Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Project The Gate, Poland

Students at The Gate
Last October we were in Poland and one of the cities we visited is Wroclaw, a student city with various colleges and universities. We were invited to visit The Gate, a student club in the old city which has been set up following a Dutch concept.

Teen Challenge in The Netherlands has, in cooperation with local churches, opened up eight locations of The Gate over the last few years and now there is one in Poland as well. These are centers were young people can come after school to meet, to watch a movie, play a game or talk about serious matters and have Bible studies.

The young people involved in The Gate in Wroclaw are part of an enthusiastic and creative group. The organize open-mike nights, mini concerts and workshops. Every week they open the doors and a growing group of students has found the way to The Gate.

During a summer festival
They also organize events on campus and are active during festivals and holidays. The Gate is commonly known as an ‘alternative club’ because they do not serve alcohol, an oddity among students. It attracts a colorful crowd!

For 2018 they have planned several events and outreaches to share the gospel and meet with students. Of course they are active on social media, but handing out flyers and designing posters is still a very effective method to get attention and to invite students to come to The Gate.

The Gate outreach on campus
It is very encouraging to see that these young people are not ashamed of their Christian identity amidst a very secular culture and share the gospel with students who quite often have never heard the good news before. We would like to encourage them with a gift which will be used to pay for the costs of several upcoming events. Check out their YouTube channel if you are curious about their activities.

We mentioned it in a previous blog post, we received several requests to support children’s and youth work in Eastern Europe, which is great! What a wonderful way to invest in the future of Europe.

If you have a heart for young people, send your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention THE GATE.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Project news

Haha, happy face at Bertine House
The first two months of this new year have gone by fast and we would like to share some (project) news with you. The final result of our Weissensee fundraiser 2018 added up to 5,800 euro. A terrific result for which we want to thank you on behalf of our ice skaters and of course the staff, women and children of Bertine House in Ukraine.

Speaking about Ukraine. Do you remember we donated towards the work of Teen Challenge youth coffee house in Berdychiv, last December? Well, we received some pictures and an enthusiastic report about their first meetings.

Many young people showed up and valuable conversations about God, school, relations and the future are taking place. We will keep you updated about this work on our blog.

Youth coffee house in Berdychiv
The proceeds of our second-hand shop Twinkeltje during the month of February will go towards the work of Brian Slater in Netanya, Israel. Under the name Abundant Bread of Salvation Brian and his team run a foodbank, soup kitchen and clothes distribution center for the elderly, single mothers and new immigrants. He also has good contacts with a local drugs- and alcohol rehab and he supplies the guys with clothing, food packages and (no doubt) spiritual encouragement. Check out this VIDEO CLIP.

Food bank Netanya
If you would like to invest in this work among the Jewish people that are considered ‘the least of these’, please come by our store and contribute. We are open on Saturdays from 12:00-17:00 hours. Or you can send your donation directly to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention ISRAEL.

We furthermore have been able to transfer 4,000 euro towards the purchase and installation of a new heater in the Teen Challenge re-entry hostel in BiaƂogardzie, Poland. As soon as we have some photo’s, we will publish them on this blog. Thank you so much for your fast responses to this request for help. Together we can make it happen!

Visit to The Gate in Wroclaw
For the next project we will go to Poland again, to the student city of Wroclaw and the work among young people (The Gate) that’s happening there.

It is a very encouraging development that we receive requests for children’s and youth ministry work all over Europe.

Keep an eye on this blog or sign up for email updates (see sidebar on our BLOG).

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Project Living Free material, Albania

Last August we sent a gift for the Croatian translation of the Living Free curriculum. A series of group lessons that is being used worldwide to help people get free from addictions and other life-controlling problems.

In November an international training took place in Novi Sad (Serbia). About sixty representatives from various evangelical churches and organizations were present from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Albania, Romania and Montenegro. We received a happy email with thanksgiving for our sponsoring of the Croatian translation.

Living Free training in Novi Sad
Our friends Jonatan & Valentina Vlaisavljevic from Macedonia were the teachers during this training. The goal is to equip participants so that they can give the training themselves in their church or organization.

Requests for training and training materials in different languages are coming in from various Balkan countries. We received a project request from Albania to help sponsor the Albanian translation that is currently in the making, a translation that can also be used in other countries with Albanian people, such as Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia.

Jonatan and Valentina can hardly keep up with the increasing demand for training and training materials. It is however a good sign that there is a need for Living Free material. The group training and discipleship courses are faith based and aim to help people prevent and/or overcome challenging issues.

Living Free training in Novi Sad
We support a healthy spiritual climate in all countries of Europe! We believe that this is part of the great commission of going into the world and making disciples of all nations.

For the translation of the video subtitling and also the translation and printing of the video workbook, the personal and group lessons, a few thousand euro is needed.

If you have a heart for the Balkans and/or for education, then please send your donation to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Do not forget to mention: ALBANIA.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Report WeissenSee 2018

Skaters in action
Tuesday morning January 30th was the big day, at 06:00 hours the 200 km ice skating race on the WeissenSee kicked off. Our skating team traveled all the way to Austria with high expectations.

In the end, the results are as follows:

Krijn Donk finished the 200 km in a fantastic time of 7:40 hours, despite the fact that in the last lap he got cramp in both legs and fell down.

Henk Swijnenburg unfortunately had to stop the race after the 13th round, so after more than 160 km. He had severe back problems a few days earlier and hey ... in that condition it is not easy to skate at all. So, thank you Krijn and Henk and of course Adrie, who is always there for care and support,  we are extremely proud of you all.

Residents Bertine House
Especially because their efforts are not for personal gain, but will benefit vulnerable women and children. The team raises funds for Teen Challenge 'Bertine House' in Ukraine, a Christian home for mothers (with their children) who come from prostitution, addiction or homelessness.

We have received quite some pledges and we ask that you transfer your donation as quickly as possible  to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention WEISSENSEE.

We are happy to report that your promised donations have already exceded € 5,000 !!

We are very grateful for our skating team and for all the nice, sweet and encouraging messages we received.

Just try to imagine the joy in Bertine House when they will receive this donation. Shared joy is double joy!

As soon as we have calculated the final results of all received donations, we will let you know on this blog. Until then... we want to leave you with a challenge: WHAT can you do to raise funds for a good cause?