Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Project coffee bus Teen Challenge Czech Republic

Petr Ministr
There are people who just love to help others, whenever something needs to be done... they always show up. Petr Ministr is such a person, he is the national director of Teen Challenge Czech Republic. We visited the residential center in Prague a few years ago, a place where many men have come to know the love and grace of Jesus and have been set free from a life of addiction. Teen Challenge Czech Republic also cares for women and children, has inner city out-reach projects and a ministry institute.

Teen Challenge residential center in Prague
On the picture to the left you can see the beautiful center in Prague, a centuries-old farm building that has been renovated with the help of volunteers from all over the world.
Quite regularly Petr takes a group of men on a short mission trip. Last winter, for example, they went to Israel where they built a protective fence around the women's center and did some other jobs as well. Our question for Petr, a few months back, was: and how can we help you?

It didn't take him long to reply... "We would like to have a bus for outreach purposes, so we can reach people on the street with coffee, warm soup and a meaningful conversation." Petr said he was inspired by the NoBucks bus, as it travels around Ireland. A coffee bus is basically the same as a coffee house, but it has wheels! It is a place where the homeless, the drug addicts and the prostitutes are welcome for coffee and where they can hear the good news that Jesus wants to set them FREE! By moving the bus from place to place, more desperate people can be reached.

All right, all right, maybe not that old...
Traveling Light wants to find such a bus for Teen Challenge Czech Republic. We want to raise at least 5,000 euro for the purchase of  such a bus. We are currently looking for a good, reliable second hand city bus which can be converted to a coffee bus. As Jan is a mechanic, he will be able to make sure the bus is safe and in good condition. His plan is to drive the bus to Czech Republic, which is a whole other adventure in itself. More about the logistics of this project in a future post...

Wouldn't it be great to join forces and bless Teen Challenge Czech Republic with a coffee bus? It would be such a practical gift, something they will be able to use for years to come. And what would be greater for Traveling Light then to donate a vehicle that will be used to bring people out of darkness into the light?!

We pray and hope you will join us in blessing Petr and his team. Your gifts (large and small) are greatly appreciated. You can send your gift to:

Rabo bank nr. 1185 82 275 St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht, The Netherlands
IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275
BIC: RABONL2U