September activities

Many of you are probably still enjoying the last days of the summer holidays. Nevertheless, we would like to look ahead to September; there are some great things on the agenda!

Thursday, September 3

On Thursday, September 3, we would like to participate again in the Lukassen & Boer Run with an enthusiastic group of walkers and runners, to raise funds for our projects.

During the event, you will run a maximum of two (if you are under 15) or a maximum of four (if you are 15 or older) laps, through Sportpark Oostpolder in Papendrecht. A lap is approximately 2.5 kilometers long. You can run or walk. Each lap earns 2 euros. The youth start at 18:30 and the adults at 19:30.

Saturday, September 5

The weekend of September 4-6, we (Jan and Marja) will be visiting Teen Challenge Neubruch in Germany. On Saturday, they will host their annual Friends Day, an open house where former clients, interested parties, and sponsors are welcome. Since we were able to make a donation a few months ago for the renovation of the barn into a meeting center, we thought it would be good to pay them a visit.

We will probably share some photos and a short report of the encouraging visit soon after.

Thursday, September 10

On Thursday, September 10, we are organizing another mission evening at Twinkeltje. This time, we have visitors from Lithuania. Willem Jan van Dijk will be coming to tell us how he ended up in Ireland from Putten and later in Lithuania, where he founded the Vilties Inkaras (Anchor of Hope) foundation.

Willem Jan has visited Twinkeltje before, and this time promises to be another inspiring evening. We look forward to your arrival. Doors open with coffee and tea from 7:30 PM. The presentation starts at 8:00 PM.

WELCOME!

Thursday, September 24

On Thursday, September 24, we are organizing another Israel evening at Twinkeltje, located at Korenbloemstraat 20 in Papendrecht.

The doors will be open from 18:30 to 21:00. Interested parties are invited to come and enjoy shopping and meeting each other.

There will be a variety of products from Israel for sale, such as cosmetics, jewelry, tea, jam, wine, and books.

Feel free to bring someone along and come enjoy some shopping.

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When we speak in churches, congregations, and at conferences, we always bring the Traveling Light banner and our book table, which features brochures and informational material alongside Marja's books.

Marja's newest book (Dutch language) will be released in September: 'De Dubbele Schat: Ontdek de rijkdom van wet én genade' (The Double Treasure: Discover the richness of law and grace). In this new book, it is explained how law and grace do not exclude one another, but rather complement and deepen one another.

Central to this is Jesus’ teaching on the “double treasure”: the old treasure of Moses and the prophets, and the new treasure of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 13:52). The message in the book is also a call for greater unity between Evangelical and Reformed believers.

👉The book can already be ordered from Uitgeverij Scholten for €17.95. We are looking forward to receive your comments!

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Donations, large or small, for the projects Traveling Light supports are always welcome. You can send a donation in different ways:

💛Send your financial gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

💳 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 TRAVELING LIGHT.

Project and activity news

King's Day in The Netherlands, a festive day! We stood at the free market with 2nd hand stuff and talked with a lot of people, drank coffee, and even prayed with some. Despite the festivities, many people walk around with pain and sadness.

The beautiful spring weather was a bonus. The day brought in 450 euro for the monthly project: the men's rehab center of Teen Challenge Czech Republic in Sluknov. We were eventually able to transfer the nice amount of 4,000 euro for this purpose.

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Last Friday we organized another Israel evening in Twinkeltje, which also attracted a lot of interest. Always good to talk about that special country and its inhabitants.

We showed beautiful pictures on the big screen, had many conversations, and enjoyed tasty snacks. Israel products consultant Liesbeth Kortleve, who herself just came back from Israel, had many products on display for sale! By buying products, we support the country.

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Later this week we (Krijn, Cora, Jan and Marja) will attend the annual Europe Teen Challenge conference, which will be held in Rimini, Italy. (PS: of course, we travel at our own expense, your donations always go toward the projects).

We will be there with a large book table and hope for many good conversations and a strengthening of existing contacts. Carter Conlon of Time Square Church is the keynote speaker at the conference, so we expect to come back edified and encouraged as well!

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In the meantime, the monthly project for May in Twinkeltje and the Schor is Teen Challenge Winiarczykowka in Poland, they take care of displaced elderly people. This coming Saturday our shop is closed, but next week you are welcome again! Of course, you can always transfer a donation! 😉

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 updates all around Europe

Many of you might enjoy a vacation 🌞, maybe that is a good moment to read how your gifts are being spent. Let's make a tour of Europe.😀 We'll start right here at home...

In May we collected funds for restoration of the outreach bus that belongs to Nieuw Leven Gemeente in Alblasserdam, a church with a heart for mission and outreach.

We were able to donate 2.500 euro. They did all necessary bodywork on the bus and gave it a new paint job! Well, shining like the sun. The bus can be rented for outreach events and open air church meetings. 

At the beginning of July we wrote about port evangelist Alexander Eberson who had this idea to publish a booklet and hand it out to the sailors in the ports of  Terneuzen and Ghent, Belgium. 

We were able to send him 1.000 euro and he emailed us last week that the books came in! On behalf of Alexander and the sailors, thank you very much.

The summer camps for the Roma children and teenagers in Serbia were a success, especially after the camps were canceled last year. Many participated and they had lots of fun.

We donated 1.000 euro towards the Oaza camps which will help them to cover the costs. We saw some pretty neat video's on FB! On behalf of Miki & Suzana Kamberovic we want to thank you for your support.

We furthermore were able to donate a significant gift of 10.000 euro towards Teen Challenge in Slovenija for the upcoming renovation of the men's center in Nova Vas.

They have plans to expand their capacity to twenty beds! We will write some more about it soon, they also promised us to make a short video.

Last month we shared an update on the new Teen Challenge women's home in Berdychiv, Ukraine. We received some more pictures and an update. 

The floors and ceilings are done and it looks fantastic. They are currently waiting for funds to come in for the purchase of kitchen appliances and furniture. As soon as this is all done, the house can open its doors.

What a blessing that we have been able to participate in this project. We are currently rasising funds for the repairs of their Volkswagen engine.... 

On top of that, we have sent a gift of 3.000 euro for the annual summer camp that is organized by Teen Challenge and the Jewish Messianic congregation in Berdychiv. The camp is intended for men and women in Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs anywhere in Ukraine. 

[click on the photo's for a larger view]

We can say that this was a fruitful summer when it came to giving financial support. And we did much more... we'll keep that for another blog. You can make us happy with your prayers and a financial gift anytime!

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention the specific project
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉When in the USA you can make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention which Teen Challenge center you want to support.

Travels in Italy

For the past 7 or 8 years we have organized workweeks in Italy. With a group of volunteers we would stay in Casa Shalom, the guesthouse of Comunita Brezzano.

Unfortunately, we did not succeed in getting a group together this year. Nevertheless, we (Jan and Marja) decided to go to Italy and visit a number of people within our network. Perhaps, encouragement is more needed than ever before!

We first went to visit Francesca Spataro who translates Marja's books into Italian. We listened, talked, laughed, and prayed together. Very nice. Nel mio Nome is now available online through the distributor as well as in Italian bookstores. 

Then, we drove on to Comunita Brezzano in beautiful Tuscany, where we spent some delightful days. We did some small jobs, but mainly talked with and listened to our friend Maria Meier who runs the community.

The Italians went through a lot this year and many conversations are about the pain their nation is experiencing.

Marja also wrote the first (draft) chapters for a new book in the series about the Ten Commandments in the 21st century.

Years ago, Traveling Light made a donation for the completion of the jam kitchen in the Comunita. Maria is always inventing new recipes: fig and grape jam with cashew nuts. The jam is mainly sold in Switzerland.

And finally, we spent time on the east coast of Italy with Roberta Rapezzi (see picture below). We have known her for years from the Teen Challenge conferences where she is always working as an interpreter. She is a proofreader of Marja's Italian books. It was very good to meet and spend time together.

We realized again, more than ever, that the 💓 of Traveling Light is a spiritual ministry. Meet people, keep in touch, talk, listen, pray, and above all encourage ... whenever and wherever!

And yes, financial support of course. After all, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Donations are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. We are currently raising funds for Teen Challenge in Austria.

Project support Farsi speaking Christians, Turkey

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know we have written several times about the work of 222 Ministries and Pearl of Persia in Iran and also among the often forgotten Christian refugees in central Turkey.

Lazarus & Maggie Leghnazar are the founders of 222 Ministries and Maggie has been a tremendous help for us when we were publishing the Farsi edition of Marja's book Grace of Giving here in the Netherlands. Stella Saghian (pictured) has been our contact for several years.

Many Farsi-speaking Christians have become refugees because of conflict or have been persecuted for their faith. Christian refugees are especially vulnerable. Healthcare and employment issues are the major challenges they face. For most people, the church is the place of hope and comfort. With the help of 222 Ministries, (house)churches for Farsi speaking believers have been planted in about 14 different cities in Turkey.

Unfortunately, the current measures make it difficult or impossible to get together. 222 Ministries has started offering limited quantities of hygiene products, but more support is urgently needed for the months ahead.

You can help the Farsi speaking Christians in Turkey by sending your precious gift to St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: 222 MINISTRIES. Or (if you are in the USA for example) you can donate directly through their website.

You can also support the work of 222 Ministries by ordering a copy (or several copies) of the Farsi edition of Marja's book Grace of Giving from their website and give it to someone in your area who speaks Farsi.

Proceeds of secondhand shop go all over Europe

Last week we received a message from Poland and well from Teen Challenge Winiarczykowka. Janusz and Bogusia Gornicki are the directors of a home for the elderly which is located in a former border patrol post. 'We're painting the whole house,' Bogusia messaged.

👉The proceeds of our secondhand shop/coffee house Twinkeltje over the month of January went to the work of Teen Challenge in Winiarczykowka. They wanted to paint the house on the inside, which is the first time since they came to live there, 10 years ago.

'We are so happy with your gift,' Bogusia wrote, 'we were able to buy a lot of paint and now we can give the men a nice job. At the moment we are more or less confined to the house with these elderly people, so it is great to have such a beautiful project that we can all work on. They love it!'

Well, back in January we had no idea how our donation fro them would be put to use. But we are very glad to hear that the timing was perfect. For sure, the home will look wonderful when all the work is done.

👉The proceeds of Twinkeltje over February went to the work of Brian Slater and Abundant Bread of Salvation in Israel. Thank you all, on behalf of Brian.

Brian also works a lot with the elderly in his food bank and soup kitchen and he has to take the necessary measures nowadays. But the work in Netanya continues. Watch the video of his adopt-a-holocaust-survivor program HERE.

👉The proceeds of Twinkeltje over March went to the work of Teen Challenge among the homeless and addicted in Slovakia.

We (Jan and Marja) were scheduled to visit there last week, among other things for the presentation of the Slovak edition of Marja's book 'My Neighbor's House' which is now available on Kindle. All events and meetings have been postponed.

Twinkeltje (like other shops) is open on Saturday afternoon, albeit under the currently applicable rules. There is no coffee table, but shopping is always possible, we have good stuff!

👉The project in Twinkeltje for April is the Teen Challenge juvenile home in Kazakhstan.

GIFTS (large and small) for all our projects are always welcome and can be directed at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Our visit to Israel

Good atmosphere in the soup kitchen

In October we (Jan and Marja) enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Israel. But it was so much more than just vacation!

We helped Brian Slater from Abundant Bread of Salvation in his foodbank in Netanya. We unloaded pallets of products and placed everything on the shelves, we assembled food packages and served meals in the soup kitchen. Always fun to be there and give a helping hand!

Catching up with Polly

The proceeds from our shop Twinkeltje over November will go towards the work of Brian Slater. So come and shop for a good cause!

Also, take a look at this great VIDEO!

We had coffee and lunch with Polly Sigulim in Arad. The Teen Challenge women's home she directed for several years had to close due to several circumstances. But Polly still offers a safe place for women, now in her own home.

Because there is quite a bit of opposition from the Jewish orthodox community in Arad, she stays a bit under the radar so to speak. It was good to catch up and pray with and for each other. All in all, an encouraging visit.

Such honor to meet these Holocaust survivors

Together with Jeroen & Robin Honigh (from Milk & Honey Ministries in the USA) we visited Beit Joles, a home for the elderly in Haifa. Many Jewish people with a Dutch background live there. It was very precious to have time and conversation with these Holocaust survivors (often well in their eighties and nineties).

They enjoyed speaking Dutch with us and in the course of the afternoon, more residents joined our table. They shared stories of their hiding places during WW II with the help of the books Righteous among the Nations. They invited us to come again...

We also had a nice lunch and caught up with Amadeus Schmidgall, who used to be a staff member at Teen Challenge Emsland in Germany and now lives in Jerusalem.

With Mirka and Milan in Jerusalem

When we arrived in the old city that morning, we had an unexpected meeting with Milan & Mirka Antalik, whom we know from our trips to Slovakia. Milan arranges the book presentations and speaking engagements of Marja's Slovak books.

Such joyful meetings, and great to see how the Traveling Light network connects nations!

GIFTS (large and small) are always welcome and can be directed at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Visit to Slovakia

Sunday service at Faith Baptist Church Bratislava

A few weeks ago we promised to write a short report on this blog about our visit to Slovakia, back in April.

Marja's book "Spirit of Truth" has been published in Slovak language and we were invited to the presentation. It was a very exciting and hopeful weekend.

We spoke about the theme 'truth' during a youth evening in the Faith Baptist Church in Bratislava. Around forty (!) young people were present and we discussed common lies and Biblical truth.

Later that weekend Marja spoke in the same church during the Sunday morning service about the attack on truth, just like in the time of Jesus.

Of course we visited the Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Sered and we spoke in the David Wilkerson Chapel about the importance of knowing the truth and about the lies that often keep people imprisoned for years.

Teen Challenge chapel Sered

"You always remain a user," "you need drugs or alcohol," "you will never be anything." Lies the enemy whispers. We prayed very personally with the men in the program and then used a meal together.

Radio Pokoj was present throughout the weekend to make recordings of our speeches and also to conduct a number of interviews. We supported Radio Pokoj last year with a gift, so it was really nice to work together again.

Lutheran church in Vrbovce

We also had coffee with Pastor Miroslav Hvozdara of the Lutheran church in Vrbovce, a small town on the border with the Czech Republic, about 100 km north of Bratislava. He works among homeless people and addicts, fantastic what this man is doing. We encouraged him and prayed together.

Not so far from there we went to look at a beautiful property that could perhaps become a second Teen Challenge location. We ended up praying together on the floor, asking for wisdom, insight and provision.

Prayer time

Well, sometimes people ask us what we do when we are traveling 😀 We never know  beforehand, but it is always exciting! The focus is always on prayer and encouragement for people working in the Kingdom of God, throughout Europe. (We travel on our own expenses, your donations will always go towards the projects.)

• Wednesday, June 5th we will host another MISSION NIGHT in Twinkeltje. We have Teen Challenge Sweden visiting us . They will share about the coffee house/secondhand shop that they have recently opened there! Evening starts at half past seven with coffee and tea.
• Financial donations for all our awesome projects are always welcome at IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht.

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.

Project church kitchen Navazi, Georgia

Temuri & Mziya and their youngest son

We have received your generous gifts for project garlic farm in Georgia, we are able to donate 4,000 euro. Thank you! We will keep you informed about the developments.

We will stay in Georgia for the next project as well.

In January we also visited Temuri & Mziya Muzashvili. We were welcomed in their home with much love and hospitality. Years ago this couple started meeting with a small group of believers in their house. Their fellowship was given the name Evangelical Faith Church.

Soon, the house became too small for the growing group of people. So, on a plot of land next to their house Temuri started the construction of a church. That building project lasted three years and in 2016 the doors were opened. Now, even more villagers can come and hear the good news.

Visit to the church building

It was obvious to us that this couple has a great vision for their region. The building has an upper floor where a Bible school is located. Every other week about 30 students gather for Bible study.

These lessons are provided by the Evangelical Alliance in Georgia and pastors / teachers who come from far away are welcome to stay the night. There are two nice guest rooms next to the classroom (we were kindly invited to come and give lessons).

Evangelical Faith Church

Every month the church prepares and distributes food parcels for 15 poor families in the Navazi village. It is obvious that this is much more than just a 'church', they also provide humanitarian aid. Temuri, full of enthusiasm, shared the plans to expand the church building with a communal kitchen. A kitchen where they could cook meals, eat together, organize events etc. It would be a great outreach tool to the community.

We just love such practical ideas. To distribute not only spiritual food, but also natural food. Temuri and Mziya furthermore have plans to facilitate an Alpha Course, so the kitchen will be useful for this purpose as well.

Handing out Russian editions of Grace of Giving

The intention is to start construction this spring. Traveling Light would like to help them get started by sending a donation which will be used to buy the first building materials and possibly also some kitchen equipment. Temuri is a real doer, so you understand that he is eager to start :)

We find it very encouraging that in the remotest corners of Europe, people hear and obey God's call to share His love with a world in need. Be doers of the Word, not hearers only!

You can (indirectly) let your light shine in that region by sending a gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention KITCHEN.

European spring tour 2017 (4)

Lunch time in the rehab center

From Sered, Slovakia it is about a 7 hours drive to the Teen Challenge men's rehab center in Nova Vas, Slovenia. The time we are spending in the car strengthens us spiritually for all visits. We pray and sing together, listen to preaching (yeah!) and discuss principles from the Bible. And then, time flies :)

We were welcomed warmly in the men's center by both workers, volunteers and the men in the program. There are currently more than 20 men in the house. They are eating in two groups now, because the kitchen is too small.

Andreas is now in the re-entry home and runs the tool shop

The men usually stay for a year or more and then they can move to the new re-entry home. They live there independently while trying to find work, but still quite near the safety of the Teen Challenge center. Slowly but surely they are preparing for reintegration into society.

Andreas is such a man who lives in re-entry. He takes care of the tools and machines. Do you remember how it started with 1 chain saw? Now they have six! We also went to take a look at a large piece of land where the men are keeping goats and pigs for the program.

In front of the new church

After that we visited the new church that was planted by Matjaz & Magdalena Horjak in the nearby city of Koper. It is great to see how the work among addicts and homeless bears fruit. There is no better investment than investing in human lives.

We were treated to a good night's sleep sleep in a bed-n-breakfast with beautiful views of the mountains and the sea. The next day we continued to Rimini, Italy where we participated in the annual Europe Teen Challenge conference.

Every year this is a great opportunity for us to speak to staff and students of the European centers. This way we keep up to date with developments and of course we receive many new applications for project support.

Russian edition for Ukraine

We also had the opportunity to present the Russian edition of Marja's book 'Grace of Giving' to many Russian speaking country representatives.

After returning home, we were able to

• transfer 3,000 euro (!) for the summer camp in Ukraine.
• donate 800 euro to seafarer's evangelist Guus Peters for the Tagalog Bibles.
• donate 5,500 euro to the project Bibles & cows in Eurasia.
• send the proceeds of our 2nd hand shop over May, 1,000 euro, to Teen Challenge, Albania.

'Body guards' at our book table :)

Thank you very much for your generosity.

PS: Upcoming projects include relocation of The Brigde in Tetovo, Macedonia, the expansion of the women's house in Baranovichi, Belarus and the work among Roma Christians in Bulgaria. Keep reading this blog!

Gifts (large and small) for the various projects are always welcome! St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

European spring tour 2017 (3)

'Once I was blind, now I see...'

From Winiarczykowka in Poland to the Teen Challenge center in Sered, Slovakia is a beautiful drive through mountain scenery. We really enjoyed it.

The men's rehab center in Sered accommodates around 15-20 men who suffered from addiction or other life-threatening problems. We were a bit late for lunch, but they still offered us a large bowl of soup and homemade apple strudel .... how delicious!

Library in the chapel

The men in the program take care of the cooking, the garden, the cleaning, the animals and all other daily activities. And so they learn to use their talents in a good way.

Jan gave an encouraging message in the afternoon at the David Wilkerson Memorial Chapel (Traveling Light is one of the sponsors of this beautiful building). The worship was lead by two men from the program, it sounded heavenly. Those guys can really sing! After the service, we climbed the tower to check out the library.

Director Stanislav Kunak handed us the Slovak edition of the book 'The Cross and the Switchblade'. We felt so honored to see the name of Traveling Light in the back of book among the sponsors who helped to publish this book.

The proceeds of our second-hand shop over the month of January went towards this project. The story in this book has touched and changed thousands of lives and is still doing so, worldwide!

Bringing comfort and hope

We had the opportunity to pray with the mother of Milan, who worked faithfully at Teen Challenge for years and died suddenly last year. She misses her son enormously and feels sad quite often. She had a picture of Milan and us in her purse which was taken during one of our previous visits.

During dinner at an excellent local restaurant we became acquainted with Zuzana, who will translate my book Grace of Giving into the Slovak language (!). We also had a great and inspirational conversation with a local businessman who has been called to publish evangelical books in the Slovak language and will pick up this project. Yes, networking is something we love to do as well :)

Early birds

We slept in the house of Milan's sister and we had the opportunity to minister in prayer to the girls living there. The next morning we had a full house at breakfast as pastor Lubor & Danielle of the evangelical church in Galanta came along and we encouraged them in personal prayer... resulting in these smiling faces.

On to Slovenia!

PS: Click on the pictures for an enlargement

Gifts (large and small) for the various projects are always welcome! St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.