Saturday, October 29, 2016

Project 2nd floor Teen Challenge men's rehab Berdychiv, Ukraine

Sergey & Irina Romanenko
Thanks to the sales in our newly opened second hand shop during this month of October, a generous gift from RegioPraise in Etten-Leur and your loving response, the 5,000 euro needed for project bedroom sinks Teen Challenge Łękinia, Poland came in. Hooray! Great to see how we can quickly join together to support such a practical project. And we happily move on :)

Pastor Sergey Romanenko from Berdychiv is no stranger to this blog. He is the founder and leader of a Messianic congregation and a men's and women's rehabilitation center in Ukraine.

Expansion men's rehab
We were able to help him fund several projects, such as the purchase of the women's house, the expansion of the work in the coffee houses and the construction of an animal barn. The summer camps that are organized annually are also sponsored by Traveling Light.

Some time ago we received a request from him to raise funds for the expansion of the men's rehabilitation house in Berdychiv, which operates under the flag of Teen Challenge Ukraine. For several years he has had plans to build a second floor on the existing house, so they can have more beds and help more people.

Coffee house
Through the coffee house outreach the addicted, homeless and desperate come in contact with the gospel. Friendships are being built and when people decide to turn away from a life of drugs and alcohol addiction, they go into rehabilitation. Once they experience the grace, love and healing touch of Jesus Christ, lives are changed forever.

The rehabilitation program takes a year, sometimes longer. We have already seen many lives changed which is very, very encouraging. Lives are saved, relationships restored and families reunited. We would love to see a bigger number of beds available, so even more lives can be saved!

New life!
They will need about 5,000 euro for this huge construction job. Pastor Sergey has been in contact with a number of contractors and workers who are willing to help. Will you help as well?

Please your gift to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention MEN's REHAB BERDYCHIV. This will also be the project in our second hand shop during the month of November.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

News + prayer points

New kitchen
The awesome thing of supporting small-scale projects is the direct contact with the people involved. We regularly receive emails with words of gratitude and of course lots of pictures. Look how practical gifts were used recently.

Storage room
In July, we placed project renovation kitchen Winiarczykowka, Poland on this blog. They have worked hard in the past few months to meet all government requirements.

The kitchen was upgraded, bath and washrooms redone and the pantry is equipped with nice storage racks. Residents, staff and volunteers can now enjoy even more living, working and rehabilitating in a safe and clean environment, partly a result of your generous donations. Thank you very much.

Later that month, we announced project Campaign Nick Vujicic, Slovenia. Pastor Steve Telzerow mailed a detailed report of the event where thousands of students were present and thousands more followed it on television.

Nick and interpreter Barbara Telzerow
It was an honor for them to work with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport and many new friendships were made. Nick's prayer with and for the President of Slovenia was a special moment. Let's pray many will get to know the Lord in Slovenia. Pastor Steve writes in his newsletter:

Grateful for volunteers
"We are very grateful for the participation of so many that made this broadcast and event possible. I want to say a special thanks to Stichting Traveling Light, Josiah Venture (Društvo Več), Beltway Park Church, Christ Community Church in Harrisburg PA, HarvestNet in Ephrata PA, Gosport Church England... "

Last month, we asked for help on behalf of seafarer's evangelist Guus Peters in project Tagalog Bibles. Thanks to your quick response the Bibles could be purchased and Guus has already been handing out the first copies on the ships.

Happy with the good news
He sent us this photo. We like to see happy faces! Again, thank you for your generous gifts.

Last week Jan attended the Europe Teen Challenge Fall Meeting in Norway on behalf of Traveling Light. For us it is always a good time to speak leaders from many countries. 

Europe Teen Challenge family
Traveling Light received a lot of positive feedback from all over Europe. Please continue to pray for our work, so we can continue to bless those who need it most!

PS: We already received more than 3,000 euro for project bedroom sinks Teen Challenge Łękinia, Poland. So we are well on our way to reach our goal. Fantastic! If you would like to help, please send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention LEKINIA.

If you are viewing this blog online, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Project bedroom sinks Teen Challenge Łękinia, Poland

Teen Challenge men's center in Łękinia
A new month, time for a new project! We were able to help harbor evangelist Guus Peters with 100 Tagalog Bibles and the Teen Challenge women's home in Kazakhstan with a nice donation (4,500 euro) for the renovation of the dormitories.

Thank you all for your generosity and for coming to our thrift store in September ... we were able to collect 1,150 euro in sales, which all went to the women's house!

And now our next project. Do you remember our stories about the Teen Challenge men's rehab center in Łękinia, Poland? The former army barracks where about 50 men are staying who have decided to break with drug and alcohol addiction. The grace, forgiveness and love of God are now ruling in this place.

Former army base, now rehab center
Recently a new law was introduced in Poland stating that not only hospitals, but every treatment center must have a sink in each room. We are talking about 25 rooms in both the men's center and the historic women's center and all that work needs to be done this year.

Women's home Broczyna
The Teen Challenge women's home in Broczyna is a beautiful historic building, but that means that all pipes must be put inside the walls and floors, which makes the work more costly.

The Teen Challenge work among the homeless, alcohol and drug addicts and prostitutes is largely dependent on donations. This usually works fine... until a situation like this comes up, then extra funds need to be raised.

Sinks, pipes, connecting elements, renovating of floors and walls, plastering and paintwork... It will be quite the job which, according to the estimate director Zbyszek Urbaniak sent us, will cost about 5,000 euro. Whether we want to come alongside and help fundraising? Yes of course!

It's so inspiring to see what is happening in both centers. Lives that were completely destroyed, are being changed by the power of God's Spirit. Restoration, healing and deliverance takes place. A new chance, a new future. The picture on the right shows more than a thousand words can tell.

Will you help us again? If so, please make a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275, BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention LEKINIA.