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.

Twinkeltje, Sweden, Italy and Moldova

Jan, Teus and Cora

We love it when people get creative and come up with ideas to sponsor what we do. Friend and family member Teus Donk decided to participate in a 10 km run in our town and raise funds to support the daily operations of our shop/coffee house Twinkeltje.

It was a very successful campaign. Together with his daughter, Teus ran the 10 km in an excellent time. He raised 1,000 euro. Last Saturday he handed the check to Traveling light board member Cora, who runs the shop.

With that money we can continue to receive people with hospitality and free coffee and tea. All sponsors, thank you! Come visit us.

Community meals

Talking about Twinkeltje ... Last week we had visitors from Sweden, Christian Alderblad (director of Teen Challenge) and his family were our guests for a week. We had a great time together.

During the mission night on Wednesday June 5th, Christian shared about Englahaket, the shop/coffee house that they recently opened in their city Örebro. The offering that evening was more than 1,000 euro which will also go towards the Teen Challenge coffee house work in Sweden. Thank you all very much!

Work week Italy 2018

From August 26 to September 2 we will again travel to Italy for a work week in Comunita Brezzano. Do you enjoy hard work (chopping wood, sawing and stacking) and good fellowship? Please contact us.

Every year we enjoy being in beautiful Tuscany.

Construction work in the Teen Challenge Men's Rehabilitation Center in Falesti, Moldova will start next week. The Weissensee fundraiser brought in 9,000 euro (!) for this purpose earlier this year. They will be adding a second floor to the existing center.

A team from the Teen Challenge program in Czech Republic will go to Moldova to help with the construction. They have promised to send photos so we can follow along 😀

We still owe you a report of Jan's visit to Albania and our recent visit to Switzerland.

Donations for all our awesome projects are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

We are currently fundraising for project summer camp Teen Challenge Ukraine.

Report work week Tuscany

The Italian editions of Marja's book are a blessing

We are looking back at a very special time in Italy. The weekend prior to the work week in Tuscany, we (Jan and Marja) visited the city of Genoa.

We took a tour of the sea aquarium and the old city center and on Sunday morning we spoke at Chiesa Ev. della Riconciliazione.

We have known Pastor Daniele Marzano for many years through our Teen Challenge network. With a team of volunteers he runs the street and coffee house in Genoa.

Team work

As we drove back and forth between Genoa and Recco (where we stayed with friends), we noticed how centrally located the bridge is that collapsed on Tuesday, August 14th. Wherever we went we passed it.

The disaster has had a huge impact on the city, somehow also for the better ... hands are being put together to help the hundreds of people who had to leave their houses (under the bridge).

On Monday we continued our journey towards Tuscany. We met the rest of the group in the medieval town of Massa Maritima. From there we drove together to the therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano.

Another great job done!

For the fifth year we organized a work week there.

With great enthusiasm we chopped a huge amount of wood, sawn it, split it and piled it up. In the evening we sat outside (by a campfire) to think and talk about our theme: Hope for the Future. The scripture we used for that was Romans 15:13.

We had a wonderful time together, a week in which we learned a lot from each other, not to mention from God himself who gave us the words through the Holy Spirit to pray for and with each other.

Sunday morning Bible study

Thank you Adrie, Anja, Henk, Jan, Marja, Teske and Ynse for a great job done. It was nice to spend a week together. Who knows what we are going to do next year ...

Donations for our projects are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

We are currently fundraising for project Teen Challenge rehab center in Lebanon.

Activities & news

Creative workshop at Sela home

After the summer break our secondhand shop Twinkeltje opened up again last Saturday. We had a great crowd and were happy to meet old friends as well as new comers.

The proceeds from sales in the months of August / September will go towards the work of Teen Challenge in Belgium, to the women's home Sela. There is a renovation / construction coming up, so they can use any extra help.

TC Belgium newsletter

In the last newsletter we received from Belgium, you can read more about the developments in the women's home and the opening of a new store with second-hand clothes!

This week Marja and Cora were guests at a women's event during the vacation tent week in the nearby town of Bleskensgraaf. About two hundred (!) women came to the evening.

Marja spoke about the source of living water that Jesus wants to give to everyone who believes in Him. Later that same evening all women made a mood board about the message, very creative!

Great women's event in our region

Of course we had a book table and information about Traveling Light and Twinkeltje. In addition to many positive and enthusiastic responses, we also received a nice donation for our current project. How wonderful to be able to bless each other, locally and far away!

This Sunday we we will be somewhere else, we speak in Chiesa Ev. della Riconciliazione in Genova, Italy. Everyone has seen images of the disaster that took place there, when a highway bridge collapsed. Would you please pray with us that we can share a message of hope and encouragement?

Cutting, sawing, stacking wood

From Genova we will drive on to Comunita Brezzano where we will stay in Casa Shalom for a week. Our group (7 people) will help chop wood and stack it for the winter. This is the fifth time we've organized such a work week.

Donations for our current project (project rehab center Lebanon) are always welcome at St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and do not forget to mention: NFD.

👶PS: We congratulate Garo and Gabriela Margossian in Beirut with the birth of their daughter Adelina Grace!

Work week Italy & project Casa Shalom

During last year's work week

Summer vacation is almost there. For Traveling Light it means ... preparing for the work week in Italy.

[If you want to know what a work week is like, you can read HERE about previous years.]

From Monday August 27 to Monday September 3rd, 2018 we will be in Comunita Brezzano in beautiful Tuscany.

We still have room for 1 or (max.) 2 strong men who want to join us. Please contact us if you want to come.

The theme for the coming work week is 'Hope for the future'.

Afternoon break

We also made a promise to Maria Meier, who runs Comunita Brezzano.

The bathrooms and showers in Casa Shalom (where we stay every year) have to be remodeled to bring everything up to code. They need around 1,500 euro to get this job done.

It would be nice to help her not only with wood cutting, but also with the maintenance of this beautiful Tuscan guest house.

And back to work...

Renting out Casa Shalom brings in funds to run this Christian therapeutic community, a small-scale rehab facility that is largely sponsored through donations. People with serious addiction and / or psychological problems can live and work here for an extended period of time.

They can find peace and get to know God.

Your cheerful gifts are always welcome at St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention: CASA SHALOM.

______________________________________________________________________

CURRENT PROJECTS:

Project Teen Challenge women's home Slienava, Lithuania

Project sponsoring summer camp, Ukraine

Project Casa Shalom, Italy

Work week 2017 Italy

A few weeks ago we headed down to Italy for another great work week. We promised you some pictures and a short report. By the way, it was the fourth time we organized a work week in beautiful Tuscany

With much enthusiasm and zeal we chopped, saw, split and piled up a huge amount of wood. Twice as much as  last year, Henk Swijnenburg claimed ... :)

In doing this, we are helping Maria Meier who runs the therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano.

This year we came with eight people, six from the Netherlands and two from Slovenia: Ervin and Andreas. These two men have a lot of experience in cutting trees through their work for Teen Challenge in Slovenia, so we were very happy with such extra manpower.

The temperature was around 35°C, so the Italians thought we were crazy for working that hard in the summer heat ... but we had planned to fill the basements with firewood for the winter!

The best thing is to see how quick we learn to work as a team and how a relationship develops between people who do not even know each other. The theme for the week was 'living victoriously'. We talked about it every night, read the Bible and shared experiences.

Of course we also went to the beach for a relaxing day. Wow, such temperatures :)

We can look back at a beautiful week in which we learned a lot from each other and certainly from God Himself, who gave us the words to pray for one another through the Holy Spirit.

Thank you very much to Adrie, Andreas, Anja, Ervin, Henk, Jan, Marc and Marja, for your hard work and servanthood. It was really nice to spend this week together. Who knows, there will be another chance next year!

We enjoy hard work as well as fundraising for the various projects. By the way, it was good to see the professional job they did on the repairs of Casa Nuova, we donated for that project last year.

Thanks also to Adrie Swijnenburg for the pictures (click to enlarge).

Gifts for our current projects are always welcome at IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. 

Project Teen Challenge, Armenia
Project Brian Slater, Israel

PS: Last week we were in Romania, a very special visit! More about that soon.

Activities and project news

Photo: Oles Sh

We have just returned from Ukraine after a very special week. About 250 men and women from various rehabilitation centers were present at the annual summer camp organized by Teen Challenge and the Jewish Messianic Congregation in Berdychiv.

Traveling Light has been able to sponsor the whole event with a wonderful donation of 3,000 euro. We will write a bit more about our experiences in the next blog post. We had the opportunity to teach on a few topics. In addition, we prayed with many, many people and shared words of knowledge, wisdom and prophecy. It was amazing! Thank you for your prayers and donations.

Hard working volunteers

The month of June was pretty quiet in our second hand shop Twinkeltje but very valuable because of all the meaningful conversations we had. On the last day of the month some of our faithful volunteers catered at an anniversary party and we received a generous donation for their work.

So, we were able to donate 1,000 euro for the work of Radko & Nevin Kratsov among the Roma in Bulgaria. The shop is closed for the month of July due to vacations.

Bible study during work week

From August 28 to September 4 we will again organize a work week in Tuscany. There is still room for up to 2 people maximum. Please contact us if you want to join.

You can view our agenda for the 2nd half of 2017 HERE and if you have some time on your hands, please take a look at our renewed website and share all that positive news with someone else. The support of all these practical, small scale projects is only possible because of you.

HAPPY SUMMER!

PS: Gifts are always welcome. You can send your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U.

Work week Italy 2016

Italy group 2016

We all returned safe and sound from a wonderful work week in Italy, which we organized for the third year.

With a small group of volunteers we stayed at Casa Shalom for a week. It is one of the houses in the Christian therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in beautiful Tuscany.

Massa Marittima

We all worked very hard, sawing, chopping, cutting and stacking firewood to replenish their supply for the winter. The three houses in the residential community are being heated by wood stoves, and this requires quite some wood before winter begins.

With the help of Adrie, Anja, Arno, David, Henk Jan, Johan, Marja and Michael the job was done.

hard work with a smile!

The theme for the week was more than conquerors and each night we did a Bible study on that topic. It was a good combination of fun and seriousness... a day at the beach, a visit to the medieval town of Massa Marittima, and praying, talking, and singing together. We got to know each other better each day and also to function as a group.

We can truly say that all of us gained some new insights about gaining and keeping the victory!

We were able to let our light shine in Italy and it is our prayer that it will have a great and positive effect on the lives of the people there as well as on us as a group!

It is so much more fun to give than to receive.

See our photo album on Facebook.

Inside Comunita Brezzano, Italy

At work in the kitchen

We are currently raising money for project roof repair Casa Nuova, one of the houses within the Christian residential therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany, Italy.

The community consists of three houses where people with psychological or other life controlling problems are offered a safe place to rest, to come to know God and get a renewed perspective on life.

Casa Nuova

We wholeheartedly support this work because we have personally seen how lives can be transformed in this environment. Yes, such a residential community is a small scale initiative, there are usually only three or four people in therapy, but we believe that every human life counts and is worth the time and effort in order to be restored.

It is this kind of initiatives that we want to support, because they often receive little or no government funding and yet produce beautiful and positive results.

Quite often, people stay in the community for months at the time. Spending time outside, enjoying nature, working in the open air and taking time to talk and pray will bring balance in the lives of the guests.

Bible study

August 22-29, 2016 we want to go back to Comunita Brezzano for another work week and help to chop wood for the winter and do other chores. If you want to come along and help us (or know someone who would want to), send an email to janandmarja@gmail.com. Don't wait too long, because space is limited! Cost: max. 250 euro + travel.

So far, we have received more than 2,500 euro for project repair Casa Nuova and donations are still welcome! Make your gift payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and don't forget to mention: BREZZANO.

Below is a video of the Passover celebration in Comunita Brezzano, two years ago.

Preparing for work week Italy 2015

Boris with the new grader

At the beginning of this year we gave a donation to therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany for the purchase of tractor parts.

In the picture on the left you can see Boris with the new grader. There is always lots of work to do! To support him and Maria Meier (who leads the community) we did organize work weeks in Italy in 2013 and 2014.

What do we do during a work week?

With a small group of volunteers we are staying in Casa Shalom, that is one of the houses within the community. During this week we all work hard... we cut and stack the wood supply for the winter, we help with other chores, we clean and repair where needed.

Awesome evenings

So, we expect that you know how to use your hands and strength. In the evenings we have Bible studies, we make music, we sit around a camp fire and enjoy the peace We also take time to go to the beach!

Are you ready to leave your daily routine behind and would you love to help the people in Comunita Brezzano? Please, contact us by sending an email to janandmarja@gmail.com.

And yes, being tourists as well!

Cost for the week is 250 euro per person + travel (you either drive, or fly to Pisa where we will pick you up).

This year we have planned the work week from Wednesday August 26 to Wednesday September 2nd.

Don't wait too long to sign up, we have limited space available.

Work week Italy 2014

Working hard and always smiling

As we did last year, Traveling Light again organized a work week in Italy. Offering practical help with a group of volunteers in Communita Brezzano, a Christian Therapeutic community in beautiful Tuscany.

[click on the pictures for an enlargement]

Camfire

Communita Brezzano consists of three old Tuscan homes in the mountains. Maria Meier (a German widow who has been in charge of the community for many years) lives in one of the houses and receives women with emotional, psychological or addiction problems.

Her long-time helper Boris lives in one of the other houses and receives men with similar problems. The third house, Casa Shalom, is being rented out as vacation or groups home, which brings in some income to keep the work going. We rented Casa Shalom for a week.

pizza from the wood oven

Each day the guys disappeared into the woods to cut trees and chop wood. They did a tremendous amount of work and stacked enough wood for the upcoming winter in the cellar of the men's home. A very labor intensive job, that would cost Boris weeks and weeks to accomplish.

All three houses are being heated through wood heaters, and so they need a huge supply to survive the cold months. Thanks to the help of David, Jan, Menno, Nick and Teun this job was done in several days. Thumbs up for our faithful volunteers!

The theme for this week was 'spiritual warfare', we did Bible studies on this subject every night. Those were precious evenings, sitting together talking, praying, discussing, and singing songs. Teun brought his guitar and was leading the group each night in worship. He did an awesome job!

Sunday brunch with Maria and Boris

Thank you very much David, Menno, Nick and Teun for your endless energy, humor and enthusiasm. Together we were able to let our light shine in Italy and it is our prayer that our time given will bring forth much fruit in the lives of the people there, as well as in our own lives.

It is indeed so much better to give than to receive.

Check out our photo album on Facebook.

Work week Italy

Beautiful place to chill

The mission of Traveling Light is three fold: to offer financial support, spiritual encouragement and also practical help. Sometimes that happens all at the same time :) as with our project Casa Shalom in Italy. This July we donated 5,000 euro to this therapeutic community in Tuscany and last week we went there with a group of nine people to work and to give Bible studies.

Team work week Italy

It was the first work week we organized as Traveling Light. We (Jan and Marja) drove in our car to Pisa. Along the way we visited the lady who translates my books into Italian and we were also invited to speak at an evangelical church in Genoa. Monday afternoon September 2nd we arrived at Pisa airport, meeting with Alen Grasinar. Alen is a Teen Challenge graduate from Slovenia. He overcame his heroine addiction and just finished the program and wanted to join us for this work week. He drove all the way from Ljublijana.

Lots of chainsaw work to be done

We picked up six other volunteers who flew in from Holland. Nine people + luggage + guitar + groceries in two cars.... needless to say we had a blast! We rented Casa Shalom for a week, a beautiful old Tuscan house in the mountains, only accessible through an unpaved winding road several miles long. We had a wonderful and intense week together. Every day the seven men disappeared into the woods to cut trees, saw blocks and split them into smaller parts.

Practical help

The guys worked like horses and they must have cut more than 5 m3 of wood which they stacked in the cellars of the women's and men's home. A huge job done, which really surprised and pleased the directors. They were very much impressed with the fact that our guys were willing to unconditionally sacrifice their time, money and labor to help Comunita Brezzano. We also picked kilo's and kilo's of raspberries. Maria makes jam and juice which she sells elsewhere.

Each evening at eight o'clock we would all gather at the peaceful patio for Bible study and talks. The directors (Maria and Boris) and the three men that are currently there for rehabilitation joined us. They were very thankful and enjoyed the time, attention and fun that we shared with them as a group.

Great bbq with the whole gang

We can really say that we were able to shine our light in the lives of these people. They asked us when we would come again :) As a group we also learned from each other. We hope to organize more trips like this in the future.

A big thank you to Alen, Andreas, Frank, Geert-Jan, Menno, Sjanna and Teun (aka Antonio) for their unlimited energy, humor and enthousiasm. The theme for this week was Giving it all. And that's what we all did. What we do for others, we do for the Lord!

The photo's of this work week can be viewed by clicking on this LINK.