The Volunteer Issue 2 2022

the

VOLUNTEER A Publication of Maranatha Volunteers International

THE LIFE CHANGING GIFT OF WATER

How you’re bringing clean water to India

I S SU E 2, 2022

PRESCOTT, ARIZONA Volunteers at the Camp Yavapines Project put up a handmade cross at the entrance of the camp and retreat center. The cross was hand hewn by volunteers, using logs that were felled on the property during the last Maranatha project at Yavapines. The piece replaces an old cross that had dry rot at the base.

More than 60 volunteers showed up in April to help with a number of major renovation

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projects, including reroofing the dining hall and book center on campus. They also renovated a kitchen in the caretaker’s home, remodeled a bathhouse for the campers, painted a number of building interior and exteriors, built bookshelves and decking, and helped with landscaping.

VOLUNTEER Julie Z. Lee Editor Heather Bergren Managing Editor/Designer Dustin Comm Writer

UNITED STATES HEADQUARTERS: 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.

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

About the Cover: People from a village in Manipur, India, gleefully try out their new water source, provided by generous Maranatha donors.

Photo by Dustin Comm Photo by Ted Burciu

SHARING THE

Mission

STAFF MEETINGS THAT INSPIRE

By Don Noble

If you were to attend our weekly Maranatha staff meeting, you may be amazed and inspired by the impact of the many projects taking place around the world and the miracles that clearly show God’s direct hand in Maranatha.

We hear reports from our country directors with stories of success and challenge along with requests for prayer. Updates are shared on the number of wells drilled during the past week, along with the status of church and school construction. It is inspiring to see pictures that may be only minutes or hours old of village groups rejoicing that fresh water will now be available for them, congregations thrilled with their new church, children in brand new classrooms, and volunteers experiencing the joy of service. Each week is a new and inspiring mission story.

Another one of my favorite aspects of our meetings is the reports on water wells being drilled. The results in terms of water for the people and their animals is inspiring. Seventh-day Adventist Church membership also grows in the areas where the wells are

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drilled, especially when we drill near a church that we have just built. We hear reports from the church leaders in the many areas where wells are being drilled, and the excitement and rejoicing is quite amazing to all of us.

Every week we also get reports on the many volunteers who are participating on Maranatha projects.

It is especially impactful for us to see so many volunteers once again being involved in service, now that COVID-19 is subsiding.

Often we have a report about a project that took place many years ago and we get to hear how God has blessed a school or a church, as well as the growth and impact from those projects. As we look back and see how God was certainly leading in the past, we gain confidence that He is leading today also.

An example of a place where God is leading is the Dominican Republic.

Our Board of Directors has approved another major effort for this Caribbean country. Maranatha has worked in that beautiful country many times, and it is a wonderful place for volunteers to

participate in the joy of mission service, not too distant from home. Our staff is excited about working together for the Dominican Republic projects that always result in major growth for the Adventist Church.

Most importantly, we are reminded in our weekly staff meetings that God’s wonderful plan for the redemption of people in this world is designed to have significant results in terms of changed lives. The window that God gives us into His big plan is very inspirational.

It is my hope and prayer that you will internalize some of the spirit that these staff meetings give us as you read this edition of the The Volunteer. And, if you can possibly join us at our September 17, 2022, Mission: Maranatha convention in Sacramento, California, you can hear these inspiring stories firsthand.

We hope to see you there.

—Don Noble is the president of Maranatha Volunteers International

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AROUND THE

World

A snapshot of volunteers and projects in the mission field.

INDIA Members of the Kummari Kottalu Seventh-day Adventist Church in India gather around their new Maranatha water well pump cover.

UNITED STATES Maranatha hosted its first in-person event in two years during a mini-convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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PERU Palisades Christian Academy volunteers served in Peru, building up the walls of the Villa Jesus Seventh-day Adventist Church. www.maranatha.org

ZAMBIA The community surrounding the Pandwa Seventh-day Adventist Church rejoices at a new Maranatha water well.

PERU Volunteers from the Chehalis Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington worked to build the walls of the 7 de Junio congregation.

BRAZIL Church members pose in front of a new community tap station at the Juçaral Seventh‑day Adventist Church, which provides clean water to the entire community for free.

CÔTE D’IVOIRE The Aguibri congregation has a new One-Day Church, one of the final buildings completed in Maranatha’s effort in this country.

INDIA The Behiang T Seventh-day Adventist Church celebrates their new church, replacing an old structure that was riddled with termite damage. www.maranatha.org

INDIA A large Elementary Education Center rises on the campus of the Raymond Memorial Higher Secondary School in the town of Falakata.

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News + H I G H L I G H T S

BACK TO THE DR: Members of a church in the Dominican Republic, where Maranatha will be starting another church-construction effort this year.

RETURNING TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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n late 2022, Maranatha will begin working in the Dominican Republic to provide urgently-needed churches in this Caribbean country. The commitment is in response to a request from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in southeastern Dominican Republic.

This will be the fifth time Maranatha has worked in this country. In 1980, after the destruction of Hurricane David, Maranatha constructed 160 houses here. In 1992, the Dominican Republic was the site of a watershed moment of growth for Maranatha, when the organization coordinated the construction of 25 churches over a three-month period. Dubbed “Santo Domingo ’92,” it was the first time

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Maranatha concentrated on one place for multiple volunteer projects. Later efforts occured in 2003 and 2013, and now Maranatha returns once more.

Each time Maranatha adds infrastructure to the Adventist Church here, officials report tremendous growth, which spurs future requests.

Four decades ago, the membership of this part of the country was at 27,000 people. Today, that number has increased to 380,000. Maranatha is in the process of establishing its incountry team, and volunteer projects are already on the calendar, with more to follow in the coming months.

“Because of the relatively close access of the Dominican Republic to the United States, it is an easy and

relatively inexpensive place to have a great mission experience,” said Maranatha President Don Noble. “The Church in the Dominican Republic appears to be at another point where many new churches will cause them to experience greater growth, and even more people will hear about salvation through Jesus. Our hope and desire is that many volunteers and donors will get involved in the upcoming Maranatha mission opportunities in this wonderful country.”

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NIANGON ADVENTIST SCHOOL KEYS HANDED OVER

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fter several years of building churches and schools, and drilling water wells across the African nation of Côte d’Ivoire, Maranatha is wrapping up its work in this country. One of the highlight projects that recently came to completion was the brand new campus for the Niangon Adventist Secondary School. In February, in a ceremony attended by officials of the Seventhday Adventist Church in West Central Africa, Maranatha leadership handed over the keys to the campus.

Complete with seven classrooms, two science labs, bathrooms, and administrative offices, Niangon is now well-equipped to spread God’s love in a mostly non-Christian area. Enrollment is expected to be high, as Adventist

education has a great reputation in Côte d’Ivoire, and it will be the only high school in the area.

“We were glad to finish and provide potential for growth for the Adventist Church in a community where the majority of people are not Christian,” said Maranatha’s country director for Côte d’Ivoire, Gilberto Araujo. “The Church enjoys a great educational reputation in the country— we are sure that over the next two years, the school will be full, and the Church will be able to reach out to the community with what we consider one of the best tools to grow the Church in Côte d’Ivoire.”

In 2019, Maranatha began working in Côte d’Ivoire (also known as Ivory

Coast) to provide churches and schools in the country. The commitment was in response to a request from the Adventist Church in West Central Africa. Maranatha first focused on projects in Abidjan, the country’s largest city and headquarters for the Adventist Church in West Central Africa, before moving into outlying areas. In November 2020, Maranatha launched a water program in Côte d’Ivoire, drilling wells at Adventist churches.

MARANATHA LAUNCHES WELL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM IN ZAMBIA

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his month, Maranatha kicked off a well maintenance program in Zambia to ensure that communities, where Maranatha has provided a well, will continue to have access to clean and safe water.

“With a proactive well maintenance program in place, families can continue receiving clean water from our wells,” says David Woods, Maranatha’s country director in Zambia. “If the well fails, they end up returning to the distant, dirty, and sometimes dangerous sources they used before Maranatha came to their village.”

For the past month, a newly formed maintenance team has been traveling throughout the country to visit Maranatha wellsites, starting with the www.maranatha.org

oldest ones drilled in 2019. The crew checks on the well and makes repairs or replaces parts as needed. Well recipients are also provided a maintenance number, which they can use to report a problem and receive assistance from Maranatha.

The crew travels with a truck and crane system, and it is loaded with camping gear for the team to sleep and all the necessary tools and spare parts for more than 60 well repairs. While the maintenance is focused primarily on Maranatha-sponsored wells, the crew also repairs any broken well they may come across in their work, free of cost. Studies have shown that anywhere from 40-60% of water wells drilled in

Africa are inoperable at any one time due to the lack of proper or regular maintenance.

In 2021, the organization launched a well maintenance program in India and Kenya; Zambia is the latest addition to the list. Maintenance costs are funded by donors and the Wellspring program, which asks people to make a monthly commitment, in any amount, to the construction and maintenance of water wells.

Maranatha has drilled nearly 500 water wells in Zambia and more than 1,500 worldwide.

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THE LONG

Wait

A story of determination, heartbreak, and faith in La Tinguiña, Peru.

By Julie Z. Lee

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t the site of the La Tinguiña Adventist School, in Peru, construction is almost complete. Gray blocks, stuffed with mortar, stack up toward the sky, outlining classrooms, laboratories, offices, and bathrooms. Under the steel roof, Maranatha crew members smooth plaster onto the walls to ready the building for paint.

And in the center of the building, which will one day serve as an auditorium for the school and a church for the local Seventh-day Adventist congregation, Eusebia Garamendi sits in a wooden chair, waiting to tell the story of La Tinguiña–a story of determination, heartbreak, suspense, and ultimately faith.

“Nothing is impossible for God. God

In 1969, Garamendi’s family moved to the town of La Tinguiña, in southern Peru. Her parents were Adventist, but with no church in the area they traveled to the neighboring city of Ica for worship every Sabbath. The commute was a hassle, but Garamendi’s mother made sure it was productive beyond the act of getting to church.

“Every Saturday, on our way home from church, my mom insisted on visiting families. We would walk and visit families, and watch for their needs,” remembers Garamendi.

Through this informal research, Garamendi’s mother set up a food pantry in La Tinguiña. Sixty families began coming around to receive food and help. Soon, the outreach expanded to include knitting and cooking

touches hearts.

God will do something.”

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Eusebia Garamendi in the new La Tinguiña Seventh-day Adventist school. Her mother helped to establish the Adventist church in town in 1969. As the congregation grew, their dream was to also build a school in the community, and Arango is grateful to Maranatha for providing one.

Photo by Julie Lee

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“My Lord, if you say this temple must be demolished, we’ll demolish it because I know you’ll build a better one.”

classes for the mothers, Bible studies, then a children’s program on Sabbath afternoons. They first met in the Garamendi family’s home, but as the activities gained momentum, they began looking for a plot of land where they could build a permanent place of worship. What could have been a long and discouraging search for property ended up with what was essentially a miracle.

“My dad used to work for the government, and he was friends with the mayor of La Tinguiña. The mayor felt the food program was so helpful that he told the church that we could have the land we are on now,” says Garamendi.

“Back then it was more land–it was the entire block.”

With property in place, the congregation began buying materials to build a little church with a grass roof, a sanctuary, and a bathroom. Membership climbed and they planted six other groups in the area.

By the 1980s, the members began dreaming of a school in the area. Working with church leadership, they drew up plans for a primary and secondary school, and even a new church.

“They broke ground, the mission came, and we did a big ceremony,” says Garamendi. “But then the money was used for something else and the project failed. They did nothing but the ceremony.”

From there, things began to go downhill. With no documentation on the land donation, town leadership began giving pieces of the property away in bits and pieces. The church built a fence to try and designate property lines, but at one point they almost lost everything. Then came an earthquake in 2006 that damaged sections of town and a few of the church’s classrooms. The food pantry closed along the way, and after so many years of outreach and dreaming of bigger things, La Tinguiña had taken a step backwards in progress.

But Garamendi remained hopeful. “Nothing is impossible for God. God touches hearts. God will do something. This place isn’t ours. It’s God’s. He will do the best for this place, and he knows what must be done here.”

In 2019, Maranatha responded to a request from the Adventist Church in Peru to build churches and schools. This would be Maranatha’s second major effort in the country, with the first being from 2004-2006, during which more than 3,000 volunteers came through Peru to build 100 churches and some

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schools. That effort resulted in a growth in membership and a need for more churches.

“A church is alive if it grows, and we’re certain that growth doesn’t only mean baptism.

To us, growth means more churches, “says Fari Choque, executive secretary of the Adventist Church in Peru. “That’s why Maranatha is a strategic partner, a strategic ally to fulfill this mission. We need to keep building more churches.”

The initial plan involved the construction of several churches on the outskirts of Lima and a school in La Tinguiña. While there was an established Adventist school in Ica–the adjacent city, it was quite small in physical size and already full. It was long past time to build another school in the area, as there were plenty of Adventist families to support it. Regional Adventist leadership submitted a proposal to top church leadership in Peru and Maranatha, and the plan was accepted.

The local membership was ecstatic–it was a dream come true and a prayer answered! But there was a catch: they would have to tear down their sanctuary to make room for the expansive new school building.

“When they said, ‘Demolish the church,’ I asked, ‘Why? … I wondered ‘What for? Where are we going to go? Summer is coming. It’s so hot out here. What’s going to happen?’” remembers Garamendi.

Aracelly Alvarez has been a member of the La Tinguiña church since she was a teenager.

She came to the classes offered by Garamendi’s www.maranatha.org

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mother and was baptized at 21. She met her husband at church and got married there, along with her son. Her children and grandchildren attend the church.

“All of us were really sad, because we worked on it really hard every Sunday. It wasn’t built by a company, we built it on our own. I spent my life there,” says Alvarez.

Maranatha told the congregation that once the EEC was complete, the building could double as a large church. So they accepted the agreement and began the process of demolition.

“As its walls fell down, our tears fell down,” says Alvarez. “We were sad because of what we had lived through there, but we were happy, too, for what was coming,” says Alvarez.

“I felt so sad, I cried because I remembered all the effort and all the things we had gone through–all the problems we overcame to build that temple where we worshiped God. As I saw it fall down, I felt my life was falling down too,” says Garamendi. “I shook my head and said, ‘No. I think I’m being a little stubborn here; I don’t understand God’s will. My Lord, if you say this temple must be demolished, we’ll demolish it because I know you’ll build a better one.”

The La Tinguiña church had taken years to build, but the entire thing came down in a couple days. They built a temporary shelter, out of wooden poles and black tarp, as a place to meet while the school was being built.

Then, in March 2020, just as the first volunteers started putting up walls, COVID came. Volunteers scrambled to leave the

BUILDING FAITH:

1 The La Tinguiña school will have multiple classrooms, an office, bathrooms, and a central auditorium with a stage and baptistery.

2 After demolishing their original church, the congregation set up a temporary space to worship while waiting for their new building.

3 Manuel Martinez and Aracelly Alvarez met at the La Tinguiña church when they were teenagers. They have been members ever since, and their children are also members at the church.

PHOTOS: MARANATHA

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country, businesses shuttered, people went under strict lockdown. The construction site emptied of any activity, leaving 120 heartbroken members in its wake.

Just a few months prior, La Tinguiña had been meeting in a church while praying for a school. Now, they had neither a church nor a school. They had no idea of when they would–when Maranatha would return.

If ever.

“There is now a place that we have always wanted. A place where we could gather people and teach them the Lord’s message.”

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For the first few months of Peru’s lockdown in 2020, Maranatha’s crew sat stuck in an apartment they were renting, just across the street from the La Tinguiña property. Every morning, they peered out the window, looking wistfully at the job site, wishing they could mix cement and complete another wall–anything to keep the mission in motion.

In time, that day came, when a few workers could scurry across the road to make some progress on the school. It wasn’t fast work but it was steady. In the meantime, the members of La Tinguiña remained isolated from each other, worshiping from home as they did many decades ago.

Out of all the countries where Maranatha was working, Peru had the tightest lockdown on its people, closing borders, restricting movement in public, and prohibiting any sort of gatherings, including schools and churches. But its efforts weren’t enough to stop the loss of more than 200,000 lives out of a population of 33 million; Peru became the country with the highest rate of COVID deaths in the world. It wasn’t until mid 2021 that small teams of volunteers began returning to Peru. Three groups trickled in between June and November–all to work at La Tinguiña.

“When I saw the first volunteers that showed up, I shed some tears of joy.

I wasn’t sad anymore,” says Garamendi. “To think that young people from all ages come here and leave their comfortable homes, their cities… I thanked God. I was happy.”

By 2022, there were nearly 300 volunteers scheduled to serve in Peru. In February and March, La Tinguiña welcomed two teams. Five more teams are working in other parts of the country to build churches for congregations that have been waiting for more than two years for Maranatha to return. Even more www.maranatha.org

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groups are scheduled for 2023.

As for La Tinguiña, a final volunteer team will come to paint the school later this year. The new building has six classrooms, a computer and science lab, bathrooms, offices, and a large central auditorium with a platform and baptistry.

“This place will be the center of many meetings of brothers and sisters because this is one of the biggest churches that the mission has,” says Derly Huanca, education director for the Adventist church in central southern Peru.

He says it will be the main location for large gatherings and meetings in the region. “Here, our brothers and sisters will get together. Here we’ll celebrate the victories that God grants us sometimes.”

Local families are already knocking at the figurative door, eager to get their kids enrolled.

But, they’ll have to wait until next year for the school to open. Until then, the building is already being put to good use. The congregation is already using the main auditorium space for Sabbath worship. Currently, they are holding Vacation Bible School programs in the afternoon, and evangelism meetings in the evenings.

“I think the school will help to develop the church. The church will grow here. More kids will come on Sabbath,” says Huanca. “And this place will give people hope.”

That part is already happening. After nearly three years of emotional ups and downs and so many more years of waiting, the members www.maranatha.org

are filled with joy and hope for the possibilities of what this new school will bring to the community.

“This school isn’t just for our kids, who will learn some things for life, but also kids from the outside will learn about God. That’s the nicest part, because through the kids we’ll reach so many families that need to find God,” says Elizabeth Canales, a member and teacher. “I just can’t wait for the opening day.”

As for Garamendi, she is grateful for her parents’ dream of a school finally coming true.

It is a dream that started nearly 40 years ago, when her mother was working tirelessly and cheerfully to share the Gospel with everyone around her. The school standing before her now was a testament to her mother’s faith.

“If she were here to see this work, I know she would shed some tears and thank God, because in this place–where we’ve put so much effort and hard work–there is now a place that we have always wanted. A place where we could gather people and teach them the Lord’s message,” says Garamendi. “What can I say? It encourages me to be grateful toward the Lord.”

HISTORY OF FAITH:

1 Martinez and Alvarez got married in the original La Tinguiña church.

2 Alvarez was baptized into the Adventist Church when she was 21 years old after worshiping with the La Tinguiña group.

3 The congregation in one of the earliest phases of the original La Tinguiña church building, which the members constructed by hand.

4 Today, the school building isn’t finished but members are already using it for outreach, such as Vacation Bible School and evangelism meetings.

PHOTOS: MARANATHA

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PIPE DREAM COME TRUE

How Maranatha overcame punishing mountain roads in India that prevented water drilling, by coming up with a new solution.

By Dustin Comm

D “Oh, the ride on these roads, it’s not easy. Even if you wear a seatbelt, you just get thrown off from your seat.”

rilling water wells has become one of the pillars of Maranatha’s work around the world. From Africa to South America, we’ve drilled wells in some of the most difficult places on earth. Locations like Ileret, Kenya, where our crew spent five days traveling from the capital city of Nairobi through the desert to the Ethiopian border. Or in the barren desert of northeastern Brazil, which has experienced severe drought over the past decade.

In 2021, we even drilled in the Peruvian Amazon jungle.

Whether by using the traditional large drilling rig or a small machine, one way or another, we’re usually able to find a way to drill a hole into the earth that will hopefully provide clean water. Sometimes it is our own Maranatha crew doing the work, and other times it’s more efficient to partner with local contractors to drill.

On the Asian subcontinent of India, we recently came across a new problem in the mountainous northeastern state of Manipur: contractors refused work because of the rough roads. In Manipur, villages dot mountain peaks at high elevations, and the only way to reach them is over extremely rocky, sometimes impassable, dirt roads that punish each vehicle that dares to creep up their slopes. If it rains, forget about even trying to make it up the slippery, muddy passageways.

Alice Danla is a volunteer specialist with Maranatha in India who has been managing the drilling efforts in Manipur. She personally rides these roads each week and knows how hard it is on vehicles and the human body. “Oh, the ride on these roads, it’s not easy,” said Danla. “Even if you wear a seatbelt, you just get thrown off from your seat.”

1 One of the worst drives Danla experienced was on the way to a village called Taosang. Although the final stretch is only 15 kilometers, it takes two and a half hours of driving.

The narrow, steep road contains large rocks, huge ruts, and inclines that make traction difficult, even for four-wheel drive pickup trucks. If another vehicle approaches, there are no turnouts or enough room to do a three-point turn.

Someone has to drive a long way backwards in reverse.

All of these factors led Maranatha’s contractors in India to decline the job at Taosang. Maranatha even increased the amount of compensation to account for the additional challenges, but the company wasn’t willing to risk it. And yet, the people of Taosang still needed water in their village.

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For years, residents hiked up a steep mountain path to a spring half a mile away. The trail is covered in slippery rocks, and going downhill with a heavy load on the way home, the potential for injuries is high. If a fall occurs, one must climb back up the mountain to refill the spilled container. It is a time-consuming, physically taxing tension that they have had to learn to live with.

“There are some ladies who have been fetching water down the hill for ages,” said Danla. “They have knee problems, they have back problems.

And then since they carry their bamboo basket behind their back with a strap that [pulls] on their head, they have different kinds of pain [because of that method].”

What to do when a village needs clean water, but a well is not possible? Maranatha’s country director in India, Vinish Wilson, started to think outside the box. He wondered whether they could tap into the mountain spring and deliver the pure water to the village directly via a pipeline. But it would be expensive—the only way to keep it within the budget would be to ask the villagers to do the manual labor required. They agreed, and soon Maranatha was loading rolls of piping into an old Russian military truck to make the trek out to Taosang.

In the meantime, the villagers began to dig a trench from the source of the spring all the way down to the Seventh-day Adventist church, half a mile below. It is back-breaking work that can take up to five days, but the people were motivated at the prospect of no longer having to make such a long and dangerous walk each day.

At the source, Maranatha workers constructed a holding tank for the spring water to accumulate, which would provide good pressure for the water to flow through pipes to the village. Maranatha crew members also constructed a holding tank and tap next to the Adventist church. Once everything was connected, they opened the tap and water came gushing out of the pipes, to the delight of all the people.

“It’s a life changing thing for them to get this,” said Danla. “This will enhance their life, their cleanliness. It gives more time for the mothers to do their chores and it will help the children to be more clean. It will also help them to have clean drinking water that will be healthy for them.”

Although it wasn’t the typical water solution Maranatha provides, this pipeline was a dream come true for the residents of Taosang. No more long hikes up the steep mountain terrain, no www.maranatha.org

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more injuries from falls on slippery stones, and accessible water close at hand, whenever they need it.

This was the first pipeline Maranatha attempted anywhere in the world, but it was so successful that a total of eight pipelines will be installed in Manipur, either because of rough roads or a low water table at such high elevations.

As with other places around the world where Maranatha provides water at a local Adventist church, there is increased interest in a church that gives away water for free. This is already happening in Manipur, and Maranatha is committed to continuing to make these dreams come true, no matter the medium.

“Being able to be of help to others, and seeing them being satisfied, their happiness is also my happiness,” said Danla. “Their beaming face of satisfaction makes me feel satisfied as well, and I feel blessed to be part of that.”

LIFE-GIVING PIPELINE:

1 Church members enlarge a section of primitive road to allow a truck carrying piping to pass up the steep mountain grade.

2 For days, church members dug trenches up the mountain from the village to the source of the spring.

3 Villagers rejoice that they no longer must hike up the mountain multiple times each day to collect water, allowing more time for other important activities.

PHOTOS: (1) MARANATHA STAFF (2-3) DUSTIN COMM

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REBUILDING LEONI MEADOWS

After a wildfire ravaged part of the California camp, Maranatha joined in the efforts to rebuild and reopen the property.

By Julie Z. Lee

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ix months after the Caldor Fire ripped through its property, Leoni Meadows Camp and Retreat Center, in Northern California, is getting back on its feet with the help of 141 friends. From April 7 to 21, Maranatha Volunteers International held a mission project at the camp to help with recovery and reconstruction efforts.

“It’s nuts. I mean, I made a list of like 4-5,000 things for them to do, and Maranatha got here and about one day into it, they wanted to know if there were more jobs to do because they had already pretty much gotten the ones I had given them,” says Craig Heinrich, executive director of Leoni Meadows.

Heinrich may have been exaggerating about the 4,000 item list, but the 141 volunteers who came through camp did accomplish a long list of tasks, such as clearing debris, splitting felled trees, repairing the railroad track, rebuilding the amphitheater, and constructing decks, pump houses, and sheds.

At the main lodge, which suffered smoke damage, volunteers installed new vanities, painted all the rooms, cleaned walls and windows, cleaned furniture, and washed linens–an estimated 130 loads of laundry.

While most of the volunteers came from California, there were several from out of state and from as far away as Tennessee. The project also welcomed groups from the Redding Seventh-day Adventist Church and Capitol City Seventh-day Adventist Church, both from California. Monterey Bay Academy brought 54 students and staff to help over a weekend.

For volunteer Ron Gaudrealt, from Grass

“Maranatha had the people power to put us back in the running for ministry at camp.”

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Valley, California, the work was personal.

“My grandkids went to camp here. One of my daughters went to camp here… I’ve come to men’s retreats so it holds just a very special place in our hearts,” he says. “So when we heard that this project was happening, we had to sign up.”

But returning to Leoni to start the work wasn’t easy. As Gadrealt drove into the place that held so many special memories for his family, he got emotional surveying the damage. “I had a hard time fighting back tears and it’s still hard because of the utter destruction. It was just unbelievable,” he says.

The Caldor Fire started on the evening of August 14, 2021, and over the next 67 days burned 221,835 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures. The starting point of the fire was only about four miles south of Grizzly Flats, the community where Leoni Meadows is located.

The camp evacuated fairly early on as the fire approached the edges, eventually burning through 900 acres of the 960-acre property. Miraculously, not everything was lost; many buildings remained standing with some to no damage. It would take a great deal of work to clean and restore the property and rebuild, but it was not unsurmountable. And now, thanks to the work of Maranatha volunteers and other groups who have come through to help, Heinrich says they are expecting the camp to open for the summer season.

“This project came together because Maranatha has the skill set to bring volunteers in and do really profitable, very appropriate projects at camp. We can’t have camp without certain things running, and so much of that needed to be rebuilt in order for us to have camp,” says Heinrich. “I knew that Maranatha, A, had the expertise, but B, they had the people power to put us back in the running for ministry at camp.” www.maranatha.org

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OUT OF THE ASHES:

1 A little rain can’t stop these cheerful folks, from their demo work on an old deck, which was rebuilt by volunteers.

2 A crew repairs the railroad track of the beloved Leoni Meadows train.

3 The laundry team was busy washing 130 loads of smoke infused laundry.

4 After being closed for several months, the landscaping needed refreshing, and the volunteers were happy to help.

PHOTOS: EDWARD JENSEN

The Advent of a Church Home Photos by Marlon Alboria

NAIROBI, KENYA On April 30, 2022, approximately 550 people attended the dedication ceremony for the Advent Hope Seventh-day Adventist Church, constructed through the generous support of Maranatha donors. The new sanctuary will serve a membership that lives near the headquarters of the Adventist Church in East-Central Africa. For the past two and a half years, the congregation was meeting in a tent. Adventist leadership in East-Central Africa approached Maranatha and requested a place of worship for the group.

Maranatha agreed to design and construct a sanctuary that could accommodate the 400-member congregation.

The Advent Hope church seats more than 400 people, and the project included a baptistry, pews, sound system, and extensive landscaping. “This new space allows the congregation to have a great place to invite friends and neighbors to, and you know they will have a good experience,” says Don Noble, president of Maranatha. “This new church is very representative of Adventism, and I know the members are excited and motivated to share the Gospel in the community.”

Maranatha has been working in Kenya since 2016, building One-Day Churches, schools, and drilling water wells. More than 650 structures have been completed so far.

HOW YOU’VE

Helped

A look at how your support is making a real difference for communities around the world.

LAGOA DO PRADO , BRAZIL

BEFORE Like many places in the dry northeast of Brazil, if members of the Lagoa do Prado Seventh-day Adventist Church needed water, even for a baptism, they’d have to order an expensive delivery from a truck.

LEAVING YOUR

AFTER Since Maranatha drilled a water well next to the Lagoa do Prado Church, they can fill up their baptismal tank whenever they need, and the entire community can collect clean water, free of charge.

Legacy

About 15 years ago, Lorraine Ueeck of Delta Junction, Alaska, saw three-dimensional picture art for the first time, and knew she had to learn how to do it. After attending a class, she began to create her own pictures by taking up to a dozen prints of the same painting, then cutting and shaping them into a new creation, resulting in new depth protruding up to three inches outward.

Lorraine is a longtime supporter of Maranatha—she first heard of Maranatha from her nephew, Maranatha veteran volunteer George Alder. She and her late husband, Kurt, served on several Maranatha mission trips, including Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Panama. So when she realized that people would pay hundreds of dollars or more for this artwork, she decided to donate some to Maranatha for water wells. For her, supporting the mission can be as easy as doing what you already love.

“Look around and see what you have, and what you can do with what you have,” says Lorraine. “Different people have

different talents and abilities, and some people don’t know they have it until they try.

What do you have in your hand? That is what the Bible says. Whatever you have in your hand…If you can bake, you can bake bread.

Moses had a staff in his hand and look what God did with it. God has blessed me so much, I don’t need to hoard the money I make from doing artwork.”

PROJECTS THAT NEED YOUR HELP

This year, Maranatha is working in 8 countries to provide churches, schools, and water wells to communities in need. Here are a few programs that urgently need your prayers and financial support.

PERU CHURCHES

Adventists in Peru are passionate about sharing the Gospel, and their work is resulting in a need for more churches! Maranatha has been busy responding to this need by constructing churches in the country.

Currently, we are building a frame, roof, and foundation in Peru, and then the local congregation will complete the walls, windows and doors. Many of these church projects still need funding. Please help us to assist as many congregations as we can by making a donation to this program.

RAYMOND MEMORIAL HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL (INDIA)

At the Raymond Memorial Higher Secondary School in Falakata, India, Maranatha is currently building on a new Elementary Education Center. This school was founded in 1949 and started with 31 kids. Today, there are about 1,400 students! The campus has long needed more space, and in 2012, Maranatha constructed three classroom buildings. Then, in 2021, Maranatha returned in response to a request for more buildings. The new structure will have a large central auditorium, multiple classrooms, offices, and bathrooms. We need about $150,000 more.

Donations of any amount will help!

LIUMBA HILL ADVENTIST SCHOOL (ZAMBIA)

Liumba Hill Adventist School, established in 1928, is located in a very remote part of western Zambia.

The difficulty of access to the school has made it challenging for them to receive assistance on various projects on campus. But in 2021, Maranatha began working on campus to provide much-needed classrooms and other structures on campus.

Currently, Maranatha is fulfilling a request to build a girls’ dormitory and bathroom. We are still fundraising for this project, and need to raise about $175,000. www.maranatha.org

Countries

I N 202 2

Here’s where Maranatha is working this year.

BRAZIL CUBA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC INDIA KENYA PERU UNITED STATES ZAMBIA

CHURCHES SCHOOLS WATER WELLS CAMPS

P R OJ ECT

Calendar

Check out our upcoming opportunities here or go to maranatha.org for the most updated list.

Please note, projects are subject to schedule adjustments due to restrictions or complications that may arise from COVID.

DATE

PROJECT NAME

PLACE

LEADERS

SCOPE

Jul. 3 - 10, 2022

Union Springs Academy Project

NEW YORK, USA

Evelyn Close

Renovations and painting

Jul. 12 - 26, 2022

Pine Tree Academy Project

MAINE, USA

Jeanice Riles, Ernie Riles

Construction, renovations

Jul. 10 - Aug. 30, 2022

Wyoming Dig Project

WYOMING, USA

David Woods

Framing

Jul. 24 - 31, 2022

Young Adult Project 2022

OREGON, USA

Angela and Kris Frauenfelder

Campus renovations

Jul. 28 - Aug. 11, 2022

Norridgewock Church and Riverview School Project

MAINE, USA

Jeanice Riles, Ernie Riles

Painting, renovations

Oct. 2 - 16, 2022

Uchee Pines Institute Project

ALABAMA, USA

Betty Beattie, Jeanice Riles, Glenn Fisher

Construction

Oct. 20 - 30, 2022

India Project

POLA, INDIA

George Carpenter, Jon Harvey

Construction, outreach

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 April through June.

KENYA Atlanta Mission Group Team | Georgia Modern Missionaries | USA

22 | THE VOLUNTEER I S S U E 2, 2022

www.maranatha.org

BETHSAIDA On January 8, 2022, a fierce storm passed through the city of Kasama in northeastern Zambia. The Bethsaida Seventh-day Adventist Church had just wrapped up its worship and lunch as dark clouds brewed overhead. People scattered, eager to get home before the deluge.

But some were forced to take refuge inside the church building.

The downpour soaked the

earth. High wind swept through, pushing hard against the building.

Unfortunately, the building was poorly constructed and made from low quality materials. The entire church collapsed, and the roof and walls crumbled onto the members inside. Five people, including an infant, died. Many more were injured, leaving them unable to work and provide for the family.

The Adventist Church in Zambia reached out to Maranatha for help.

Maranatha began plans to build a large church complex that will include seating for 500, six Sabbath School classrooms, and bathrooms.

The project costs $600,000, and thanks to a generous $300,000 matching gift and the donations of hundreds of people, Bethsaida will receive a new church!

Photos provided by Bethsaida

Non-Profit U.S. Postage

PAID

Rancho Cordova, CA Permit No. 361

990 Reserve Drive, Suite 100 Roseville, CA 95678

Annual Convention September 17, 2022 You’re invited to an Trinity Life Center 5225 Hillsdale Blvd. inspiring missions Sacramento, California event, celebrating the power of service and its impact around the world, featuring music by the Heritage Singers.

Lunch provided with free registration.

Register at maranatha.org/convention Also, watch online on The Maranatha Channel, 3ABN, and Hope Channel.

Check our website for details.

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 Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, 8:30 p.m.

ON DEMAND

The Maranatha Channel App Download our app at the App Store and Google Play. watch.maranatha.org View all episodes online at Maranatha’s video website. Find segments by using our “Search” function.

Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV Download The Maranatha Channel to watch all current and archived episodes and other videos on demand.

maranatha.org

|

916.774.7700

YouTube Go to www.youtube.com/missionstories to watch. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and automatically receive updates.