Maranatha Volunteers International 990 Reserve Drive Suite 100
Roseville, CA 95678
Phone: (916) 774 7700
Website: www.maranatha.org
Email: info@maranatha.org
IN CANADA:
Maranatha Volunteers International Association c/o V06494C
PO Box 6494, Station Terminal Vancouver, BC V6B 6R3 CANADA
All notices of change of address should be sent to the Maranatha Volunteers International United States address.
CIUDAD DEL CIELO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Gabriela Hardy shows her block-laying skills at the Ciudad del Cielo Church in the Dominican Republic. She and her son, Christopher, were recently in the country on a small volunteer project at the Ciudad del Cielo school. When completed, this campus will feature multiple buildings for teaching, administration, and a church for its students and the community.
Since breaking ground on the campus in 2023, 245 volunteers have served on the project. But this experience has a personal significance to Gabriela and Christopher, as this school is dedicated to her husband and his father, Maranatha’s late Vice President of Construction, Darrell Hardy.
“This place means a lot to us. The Dominican Republic was the first country that we traveled to as a family and Ciudad del Cielo was one of the last projects where Darrell was involved,” says Gabriela, who is an international accountant at Maranatha. “It was really important to be part of the actual project–working on, not just for the dedication, not to see when it’s finished. But we really wanted to work on it because, as you can imagine, this is really important for me and my family.”
“Darrell’s legacy has a huge impact. He worked on buildings around the world. And one of his goals was to deliver great quality buildings… because those were for the glory of God.”
Maranatha spreads the gospel throughout the world as it builds people through the construction of urgently needed buildings.
About the Cover:
Teagan Bobst paints the Emmanuel Adventist Church building during this year's Ultimate Workout in Sicuani, Peru. She was one of 75 volunteers who served on the teens-only project.
Photo by Sidney Needles
Photo by Dina Ramirez
WAITING FOR THAT DAY
By Julie Z. Lee
On a cool January evening in eastern India, 200 students at the Seventh‑day Adventist English School Binjipali school are getting ready for bed. On the girls' side of campus, the young ladies scoop water from a bucket to wash their faces and brush their teeth, spitting on the floor for lack of a sink. Then they file into a bunk room, where they squeeze into a twin bed with a friend or lay on the floor atop a thin sheet.
On the boys’ side, there is more clamor as they convert a classroom into a dorm. There is the screech of desks being dragged and stacked in a corner. One group sleeps on mattresses. The rest spread a blanket on the floor. Everyone sleeps shoulder to shoulder like sardines in a can.
Once the students are settled, the cacophony turns into prayers. From both sides of campus, the children pray, their voices blending into a murmur of requests, pleas, and gratitude for His abundant blessings. Broken dorm rooms and all.
I’ve seen many dorms in my travels with Maranatha. I’ve seen worse than the rooms at Binjipali. But there is something about this place that sinks my spirits. There is something about the
SHARING THE Mission
cement floors, the threadbare sheets, the dank smell that makes everything feel desperate. These kids deserve better than this. I am glad to know that Maranatha is renovating their campus–new dorms, classrooms, bathrooms, kitchens. The place will be brand new.
The next day, I interview Salma, a student who lives in the dorms.
“What do you think of your dorm room?” I ask.
She smiles. “It’s very nice. Very nice.”
It isn’t the answer I am expecting. Does she not understand my question? Does she really think her dorm room is “very nice?”
Most of the kids at Binjipali come from poor families. Having a roof (even a leaky one) over their heads, eating three meals a day, and receiving an education is perhaps more than they could have ever imagined. Perhaps it’s more than they have ever received at home. So maybe this is as good as it’s ever been for her. Musty, crumbling dorms are “very nice” if this is the best you’ve ever known.
And in that moment, all I can think is, "Salma, if you think this is nice, you just wait, kid. You just wait.”
I imagine Salma’s face on the day she steps into her new dorm room. Will she
look up at the bright lights, inhale in the fresh air blowing through the window, and sigh as she crawls into a cozy bed of her own? The anticipation of that day percolates in my chest as I imagine the happiness awaiting Salma.
I wonder if that’s how God feels about us now. He watches and hears our prayers. Our requests for help. Our ignorance of what is possible when we put our faith in Him. Our inability to fully conceive the level of beauty, peace, and joy found in Jesus.
And just as I can’t wait for Salma to see what Maranatha is building for her, I think God is excited for us. He wants to move us beyond the limitations of this life and reveal the boundless joy of His generosity and grace. He simply cannot wait to share the treasures He has in store. “You just wait,” He says.
“Just wait ‘til you see what I am preparing for you.”
Julie Z. Lee is the vice president of marketing for Maranatha
Read the update on the Binjipali school on page 12.
AROUND THE World
A snapshot of volunteers and projects in the mission field.
PERU
A member offers a prayer of gratitude in front of the new Los Jardines Adventist Church.
INDIA
Members of the Dakhin Majhgrak Seventhday Adventist Church stand with their new Maranatha water well.
KENYA
The Lalakin congregation has a new One-Day Church.
UNITED STATES
Volunteers made a big impact at Milo Adventist Academy in Oregon.
BRAZIL
The Serra Grande congregation celebrates under their new Maranatha church frame.
INDIA
Students and staff at Pine Hill Academy participate in a ground breaking ceremony for a large Elementary Education Center school building.
PERU
The doors are open on the new sanctuary for the Matinga Church.
ZAMBIA
Volunteers and in-country crews have completed block work on a massive Education and Evangelism Center building at the new Mwami Adventist Secondary School.
KENYA
After our well maintenance team made a repair, clean water is flowing once more at the Syomisyi Church well.
Members of the Chithumba congregation are thankful for a strong Maranatha One-Day Church frame to shield them from the elements!
ZAMBIA
News + HIGHLIGHTS
Maranatha volunteers help set up the stage at this year's Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming.
SERVING IN THE STORM
You may have heard about the International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming, but did you know that 46 Maranatha volunteers helped make this event possible? This team showed up several days early, in late July, to build two large staircases leading to baptismal pools. They also constructed a stage wall and helped register the camporee’s roughly 55,000 attendees as they began to arrive. While Pathfinders were enjoying a week of fun activities and programming, this team stayed busy doing tasks like cooking, running the camporee store, and diverting water pipes to reach more campsites.
“When Maranatha volunteers come to the project … they’re ready to be
fed with things to do,” remarked this project’s coordinator, Edward Jensen. “I’m glad that we got to be part of such an exciting program.”
Gillette experienced high volumes of wind and rain on the first Monday night of the camporee. While most Maranatha volunteers were tucked safely inside RVs, others slept in tents that leaked or collapsed during the gale. But even when entire Pathfinder clubs returned home because of the weather, the Maranatha team shored up their campsites and stayed to finish the job. “Some [volunteers] did get wet but they overcame it. And I think a couple of them stayed in their cars. They seemed to take it with a great attitude,” recalled Jensen. “I think that being there and
being a part of the project and a part of the camporee was important to them.”
Each year, Maranatha works with organizations in the United States and Canada to provide volunteer labor for various construction or renovation projects at summer camps and retreat centers, schools, and churches. Work ranges from renovations of existing buildings to new construction, and saves thousands of dollars in labor costs.
VOLUNTEERS MAKE AN ALABAMA CHURCH POP
In late August, volunteers gathered at the Phenix City Seventh day Adventist Church in Alabama to undertake some major renovations. This congregation’s building has needed updates for years and is now finally receiving them with Maranatha’s help. “[It’s] a total transformation of … the church,” said the project’s coordinator, Jeanice Riles. “[There’s] just a brightness.”
Nineteen volunteers tore out old carpet and wall furnishings in the sanctuary. They also removed two large accordion partitions from the fellowship hall and installed new flooring. But the largest task on this project was painting. The team added several new coats to the sanctuary,
fellowship hall, hallways, and foyer. And now the Phenix City congregation enjoys much brighter spaces. “It
ANNUAL CONVENTION
ATTENDED BY 1,200
Maranatha’s annual convention, Mission: Maranatha, successfully highlighted God’s work around the world. Attendees were whisked away by beautiful video features and inspiring music from Ryan Day and Tim Parton. Maranatha’s country directors shared exciting reports on what God is doing around the globe. World Church leaders spoke on the impact Maranatha has had in their countries over the years. And powerful volunteer testimonies showed how mission trips bless the giver just as much, if not more, than the receiver.
Mission: Maranatha, which took place on September 21, 2024, was attended by 1,200 supporters from all over the United States and the world. While many were drawn by the impactful programming, they also took advantage of the opportunity to fellowship. Attendees rubbed shoulders
made it pop; it was beautiful,” remarked Riles.
with other mission minded individuals, and volunteers reconnected with faces they’ve served beside. Even kids found connection during a missions program just for them.
Didn’t make it to the in person event?
The program is available to watch on demand on our app, “The Maranatha Channel,” for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple and Android devices.
WHAT A Heart CAN KNOW
How two prayers answered each other on Ultimate Workout in the Andes Mountains.
By Sidney Needles
As a little girl, Mary Arrick knew nothing but the happy monotony of an ordinary family. And when that fell apart, she knew nothing at all.
Her parents’ divorce was realized during the summer of 2020. Growing tension had stretched Mary’s nerves taut as a curtain wire, until it snapped with the definitive strokes of a judge’s pen, and she was shrouded in uncertainty. It seemed every part of her life had schemed to overturn in unison. She left her childhood home, graduated from her Christian middle school, and entered a public high school–all while navigating a global pandemic.
“Mary knew nothing but anger. Anger at her dad for leaving, and anger at her world for turning upside down. ”
For the next two years, Mary fumbled with a family dynamic that was foreign and disjointed, while longing for the familiar embrace of her old one. “My dad unfortunately was very lonely and did not thrive in the town I am from,” she recalls. “And it resulted in him having very bad mental health. He ended up leaving the summer of 2022, and I have not seen him since.” Mary’s family also stopped going to church–a tradition they had observed faithfully when she was younger. It seemed she had lost two fathers for the price of one. Now Mary knew nothing but anger. Anger at her dad for leaving, and anger at her world for turning upside down. Its initial
blaze fueled a couple years of teenage rebellion, until nothing but embers remained.
It wasn’t until her senior year of high school that Mary found herself back in church. “My grandparents are huge role models in my life, and they attend a Seventh-day Adventist church in my hometown,” she explains. “One day I was talking to my grandma about my life after graduating high school. I told her about my struggle with wanting to do something profound and travel and grow a relationship with God. And her brilliant mind introduced me to the Maranatha website.” This is where Mary discovered Ultimate Workout, Maranatha’s annual summer mission trip for teenagers. “Volunteers step into the mission field in search of a fresh perspective on the world, relationships, and God,” the website read. Maybe a trip across the world was just what Mary needed to shake the smoldering rage lodged in her heart.
As a teen, Dina Ramirez struggled to navigate a bumpy adolescence. And without friends her age at church to lean on, she knew her calling.
“There were maybe a few little toddlers, but other than that, it was all older adults,” Dina says of her small childhood church. “I felt kind of out of place because there was no one my age that I could relate to. No one who understood what teenagers go through.” Inspired to prevent a similar fate for others, she prayed, “God, when I grow up, I want you to use me to be a difference
in teenager's lives.”
As an adult, Dina found the perfect opportunity on Ultimate Workout. She served as a volunteer project coordinator for eight years, mentoring participants and helping to create the uplifting peer community she never had. In May of 2023, Dina accepted a full-time position on the Maranatha team as an international volunteer manager. She enjoyed helping groups navigate their mission experiences during the months that followed. But July was circled in red on her mental calendar. Dina couldn’t wait for the next Ultimate Workout and the chance it would once again bring for God to answer her childhood prayer.
Mary found out the hard way that July in Sicuani, Peru, is quite the opposite from July in North America. To intensify matters further, the small town sits almost 12,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. “I severely underpacked!” she exclaims. “I only brought one sweatshirt and a wimpy excuse for a sleeping bag.” Ultimate Workout’s 75 volunteers worked
at a high elevation, slept in tents, and took chilly showers. But instead of dimming Mary’s spirits, these challenging conditions recharged her. “No matter how cold I was, I still had the time of my life,” she remarks.
Teens completed a variety of projects by separating into groups. They constructed church buildings for two Adventist congregations in Sicuani that had previously met in members’ homes. They transformed two existing churches with a fresh coat of paint. They passed out 150 copies of The Great Controversy in Sicuani’s main square. They led Vacation Bible School programs in four locations for more than 500 kids. And they treated roughly 600 patients in five neighborhoods with limited access to healthcare.
For Mary, choosing to work on the medical team was a no-brainer. She planned to begin nursing school that fall and relished the chance to gain hands-on experience. “I learned so many skills and met amazing, godly health professionals,” she recalls.
But it was Ultimate Workout’s rich spiritual community that Mary enjoyed the most. “I have made so many wonderful friends who have
ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT:
Ultimate Workout's 75 teenage volunteers served almost 12,000 feet above sea level in Sicuani, Peru.
PHOTO BY NICK EVENSON
deeply impacted me,” she says. “I laughed more than I have laughed in a long time. I cried, and I felt so connected to God during the whole experience.” Twice-daily worships included beautiful songs and thought-provoking sermons. And when everyone closed their eyes for prayer, Mary could feel the Holy Spirit tugging at her heart. But lingering anger seemed to weigh it down.
“As I stared down at my phone and saw his name on my screen, I knew it was God’s doing. ”
At the end of worship one evening, Mary listened as the trip’s chaplain invited participants to pray with support staff. She surveyed her options at the space’s perimeter. “I felt God telling me to go up to someone and ask for prayer,” she recalls. Spotting a friendly female staff member she met earlier that day, Mary took a step toward her in faith. “I sat there crying while she asked God to help me let go of the pain I had felt from my relationship with my dad,” Mary says.
Dina had just finished brushing her teeth, when she glanced out the bathroom window. She spotted Mary’s face, illuminated by the rectangular glow of a cell phone screen. It had been 24 hours since they had prayed together at worship; 24 hours since Mary had cried for God
to heal the turmoil of the relationship with her dad. She empathized with the girl whose heart knew such pain. It reminded Dina of her own tumultuous teenage years. “Hmm, she must not realize that it’s past curfew,” thought Dina. “I’ll need to go tell her it’s past 10:00 p.m. and ask her to go to bed.” But after taking several steps in Mary’s direction, Dina felt the Holy Spirit telling her to stop. “At that moment, I replied out loud, ‘Okay, God. I hear you. I will listen to you,’” Dina recalls.
“As I stared down at my phone and saw his name on my screen, I knew it was God’s doing,” says Mary. She’d gotten calls from her dad before but hadn’t spoken to him lately. He didn’t even know she was in Peru. Mary took a deep breath, tapped the screen, and felt the cold glass against her ear. Her father’s familiar voice spoke words she’d scoffed at so many times: “Mary, I am so sorry.” But this time felt different. It was time to let go. “I forgive you, dad.”
Mary’s heart had known anger for so long. But now it knew something different. God’s peace was a balm that soothed her rage. “God made it so easy for me. He gave Dina the words I didn’t have, and finally I was able to move forward from this brokenness and hurt I had felt.” Four days later, nine volunteers chose to be baptized on Ultimate Workout, and Mary was one of them. “I
did this as my first adult decision,” she explains. “I felt so much peace, more than I had ever felt. And I was so excited.”
Mary chose to publicly dedicate her life to God, and more specifically her career. “God has put a calling on my heart to be a nurse,” she says. “That afternoon, while I was getting ready to be baptized, I put on a pair of my scrub pants with my [Ultimate Workout] t-shirt. I did this to symbolize that I will always walk with God in my future profession.”
“Being baptized was so tremendous. I was so emotional to be surrounded by friends who I felt so loved and supported by,” recalls Mary. “I came up from that freezing water feeling renewed.”
Dina stood in the crowd of volunteers gathered at the baptismal pool's edge. Tears streamed down her face as she returned Mary’s smile. “It was an absolutely glorious and humbling experience to witness the power of prayer that can change people’s lives,” she says. “I had the privilege to witness God’s answer to my prayer over her life. He completely freed her from the emotional pain that she’d been carrying.”
As she watched Mary’s beaming face emerge from the sparkling water, Dina thanked God for once again answering her own teenage request. “This experience with Mary was a reminder of my prayer from years ago,” she says. “God always
answers our prayers–even the ones that are said in our childhood and teenage years. It doesn’t matter how many years, months, days pass by. He always does!”
Ultimate Workout exists so teenage hearts can know God. It quiets the noise of everyday life so they can hear His voice. It clears the fog of daily stressors so they can see His work. It soothes their aches and pains so they can feel His peace.
“As a leader on Ultimate Workout, my hope and my prayer is for teens to go back home, seeing God in a different light–maybe in a way they've never seen or experienced Him,” says Dina. “And for them to take back what they learned from here and apply it to their daily lives at home.
That's what I pray for. And I hope that teenagers will come back home changed.”
Watch the story! maranatha.org/uw2024 or scan QR code.
SUMMER SERVICE:
1 Volunteers made two church buildings bright and welcoming with a fresh coat of paint.
2 The medical team brought healthcare to 600 people with little access to it.
3 Mary loved the hands-on experience she gained while serving on the medical team.
4 It took only days for Mary (far left) to form lasting friendships.
5 Volunteers encountered God through selfless service, meaningful worships, and lots of prayer.
6 Mary and eight other volunteers were baptized on Ultimate Workout.
A NEW School , A NEW Ho p e IN INDIA
Maranatha completes the campus renovation project at Binjipali
By Julie Z. Lee
Maranatha's work at the school in Binjipali included the renovation of this two story building, including new construction of various classrooms, dorms, bathrooms, and kitchen.
“The lives of the children ... will be forever changed.”
In October, Maranatha Volunteers International completed the construction and renovation project at Seventh-day Adventist English School Binjipali, in India. After three years of work by local crews and volunteers, the campus now features entirely new classrooms, a modern kitchen, a dining hall, bathrooms and showers, staff apartments, and spacious dormitories. All that remains is
landscaping for the campus, which will be done at the end of 2024.
“The transformation is remarkable. When I first visited the school, I wondered how it was even possible to run an institution in such poor conditions,” says Vinish Wilson, Maranatha’s country director in India.
“The school now stands as a beacon of hope in Binjipali, and the lives of the children have been, and will continue
by
Photo
Maranatha staff
to be, forever changed.”
The Binjipali school, located in the state of Odisha, was started in 1946 in a mud building with three classrooms. Over the years, it continued to grow, increasing in students. Eventually the mud huts were replaced with block buildings, and dormitories and staff housing were added to the mix.
“God, do you really want me to work over here and make this a better place to live in for the children?”
By the 2020s, the enrollment had grown to more than 200 students, the majority of which lived on campus. But the school itself was in bad shape. The small kitchen was blackened by soot. Classrooms were decrepit. The asbestos roof was riddled with holes, inviting pests, and the plumbing was unreliable. And proper housing–from dorm rooms to staff homes– were nonexistent; everything was falling apart.
“The first time I came to Binjipali school… the moment I entered the dark campus, a dark kind of feeling came into my heart,” remembers Sudhir Tigga, principal of Binjipali, of the first time he was invited to campus to consider the job. It was falling apart–could he make a difference? Could his wife and daughter even live here? “But then I came and entered the office. I knelt down and prayed to God, ‘God, do you really want me to work over here and make this place a better place to live in for the children?’ And after the prayer, I felt very light. I called up my wife and I said, ‘Look, God wants us to be here, and we need to work for these children.’”
The Tigga family moved in and began cleaning the campus up as much as possible. But the hard stuff–the new construction and renovation–would require more than a bit of elbow grease. Unfortunately, there were little to no funds to renovate or build. Most of the students at Binjipali were on scholarship, and the surrounding community is extremely poor. What they needed was a miracle.
Then one day, Sudhir happened to be scrolling through Facebook. “I saw the work of Maranatha. And I could see that they have been building churches and schools. They have been helping the poor and needy ones. And I just put a post
there, ‘Can you help us please?’ remembers Sudhir. “We have a school where there are children who have much need.”
Vinish saw the messages and started a conversation with Sudhir. “The principal was always persistent, kept on sending emails to me, asking, ‘You should come and visit our school,” says Wilson. “And I, in God’s own timing, was able to go and visit the school.”
The visit was eye-opening for Vinish. “I just couldn’t believe the condition that the school was in…. Not even a basic toilet facility, not even a dorm that they can call their own. The situation, in one word, [was] pathetic.” He began working on the process to help Binjipali, proposing a project to Maranatha leadership and inviting a team to evaluate the campus. In 2022, crews broke ground on construction at Binjipali.
Today, thanks to the support of Maranatha donors, the students at Binjipali have a beautiful new campus. “We had been praying, and it took almost six years for God to bring Maranatha here. And we still had a doubt in our heart–even when Maranatha visited,” says Sudhir. “Even when they started the construction we were each time thinking, ‘Okay, it must be just one classroom they're going to make and go away. Or
it must be just a dining cafeteria and go away.’ But our faith started to increase as they started to stay and work.”
The renovated campus boasts new classrooms, a modern kitchen, dining hall, staff housing, dormitories, and shower and bathrooms. The Tigga family even has a new home. The goal is to double the enrollment in the future, taking the 240 students to 500.
Binjipali is just one of the campuses Maranatha is currently helping in India. A second major project will begin in late 2024 at Pine Hill Adventist Academy, located in Mizoram in the northeastern part of the country.
Watch the story!
maranatha.org/Binjipali or scan QR code.
BETTERING LIVES:
1 Before cramming in beds and on the floor, the students pray together each night.
2 The existing bathroom and toilet conditions not only had plumbing issues but were not hygienic.
3 Kids strain to learn in the old classrooms, which are small and crumbling.
4 A girl prays at morning worship and assembly, which takes place after breakfast.
5 The girls relish their new beds and dormitory, which now has bright lights and solid roofs.
6 A student focuses intently in class, which has been easier to do in the beautiful new classrooms built by Maranatha.
PHOTOS BY JULIE Z. LEE
SUPPORTING THE MISSION IN Cuba
Members of the Adventist World Church leadership team volunteer in Havana
By Marcos Paseggi
Anovel collaboration between a team of volunteers from the General Conference (GC) Secretariat and Maranatha Volunteers International is resulting in tangible improvements for church leaders and members in Cuba. In a recent outreach and mission trip to the island nation, volunteers serving at the Seventh-day Adventist Church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, not only led evangelistic meetings in churches across Havana but also helped paint and repair churches, meet with regional church leaders, and discuss ways of increasing support to the church in that country. The GC Secretariat team also visited the Cuba Adventist Theological Seminary and print shop on campus, located outside Havana.
“This assistance has helped church members who are struggling to provide enough food for their families.”
Maranatha history in Cuba goes back more than three decades, where the ministry arrived on the island to support church construction and remodeling initiatives. Since then, Maranatha has returned to Cuba, totalling more than 200 projects across the country. Among them, Maranatha built most of the major buildings at the seminary, including a church on campus. In recent years, Maranatha has been
supporting the school by shipping donor-funded containers with food to aid church members and seminary students and staff. Shipments usually include foods such as flour, oil, rice, beans, corn, and peanut butter. “This assistance has helped church members who are struggling to provide enough food for their families,” a regional church leader explained. “And it has helped to keep the seminary open.”
On July 30, the GC Secretariat team visited the seminary and got acquainted with the current needs of the institution and the church in Cuba. The team also visited the print shop, where with painstaking effort, a team prints Adventist resources and literature to be distributed and used across the country.
When the GC Secretariat and Maranatha leaders met earlier in 2024 to plan for the outreach initiative, leaders had agreed that, besides the food containers provided by Maranatha, the print shop was in dire need of supplies, including paper and ink.
“In the past, there were times when printing ink was not available, and the print shop had to resort to using motor oil to reprint their quarterlies and other Adventist publications,” an employee at the printing shop explained. Those who serve at the printing shop have learned to make the most of what they have at hand. Scraps of paper are usually transformed to become tithes and offerings envelopes. Thanks to the support
of the GC Secretariat team, the print shop has received enough paper to print church materials for the next couple of quarters.
The July 30 visit allowed the GC Secretariat team to participate in a hands-on approach to one of the services provided by the printing shop. Team members participated in the manual binding process of the Sabbath School Mission Quarterlies in Spanish for the fourth quarter 2024. There they had a closeup view of the effort involved; the binding process, including stacking up the right pages in order and stapling them, is fully manual.
There are other needs in the printing shop, too. “Presses are really old, as one of the newest ones is a German press from the early 1950s,” a print shop employee explained. “We make them keep working, but when they break because of tear and wear or any other reason, it is almost impossible to get the repair pieces needed.” A newer press would go a long way to support regional efforts to provide church leaders, pastors, and members with the basic Adventist literature they need, including Sabbath School quarterlies and other church publications.
The seminary also needs ongoing support. Now that its basic food needs are covered, church leaders need to make sure that students can attend and graduate from the seminary, something seen as essential for the survival of the Adventist Church in Cuba. “Currently, we are expecting around 40 firstyear theology students, and one in three of them are women,” regional church leaders explained. “It might seem a lot, but it’s not. In the last few years, dozens of Adventist pastors and their families have left the island and immigrated elsewhere.”
Regional church leaders emphasized that it is essential to train new leaders urgently and replace those ministers who have left and keep leaving to live abroad. “The role of the seminary is essential for the long-term success of the Adventist Church in Cuba,” they said. “We are thankful that this partnership between the General Conference Secretariat team and Maranatha is resulting in tangible benefits for the Adventist Church in Cuba.”
This article was previously published in the Adventist Review.
MISSION TO CUBA:
1 One of the buildings Maranatha Volunteers International built on the campus of Cuba Adventist Theological Seminary.
2 Members of the General Conference Secretariat team and local church leaders smile after binding Mission quarterlies at the Cuba Union Conference printing shop near Havana, Cuba.
3 At the Cuba Union Conference printing shop, presses are dated but still manage to reproduce church resources distributed among members across the island.
4 Maranatha has funded containers with basic food items that are helping feed the students at the Cuba Adventist Theological Seminary and church members in need across the island.
WHAT LIES BENEATH
The dangers of collecting water in Kenya and how Maranatha is making it safe
By Dustin Comm
The water is dangerous. People know it—there are stories. They try not to think about it, to block it out. But it is no use, like trying to fall back asleep after a nightmare. The thought lingers each time they go near the edge of the water. What might lurk below the surface? Any person who approaches the bank’s edge does so cautiously, deliberately. Before stepping in, they first throw rocks—many rocks, for a full minute—in a wide swath across the murky water before them. Was that movement? Did something slither away? Ripples? Bubbles? Anything?
“I just saw a splash in the water. All of a sudden I was hit down and I heard the hippo.”
This is the daily ritual for thousands of people along the Athi River in Kenya. For some, it’s the only water source they have. For others, there are alternative options but at a distance or cost that is prohibitive. Some local governments have piped water to villages, but those systems wear down or just stop working. Without consistent water closeby, people reluctantly trudge to the Athi, knowing they need the lifegiving resource it carries but understanding that the river could contain dangerous crocodiles and hippopotami. Both are in the top five of Africa’s most deadly animals lists. Just knowing they could be out there haunts the people who are forced to put themselves at risk each day.
For Mwangangi Muthuku, a father and grandfather in the village of Kanyungu, this nightmare became reality. “I just saw a splash in the water. All of a sudden I was hit down and I heard the hippo.” In a flash, the hippopotamus had Mwangangi in its grasp. He fought the behemoth mammal for as long as he could, until he lost consciousness when he was tossed against the rocks. When he awoke, he was in a hospital, missing most of his teeth, and one leg below the knee. “There is [always] a threat, but we couldn’t imagine that I could be a victim of such attacks. We know that there could be dangers. The hippos are there roaming, the crocodiles. But I couldn’t have ever imagined that someday I could be a victim of the same.”
What started as a daily chore of collecting water ended in a life-altering accident for Mwangangi, leaving him disabled. “My life changed because now I cannot be able to work for my family,” he explains. “I cannot be able to work for my children. I can only depend on assistance. If I do not have the crutches, I cannot take myself even to a short call or a long call. I just became grounded and that is it. My life took a different turn, a negative one.”
Despite this traumatic event and the pain it caused the Muthukus, without other options for water, Mwangangi’s family continued to get water from the Athi River. Four years later, another attack. This time, Mwangangi’s wife was the victim, grabbed by a crocodile, her arms
mangled in the struggle. Now, it’s the children and grandchildren who make the daily journey to the river.
This situation plays out from village to village. According to water.org, in a population of 54 million, an estimated 15 million Kenyans do not have access to clean water. This need for water drives people to put themselves in dangerous predicaments each day. But even without those menaces, the same foundational problems for communities without water are present—it is a time suck, taking hours out of each day that prevents residents from other productive endeavors like school or enterprise. The collected water may not always be clean, resulting in sickness. To buy water is a huge strain, and for many an impossibility, like families who support themselves as subsistence farmers. Children and parents are separated for large chunks of the day, due to the chore of collecting water. And all of these issues are compounded by recent drought.
“When I see these ladies walking with their jerry cans or scooping in the sand for water, I feel a deep piercing pain in my heart,” says Maranatha’s country director in Kenya, Anu Kedas. “I wake up in the morning and drink a glass of clean water, without worrying; these ladies struggle and worry for that one glass of water, which is muddy. My heart cries out for them, thinking, ‘Lord thank you for my blessings, but how can I be of help?’"
Maranatha has been working to alleviate the
problem of water in Kenya since 2016 when a donor provided a well-drilling rig. Our crew travels with the rig and support vehicles around the country in search of water in villages, large and small. Over that time we’ve provided clean water for more than 235 communities across the country. In 2022, our team also started to provide repairs and maintenance at wells we previously drilled, providing service at 129 wells so far. Each new well changes life for the better for hundreds of people. This includes the village of Kanyungu. Not only does it mean better health, but improved safety. No more treacherous trips to the river’s edge. No more looking over a shoulder to make sure predators are at bay. It’s a new chapter for so many, made possible by Maranatha donors.
When people give to water well drilling, they might envision images of a new handpump and clean water coming out of the spout may come to mind, and for good reason. But just as important as the new water source, is the old routine, the old hazards, the old nightmares, expelled for good. For the people of the Athi River in Kenya, breaking free of these former phantoms is just as liberating as their new life with clean water.
Watch the story! maranatha.org/kenyawater or scan QR code.
DANGER IN THE WATER:
1 Mwangangi Muthuku's daughter and grandchildren approach the Athi River to collect water.
2 Both Mwangangi and his wife were victims of animal attacks in this same river.
3 Each trip to fetch water has the potential for an animal encounter.
HOW YOU’VE Helped
DIMAKGRE, INDIA
BEFORE The Dimakgre Adventist Church met in a tiny grass hut, filled with holes–not the best structure for one of the world’s wettest regions.
A look at how your support is making a real difference for communities around the world.
AFTER But donors like you gave this congregation in India a beautiful new building that’s spacious and watertight.
LEAVING YOUR Legacy
“I've never been a high energy person, able to do all kinds of stuff for other people. Most of my life it was all I could do to take care of myself and my kids,” remarked 80 year old Lorraine. “I was raised without having much money, and we lived in not very nice places throughout my childhood.”
It wasn’t until her sixties that Lorraine finally raised enough money to live a modestly comfortable life, and she wanted to help others do the same. “It was having my own little house that prompted me to [give],” she explained. “I was so grateful. So that was how I could show God how grateful.” Lorraine began donating what she could to Maranatha’s church construction in 2007. “I just wanted other people to have someplace nice … to go to church.”
But sometimes she feels guilty that she can’t do more. “I feel like I don't do enough for God’s people.”
When these feelings come, Lorraine remembers the Bible verse on a thank you card she received from Maranatha.
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’” Matthew 25:40 (KJV)
“I have the letter in [my nightstand] drawer,” said Lorraine. “It was so encouraging to find that … my donations count as doing it unto the Lord,” she recalled. “Maybe all those years I had been helping people for God.”
PROJECTS THAT NEED YOUR HELP
Thank you for your generous support in 2024! Your donations have made a big difference, but we urgently need help with church funding! Please make a taxdeductible gift in support of church construction before the end of the year.
THE $10 CHURCH
The $10 Church program asks people to give just $10 a month. The combined $10 donations go towards the completion of urgently needed churches. If you aren’t already, please start giving to the $10 Church!
ONE-DAY CHURCHES
The One Day Church provides strong church frames and roofs for remote congregations, where traditional construction is difficult. Please consider donating for this program. You can give any amount. Sponsor a share for $1,500, or sponsor an entire structure starting at $7,500 (total cost varies by project).
CHURCHES
This year, we urgently need more support for church projects, and one way you can help is to give to churches in general. Make a donation of any amount to help us complete these important construction projects or call to ask about sponsoring an entire church. In India, full sponsorship of a church starts at $30,000. In other areas, costs will vary by project.
Give online at maranatha.org/donate or call (916) 774-7700 to speak to a representative.
IN 2024
Here’s where Maranatha is working this year. BRAZIL
CHURCHES
SCHOOLS WATER WELLS CAMPS
ZAMBIA
PROJECT Calendar
Anyone can join a Maranatha mission trip! Check out our upcoming opportunities here or go to maranatha.org for the most updated list.
February 2025 India Project INDIA Vickie Wiedmann
Feb. 20 - Mar. 3, 2025 Dominican Republic Project DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Stacy and Laura Peterson Church construction
Feb. 23 - Mar. 7, 2025 Nosoca Pines Ranch Project SOUTH CAROLINA, USA Susan and David Woods Camp renovations
Mar. 13 - 25, 2025 Multiple Group Project INDIA Loretta Spivey School construction
April 2025 Cuba Project CUBA John Thomas
Apr. 20 - May 1, 2025 Camp Yavapines Project ARIZONA, USA
Carolyn Houghton, Charley Chavez Construction
Apr. 24 - May 8, 2025 Dakota Adventist Academy Project NORTH DAKOTA USA TBD Dorm renovations
Apr. 27 - May 4, 2025 Camp MiVoden Project IDAHO, USA Doug and Melody Wheeler Camp renovations
May 11 - 25, 2025 Andrews University Project MICHIGAN, USA Jon Harvey, Ron and Nancy Davis Dorm renovations
May 25 - Jun. 8, 2025 Andrews University Project MICHIGAN, USA
Jun. 11 - 24, 2025 Kenya Project KENYA
Jun. 19 - 29, 2025 Family Project
Jul. 24 - Aug. 4, 2025 Ultimate Workout PARAGUAY
Jun. 22 Jul. 2, 2025 Upper AcademyColumbia Project WASHINGTON USA Cathie Clark, Jon Yarlott Construction
October 2025 Brazil Project BRAZIL Loretta Spivey Church construction
Go to maranatha.org to see all the volunteer opportunities being offered, including full projects and mission trips being coordinated by church or school groups.
Thank You FOR SERVING
The following Group Project Teams served during the months of October through December.
Insight Team | Brazil
CUSCO, PERU
Like all of the congregations that Maranatha helps, Los Jardines Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cusco, Peru, had a subpar church building. Their structure was held together by mud, grass, and logs. It’s a combination that could work for some locations, but Los Jardines is located in an area that is prone to earthquakes–roughly 105 earthquakes a year! Most of these shakes aren’t strong enough to destroy most structures, but
Los Jardines was vulnerable due to its shoddy construction and age. Church members knew it was only a matter of time before their building would collapse. It was more than 30 years old and unsafe. They needed a new church . Thankfully, Maranatha stepped in to help. This past summer, Maranatha crews put up a steel frame, and shortly after, volunteers with the Spring Meadows Seventhday Adventist Church, from Florida,
arrived to build up the block walls. The 31 volunteers also coordinated medical and vision clinics, during which they treated more than 300 patients and organized a Vacation Bible School program.
Today, thanks to generous donors and volunteers, Los Jardines has a new church in which to worship. It is beautiful. Bright. And most important, it is a safe place for them to worship and grow the work of spreading the gospel.
Photos by Maranatha staff
990 Reserve Drive, Suite 100
Roseville, CA 95678
Sponsor a One-Day Church
Your donations have allowed Maranatha to build more than 6,400 One-Day Churches in places where traditional construction is near impossible!
Thank you for providing thousands of congregations with a safe place to worship. Now, help us to keep responding to requests for help.
• Sponsor a One-Day Church, starting at $7,500
• Sponsor a share for $1,500
• Give any amount to this important program
maranatha.org/oneday
Travel into the mission field and see how God is leading ordinary people to make an extraordinary difference in communities around the world with our television program, Maranatha Mission Stories.
HOW TO WATCH
BROADCAST CHANNELS (All times PT)
3ABN Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Hope Channel Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
ON DEMAND
The Maranatha Channel App
Watch current and archived episodes and other videos on demand. Download for Apple, Android, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
watch.maranatha.org
View all episodes online at Maranatha’s video website. Find segments by using our “Search” function.
