Opening Ceremony SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Volunteers and church members get ready to cut the ribbon on the new Luz de Nuevo Amanecer Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Dominican Republic! About two weeks prior, in March 2023, Phil Becker (blue shirt) and 21 volunteers with the Chehalis Church and Friends Team, from Washington, had arrived at the work site, uncertain of whether such a small group could complete the large building. But with the help of the Maranatha crew, local church members, and a can-do attitude, the team not only completed the blockwork but also installed the roof on the last workday of the mission trip. The next morning, the community and volunteers gathered to celebrate and worship in the church for the first time.

Becker, whose first Maranatha project was during Santo Domingo ’92, has led and been on more than 40 mission trips. He’s seen many churches constructed and dedicated in his volunteer experience. He says, “It never gets old. This is what it’s all about… It’s all about God and what He does in people’s lives.”