We recently had a visit in Codlea from a group of students from the Christian University of Applied Sciences in Ede who are studying journalism. They stopped by to interview Jacqueline.

A few months ago, we received an email from a student at the Christian University of Applied Sciences in Ede, asking if she could come by for an interview. She and a few fellow students were spending a week in Romania to produce a story for their journalism program. She had read about our foundation, became enthusiastic, and was curious to learn more about the story behind it.

Of course, we didn’t have to think twice about that. On June 9, we welcomed the students to the Colorom community center for the interview with Jacqueline.

Two of the children were also interviewed. Among other things, they were asked why they come to Lumina and what it means to them. It was so wonderful to hear that Lumina enriches their lives. One of the girls from the teen group shared, among other things, that she now has a relationship with God and that she’s better able to handle friendships and her insecurities.

The other girl, from the middle-grade group, said she feels happier and enjoys life more. This gives us the courage to keep building!

The interview has now been transcribed and published in *De Nieuwsbode*. The article is available here.

Summer vacation has begun for children in Romania, so at the Lumina community centers, we’ll be following our summer schedule for the next few months.

Starting June 22, the kids will have a full three months off from school. On the one hand, this sounds great, but on the other hand, for some kids it’s not so much fun at all. Often, parents have little or no vacation time, which means they’re at work and not at home. As a result, some children are sent to stay with their grandparents for a few weeks or months, while others mostly hang out outside.

At our Lumina community centers, we’re mostly open during summer break and offer a summer program from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This gives the children something fun and productive to do right away in the morning. Since relatively fewer children are coming than usual, we’re being a bit more flexible with the age groups. This means children who have little or nothing to do during these months can come a bit more often.

At the same time, it’s also a great time to get together in smaller groups. This allows us to give the children more individual attention, which is one of the main goals of the community centers.

We’re using the summer to briefly review all the Bible themes from the past year. It’s wonderful to see how much the children have retained and how many questions they ask based on their own experiences. We’ve noticed that they’re also trying to apply the lessons to their daily lives, and that, of course, makes us very happy!

Tania, Andreea, and Jacqueline recently enrolled in an online course in Romania. They have since received their diplomas.

Tania works at the Lumina Colorom community center and Andreea at the Lumine Nord community center; on Wednesdays, they work together at Lumina Colorom. Jacqueline focuses primarily on the organization and development of the community centers, but also helps out with activities for the children when needed.

To ensure they remain up to date with the necessary certifications and continue to gain new knowledge and ideas, they recently took a course. This course focused specifically on working with children, covering topics ranging from infant development to the changes that occur during puberty. The entire process was discussed.

In addition, attention was given to children with conditions such as ADHD or autism. They learned which activities are well-suited for these children and what is important within the group. One of the themes—an obvious one, yet so true—was about love: the foundation of working with children. This is what they offer every day to the children who come to Lumina.

There are now a total of about 90 children attending, and they are seeing positive changes in behavior, mindset, and values.

It was an interesting course, and now that they have their certificates, they’re completely up to date again!

On Friday, March 20, 2026, Tenira Sturm organized an Easter concert. During the concert, Jacqueline had the opportunity to talk a bit about the work being done at the community centers. It was a meaningful evening filled with beautiful Easter songs in a magnificent church.

A few months ago, Tenira heard about our foundation’s work. Shortly thereafter, she decided that the proceeds from that evening’s collection would go to Zalomi. To make the story more personal, she invited us to come and talk a bit about our work.

Jacqueline decided to travel to the Netherlands and was there that evening. In a beautiful, packed church in the center of Bodegraven, the magnificent Easter hymns rang out, along with the message of Jesus’ forgiveness for our sins.

During the collection, Jacqueline spoke about the work being done at the community centers. She discussed the living conditions of the children and teenagers and why the community centers are so essential. The community centers are named Lumina, which means “light” in Romanian. She explained that through these community centers, we want to be a light in Codlea, and that we want to share the Light—Jesus Himself.

It was a meaningful and encouraging evening. We are incredibly grateful for the wonderful proceeds, all of which will go toward providing a safe place for the children.

Did you miss the concert? Or have you never been to one? I definitely recommend attending a concert at least once. Tenira’s performances are more than just listening to music: the depth and the story she shares leave a lasting impression. Feel free to check out her website: https://www.tenirasturm.nl/

After months of preparation, November 1 was the day: community center Lumina Nord is open! This is the second community center in the city of Codlea, located on the north side of the city, on the edge of a densely populated area.

In the days leading up to the opening, we distributed flyers in the neighborhood to generate awareness. We received a lot of help from the teenagers and children from our other community center, Lumina Colorom. It is wonderful to see that there is a lot of talk about community center Lumina, even in schools, making the name well-known in this neighborhood.

First club afternoon

The afternoon began at 3:00 PM. Before the program started, we walked through the neighborhood to inform the children that the children’s club was launching. In this environment, things are not as structured as in the Netherlands, where schedules and weekly planners are common. Here, the children live more day-to-day and often find out at the last moment what is on the program. This makes it all the more important to repeat information regularly and send out invitations. Although many children had heard about the children’s club and knew it was starting, the exact time and date were often unclear. Most children also lack a good sense of the days and times of the week.

Surprisingly, the children trickled in, and soon almost all the chairs were filled! Tania had put together a fun program for the afternoon, and time flew by.

Involvement of mothers

What stood out was the involvement of several mothers. Unlike Colorom, where there is virtually no attention and involvement from mothers, here the mothers were enthusiastic and indicated they passed the news on to other families.

Gratitude

We look back on this first afternoon with gratitude. We didn’t expect to welcome so many enthusiastic and happy children, along with some involved and grateful mothers!

On November 7, the youth group will also start at Lumina Nord. We look forward to further developments!

Read more about the work and activities at community center Lumina here.

Since we’re called a community center for a reason, we want to be truly available to the neighborhood—not just for the children and teens. That’s why we organized a mothers’ gathering at both community centers for International Women’s Day.

While it was quite difficult at first to get in touch with the mothers or fathers, we’ve noticed two years later that they’re becoming more involved. And that’s valuable. That way, we can also make a difference in their lives, and getting to know them better sometimes helps us understand the children’s behavior better.

March 8 was International Women’s Day. In Romania, it’s called “ziua femeii” and is celebrated in a big way. People buy flowers for women and mothers, along with chocolate and sweet notes.

That was a good reason for us to focus on this as well and invite the mothers. So we organized two evenings for the mothers: at both community centers.

These were meaningful gatherings. The theme “You Are Valuable in God’s Eyes” was central. We started with a brief round of introductions, and then all the mothers were given a card. On this card, they were asked to write down what they’re proud of, what they’re grateful for, and one positive thing they’d done for themselves that day. Next, we discussed various statements, and they raised a red or green thumb.

It’s moving to see how insecure most women are—how they struggle with so many worries and problems. Some of them can’t read or write. That makes it all the more wonderful that we were able to encourage them with the passage from Jeremiah: “You are precious in God’s eyes.”

Next, it was time for a creative activity. We had made little plaster signs that they could paint. There was a little bowl with some candy and a colorful flower for everyone.

These were valuable meetings. We plan to expand these meetings to four times a year with the mothers.

One of the goals of the community centers is to ensure that they are—and remain—a safe and welcoming place for children and teenagers. To measure this, we conducted a survey, which yielded some surprising insights.

Some of the children had filled out the questionnaire before; for others, it was their first time. Among other things, we asked them questions about how they were feeling, how things were going at school, at home, and with their friends.

This time, we added a new section to the questionnaire for the upper grades. We asked open-ended questions, such as why they come to Lumina, what else they would like to learn, what they get out of being at Lumina, and whether they have any ideas for new activities.

This generated some interesting and encouraging responses. While one person says, “Whatever you want,” another shares serious ideas about new activities or topics they’d like to see.

The most encouraging response came from one of the teenage girls: “Ever since I started coming to Lumina, I’ve felt so much better than before.”

That gives us even more energy and motivation to keep going. Because every child and every teenager deserves a safe, welcoming place.

We’ve been into the new year for a little while now.
Still, the Christmas celebrations are fresh in our memories. That’s why we’d like to share a look back at these celebrations.

Preparations

On December 16 and 17, the last two days before the break, we celebrated Christmas with the children and their parents. After months of preparation, the big day had finally arrived. Week after week, we practiced songs, rehearsed plays, and made decorations.

Celebrations

The Christmas celebration was held at Lumina Nord on December 16 and at Lumina Colorom on December 17. Once everything was decorated and, of course, treats were ready for everyone, the first parents and children began to arrive. With so many eyes on them, the kids were still a little nervous.

But what beautiful and meaningful celebrations they were! The children sang along at the top of their lungs, games were played, the play was performed beautifully, and of course, there was a gift for every child.

Gifts

This year, we received gifts from local sponsors: everything from kendamas (popular wooden toys) to treats and small Bibles.

As a surprise, we made a video for the parents about the past season. The parents also received a small gift to take home. It was so nice to get together! We’re encouraged that more parents were able to attend this year. Still, it’s sad that some children have no one who comes to watch them.

Last year

We look back with gratitude on the past year, during which so many lovely children joined Lumina. It was a year in which they learned a great deal and are clearly growing. The girls’ group, which started this year, has also been a valuable addition. Every week, we see the girls becoming more open and increasingly able to share and describe their feelings. We look forward to what 2026 will bring!

After months of preparation, November 1 was the day: community center Lumina Nord is open! This is the second community center in the city of Codlea, located on the north side of the city, on the edge of a densely populated area.

In the days leading up to the opening, we distributed flyers in the neighborhood to generate awareness. We received a lot of help from the teenagers and children from our other community center, Lumina Colorom. It is wonderful to see that there is a lot of talk about community center Lumina, even in schools, making the name well-known in this neighborhood.

First club afternoon

The afternoon began at 3:00 PM. Before the program started, we walked through the neighborhood to inform the children that the children’s club was launching. In this environment, things are not as structured as in the Netherlands, where schedules and weekly planners are common. Here, the children live more day-to-day and often find out at the last moment what is on the program. This makes it all the more important to repeat information regularly and send out invitations. Although many children had heard about the children’s club and knew it was starting, the exact time and date were often unclear. Most children also lack a good sense of the days and times of the week.

Surprisingly, the children trickled in, and soon almost all the chairs were filled! Tania had put together a fun program for the afternoon, and time flew by.

Involvement of mothers

What stood out was the involvement of several mothers. Unlike Colorom, where there is virtually no attention and involvement from mothers, here the mothers were enthusiastic and indicated they passed the news on to other families.

Gratitude

We look back on this first afternoon with gratitude. We didn’t expect to welcome so many enthusiastic and happy children, along with some involved and grateful mothers!

On November 7, the youth group will also start at Lumina Nord. We look forward to further developments!

Read more about the work and activities at community center Lumina here.

Anniversary

It’s already been a year since we opened the doors to the second community center in Codlea. The Lumina Nord Community Center is turning 1! That’s a reason to celebrate, and of course we celebrated it together with the children.

Revised Schedule

On Monday, we celebrated the party for the lower grades, and on Tuesday for the upper grades. Once the homework was done, the party could really begin. The children were divided into two teams and played fun games. Afterward, they made a cheerful Lumina medal, and to wrap things up, they baked, decorated, and ate delicious cupcakes.

Video Message

A number of children spoke on camera about why they come to the Lumina community center and what they like so much about it. It’s touching to hear how happy they are with Lumina. One of the girls said, for example, “Lumina is just my life now.” Although those are big words, sweet comments like “there’s such a nice atmosphere,” “we talk about God,” “there are lots of friends,” and especially, “every now and then we bake yummy treats” 🙂 really stood out.

Future

This past year has really flown by! After Laura left, we had to take some time to get everything sorted out, but we’re incredibly happy to have Andreea on our team. Her natural warmth, love, and dedication to the children are truly special. We’re looking forward to the coming year, full of fun and new memories, together with all the lovely children who always find their way back to Lumina.