The Volunteer Winter 2018

THE

WINTER 2018

A Publication of Maranatha Volunteers International

Disaster in Dominica

The tragic impact of Hurricane Maria and how YOU can help

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

DOMINICA P4

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BOLIVIA PROJECT P10

Kiirua, Kenya

Photo by David Lopez

After years of eating outdoors, the students of Kiirua Seventh‑day Adventist School will finally eat their meals in a spacious new dining hall. In February, Maranatha volunteers built a cafeteria and kitchen on the Kiirua campus. The new space is a great improvement from kids having to sit under trees or on rocks and exposed to the extreme heat, cold, or rain. The new kitchen is also a huge upgrade. Prior, the staff had to prepare food in a tiny room over an open fire. There was a broken vent, and the smoke was toxic. Now, the cooks have a larger space and new stoves with proper ventilation.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dominica Devastation

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n 1979, hurricane david brought devastation

throughout the Caribbean, and as a result, Maranatha became very involved in the countries of Dominican Republic and Dominica. Over the years, hundreds of projects have been completed, thousands of volunteers have served in those two countries, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church has experienced positive growth.

In September 2017, an even more powerful hurricane, by the name of Maria, hit the Caribbean. While Dominican Republic did not experience major damage, the small, mountainous island of Dominica was devastated by the storm. The country was nearly destroyed.

Maranatha is not primarily a disaster response organization, but we are a responsive ministry serving the Adventist Church around the world. Soon after Hurricane Maria hit, I received a call from Israel Leito, president of the Adventist Church in Inter-America, which includes Central America, the Caribbean, and sections of South America. He asked us to consider ways to help with hurricane relief. Several of us met with church leaders in Miami and set a course to assist with buildings and encouragement for church members in Dominica. Although other areas had need, including Puerto Rico, it was determined that the place with the greatest need and fewest resources was Dominica.

So, what should we do? It was very clear that they need help. As we usually do at Maranatha, we agreed to launch a project by faith, pray that people join with us, and then get started. The Maranatha Board of Directors approved an initial scope to include four churches and a community service building. The new building requirements in Dominica require a very high wind load structural design, and everything has to be shipped in. However, we have already begun manufacturing the structural system for several buildings at our plant in Panama.

A generous donor has stepped forward with a matching gift of $100,000 that will be available as long as other generous hearts are willing to come up with another $100,000 to help us get started. We already have several volunteer groups that are interested in helping despite the fact that our housing options were greatly compromised by Maria.

The Adventist Church in Dominica needs to know, during this difficult time, that their fellow church members around the world care about them and that they are not alone. This terrible tragedy can also be an opportunity for the church in Dominica to come to the aid of their friends and neighbors and show them hope, as well as bring them in contact with a loving God. We are hoping and praying that you will join Maranatha in responding to the people of Dominica.

Don Noble, president

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Disaster in

Dominica

B y Julie Z. Lee

On September 18, 2017, Hurricane Maria crashed into Dominica and devastated everything in her path. Here’s the story of what happened, what’s next, and how you can help.

Photo by Leonel Macias

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he thought they were going to die.

Darnelle Celestine and her husband were standing against the remaining walls of their home. Their young daughters huddled against them, cowering as the rain beat down on their heads and the water rose to their ankles. They listened in terror as the ferocious winds of Hurricane Maria screamed through their island and tore their house apart.

“The wind kept battering the house. And the roof eventually was lost to the wind, and the ceiling started imploding,” recalls Celestine.

“Then the back, the walls started falling down and the hurricane came into the house.”

Debris began to swirl inside. Celestine watched as things slammed against each other and the walls and circled through the structure.

The children started to whimper. They were cold, drenched, and exhausted. Celestine knew what was left of her house would not last, so she and her husband sketched out a plan. Across the street, there was a hospital, and it was probably their best chance of survival. However, they had to get the timing right. Running blindly into a hurricane with flying objects was a form of suicide. Celestine and her husband waited until there was a lull in the storm.

“There was still a lot of wind and rain, but we had no choice. We figured it would be the only time that we would have to leave the house. So, we ran, and we prayed. We trusted God would get us to the hospital,” says Celestine, who is a teacher at Arthur Waldron Academy, Dominica’s only Seventh-day Adventist secondary school.

Normally, the walk from the house to the hospital takes minutes. But that night, Celestine says the distance felt interminable.

“It was dark. We had the lights from our phones. There was so much debris in the yard, and we had to climb over the gate because we couldn’t open it. There was also a 40-foot

Pictured on left: Beryl Seventh-day Adventist Church

container that had been moved. We had to navigate through that debris on the ground and around us.”

Finally, the family made it to the hospital and rushed through the doors. They were safe at last, and they stayed there until the storm subsided. The sun rose on a new day—and a new Dominica.

WORST NIGHT OF THEIR LIVES

The weekend before Maria pummeled the island, people were warned about a coming storm. They entered the weekend believing that a category 2 hurricane was headed their way.

Later, it was upgraded to a category 5—the highest level for a hurricane and a way to predict potential disaster, but it was still just a number to the inexperienced. After all, what was a five?

How could anyone have truly understood the monstrosity of such a storm?

The wind started on the evening of Monday, September 18, 2017. After that, it never stopped.

Hurricane Maria sat on Dominica, gaining power as it moved slowly across the mountainous terrain. The storm howled. It screamed. It was the sound of torrential rain and 160 miles-per-hour winds, tearing the country to shreds. The storm snapped trees in half and yanked them from the earth. It pounded little houses, crumbling stucco, shattering windows, and blasting off doors.

Metal roofs peeled back, like a pull-top on a can of soup, then ripped through the dark sky—a tangled sheet of shrapnel—before landing on

POWERFUL WIND: A shipping container, twisted during the storm, lies in an empty parking lot across the street from the shipping yard where it originally stood.

Photos by Julie Z. Lee

SURVIVOR: After losing everything in the storm, Darnelle Celestine is living in a school dorm at the Arthur Waldron Academy while teaching. Her family has resettled in Barbados; they will possibly return when Dominica is more stable.

houses, cars, trees, rivers, and oceans.

People endured this for hours, tucked in the safest space they could find. People said they screamed. Cried.

Sang songs. Others sat in silence.

Most prayed.

In the morning, Dominicans crawled out from their shelters to a different kind of trouble. The destruction was formidable. The island, which was blanketed by green foliage just hours before, was naked and brown. Entire buildings had blown away. Roads were impassable from the debris and mud.

The electricity was out.

Celestine remembers wandering her neighborhood the next day.

“Well, first we went back to the house, and it was just terrible,” says Celestine. “We had stuff from the house on the road and in the yard. We had clothes in the rafters. Everything was just…the walls of our room had fallen on our beds. The beds were flattened.”

Her voice drops off and her eyes look

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downward as she pauses.

“It was terrible.”

LIFE AFTER MARIA

In the days and weeks following Hurricane Maria, aid organizations sent food, water, cleaning supplies, and tarps. With nothing left on the island, everything had to be shipped or flown in. Crews and volunteers began the herculean task of clearing tree trunks and trash. People patched their homes or resettled with family and friends.

In time, when some of the immediate needs were met, leaders began examining how to rebuild.

This included the reconstruction of Seventh-day Adventist Churches.

“The hurricane has dealt us a tremendous blow. We have 34 congregations on the island. We also have four schools. Twenty-eight of our churches have been destroyed, either lost their roof completely or have been completely flattened and destroyed

by the hurricane,” says Felix Jack, the ministerial secretary for the Adventist Church in the east Caribbean.

When an entire nation has been flattened by natural disaster, the state of church buildings may seem a secondary or even tertiary concern. However, Adventist leaders saw that people need community.

“We realized there was a great need to bring the membership together. We needed them to come together for prayer.

We needed them to come together to show solidarity and to show support,” says Jack. “We devised a strategy in finding places—alternative places—for the church family to meet and to be with each other. In some places, we had to organize the churches in cell groups or in the homes of individuals so that they can have this sense of spirituality and camaraderie and solidarity with each other.”

Everyone knew the solution was temporary. Ultimately, Dominica needed to rebuild the churches, and they needed help. So, in November 2017, the Adventist Church in Inter-America, which represents Central America, the Caribbean, and sections of South America, asked Maranatha for help in areas impacted by Hurricanes Irma (which passed through the Caribbean in August) and Maria.

“There is a great need for reconstruction on islands like Dominica, Barbuda, St. Maarten, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and we want to bring Maranatha in to see how far they can help us in rebuilding properties and schools,” said Israel Leito, president of the Adventist Church in Inter-America.

After the meeting and an initial visit

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to the islands, Maranatha committed to help Dominica, which is among the hardest hit areas. This will be the second time Maranatha assists in reconstruction efforts in Dominica. In the 1980s, Maranatha helped to rebuild schools and homes after Hurricane David, a deadly storm, wrecked the country in 1979.

Nearly four decades later, Maranatha is coming back. In December 2017 and January 2018, Maranatha went to Dominica to assess the devastation and map out a plan.

“Our churches in Dominica have been pillars within the society, within the community. We have been serving the community—providing a place of refuge, a place of worship, a place where people can fellowship. A place where we can minister to our society.

So not having the churches in these communities will be a great loss and a great travesty,” says Jack.

the building, including audio-visual equipment. Ultimately, the building was compromised, and it must be torn down.

Fifty people gather in the remaining basement each week, where water seeps through the ceiling and drips on the members during worship.

In the west, the Tarreau church was obliterated. What remains is a red slab.

The congregation now worships under a canopy. In the south, the Boetica church lost two walls and all their pews.

The small congregation has dispersed to homes for worship. In the east, the Carib Territory church is without a roof, windows, or doors. Currently, the group meets in a borrowed space, but Lester Joseph, pastor of Carib Territory, hopes it won’t be for long.

“It’s definitely very important to have a church. This is where people find relief, especially now…this is where people find encouragement to go on. Even right after

the hurricane, this was the first church in the district that started up again right after the storm,” says Joseph. “We fixed it up by putting tarp over the church, but we’ve been having a lot of rain and wind, so we’ve had to move to a health center. We don’t have money to repair the church, and we’re hoping that God shows favor on us.”

Stories like this are plentiful, but at this point Maranatha cannot help them all. However, if the situation is a good fit for what Maranatha can offer, the work will start this year. Already, a volunteer group is scheduled to work on the Beryl church in May, and other teams are lining up to help.

JESUS IS THE HOPE

In the last two years, Dominica has been going through a time of tribulation due to weather-related disasters. In August 2015, tropical storm Erica

HOMELESS CONGREGATIONS

Months after Hurricane Maria, most of Dominica is still without power. The streets are cleared of debris, but there are plenty of rock slides and collapsed roads.

People have organized piles of twisted metal to be picked up for recycling.

Almost every home is covered with blue tarp because new roofs are difficult to come by.

As for the churches, people are making do with what they have. In the case of the Beryl congregation, this means squeezing into the pastor’s home. Since the hurricane, about 70 people have been cramming into the local pastor’s living and dining rooms. Chairs flow into the kitchen, the hallways, and out the front and back doors. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s the only option they have. The Beryl Church, built in 1988, is gone. It sat atop a hilltop on the northeastern side of Dominica, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Its beautiful location left it vulnerable to the savage winds, and three out of the four concrete walls toppled over in the night.

Further north is the Woodford Hill community. Their church lost its roof, and rain ruined everything in

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NEVER SURRENDER: Patricia Honore stands in the middle of her church, which was destroyed by the hurricane. She says that although times are tough, she will never give up as “God will be there for His people.”

FLATTENED: The Tarreau church lost everything in the storm, and all that remains is the foundation. Now, they meet under a canopy for worship each week.

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dumped an estimated 33-inches of water on land that was already saturated from previous rains. Subsequently, Dominica suffered catastrophic flooding and mudslides. Multiple people were killed. Until Maria, it was considered Dominica’s worst natural disaster in decades.

Now, Dominica faces another threat. Hurricane season, which starts in June, is looming. Many families and congregations won’t have their structures repaired by then, and the fear is causing some people to give up. Locals say thousands of people have left Dominica to live somewhere else. People have given up on the country.

Some Adventists that Maranatha spoke with have a different take. They, too, suffered loss, but they cling to a greater hope found in Jesus.

Patricia Honore is a member of the Woodford Hill church. On the night of the hurricane, she and her family were hiding in a storeroom under her house.

It had no door, only a tarp. They were battered by rain and wind, and Patricia spent the terrifying night gripping a wooden beam and shielding her small grandchildren from the storm.

“Had it not been for prayer— because I prayed all night. I’ve never prayed so hard in my life, honestly,” says Honore. “We survived that night

because the mercies of God.” “Dominica suffered a real, real hard blow from this hurricane and a lot of people have left because of trauma, because of shock. Because you don’t know what to do, where else to turn,” says Honore. “We are still in a state of shock. But we are just hoping that we can get strength from God so that we can continue. Because Dominica now is not a comfortable place to be [unless] you have a relationship with Jesus.”

A big part of that relationship is built and strengthened in her church family.

On Sabbath, Honore can be found leading Sabbath School and speaking at the pulpit. She says the members check on each other when they are discouraged or sick. The congregation also takes time to reach out to their community, sharing literature and praying with their neighbors. Even in hard times, Honore says “the church always cooperates in whatever it is that we have to do.”

Honore is hopeful that Maranatha will be able to rebuild Woodford Hill.

She is praying that her own home, which was damaged during the storm, will be fixed, although she has no income. No matter what, she says she is grateful for life and God’s mercy.

“The times that we are living in are disastrous times. Jesus Christ said the last days will be perilous. There will be

storms, there will be earthquakes, there will be all kinds of things that happen,” says Honore. “But when we see these things, these are the times we need to look up. We need not be discouraged.

We need not give up.”

“God is going to be there for his people,” says Honore. “I just want to encourage everyone that no matter what you are going through, keep trusting in God. He knows what is best, and He will come through at the right time.”

Celestine is counting on this very promise.

On the first morning after the hurricane, when Celestine saw what was left of her house, she knew she had to find a safe place for her family. They gathered what they could from the remains of their home, then started walking. All around, they saw such devastation and sorrow.

People were standing in rubble, not knowing what to do.

Celestine didn’t know what to do either. Dominica was a disaster zone, and it will take months to repair. She, along with thousands of others, were homeless. She and her husband guided their daughters through the broken streets, and ended up at the one place they knew would always be home.

Their church. It was still standing. •

FREEMAN MEMORIAL FUND

Photo by Julie Z. Lee

DRIPPING CEILING: The members of Woodford Hill meet in the basement of their damaged church. The structure seeps water through the ceiling and drips onto the people below.

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Friends and family of John and Ida Mae Freeman are invited to make a donation to the Freeman Memorial Fund, which will go toward the reconstruction of the Beryl Adventist Church. The church will be rebuilt and dedicated in their memory. To make a gift use the envelope insert, donate online at www.maranatha.org, send a check to Maranatha, or call (916) 774-7700.

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Volunteer Loses Life in Tragic Accident

By Julie Z. Lee

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ragedy struck a maranatha

mission trip when a volunteer suffered fatal injuries in Costa Rica. Ken Lauren, a volunteer from Snoqualmie, Washington, was serving on a project as a member of the Seniors in Action for God in Excellence (SAGE) team, when he fell from a ladder and struck his head.

He died 15 days later, on January 26. He was 71 years old.

“We are heavy-hearted by Ken’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family,” said Don Noble, president of Maranatha Volunteers International. “In times like this, we continue to place our hope in the very promise that Ken was sharing on this mission trip: Maranatha, Lord come.”

The accident occured on January 11, while Lauren was painting the Bribri Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is not clear what precipitated the fall, but Lauren sustained severe head injuries and was taken by paramedics to the local hospital. He was later transferred to a larger hospital in San Jose, where he underwent surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma to facilitate recovery. On January 24, he was flown to a hospital in Seattle, Washington, near his home. He died at the hospital, less than 48 hours after his arrival.

“This whole trial has been difficult, but God has not left us alone, and we know that,” said Jenny Bollinger, Lauren’s daughter. “I’m holding onto the fact that God will work all of this out for the best for us all!”

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Lauren was a retired family practice physician. At Maranatha’s 2004 convention in Gladstone, Oregon, Lauren shared his testimony of how he was led to Maranatha and back to the Adventist Church.

“I think I represent a significant number of people who had left the Adventist Church and were really loved back into the Adventist Church through the love of Maranatha,” said Lauren, during his presentation.

Lauren said he had been cynical about Adventism. Then in 2000, someone invited Lauren and his wife Linda on a Maranatha mission trip to Nepal. The couple was intrigued by the idea of travel and adventure, and they registered for the project.

“I went for a strictly selfish reason.

I thought it’d be a great way to see an exotic country,” said Lauren.

But it turned out to be no ordinary vacation. As Lauren worked with his fellow volunteers, his perspective started to change.

“I began to really see people for who they were. They were ambassadors for Christ. They were loving Christians. It really opened my eyes to the Adventist experience,” he said. When the project came to a close, Lauren told his wife that the mission trip was “probably the closest experience to heaven that I’ve ever had.”

Since then, Lauren and his wife have been on nearly a dozen projects with Maranatha; they have also served on

LOVE OF MISSIONS: Ken Lauren went on multiple projects with Maranatha and other organizations. He was passionate about missions, and his family says that he died doing what he loved: serving others.

mission trips with other organizations.

Lauren and Linda, who was also on the mission trip in Costa Rica, were active members of SAGE, an Adventist ministry focused on providing fellowship and service opportunities for seniors.

SAGE has coordinated more than 20 projects through Maranatha. This year’s group was focused on painting multiple churches, constructing One-Day Churches, and coordinating a variety of outreach in the southeastern part of Costa Rica. •

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Photos by Tom Lloyd

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Volunteers Build First Maranatha Church in Bolivia

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volu n t e e r s

traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia, to build a new church for the Chimba Seventh-day Adventist congregation.

This group has been in existence for more than a decade, but they have never had a permanent place of worship.

Over the years, the Chimba congregation has worked hard to grow their membership. They have had three evangelism campaigns, each of which brought in up to 100 people. But the bump in numbers were challenged by the lack of a church building. The congregation had to move several times, and each transfer of location resulted in another dip in attendance.

Finally, after their last move, the Chimba congregation made a pact to raise enough funds to purchase land.

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After much sacrifice and hard work on the part of all the members, Chimba bought a piece of property. However, there was no money left to build a church.

Despite this, the group has been working hard at sharing God’s love with the community. They began offering children’s programs, family counseling, healthy cooking classes, and more.

Then in 2017, they received word that Maranatha Volunteers International would be working in Bolivia, and Chimba was selected to receive a church.

Today, the Chimba congregation is grateful for their new home. They are looking forward to the many ways they can use the church to support and expand their outreach programs. •

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1 WATERLOGGED: Volunteers had to battle a wet and muddy job site as Cochabamba was pummeled with torrential rain. Yet the determined volunteers completed the walls of the church in time for Sabbath!

2 EYE CLINIC: Roxanne Whitmire helps patients get fitted with eyeglasses.

During the week, volunteers organized eye clinics in four different locations, visiting with hundreds of patients.

3 CLEAR VISION: A man tries out his new glasses at the volunteer-organized eye clinic. Volunteers brought hundreds of pairs of donated glasses for the outreach activity.

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4 LAYING BLOCK: Kimberly Miracle helps build the wall of the Chimba church.

She was among the 23 participants of Maranatha’s first volunteer project in Bolivia!

5 CHILDREN’S OUTREACH: Ann Cash helps a young girl with her art project at Vacation Bible School. The program was one of the many activities that volunteers coordinated during the project.

6 HAPPY SABBATH: On the last Sabbath of the mission trip, volunteers joined the Chimba congregation for worship in their new church. This space will be a blessing for the members and the surrounding community.

7 GOD’S SERVANTS: The hard-working team of volunteers who built the Chimba church in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

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Maranatha Convention

Photo by Tom Lloyd

Jean Thomas, from Burleson, Texas, shares the story of her family’s history in Kenya at the 2017 Mission: Maranatha event. Thomas and her husband, Fred, were missionaries in Kenya in the 1950s.

At the time, the Maasai tribe in the Kisii region was very resistant to the Gospel being shared in their lands.

So when she returned to Kenya on a mission trip with Maranatha in 2017, she was shocked to discover that there were many Seventh-day Adventists among the Maasai in Kisii. She says, “I am over-awed at what God has and is still doing in that part of Africa... I was told by one official in Kisii that one in every four people in Kisii country is an Adventist.”

NEWS

Maranatha on Apple TV

The Maranatha Channel is available for free download on the App Store on Apple TV.* Now you can watch episodes, on demand, of Maranatha Mission Stories and other video clips about our mission through Apple TV. In addition, Maranatha has channels on YouTube, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV. You can also watch our programs and videos on our website at maranatha.org.

Apple TV is a device that connects to your internet service and instantly streams television programs, movies, music, and games to your television. *Not available on Apple TV devices produced before 2015

Four Wells Funded on #GivingTuesday In a whirlwind of donations that came in on November 28, this year’s #GivingTuesday raised a total of $40,000 for water wells in Zimbabwe, including a $10,000 matching gift from a Maranatha supporter. This will provide enough to drill four wells, potentially impacting 2,000 people.

“These gifts will go a long way in helping the water crisis in Zimbabwe. Four more villages will now have access to clean water. A

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lot of lives will be changed, thanks to the generosity of everyone who gave on Giving Tuesday,” says Karen Godfrey, vice president of advancement. “God has blessed us with a great community of supporters.”

Maranatha’s first major water well effort took place in Mozambique.

More than ten years ago, while constructing churches and schools in the country, Maranatha was made aware of the need for water.

They partnered with Adventist Development and Relief Agency to drill more than 700 wells over a period of three years.

In Zimbabwe, Maranatha drilled 26 wells in 2017. In 2018, Maranatha’s water program will expand into Zambia and Kenya.

There are an estimated 345 million people in Africa without access to clean water, with the majority of the need in sub-Saharan Africa.

The #GivingTuesday movement was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to escalating consumerism following the Thanksgiving holiday. The event, which takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, encourages people to make a donation to their favorite charity.

The online movement is largely promoted through social media.

Last year, #GivingTuesday raised $168 million in charitable donations for organizations worldwide.

Volunteers Serve in Canada

Eighteen volunteers, ranging in age from 13 to 77 years old, assisted with renovations at Camp Frenda, a Seventh-day Adventist youth camp and retreat center in Ontario, Canada. For two weeks, the team painted the interior of six cabins.

They also clad part of an open-air barn, built a boat house, and helped with general maintenance on the camp property.

Camp Frenda is located in the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario, Canada. Each summer, the camp serves nearly 600 kids. According to leaders, forty percent of the young participants come from foster homes or troubled backgrounds, and they are sent by the province of Ontario. The program has been a wonderful ministry for at-risk kids, providing fun, adventure, and an opportunity to learn about Jesus.

Camp Frenda was one of 27 mission projects in North America in 2017. Requests for assistance on construction and renovation projects in the United States and Canada have increased, along with interest in volunteering in North America.

Learn more about how your organization can benefit from Maranatha’s North American Project Assistance program by calling (916) 774-7700.

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES You can serve on a mission trip with Maranatha! From construction to cooking to outreach, there are many ways to help, and no experience is necessary. Simply look through the opportunities listed below or visit our Volunteer Opportunities page at www.maranatha.org. For more information, email us at volunteer@maranatha.org or call (916) 774-7700.

NORTH AMERICA PROJECTS College Place Spanish Adventist Church Project WASHINGTON, USA

Leadership: Marti Hartnell, Leroy Kelm April 17 - May 8, 2018

Blue Mountain Academy Project PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Leadership: Betty Beattie, Ed Burgan April 18 - May 2, 2018

Camp Yavapines Project ARIZONA, USA

Leadership: Carolyn Houghton, Arthur Finch April 22 - May 2, 2018

Redwood Area Camp Project CALIFORNIA, USA

Chadron Adventist Church Project NEBRASKA, USA

Leadership: Sadie Torrez, Kelly Rogers July 15 - August 3, 2018

Union Springs Academy Project NEW YORK, USA

Leadership: Barbara Mayes, Bill Boyd July 15 - 22, 2018

Mills Spring Ranch Project WYOMING, USA Leadership: Betty Beattie, David Schwinn July 30 - August 9, 2018

Big Lake Youth Camp Project OREGON, USA Leadership: Cathie Clark September 5 - 19, 2018

Leadership: Richard Dederer, Ostap Dzyndra May 4 - 13, 2018

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Laurel Lake Camp Project PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Dominica Project BERYL, DOMINICA

Leadership: Betty Beattie, Fred Ashmore May 6 - 22, 2018

Glacier View Ranch Project COLORADO, USA Leadership: Sadie Torrez, David Schwinn May 7 - 22, 2018

Camp Hope Project BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Leadership: Merrill Zachary, Jim Trana May 9 - 24, 2018

Big Lake Youth Camp Project OREGON, USA

Leadership: Dwain and Nellie Ferguson May 31 - June 10, 2018

Kenya Project KIUTINE, KENYA

Leadership: Loretta Spivey, Mark Washington June 14 - 28, 2018

Family Project: Bolivia COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA

Leadership: Steve Case, Bob Holmes June 21 - July 1, 2018

Young Adult Project KIUTINE, KENYA

Leadership: Angela Boothby, Leadership: Cathie Clark, Kelly Rogers Andrew Marsh June 3 - 17, 2018 July 4 - 18, 2018

The Dalles Adventist Church Project OREGON, USA

Leadership: Leroy Kelm June 5 - 26, 2018

Camp Whitesand Project SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA

Leadership: David and Susan Woods June 11 - 21, 2018

Ultimate Workout 28: USA NEW YORK, USA

Leadership: Rebekah Shephard June 21 - July 1, 2018

São Tomé Project SÃO TOMÉ, SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE Leadership: Sheena Smith, John Harvey July 5 - 14, 2018

Ultimate Workout 28: Bolivia ENTRE RIOS, BOLIVIA

Leadership: David Lopez, Dan Klein Jr. July 18 - 29, 2018

Kenya Project KIUTINE, KENYA

Leadership: Vickie and Bernie Wiedmann July 25 - August 8, 2018

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Create a Project!

If you are interested in taking a team on a mission trip, let Maranatha guide you through the process! We’ll help you set a budget, find a site and accommodations, organize your team, and provide in-country support from our staff. For groups ranging from 5 - 105, call for a consult, and we’ll help every step of the way.

For more information, call (916) 774-7700 or email leaders@maranatha.org

Thanks for Serving!

The following Group Project Teams are serving during the months of January/February/March:

BOLIVIA

Amazing Grace Academy Team — Alaska Palisades Christian Academy Team — Washington

COSTA RICA

SAGE Team — Washington

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Columbia Adventist Academy Team — Washington

GUYANA

Oklahoma Conference Team — Oklahoma Arizona Conference Team — Arizona

KENYA

West Houston Adventist Church Team — Texas Highland View Academy Team — Maryland Grand Rapids Adventist Academy Team — Michigan

PANAMA

Lake Union ASI Team — Michigan Chisholm Trail Academy Team — Texas Burton Adventist Academy/Arlington Adventist Church — Texas Bermuda Institute Team — Bermuda *Volunteer opportunities open to the general public will now be listed as “Projects” instead of “Open Teams.” Please note the naming change has not yet been made to all projects listed on the website.

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THE MISSION SCENE

Dominica After losing the majority of their churches to Hurricane Maria in 2017, the Seventh-day Adventist church in Dominica has asked for Maranatha’s help in rebuilding their churches.

Starting in 2018, we’ ll be fundraising for these projects and mobilizing volunteers to construct places of worship on the island.

ABOUT DOMINICA • • • • •

Area: 290 square miles Capital: Roseau Population: 73,000 Religion: Roman Catholic 61.4%, Protestant 28.6%, 10% other Official language: English

HURRICANE MARIA BY THE NUMBERS • • • •

28 out of 34 Adventist churches damaged or destroyed 95% of all buildings on island damaged or destroyed 31 people confirmed dead 160+ mph sustained winds

DID YOU KNOW? •

The entire island is about the size of the city of Austin, Texas?

•

There are 9 active volcanoes on the island

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ADVENTIST HISTORY

7,000 Membership:

Adventist message arrived on island in

1904

MARANATHA REBUILT STRUCTURES IN THE 1980s AFTER HURRICANE DAVID DEVASTATED DOMINICA.

Non-Profit U.S. Postage

PAID

Roseville, CA Permit No. 111

990 Reserve Drive, Suite 100 Roseville, CA 95678

SAVE THE DATE!

About Maranatha Maranatha spreads the Gospel throughout the world as it builds people through the construction of urgently needed buildings.

All notices of change of address should be sent to the Maranatha Volunteers International United States address.

SEPTEMBER 21-22, 2018 Trinity Life Center 5225 Hillsdale Blvd | Sacramento, CA

Everyone is invited to our annual convention, where we’ll share incredible stories of faith and service in the mission field.

Featuring performances

by Wintley Phipps

United States Headquarters: Maranatha Volunteers International 990 Reserve Drive Suite 100 Roseville, CA 95678 Phone: (916) 774-7700 Fax: (916) 774-7701 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 Join Our Community maranatha.org/facebook @gomaranatha

More information at maranatha.org/missionmaranatha ON THE COVER: The remains of Beryl Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dominica, which was crushed by Hurricane Maria on September 18, 2017. Photo by Kyle Fiess

Julie Z. Lee, Editor Heather Bergren, Designer