Photo's women's home Berdychiv, Ukraine

The three Sergey's in front of the new home

As promised some news and pictures regarding our Project Women's Home Berdychiv, Ukraine. It is absolutely wonderful to see how the money Traveling Light donated this last December, is being used and put into practice.

In the photo on the left you can see the three Sergey's involved :) And well (from left to right) pastor Sergey Romanenko of the Jewish Messianic congregation in Berdychiv, Sergey Glushko (director of Teen Challenge Ukraine) and Sergey (director of the rehab homes in Berdychiv).

The first inhabitants of the home

It has been pastor Sergey's dream for quite some time to open a rehabilitation home for women and their children. Saturday December 14th, 2013 was the big day.

Pastor Sergey Romanenko and his team celebrated the tenth anniversary of the rehab program they started from within the congregation. They have been able to help many people to start a new life and they currently operate three men's homes and a re-entry home.

New sinks and plumbing

And now finally, as a result of your donations, also a women's home. A home where mothers, who want to end their addiction, can live with their children. We hope and pray this house will be the first of many women's/children's homes.

We are happy to announce that knowledgeable staff is in place and that several women and children are already living in the house. In the picture above you can see two of the women with their children. We are so thankful that they have been offered a safe place to live and recover.

Sabbath celebration

Christian rehabilitation means so much more than taking people off of drugs and alcohol. It means that they will also encounter the love and grace of Jesus Christ. That they come to know Him for who He is: the Son of God, who came to the earth to set people free from sin, darkness and death.

The ex-addicts learn more about the Judeo-Christian faith. In the picture you can see a Sabbath meeting at pastor Sergey's congregation.

On behalf of pastor Sergey and the women in the new home, we want to thank you all very much for your gifts that enabled them to purchase this house.

new windows installed

It is definitely a confirmation and encouragement for them, and us, to experience how we can make such projects happen in a relatively short time when we unite in generosity! We hope to visit the home later this year.

Project Bibles for sailors

Do you remember our special December project? We wrote about Guus and Annemiek Peters who, for many years, have been visiting sailors in the ports of Antwerp, Gent and Terneuzen, giving Bible studies and talking with the men about Jesus. We were able to sponsor 60 Christmas goodie bags.

At the beginning of January we picked up volunteer Jim Hayes and we drove to Terneuzen to visit the Peters family. It turned out to be a wonderful and inspiring visit. This couple has some stories to tell. But more than words, they know how to put things into practice, and that is what we love of course! Please, read the following snippet of their latest news letter:

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8)

The year of 2013 was a year of leukemia and six chemo treatments for me. But the good thing is that, apart from some weight loss and tiredness in the evenings, I had no problems at all. I have not felt sick once. The Bible verse above has given me such encouragement. I have felt completely safe in God's hands. Annemiek and me feel so thankful and we acknowledge that this is pure grace, grace, and grace alone. I even visited 92 more ships than in 2012!

In total I have visited 843 ships. 53 of these ships had a crew from a Muslim nation, mainly men from countries as Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh... Furthermore I was able to give away 407 Bibles and 202 New Testaments to the sailors. Also 501 Jesus DVD's, 69 DVD's about the life of the apostle Paul, 140 God of Wonders DVD’s, 58 More than Dreams DVD’s, 87 worship CD’s, 131 books, many correspondence courses and thousands of flyers...

Well, do we need to say more? It is clear that no one can stop Guus! At the beginning of 2014 he needs to re-stock on Bibles and other materials. He needs at least 400 Bibles (in various languages) and the cost for that alone is about 800 euro. We would love to help him again. If you have a heart for evangelism as well, please join us and make your gift payable to:

St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht

IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275

BIC: RABONL2U.

Make sure to mention BIBLES SAILORS

Marathon skating for rehab home Ukraine

Krijn up front, snow storm at the Weissensee

What a great and challenging event it was! We are so proud of Krijn Donk and Henk Swijnenburg, who both skated 200 km on the Weissensee in Austria to raise funds for Christian Rehab home Istochnick in Ukraine.

They were able to raise more than 2,000 euro. This money will be used for the new Teen Challenge rehabilitation home Istochnick in the south of the Ukraine. This new home will be able to house about 22 men who are ready to quit their addiction and start a new life.

New rehab home Istochnick

At the moment they need quite a sum of money to continue with the last stage of the construction project. Mainly for plumbing, heating, electrical installations, etc. etc. You can see the new home in the picture. Most of the work is being done by the men in the program. Yes, it's more than Bible study, group therapy and counseling, they do awesome work with their bare hands!

Krijn Donk finished the 200 km in 8:09 hrs and Henk Swijnenburg in 9:30 hrs. Both of them beat their results from last year! We are very thankful for all the people who helped to make this event successful. We received many heart warming notes and donations. Needless to day that Andre Solovyev, the director of the men's home, is also very thankful for your help.

Praying for their food, the men at the old rehab home

PS and more news:

• Krijn Donk had a bad fall on the ice at km 175. He ended up with a shoulder injury. Please pray with us that he will recover soon. 
• Winterproject RaskrsceTeen Challenge Serbia is going very well. We have already received 2,400 euro in donations.
• MIB (Men on the Move) in Dordrecht decided to take up an offering for Teen Challenge Czech Republic. More about that in a next post.
• Harbor evangelist Guus Peters needs  to order new Bibles and we want to help him with the funds. More about that in a next post.

Winter project Raskrsce Teen Challenge, Serbia

Men's home Novi Sad

Do you remember we presented project Raskrsce Teen Challenge, Serbia, back in 2012? We visited both the men's and women's home in Novi Sad and we were able to donate 4,500 euro for the work among the addicts, homeless and prostitutes in Serbia. This was made possible because of your quick responses to our plea for help.

Besides that, we were able to help them with a monthly gift  throughout 2012. We have stayed in contact with Sasa and Svetlana Ivanovic, the founders and directors. We met again at a European conference, of course we receive their news letters and we have been e-mailing back and forth.

Lovely dinner with Sasa and Svetlana

Recently we received a New Year's mail. Both centers are full, which is good news. Normally they have about 28 men and women, currently that number is up to 37! We have reasons to be thankful...

These are men and women that have decided to seriously seek help to end their addictions. In the Teen Challenge centers they will encounter the love of Christ and (often for the first time) learn about Biblical principles and truths.

Living room in the women's home

The word about the Christian rehabilitation program in residential centers gets out through Teen Challenge street outreach and prevention work at schools.

It is still difficult to find sufficient finances for the day-to-day operation of both centers. That is why we want to support the work again, in 2014. This time with a gift of 3,000 euro. We know for sure that will be a great encouragement to the staff, students and volunteers at the beginning of a new year.

If you have a heart for this work, please do not hesitate to send us your donation!

Europe supporters, you can send your gifts to Rabo bank nr. NL91RABO0118582275 t.n.v. Traveling Light. BIC: RABONL2U

USA supporters, you can send your tax-deductible gift to Eastern Europe Outreach, make sure to mention SERBIA

• The 2,000 euro for project outreach Athens, Greece, came in. Thank you so much!
• The 200 km ice skating fundraiser is in full swing. So far, we have received 1,000 euro in pledges for the new Teen Challenge rehab home Istochnick in Ukraine.

Photo's new heater Teen Challenge Poland

The new wood heater

We at Traveling Light purposely choose to sponsor small scale, local projects. What are the advantages of working like that?

Well, the amount of money we collect for such projects is managable. The money will go directly to the projects and the money will be used for the projects as soon as possible. This gives clarity to the recipients as well as to the givers.

This past November we raised 7,000 euro for the purchase and installation of a new wood heater at the men's rehabilitation home of Teen Challenge in Lekini, Poland.

The men's home is located in a former military base and offers room to about fifty men who are willing to get rid of their addictions and start a new life. Their rehab is based on the love and grace of Jesus Christ and on biblical principles.

On their way to recovery

Together we made it possible for the men in Lekini to stay warm this winter and during many more winters to come; it can get really cold in Poland. The huge wood heater is connected to an extensive system of pipes through which warm water is being transported to the various buildings. Think of it as a form of city-heating.

Chopping wood and keeping the heater burning are some of the daily chores the men will be assigned to, as soon as they enter the program.

The nice thing about this project was that our supporter Meindert van der Wal put his own fundraiser idea into action. We received many individual gifts through his church Jong & Vrij in Hellevoetsluis. Thank you all so much for helping us out with this project.

The guys at work

It is fantastic to see and experience how much we can do if we put our hands together. We have really encouraged the men at Teen Challenge, Lekini. They are sending their warm greetings. Our positive response to their need means a lot to them, their families and friends.

We hope you will help us again in 2014 to support more of these small scale, practical projects. Together we can shine our light in all corners of Europe!

200 km ice skating for Traveling Light

At the end of this month the 26th annual Marathon Ice Skating event at the WeissenSee will be organized. That means skating 200 km on natural ice in the cold Austrian winter weather.

Last year our friend and volunteer Krijn Donk finished this extreme ice skating event in good time, about 8 hrs. and 45 minutes. He did it as a fundraiser for Traveling Light and was able to collect almost 1,500 euro's. We donated the amount to the work of Sokrat & Lena Apostolovski among the Roma children in Skopje, Macedonia.

Krijn Donk, last year at Weissensee

This year Krijn wants to do it again for a good cause. Another friend, Henk Swijnenburg from Bleskensgraaf, wants to join him in this effort. We are very happy with this super team! The two men want to bring in funds for the new rehab home Istochnick in Ukraine.

New rehab home Istochnick, Ukraine

The construction of this new rehab home is almost finished. The house will offer room for about twenty men who are willing to quit their addiction. The program is part of Teen Challenge Ukraine. This means the men will not only get help to end their addiction, but that they will encounter the love and grace of Jesus Christ as well. THIS will be the foundation of their new life. And you know what is the best thing? The changed lives of these men have great, positive impact on their families, it is like a dominoes effect.

At the moment they need quite a sum of money to continue with the last stage of the construction project. Mainly for plumbing, heating, electrical installations, etc. etc. The men are doing the work themselves. It would be fantastic if we could raise money through this ice skating event to help them.

The men at work

You can sponsor Krijn and/or Henk as follows:

• with an amount per kilometer
• with an amount for finishing the race
• with a general amount,
• with any amount for beating last year's time, or
• with whatever idea you can come up with

If you want to sponsor them, please send an email with the amount you want to donate to krijncora@gmail.com or send your gift directly to NL91RABO0118582275 Traveling Light. Make sure to designate it: WEISSENSEE.

We will keep you updated on this weblog and our Facebook page. This is going to be so exciting! Who wants to join us in the fun?

Project Outreach Athens

Praying with guys from the street

We wish you all a happy and healthy New Year! We are excited to start off 2014 with a project in a country where we haven't planted the Traveling Light flag yet: Greece.

The last few years nothing but negative news about Greece has been spewed by the media. But that is a one-sided view. Of course positive and inspiring things are happening in Greece and Traveling Light wants to shine light on the good news. Two years ago we met Elias Armenis at a Teen Challenge conference. He is the founder of Passage to Life, a interdenominational ministry in Athens that seeks to help the poor, homeless and addicted and share with them the love, grace and hope that only Jesus can give.

Mercy Center

They have a shelter, the Mercy Center, where they receive the poor and addicted people. They offer warm meals and give out clothes, also to the many refugees from Afghanistan and surrounding countries. We might not realize this, but Greece also struggles with a big amount of refugees and illegals flocking the country.

Besides Bible studies, they offer counseling, advice and prayer. This past summer Passage to Life celebrated 30 years of ministry. 30 years in which they have reached out to many addicted and hopeless people who are today truly free, having their own families, living a drug free life, and serving others.

30-year celebration

In June they organized a huge rally that ended with an evangelistic gathering in the center of Athens, many people came to this event. Jesus said two thousand years ago:  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And this is what is happening in Greece!

The beautiful thing about the work of Passage to Life is that it is often done by former addicts who volunteer now to help and reach out to others. Yes, also in Greece light is shining in dark places. We would love to support the good work they are doing with a gift of 2,000 euro. At the beginning of yet another new year we want to encourage them to keep up the good work. The darker it gets in the world, the brighter our light will shine!

You can encourage the street outreach in Athens by sending your gift to

NL91RABO0118582275  BIC: RABONL2U Traveling Light, Papendrecht, The Netherlands

Year end gift for coffeehouse in Tetovo, Macedonia

Jordan & Vesna

Do you remember Jordan Stoilov? In 2013 we visited him twice in his coffeehouse The Bridge, a meeting place in the center of Tetovo, Macedonia. Visitors are welcome to sip coffee, read books, join a Bible study or just talk. The population in Tetovo is predominantly from Albanian descent and about 83% of the people are Muslim. 

Years ago Jordan was addicted to heroin, but he entered the Teen Challenge program where he learned that God loved him and had a better plan for his life. He started a new life and later went to Bible school at YWAM.

He is happily married now with Vesna and together they have a son: Jakov. Jordan wants to let his light shine in his city and reach people who do not know the love of God.

At coffee house The Bridge

Traveling Light was among those who helped him financially to set up a play ground for children in the neighborhood. Because of this play ground he has been able to establish good relationships with the parents of these children. Since last September a group of Albanese men is visiting the coffee house regularly. Two of them are interested to learn more about God and the Bible, the others not so much. But, all of them want to learn English! That is a great way to build friendships and to get to know these men better.

Last year's shoe box event 

We recently received a special gift of 1,000 euro that we would like to donate towards his work in coffee house The Bridge. Jordan wants to purchase a laptop/computer that can be used to follow English lessons online. Other visitors will also be able to use the internet. He furthermore needs some supplies, such as cups, books, playing games, reading material etc. Next month he will also hand out 200 shoe boxes with toys in two kinder gardens in Tetovo. This is a great way to connect with parents and workers in the kinder gardens. 

In February we hope to visit Macedonia again and we will certainly go and see Jordan.

• The money for project dental work Theo came in. Now we are waiting for a picture!
• Project children's clothes for Syria is going very well. 31-12-2013 last day for drop off.
• Our next project will be Teen Challenge Greece.
• There will be another extreme ice skating event in January. It will be a fundraiser for rehab center Istochnick in Ukraine

Christmas goodie bags for sailors

During the past Christmas days Guus and Annemiek Peters went to the ports of Gent, Terneuzen and Antwerp to deliver their Christmas goodie bags for the sailors.

The photo shows the big smiles (click on the picture for an enlargement), the men were very happy with their gifts! We are thankful that Traveling Light was able to sponsor 60 Christmas goodie bags.

Shared joy is double joy... well, the picture tells it all, right?! Thank you very much for your support and encouraging comments regarding this special December project. Next week we will visit Guus and Annemiek and hear their stories first  hand.

• The clothes collection for Syria is in full swing. 31-12-2013 is the last day for drop-off.
• We are able to donate a special gift to Jordan Stoilov in Tetovo, Macedonia. In the next blog post we will share some more news about this.
• Coming up: photo's from the new heater in the Teen Challenge men's rehab center in Poland
• Also: photo's of the new women's home in Berdichev, Ukraine.
• New projects coming up in Greece, Israel and Ukraine... and much more!

Keep an eye on this weblog and/or our Facebook page.

Project children's clothes Syria

Syrian children

The year is almost over, but we would like to highlight a special project that we are running in the Netherlands right now. It is the collection of clothing for children in Syria.

We don't need to explain how terrible the situation in that country and in the various refugee camps is. We came in contact with Adnan Khayat, who was born in Syria. He rented a 20 ft container that needs to be filled up with clothes, shoes, jackets, children's clothes. sleeping bags, blankets, diapers, toys etc. As soon as the container is filled he will ship it to Syria. He will then fly to the area and, with the help of friends and family who are living there, distribute everything.

Adnan Khayat

It is getting really cold in Syria and the surrounding countries and Adnan really hopes to get the container filled before the end of the year, so he can ship it as soon as possible. This is very direct, practical help. We certainly want to encourage and help him in his efforts. All clothing is welcome, but we mostly need children's winter clothing and shoes.

We have asked our supporters in Holland to check their closets, garages and attics in search for clothing. Although this specific project is for our local supporters only, there might be some things you can do in your country. Ask around, ask your church, go online, find ways to help the people in Syria. If you cannot find anything, organize it!

Let your light shine!