Friday, January 30, 2015

Results Weissensee 2015

Krijn & Henk before the 200 km race
We are looking back at an exciting skating event. Our project Weissensee 2015 has been successful in more than one way.

Both Krijn Donk and Henk Swijnenburg have broken their personal records on the 200 km speed skating AND they were able to raise a fantastic amount in funds for the completion of a shelter for girls and young women in Moldova, who are being rescued from human trafficking.

So far we have received more than 4,500 euro towards this project and gifts are still coming in.

Ice skaters in action
Krijn Donk did the 200 km in 7 hours and 21 minutes and crossed the finish line in 46th place on a total of 1372 participants. Henk Swijnenburg broke his personal record as well and finished the 200 km in 9 hours and 18 minutes! We are very proud of their athletic accomplishments and thankful that they can use their physical strength to raise awareness about the horrors of human trafficking of vulnerable girls and women.

We want to say thank you very much to every person who has sponsored Krijn and/or Henk with a gift, also on behalf of Johannes and Charlotte Petersen in Moldova and the girls they have taken under their protective wings. Your donations will ALL go towards their work.

Construction of girls home
If we have not yet received your pledge (or if you want to make a special donation) please do so as soon as possible. Within Europe you can make your gifts payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. make sure to mention WEISSENSEE.

We will keep you updated on the construction progress in Moldova, which will continue as soon as spring time is around the corner.

If you do not want to miss our weblog updates, make sure to sign up with your email address (see top-of-the-page block in the column on the right).


Saturday, January 24, 2015

Greetings from Berdychiv, Ukraine

Visit to women's home Simcha
At the beginning of this month our friends Henk & Adrie Swijnenburg (yep, the ones from the Weissensee fundraiser) went to Ukraine to visit some friends. We had asked them whether they could go and visit pastor Sergey Romanenko, if their schedule allowed this.

This past December the offering during our Christmas Eve service at the Hoeksteen church brought in a nice sum, which we fully donated towards the work of pastor Sergey among the homeless, addicted, poor and elderly people in the coffee and rehab homes in Berdychiv. With little means, this man accomplishes so much!

Look what a beautiful kitchen!
See here some pictures of our friends' visit. Pastor Sergey showed them around in the women's home which they opened up last year. The purchase of this house was also possible because of a financial gift Traveling Light sent their way. Do you remember the photo's of the house before anyone lived there? Well, it has had a good make-over!

home make-over
It is wonderful to see how our financial gifts have been used for the renovation of the house where women (and their children) can now live in safety. They have chickens, pigs and cows, so the women have their own supply of eggs, milk and meat. They even have a dog to guard the house!

pastor Sergey shows the office
Then our friends went on to see the men's rehab home. As in the other home, it was the pure simplicity that touched their hearts the most... to do such great work with little resources is something to be admired. Men are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, sometimes after years of struggling with addictions and violent behavior and a lonely life on the streets. Here, they can live and work and learn how to live a 'normal' life.

Dorm in the men's home
Pastor Sergey is a passionate man with a big heart and someone who knows the life... he was addicted to drugs in the past. Now, he has given his life to rescue people from death, forever! We are very happy and grateful that we can help him with financial support. Besides that, we are convinced that our friends' visit has been an encouragement to him and his team as well.

Please, pray for pastor Sergey and his work in Berdychiv.

PS: click on the photo's for enlargement

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Project tractor parts Tuscany

That's him...
Our Weissensee 2015 fundraiser for the girl's home in Moldova is in full swing. In the meantime we will take the opportunity to present (as announced earlier) our next project, namely financial support for therapeutic community Comunita Brezzano in Tuscany, and well for the purchase of tractor parts.

The grader
Maria Meier runs this christian therapeutic community in Italy, where people with life controlling problems can live for a while. In 2013 and 2014 we did organize work weeks during which we came with a group of young and strong people to cut firewood for the winter.

Loading container
While we were there last September, we asked Maria if there was anything else we could help her with. She told us that for several years there has been a need for two big tractor parts: a grader and a loading container.

The grader is much needed to make road repairs. Comunita Brezzano is situated in the Tuscan hills and the three homes (men's home, women's home and guest house Casa Shalom) are connected by unpaved roads. During winter time the roads suffer from ice, snow and rain and are in need of repairs. The loading container will be used to transport firewood, building materials etc. etc.

Roads in need of repairs
The purchase of these parts will cost 2,700 euro. Apart from some government support and client participation, this community (like many other christian initiatives) can only exist because of donations, the sales of jam and other products and rental income from Casa Shalom. Often there is no room to make big investments, like this one.

That is exactly the moment Traveling Light want to come alongside and help.

Bible study
This is a practical project, that will benefit us as well... We do have plans to organize yet another work week in Tuscany at the end of August/beginning of September this year. 

Lives are being changed here, forever! And that is something we like to invest in. You can help us by sending your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: TRACTOR.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Weissensee 2015 for Moldova

It is that time of year again! It's winter in Europe and many people are sharpening their ice skates. At the end of this month the 27th AEW (Alternative Elfsteden-tour Weissensee) will be held on the WeissenSee in Austria. Many marathon ice skaters from Holland will challenge the cold, snow and ice and enter the 200 km (!) long race. Each year the big question arises: will personal records be broken?

Moldova located in Europe
Our friends Krijn Donk and Henk Swijnenburg are getting fit and ready to enter this extreme ice skating race again, and well as sponsoring event for Traveling Light. We are really happy and thankful to have such faithful and strong volunteers/supporters. 

Krijn and Henk are planning to raise funds with their efforts on ice, for the completion of a shelter for girls and young women in Moldova, who are being rescued from human trafficking.

Johannes & Charlotte Petersen
The construction of the shelter is an initiative of Johannes and Charlotte Petersen, a couple from Denmark who have been living and working among the poor in Moldova for twenty years. They have set up a Teen Challenge rehabilitation center, children's work and activities, a church and they offer humanitarian help.

Johannes visiting the elderly
Each winter they visit about 500 families and old and lonely people and hand out coal and food packages. Make sure to watch this film. Despite the cold, their work among these families makes our heart warm!

Johannes and Charlotte are currently taking care of five girls (the youngest just being twelve years old) that have been rescued from horrible situations. The girls are living in a trailer until their home will be finished.

The shelter for the girls and young women
It is very cold in Moldova at the moment, so the construction will continue as soon as weather clears up. Funds are needed for plumbing, electricity, household items etc. It would be great if we could help them with a substantial gift, which will be a blessing and encouragement to Johannes and Charlotte, their team of volunteers and the girls of course!

You can sponsor Krijn and/or Henk as follows:
  • pledge a certain amount for finishing the race
  • pledge a certain amount per kilometer accomplished
  • pledge a certain amount no matter what the result will be
  • pledge a certain amount for breaking personal records
Of course all proceeds will go to this project in Moldova. You can send in your pledges by:
E-mail (krijncora@kpnmail.nl) or Facebook. You can also donate right now by sending your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention WEISSENSEE.

We are looking forward to an exciting race on the Weissensee and your generous donations towards the work among these vulnerable girls and women in Moldova.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

News-n-stuff

House of Prayer in Berlin
We wish you all a blessed 2015.

We are very thankful that Traveling Light was able to let her light shine in Potsdam and Berlin, Germany, during the New Year's weekend. A visit that certainly fits the description 'spiritual encouragement'.

From December 31 until January 4th we were invited to come to the Nehemia Gemeinde in Potsdam and speak on the theme reconciliation. A wonderful and powerful theme that we dug into from a biblical perspective and that we also made practical. Forgiving one another, confessing sins, praying for each other... we did it all.

Dancing with the flag of Israel
We also visited the Bethel House of Prayer in Berlin where we prayed for Germany and Israel. Afterwards we walked to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Please, pray with us for expansion of our spiritual work in Germany.

Click HERE for more pictures.

At the end of January the 27th annual marathon ice skating event will be held at the Weissensee in Austria. As in 2014 and 2013 our volunteers Krijn Donk and Henk Swijnenburg will be skating 200 km (!) for Traveling Light. They want to raise funds for the construction of a shelter for young women and girls in Moldova. More about the Weissensee 2015 project is coming up in a next blog post. Let's pray that Krijn and Henk stay strong and healthy as they prepare for this monster ice skating race.

The funds for project green houses Teen Challenge in Serbia came in. Wow, thank you all! Of course we will ask for some pictures as soon as they start the replacement of the plastic this coming spring. Thank you very much for your donations.

Work week Italy 2014 - offering practical help
This also means we can announce yet another project: the purchase of tractor parts for Comunita Brezzano in Italy. Yes, a practical project for the therapeutic community in Tuscany, that we visited with a group of men last year and the year before in order to help them with cutting firewood.

Please, keep an eye on our blog (or sign up with your email address)  for project details.

We are looking forward to co-labor with you all again in 2015. Together we can be a huge blessing to the nations around us!