. It's all part of the traveling work we do on behalf of our non-profit Traveling Light (hence the name!).

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At the beginning of June, we were guests at the 25th anniversary of the Teen Challenge men's center in Sluknov, Czech Republic. Very nice to be there and even nicer that we were approached by several men from the program about the Bible study sessions we gave there in January. One man came running to tell us that his shattered wrist (which he had been unable to use for years) had been healed after we prayed for it. Praise the Lord!

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When we returned home, Jan got on his motorbike and drove to Teen Challenge Slovenija. The next day they went from there with 2 vans and 12 men from the rehab program to the 'My Brother's Keeper' conference in Montenegro.

Hundreds of men from all the Balkan countries gathered there. Those of you who have ever joined Jan for such a conference know that these are very blessed gatherings with lots of prayer, music, liberation, and healing. This time again dozens of men gave their lives to Jesus. Also a number of men from the TC program in Slovenija. Praise the Lord!

After the conference, Jan stayed an extra day in the TC center in Slovenija to teach the Bible a, pray with the men, and speak into their lives. This picture (click on it to enlarge) says more than a thousand words, right?! 💓

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On the way back home, Jan visited Dirk & Meike Hellmann, they have been directors of the Teen Challenge rehab center Gutes Land in Germany for many years. We have visited them regularly over the years.

Dirk has been struggling with cancer for a long time, he also had a bone marrow transplant and was not doing well. Jan was able to encourage them both, prayed with Dirk, and even went swimming with him (which he really wanted). He visibly improved. Praise the Lord!

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At the beginning of July, we were among the guests of honor at the celebration of 35 years of Teen Challenge in Poland. What a party it was! The celebration took place on the grounds of the men's rehab center in Lekinia, which we have visited several times in the past. There were many visitors, including officials from the city and many former students.

TC Poland has several rehab houses for men and women, a network of 50(!) coffee houses, church plants, and much more. On behalf of Traveling Light we accepted a beautiful glass plaque as an appreciation for the many years of help and support.

Again, it was so encouraging that people came to us who recognized us from previous visits, who remembered what we taught about years ago, or who just wanted to tell us that prayers had been answered. Here too, a lot of gratitude for the work of Traveling Light. Praise the Lord!

On Sunday, 14 men and women were baptized in a nearby lake. What testimonials we have heard!

Only God can restore broken lives, reunite families, save marriages, heal disease, and break addictions.

Among the international guests in Poland were also Stephan & Marianne Barendse from Teen Challenge Netherlands. Good to spend some time together again.

Actually, we visited them in Heerhugowaard at the beginning of June. TC Netherlands is once again going through a difficult time. The Cyan thrift store has closed (they had to leave due to zoning plans in the municipality) and the care department of Life House has also closed (because that was largely paid for by the proceeds of the store).

Prayer is needed on how to proceed.

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Meanwhile, our dear friends, volunteers, and loyal donors Piet & Anneke Stehouwer were vacationing in Croatia and they decided to visit the new Teen Challenge coffee house in Solin, for which we recently collected funds (read here).

They had a blessed meeting with TC director Ico Matulic and the man who runs the coffee house. These kinds of visits and meetings are so important and valuable, believe it or not.

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Both the financial support and the personal visits are the heart of our work. None of this would be possible without your help.

Your donations 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 'general' or otherwise which country or project.
• 💳 Give by card

Project water installation Life House, TC Netherlands

In January we visited Stephan & Marianne Barendse from Teen Challenge Netherlands. Since 2014 they have been using the beautiful building that is now known as the Life Center.

The Life Center receives people who have life-controlling problems associated with housing issues (homeless, in plain Dutch).

The center has 17 rooms including staff and guest rooms. Teen Challenge was able to buy the building in March 2020!

As the owner of the building, Teen Challenge is now also responsible for all safety measures in the building. There are strict requirements for residential buildings. Fire safety has already been brought up to code.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the water installation does not meet the legionella prevention requirements (pfff). Fortunately, no legionella has ever been diagnosed (this is checked regularly).

It has been decided to make the heating installation more sustainable, instead of rerouting pipes. This will also result in energy savings. Sponsoring for this project has already been found.

An amount of approximately 7,000 euro is still needed for the replacement of pipes and tubes. These are costs that are outside the normal daily expenses to run the center. So, we want to help bring (part of) the needed amount together.

If you also want to participate, make a donation to St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U, stating TC Netherlands.

👉When in the USA you can make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention: TC NETHERLANDS.

THANK YOU!

Project Teen Challenge Netherlands

Visiting Life Store at Teen Challenge Netherlands

Earlier this year we visited the Teen Challenge Life Center in Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands.

Various services and activities in the area of ​​care and welfare come together in this beautiful building. Life Center houses it all: Life Care (care and counseling rooms), Life House (shelter and support for people who are in trouble), Life Café (meeting place and community center) and Life Store (secondhand shop).

We received an extensive tour of the building, we watched a film about Teen Challenge and of course we brainstormed about activities, campaigns and fundraising activities.

Life Café, a great meeting place

Part of the work of Teen Challenge Netherlands is called The Gate, which are youth centers connected to local churches. This outreach work focuses on prevention ... reaching teenagers with the gospel before they get into trouble because of drugs and alcohol. A much, much needed ministry.

Through meetings and personal conversations, but also through films, flyers and books, people are reached daily with a message of hope.

Teen Challenge Netherlands is currently working on a special edition of the world-famous book The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson. These books will be ideal as hand-outs and conversation starters. 

We would like to help them with a donation for the printing costs and publication of this book; on the condition that we get a box for our coffee house / shop  of course 😀

Life Magazine 1958

We had this project application on our desk for a while (yes, we have a waiting list) and earlier this week director Stephan Barendse called us with the announcement that the book is almost ready to go to print.

So, if you have it on your heart to help, please do so! Send your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. make sure to mention TC Netherlands.

Teen Challenge Netherlands will celebrate 50 years in 2019!

New season prison ministry

Krijn & Cora in front of the prison

Earlier this year we wrote about the prison ministry of Traveling Light. Board member Cora Donk, who also runs the secondhand shop, is involved in this ministry in the penitentiary prison in Dordrecht.

She serves as a volunteer in the interdenominational team that organizes the church services and she is also involved in giving the Alpha course.

With the new winter season ahead, we are thankful to announce that her husband Krijn Donk (who oversees our sports team) has signed up for prison ministry as well.

Together they will be involved in the church services in the prison in Dordrecht. In addition, they will also give the Alpha course in the penitentiary prison in Rotterdam, location Hoogvliet (formerly City Prison Rotterdam).

For the Alpha course that is coming up, we have bought a large stack of books. While going through these books, the men and women in prison will learn that there is a Heavenly Father who loves them and has a much better plan with their lives.

It is great that in addition to all the countries we visit and the dozens of projects we support, we can also be a blessing in our own country in different ways.

Changed lives. It keeps us going, because we believe it is always possible!

If you want to support this work, please do so. You can make your gifts payable to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

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This Friday night there will be Re-Store again (healing room). The door of our shop will be open to those who need a touch of God's love. There are people present to pray with you for healing, recovery and deliverance. Door open between 7:30 and 9:30 pm.

Tonight (Wednesday, September 12) the Discipleship course will start again in our shop. We will dive into the Bible to see what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in the world today. We meet every other week on Wednesday. Door opens at 7:30 pm.

Travel and project news

Board meeting ETC, Krakow 2018

We recently made a trip to Germany and Poland, together with Jim & Lynda Hayes. We made some encouraging visits on our way to Krakow, Poland, where the Europe Teen Challenge conference took place. We will tell you more about that trip soon. Keep an eye on this blog!

"Let your light shine before men ..." [Matthew 5:16] is the motto on our website. Everyone who has been reading this blog for some time, will know that we do this on a local, regional, national and international level. Shining our light simply by (for example) offering a helping (technical) hand, raising money for a new washing machine in a rehab or through sharing personal prayers and encouraging words.

Over the last few years we have been organizing monthly prayer meetings: for Europe, for our region and for individuals. We meet on Fridays and Tuesdays in our secondhand shop Twinkeltje and pray for unity and a spiritual revival in our county.

It is therefore that we would love to sponsor the Slingeland festival that is being held from June 22nd to 24th June. Every year this festival is being organized by Hart voor de Waard, an interdenominational organization that aims to share the Gospel in a simple and outgoing manner.

Far away and close to home, let's support outreach events and in doing so encourage one another! You can send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: FESTIVAL.

• We were able to transfer 3,000 euro for project village kitchen Navazi in Georgia. As soon as we have photos/news, we will post it on this blog.
• The next project will be the support of the Teen Challenge women's home in Lithuania.
• This Friday, May 25, we organize a special Israel event in Twinkeltje. We have al kinds of products, snacks and drinks. Doors will be open between 19:00-21:30. Korenbloemstraat 20 in Papedrecnt. See you there!

Prison ministry

Cora Donk

Traveling Light visits and supports (small scale) projects throughout Europe. We are also very active in our home town, particularly since the opening of our secondhand shop Twinkeltje in September 2016.

Twinkeltje is so much more than a coffee house, we use the facility to organize workshops, prayer evenings, mission events, bicycle lessons for new immigrants and discipleship trainings.

👉 But did you know that we are involved in prison ministry as well?

Board member Cora Donk is the owner of Twinkeltje and takes care of daily business there, but she is also involved in prison ministry in the penitentiary prison in Dordrecht. She serves as a volunteer in the interdenominational team that organizes the church services and since last year she is involved in giving the Alpha course.

Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. Alpha is run all around the globe, and everyone's welcome. It runs in cafés, churches, universities, homes and prisons. More than 24 million people worldwide have done Alpha. In the Netherlands there were more than 265,000.

The current course is coming to an end and Cora has bought a nice present for all participants. The prisoners may choose an inspiring book, such as 'The Cross and the switchblade', 'Run baby run' and 'Knock-out'. All of them stories from people who have personally experienced that God can and wants to give everyone a new beginning!

Changed lives! It keeps us going because we believe it is always possible.

Gifts (large & small) for the various projects are always welcome! Make your gifts payable to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Activities and project news

Presentation in Alblasserdam

Tuesday April 3rd, Marja and Cora gave a presentation about the work of Traveling Light  at the PCOB (Protestant Christian Elderly Association) in Alblasserdam.

The Easter message (new life) was illustrated with practical examples: the down and out receiving new life at the Teen Challenge rehabilitation centers throughout Europe. We were encouraged by all the kind comments.

On Thursday April 5th, Michel & Janet van Boxtel of non profit organization Embrace were present at our mission night in our second hand shop Twinkeltje. They shared about their work among the homeless people in Budapest, Hungary. We were able to bless them with a nice check of no less than 2,300 euro. That was the revenue of Twinkeltje over the month of March and the offering we took up.

Cora presents the donation

The mission nights we organize from time to time are an ideal opportunity to bring supporters and the people behind the projects together!

Thursday April 19th you have another opportunity to sponsor Traveling Light and well by participating in the Lukassen & Boer non-profit Run.

Join our team!

Each participant can run or walk a maximum of 10 km and the organization will donate 1.50 euro for every 2.5 km round towards the Traveling Light account. Entry cards are available at the start. Take your Traveling Light t-shirt with you or ask Jan or Cora for one

It promises to be an exciting event again. feel free to come and join us. It is great to be outdoors!

In The Netherlands we celebrate the King's birthday on Friday April 27th. We will be present with our sales booth at the flea market in Papendrecht. Used books, clothes and household stuff ... we have it all. Every year we are able, thanks to your purchases, to donate a nice amount towards our projects.

Kings Day 2017

Come by for a cup of coffee, a chat or just for fun!

We receive many requests for help and the waiting list is growing. Without your gifts we can help no one. So donations are always welcome! Spread the word.

Please, send your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Project news

Teen Challenge Life center

This week we visited the Teen Challenge Life Center in Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands (yeah, close to home this time). Life Center is a local care network that aims to provide a warm and safe meeting place for the city.

Life Center is a good example of cooperation when it comes to care, welfare and mental health. There is Life Care (care and counseling rooms), Life House (shelter and support for people who are in trouble), Life Café (meeting place and community center) and recently, Life Store (2nd hand shop). Director Stephan Barendse visited our 2nd hand shop Twinkeltje last year and was impressed with the possibilities that a simple and inviting meeting place offers. Glad that we can be an inspiration in this!

At the beginning of January we raised money for project heater hostel Bialogardzie in Poland. We received an email and photos from Jan and Małgorzata Kwiatkowscy, the directors of the re-entry house. They write:

"Many thanks !!!. Winter and frosts are not terrible anymore !!!

Thanks to your kindness and generosity in the form of transfer of funds for the purchase of the furnace for our TEEN CHALLENGE branch in Białogard, we can now function peacefully. One furnace has been functioning for several weeks and gives us great joy in giving us warmth. The second furnace will start running any day, and this is because the order and assembly takes a while.

All our students were very pleased and touched by your generosity, openness and readiness to support others. For many of them, this is a great testimony of God's love expressed..."

Teen Challenge men's rehab in Berdychiv

Last year we raised funds for the expansion of the Teen Challenge men's rehab home in Beryichiv, Ukraine.

It is really worth seeing how beautiful the new room has become. The Star of David in the ceiling is really something to be jealous of :) It is fantastic!

Many meetings are being held  and trainings are being given there. What a beautiful room to live and learn and come together, especially when we consider that most men used to live on the street for years.

We are so happy and thankful to see how our donations are being spent and it is our joy to share that with you as well.

You are always welcome in our 2nd hand shop Twinkeltje, but in particular at:

Thursday evening April 5: Mission evening Hungary

Friday evening April 20: Prayer for the Nations

Friday evening, May 25: Israel evening

Gifts for all those beautiful projects we support are always welcome at IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

Project children's work materials

We are currently raising funds for a new Frysian cow for the Teen Challenge rehabiliatation center in Moldova. 

But that is of course not the only thing going on; the summer vacation is actually pretty busy at Traveling Light :) We are receiving many new project requests, we are traveling and we also make plans for the coming months.

From July 28 - August 2nd, 2015 222 Ministries and Pearl of Persia will be hosting a conference again for Iranian people in Holland. From time to time they come together to catch up, to network and to encourage one another. Through these conferences 222 Ministries is able to strengthen and equip the Iranian believers in this difficult time.

They make use of volunteers, also for the children's program that will be held during this week. Some of the sweet ladies were also the initiators behind Operation Love Splash.

We would love to help them with the purchase of materials, such as the book Children can you hear me? which will be given to all kids and workers. We need about 400 euro (asap) to cover the cost. Who wants to help?

Please, send your donation  to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention 222 Children's work.

Project Victory Home, Amsterdam

Sharing a meal at Victory Home

Do you remember project Code Red? It was a two-day outreach event organized by Victory Outreach to reach women (homeless, addicts, prostitutes, abused) in six big cities: Tijuana, Chicago, Oakland, Capetown, Vancouver and Amsterdam.

In the Netherlands this event  was organized by Victory Outreach Amsterdam and Victory Home, a christian rehabilitation home for men and women in Amsterdam.Victory Home helps people to overcome their life controlling problems, such as addictions and violence.

At this moment Victory Home in Amsterdam has several renovation projects going. They need to refurnish and renovate the living rooms and kitchens at two rehabilitation homes. Victory Home is a non profit organization and they do not have sufficient funds for such extra costs.

Of course Traveling Light loves to come alongside and help with raising at least 1,500 euro in funds, so they can start their renovation project. Money is needed for the purchase of two new washing machines, folding chairs, carpets and kitchen ware.

If you love to support the work of Victory Home in Amsterdam, you can do so by sending your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention VICTORY HOME.

NLdoet, volunteers day in The Netherlands

Where would we be without volunteers?

This past Saturday we participated with some of our volunteers in NLdoet. This is an annual event organized by the Orange Foundation and thousands of organisations in the Netherlands. NLdoet is the biggest volunteer event of the year.

NLdoet wants to put volunteer work in the spot light and encourages every citizen of Holland to come into action. We at Traveling Light are active all over Europe, but this weekend we decided it would be good to shine our light in our own home town :)

At nine in the morning we were escorted to the location where we were going to prune and cut some willow trees, in order to help the Nature- and birdwatch Alblasserwaard. This was nothing but HARD WORK. The branches we had to cut and saw off were huge, and it took a lot of effort and power to move the branches to designated areas where a truck came to pick 'm up. It was very good and useful to come and work together like this!

And, as promised, the year report 2013 is available online. Sorry, it is only available in Dutch, but maybe you can run Google Translate over it :) It is just so awesome to see how many projects we were able to sponsor and how many countries we visited. The financial report shows that many, many gifts came in in this past year and that we were able to give away almost 50,000 euro to all kinds of small scale, locale projects throughout Europe and the Mediterranean area. A large chunk of it went to Teen Challenge centers.

Thank you very much! With your help 2014 will be a blessed year as well. Please, tell others about Traveling Light and keep sending your gifts.

Click here for an overview of all projects per country since 2011.

Project tractor lawn mower Spetse Hoeve, Netherlands

Isn't it a beauty?

A little while back we received a request from the Teen Challenge men's home The Spetse Hoeve in Veelerveen, here in The Netherlands. They asked whether we could help them to find a good tractor lawn mower. They have a lot of grass around the men's rehabilitation home which they've been mowing by hand. It's time for a professional upgrade.

We asked one of our neighbors if he was willing to sell his Husqvarna tractor mower, which he hardly ever used. The new price was around 3,500 euro, but he agreed to sell it for 1,000 euro to help Teen Challenge. Wow. Great deal!

Two volunteers from the Spetse Hoeve came to pick it up and they're using it every day around the men's center. So, it's up to us to raise the 1,000 euro needed to pay for this machine. The men at the Spetse Hoeve are very happy with their new machine... so, we're happy too:)

Do you have a heart for technical projects? You can send your gift to:

Rabo bank nr. 1185 82 275 St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht

IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275

BIC: RABONL2U

THANK YOU.

HOORAY, 2,500 euro for project chapel Teen Challenge Slovakia!

The Teen Challenge men are working hard

HOORAY! As the result of a quick and effective Facebook post we received the last gifts for follow-up project chapel Teen Challenge Slovakia. In just a few weeks the wonderful amount of 2,500 euro (3,300 dollars) came in for this project. Thank you all who gave towards this, your enthusiasm and generosity is appreciated very much.

As you can see in this picture the construction of the David Wilkerson Memorial Chapel at the grounds of the men's rehabilitation home, continues. How awesome that these men can work on a physical house, while the Lord is working on their inner souls. He forgives their iniquities, softens their hearts and heals their wounds from the past. This house of prayer will be a living monument of God's unending love for people in need. He is able to restore and renew broken lives, no matter how deep they have ended up in the gutters of addiction and shame. It is such an honor to be part of this through our finances, through personal contacts and visits (we've been there twice already). As soon as we have new pictures we will share them on this weblog!

For all of us it is true: Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain [Psalm 127:1]

May we remind you of Project Code Red in Amsterdam, we want to sponsor this outreach event in the red light district with a gift of 500 euro. Elaine MacKay mailed us, on behalf of Victory Home, this week with the following: "I really see the faithfulness and favor of God in this. We continue to pray for financial breakthrough in sponsoring... In the meantime we are almost daily on the streets, reaching out to the women. We do see an enormous open-heartedness, many women (prostitutes) give their lives [to God] when we tell them the Good News. We can see the hopelessness and emptiness in their faces...

I want to thank you for your willingness to participate in our efforts, we appreciate this very much!"

Your gifts (large or small) for this practical and loving outreach event in the red light district in Amsterdam are welcome. Within Europe make gifts payable to:

Rabo bank nr. 1185 82 275

IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275

BIC: RABONL2U

We want to use this time to announce some of our upcoming projects. We have many plans for the next couple of months. We hope you will join us in our efforts to make this an exciting, challenging and encouraging time!

• Sponsoring of the annual Teen Challenge conference in Kiev, Ukraine. 30 euro's will help someone (from Ukraine, Belarus, Kazachstan or Georgia) to attend this powerful and uplifting conference.
• The purchase of a tractor lawn mower for the Teen Challenge men's home de Spetse Hoeve in Groningen, The Netherlands. Costs: 1,000 euro.
• A very practical project at Teen Challenge Poland.

Project Code Red, Amsterdam

Besides our follow-up project chapel Teen Challenge, Slovakia (for which we already have received more than 1,000 euro over the past few days!) we would like to ask your attention for project Code Red, Amsterdam.

Outreach in six major cities

Project Code Red is a two-day outreach event organized by Victory Outreach. They specifically want to reach women (homeless, addicts, prostitutes, abused) in six big cities: Tijuana, Chicago, Oakland, Capetown, Van-couver and Amsterdam. In the Netherlands this event  is being organized by Victory Outreach Amsterdam and Victory Home, a christian rehabilitation home for men and women in Amsterdam.

During this event volunteer women from all over Europe will come to Amsterdam to reach out to homeless, addicted and abused women. Through this outreach, Victory Home wants to show them that someone cares and is concerned about their living situation and future.

On August 5th and 6th mobile beauty parlors and hair salons will be set up on different locations in Amsterdam where women are welcome for a beauty treatment. In the afternoon they can enjoy a catered lunch as well as a wonderful dinner in the evening. During the dinner there will be a theater play. All women will receive a goody bag at the end of the day. If or when a woman decides she wants to change her life, Victory Home can offer them professional help and a place to stay where they will be assisted in making a new beginning.

We think this is a great and loving initiative and we would like to sponsor this event with a gift of 500 euro. Will you help us? This event is being organized by volunteers and will only take place if enough donations come in. The money is needed for food, drinks, location rent, goody bags, make-up etc. etc. If you have a heart for abused and mistreated women please send your gift to

St. Traveling Light

Rabo bank nr. 1185 82 275

IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275

BIC: RABONL2U

Make sure to mention CODE RED

Maybe you can share this blog post with your church/group/family or business partner and see if you can sponsor them as well.

If you need more information for the event in Amsterdam, please call or email  Elaine Mackay of Victory Home, email: e.mackay@voamsterdam.net

Photo project passenger van Spetse Hoeve

We owe you a picture of the passenger van that men's rehabilitation center the Spetse Hoeve  (Teen Challenge Netherlands) purchased, thanks to your generous donations. Here it is!

Last year we raised 3,500 euro for project passenger van the Spetse Hoeve in the Netherlands. At first we started looking for a nine passenger van, but the prices were simply not within the budget. Finally they decided on this seven passenger Volkswagen in mint condition. A beauty, isn't it?

The goal of Teen Challenge Netherlands is to win people (not just addicts) for Jesus Christ and to help them to integrate with a local church. This goal is four-part:

• Reaching un-churched youth with the gospel
• Reaching people with life controlling problems (such as addictions)
• Reaching people where they are; building bridges between the street life and the churches
• Discipling (young) people in their desire to follow Jesus

Teen Challenge Netherlands has a men's rehabilitation home, the Spetse Hoeve, in Veerleveen  (Groningen) that offers space for 15 students/clients. Currently there are plans to open a women's home in the province of North-Holland.

On June 15th there will be another Open House at the Spetse Hoeve. So, if you are living not too far from there, you're very welcome to come and have a look at the work of Teen Challenge Netherlands.

If you know of any people struggling with addiction or having a desire to start youth ministry in their church, please send them the link to the Teen Challenge website. It contains a huge amount of information.

News & prayer

It is time again for some news, updates and prayer points. Read along and, please, tell others about us. Share, Like, Tweet and Favor our blog posts. With your help we can do so much more.

Jordan Stoilov

Hooray! The 1,000 euro for Project Playground Tetovo, Macedonia, came in. This means Jordan Stoilov can continue to plan this event (with the help of the evangelical church in Shtip). We will keep email contact with him and as soon as there is any news or pictures we will share it on this weblog. Please pray for Jordan that he may experience the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. And in the meantime: thank you all for your gifts. Oh yes; Jan and one of our volunteers (Krijn Donk) are planning to visit Jordan some time in June.

Waiting for the sun :)

The flea market sales on April 30th (Queens, or should I now say Kingsday in the Netherlands) were good for a total of 625 euro, all for Traveling Light. Awesome! It was a wonderful day, lots of fun, and thanks to a group of faithful and hard working volunteers we were able to sell lots of stuff and tell many people about the work of Traveling Light. Please, continue to pray for new supporters.

At Teen Challenge Sered, Slovakia

Last week we made a short trip around Europe. After the Europe Teen Challenge conference in Prague we visited Teen Challenge Slovakia. They are working hard on constructing the prayer chapel, which will be named the David Wilkerson Memorial Chapel. Did you all know that David's mother was born in Slovakia? What a tribute. She probably never expected the calling of her son to turn into a worldwide network of christian rehabilitation programs... yes, even in her country of birth Slovakia! We'll show some more pictures on this blog soon.

Comunita Brezzano, Italy

Our next project will be in Italy. We will share a bit about the work of Maria Meier, a widow who lives in Comunita Brezzano, where she offers a home and help for people with life threatening problems, especially people from Israel.We visited her last February and we were impressed with the hard work and love she shows the people that the Lord sends her. She offers amazing practical help. Well.... more about that in our next post.

If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight..... [Isaiah 58:10, The Message]