Maranatha Mission Stories

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: MMS

Program Code: MMS010153S


00:01 Hi, I'm Dustin Comm with the Maranatha Minute.
00:03 Maranatha recently dedicated its first two churches
00:06 in the West African nation of Cote d'Ivoire.
00:09 Both ceremonies attracted many in the community
00:11 as well as local news crews
00:13 who interviewed country director
00:14 Gilberto Araujo.
00:16 The day began
00:17 at Maranatha's first completed project
00:19 in the country,
00:20 the Anan Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:22 Here Adventist leadership expressed their gratitude
00:25 including the president of the Adventist Church
00:27 in West Central Africa.
00:31 Later, a ceremony took place at the Abbebroukoi Church
00:34 where the transformation of the property was so stunning
00:37 that members now want to add Eden
00:39 to the official church name.
00:41 Maranatha was presented
00:43 with a gift of a restless worker
00:44 for its commitment to the project,
00:46 even through a pandemic.
00:48 Get weekly updates from Cote d'Ivoire
00:50 and around the world
00:52 by subscribing to our email Maranatha Matters.
00:55 Go to maranatha.org/email to sign up.
01:39 Tucked into the conifer hills of Central Oregon
01:41 along the south Umpqua River
01:43 is what some say
01:44 is the most remote Seventh-day Adventist Academy
01:47 in North America,
01:49 Milo Adventist Academy.
01:51 This rural campus sits at the foothills
01:54 of the Southern Cascade Mountains.
01:56 There is no cell phone reception,
01:58 the internet is spotty,
01:59 and the nearest grocery store is about an hour's drive away.
02:04 But the lack of convenience has made up for
02:06 by the beauty of the location.
02:15 The secondary boarding school was established in 1954
02:19 and over the years more than 3,000 students
02:21 have walked through the halls,
02:22 lived in the dorms and graduated from the program.
02:27 But more than five decades of educating young people
02:29 has taken a toll on the physical campus,
02:32 which is why Randy Thornton,
02:33 Principal of Milo contacted Maranatha
02:36 more than four years ago.
02:39 I've been familiar,
02:41 been aware of Maranatha for decades,
02:44 growing up in Adventism,
02:46 and seeing the amazing work they've done for a long time.
02:49 And I got to admit,
02:50 I just saw an opportunity for Milo to be blessed
02:53 with a lot of volunteer labor.
02:55 We had a lot of things that we needed here.
02:58 The first year welcomed a group of high school students
03:01 on Ultimate Workout, a mission trip for teenagers.
03:04 The Milo project
03:06 was the first time Ultimate Workout
03:07 was held in the United States rather than overseas
03:10 and the experience made an impact on Randy.
03:14 The thing about Maranatha that has really captivated me,
03:19 I'm certainly grateful
03:20 for all of the incredible physical plant work
03:23 that gets done.
03:25 But your model of building people
03:28 and the way that I see people changed
03:31 in serving is just incredible.
03:34 And so that really yeah,
03:35 we keep on hoping
03:37 that we'll get a project every summer
03:41 because we got a lot of things
03:43 we'd like to accomplish for God's kids here at Milo.
03:48 Randy's hopes were fulfilled.
03:50 Maranatha renovation projects at Milo
03:52 have become almost an annual tradition.
03:54 But in 2020,
03:56 the streak was about to be broken
03:57 because of an unexpected threat called COVID-19.
04:01 By early March,
04:02 the novel Coronavirus had been declared a pandemic
04:05 and the US government
04:06 began to unroll a series of travel restrictions.
04:09 Most Maranatha projects had to be postponed for months.
04:13 But by early summer in the United States,
04:15 some areas were starting to open up
04:17 for carefully monitored activities
04:19 and volunteers were getting antsy to serve.
04:22 So when the annual Milo project
04:24 started creeping up on the calendar,
04:26 volunteers started knocking on the figurative door.
04:30 Leroy Callum is a longtime volunteer
04:33 and leader for Maranatha project.
04:35 Like the typical Maranatha volunteer,
04:37 he's one who can rarely sit still.
04:40 Well, I just know
04:41 that the where I can get the list of sounds man,
04:45 and it seemed like it grew and grew and grew
04:47 and people I've talked to said,
04:49 you know, I need to get out of the house
04:50 because I did call a few people and say,
04:52 "You know, what do you think?"
04:54 And they said, "Well, I'm getting bored.
04:56 I need to get on get doing something.
04:58 So let's get out and do it."
05:01 So most of people I think are really receptive
05:03 about getting out and let's get something done.
05:08 Ed Jensen is a Maranatha board member
05:10 and volunteer.
05:11 He has served as the project coordinator
05:13 for multiple Maranatha projects.
05:15 And he was slated to lead Milo.
05:19 I went on a project in February to Alabama.
05:22 And then I had three projects lined up in April and May.
05:26 But they were all,
05:28 those months are totally blocked out.
05:29 So June was the next month after April and May.
05:33 And I thought, well,
05:34 they'll probably block out June too,
05:36 because the outside statistics of COVID infections
05:40 and all were going a little crazy.
05:42 So I fully expected this when they never happened.
05:46 But then they never, nobody was saying no,
05:49 nobody was saying no.
05:51 After a thorough discussion with leadership,
05:53 site visits and research on Oregon guidelines,
05:56 Maranatha decided
05:57 to move forward with the project in faith
06:00 and with a long list of protocols
06:02 for safety and health.
06:03 Soon, there were 50 volunteers registered,
06:06 the maximum number of people allowed to gather
06:08 under COVID-19 rules for Douglas County
06:11 where Milo Academy is located.
06:14 Given its rural location
06:15 and low number of cases in the county,
06:17 Milo appeared to be an ideal site
06:19 for a first project during COVID.
06:22 As it looked through the volunteers,
06:23 he saw that a number of them were medical professionals,
06:26 quickly he began calling and asking them
06:28 to be part of a medical team for safety.
06:31 I was a nurse for over 30 years,
06:34 but I was an infection control nurse
06:35 for 25 years.
06:37 At first when Ed called me,
06:39 I thought about it for a minute.
06:41 And then I said, "Well, you know, Ed,
06:43 I've done this a long time,
06:45 doesn't take too long to get my brain back working."
06:48 So I said, he,
06:49 and I had worked with Ed before.
06:51 So I said, "Yes, I'll do it. I'll do it."
06:53 I just in asking questions
06:56 and discussing
07:01 with our project coordinator.
07:03 And the questions I was asking,
07:05 he became obvious that I'm a physician,
07:08 and that I had some background experience
07:10 with COVID and planning.
07:12 And so then I was asked to just kind of be
07:14 a meeting of the minds,
07:15 so to speak of a group working together
07:18 to come up with all of our different,
07:22 all of our different background information
07:24 to put together to see if we could come up
07:26 with the safest plan for everybody.
07:28 Arlene, Michelle and two more nurses,
07:30 Lori and Julie formed a medical team.
07:33 Together, they created a system of safety checks.
07:37 In the mornings, we take their temperature,
07:39 and they used hand sanitizer.
07:42 We do it again in the evening and do the hand sanitizer.
07:46 We recorded just that,
07:48 yes, they passed
07:49 not what was but just that they pass,
07:51 we want to have a trail
07:53 so that if Douglas County Health Department does show up,
07:56 we have proof that we are monitoring
07:58 and tracking everybody.
08:01 There's markers on the floor when they come in the door.
08:04 And we have our own hand sanitizer
08:07 separate from the one on the wall.
08:10 And then you'd go through line.
08:12 We keep our six feet away,
08:14 we wear masks and the tray line.
08:18 And then we cleaned the tables, chairs
08:22 after every meal.
08:24 One thing that I was really grateful for
08:26 is that that Ed Jensen in behalf of Maranatha
08:30 was number one concerned about our population, our kids.
08:36 And, but you know we've been all here together.
08:38 So again, we already know we don't have,
08:42 but as more people come on from outside,
08:45 he was very concerned
08:47 about making sure that we were safe,
08:49 and that we were comfortable.
08:50 And I was really grateful for that.
08:54 With the safety protocol in place and in practice,
08:57 volunteers could focus on the work.
09:00 It's a work that Milo is grateful for.
09:03 So the scope of the projects this year
09:04 is two house remodels.
09:07 Our oval that keeps the students dry
09:09 in the wintertime
09:10 from the wet rains is being refaced and resided
09:15 so that it's doesn't rot away and fall away on us.
09:18 So that's a big plus.
09:19 And there's a lot of renovating going on
09:22 in the girls' dorm rooms, painting, decorating,
09:24 refinishing cabinets
09:26 that are starting to look rough.
09:28 So we have like eight major buildings
09:30 on the campus over proper plus 13 acres we mow,
09:34 plus we have a 400 acre property,
09:36 plus a junior camp.
09:37 And we have one maintenance person
09:39 that takes care of all of that.
09:40 So the idea of the project's person
09:43 which is myself is to do the projects
09:45 that maintenance would never ever look at
09:47 because there's just not enough time
09:48 and hours in a day
09:50 because they're so busy
09:51 taking care of the rest of the campus.
09:54 We really want to thank Maranatha coming
09:56 because without them,
09:58 it would take us a lot longer to improve our campus
10:01 and every year we can see improvements
10:03 but it improves much faster and much better
10:07 with Maranatha's help for two weeks
10:09 because 50 people in two weeks
10:11 can do a lot more than one person can do
10:13 in 52 weeks.
10:15 Year by year,
10:16 the campus is changing for the better,
10:18 thanks to Maranatha volunteers.
10:20 With every project, the family of students,
10:22 faculty and staff gets stronger too
10:25 as they have the privilege of people
10:26 investing in their community.
10:29 But campus renovations aren't the only things
10:31 happening on these projects.
10:33 With each Maranatha mission trip,
10:35 another community is strengthened and built,
10:38 the volunteers.
10:40 I believe that it's important to maintain
10:43 some semblance of normality, even amid a pandemic, it's...
10:50 We need to, means don't go away
10:52 just because there's a pandemic,
10:54 and many projects have already been canceled.
10:57 So I think it's important to make a start somewhere
11:01 and get out there
11:03 and start maybe stretching God's promises
11:07 and calling on him to say,
11:11 Lord, we want to continue this organization
11:13 and continue our volunteering,
11:16 and go ahead and step out in faith
11:18 and do the work that you've called us to do.
11:23 When we come back
11:24 hear more about the unique community
11:26 found on North America projects
11:28 and how the experience is touching people's lives.
11:44 Although international travel is limited,
11:46 one place with no restrictions
11:48 is the country of Cote d'Ivoire.
11:50 Maranatha's December mission trip
11:51 to Cote d'Ivoire
11:53 has been on the calendar for some time,
11:54 and if volunteers are willing to go,
11:56 we'll see the project through if conditions allow.
12:00 Volunteers on this project will help construct buildings
12:02 at a brand new Adventist High School
12:04 in the town of Niangon.
12:06 The Niangon Seventh-day Adventist Church
12:08 has wanted to build a school for decades,
12:10 but never had the necessary funds.
12:13 With Adventist education being a top priority
12:15 for church leadership in Cote d'Ivoire,
12:17 Maranatha has agreed to build several classrooms
12:19 and laboratories for the Niangon School.
12:22 Their goal is to have space for nearly 400 students.
12:26 If you'd like to participate in this project,
12:28 please register at maranatha.org/volunteer.
12:33 This will give us an idea of interest as we move forward.
12:36 We are excited for volunteers to get back
12:39 into the international mission field
12:40 when the time is right.
12:43 It's unique, it's simple, it's affordable.
12:46 This is the One-Day Church,
12:48 Maranatha's worship solution in remote areas of Africa
12:52 for church families who have no church home.
12:55 A frame and a roof is the beginning,
12:57 local church members do the rest.
12:59 The One-Day Church starts at $7,500,
13:02 a price which can be divided into $1,500 shares.
13:06 Each share comes with a photo of the church
13:08 who helped build the One-Day Church,
13:11 a home for our church family.
13:24 Anyone can build a church.
13:26 Simply give just $10 each month,
13:29 and your donation,
13:30 along with thousands of others
13:32 will fund a new place of worship every month.
13:36 The potential for change is all around you.
13:39 All you have to do is look.
13:47 After a long spring season of sheltering in place
13:50 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
13:52 By summer, Americans were anxious
13:54 to jump back into life.
13:56 While most were eager for haircuts,
13:58 beaches and restaurants,
14:00 Maranatha volunteers were eager to serve.
14:03 Given the remaining restrictions
14:04 for international travel,
14:05 the best option for mission trips
14:07 was more local.
14:09 Each year, Maranatha organizes about 60 projects a year
14:13 mobilizing more than 2,200 volunteers
14:15 each year to countries around the world.
14:18 And almost half of these projects
14:19 take place in the United States or Canada,
14:23 called North America projects.
14:24 These mission trips are different
14:26 from the international ones
14:27 and that they do not require a participation fee.
14:30 Except for travel,
14:31 food and lodging are covered
14:33 in exchange for the volunteer service.
14:35 This arrangement has made it easier for people,
14:37 especially retired folks
14:39 to go on multiple projects a year.
14:42 Susie Fox is among these repeat volunteers
14:45 in North America.
14:46 I had retired early and so I decided,
14:49 I needed to do something for to keep busy.
14:54 And I did a few by myself
14:58 and then when my husband retired,
15:00 he really needed something to keep himself busy.
15:03 So we got involved with Maranatha in 2010.
15:08 And we've done anywhere
15:10 from three to six projects a year since then.
15:15 2020 was no different.
15:16 Susie and her husband Fred had planned to serve
15:19 on a number of Maranatha projects
15:20 in North America and one overseas
15:22 until COVID hit.
15:24 We were scheduled,
15:26 we were looking forward to going back to Paradise
15:27 because we had done that one in the fall.
15:29 And we were very disappointed.
15:32 Maranatha canceled,
15:35 outlined or basically postponed it.
15:37 And so we were hoping
15:40 they wouldn't postpone the Milo one.
15:42 Milo is special to us.
15:44 Both my husband and I,
15:45 because we went to school here
15:47 and we graduated a long, long time ago.
15:50 And it is been always a special,
15:57 soft spot in our heart for Milo.
16:00 We always tried to come and help them.
16:03 This year, it's...
16:05 We have about eight or nine of us
16:09 that are alumni
16:10 from our generation of attendees here at Milo
16:15 and we feel like that
16:17 had we not come to Milo
16:18 who knows where we would be today,
16:20 whether we'd still be in the church or,
16:23 so we feel like
16:24 Christians education is important.
16:27 But while this project is extraordinary
16:29 because of her personal connection
16:30 to the place,
16:32 Susie Fox says
16:33 each Maranatha project is personal
16:34 in how it creates belonging and a sense of purpose.
16:38 We do the projects because as time has gone on,
16:42 we have developed a family,
16:45 a lot of the same people came on the,
16:48 come on the projects, and we're just,
16:51 it's just our second family.
16:55 It keeps us busy.
16:57 We like doing things with our hands
16:59 and feel like that we're doing something for God
17:03 or for the community.
17:04 And this is one thing that we could do.
17:06 I'm not evangelist or out,
17:08 you know, giving Bible studies necessarily,
17:11 but this is something we really feel like that
17:14 there's a need and we enjoy doing it.
17:16 As a retired missionary and contractor,
17:19 these North American mission trips
17:20 are all in Leroy's wheelhouse and as a fellow doer,
17:24 these projects keep him busy.
17:26 But Leroy says
17:27 it's about more than the work and activity.
17:29 It's about the people.
17:32 As I traveled and met people and talked with people,
17:37 there's a lot of people that
17:38 that come to Maranatha are broken.
17:42 They have broken families, they have broken relationships.
17:46 And there's just a lot of stories out there
17:52 that when they come here, they're accepted.
17:56 Nobody judges them from what their past was
17:59 or where they've been or what they've come through.
18:02 They just love them and say,
18:04 hey, you're part of our Maranatha families.
18:09 The COVID guidelines for this project have made it
18:11 particularly difficult for Leroy
18:13 as he finds it hard
18:14 to not hug his old and new friends
18:17 and practice social distancing.
18:19 But even with these new limitations,
18:21 the community is still being built.
18:24 Michelle is on her second Maranatha project
18:27 and her first with her family.
18:28 As a physician,
18:30 she had reservations about the project
18:31 but felt reassured by the safety protocol in place
18:35 and the isolation of Milo's location.
18:37 She also felt the project would be a good way
18:40 to introduce her kids to service.
18:42 I have two 12-year olds and I have a 15-year-old
18:45 who are unable to go to school right now.
18:50 So my 15-year-old is a sophomore in high school
18:53 and he is thrilled,
18:55 he's able to learn from some of our contractors
18:58 and retired tradesmen
19:01 and is just excited to be able to be of use.
19:06 And the younger two as well are excited to be of use.
19:10 Of course, they're young, and they're energetic,
19:12 and so they always bring something to the project.
19:16 As a physician,
19:17 Michelle did plenty of research
19:18 before bringing her family to Oregon.
19:20 Ultimately, her decision was motivated
19:22 by the importance of community.
19:27 We have this time together
19:29 and time is something
19:30 that is one of our most precious resources.
19:34 The money doesn't matter. The job title doesn't matter.
19:38 The certain accomplishments that we work so hard for
19:41 in a day, they really don't matter.
19:43 But the time together
19:44 and the time to be able to be together
19:46 as a family is really precious
19:49 and then to be able to join together
19:50 with other members of the community like-minded,
19:53 keeping our distance being safe,
19:55 protecting each other as we work together.
19:58 I read an article that said, we don't social distance,
20:01 we physically distance.
20:04 Times are uncertain and the stakes are high.
20:07 But if you think about it,
20:09 and you go back through history,
20:10 it's not the first time.
20:12 And what we're building with Maranatha
20:14 will outlast COVID and it will outlast us.
20:18 And so I think what we ultimately decided
20:21 is that the best we can do is to listen conscientiously
20:25 to our leaders,
20:27 and come together as a community
20:30 and do good works.
20:32 And that's what I hope my kids take away from the trip
20:35 is that we have to come together as a community,
20:39 and it is upon us to do good works.
20:43 This community is what has drawn
20:45 the same volunteers on multiple mission trips.
20:48 When we come back,
20:49 we meet a man who has found new community
20:52 in service through Maranatha.
21:07 Some companies spend millions of dollars
21:09 to bring you these sounds and images.
21:13 I made it.
21:15 These sounds and images are created from the dollars
21:18 you give to Maranatha.
21:21 Your support of our well drilling efforts
21:23 is bringing clean accessible water
21:25 to communities in Africa,
21:27 India and Brazil
21:29 because while this sells soda, this saves lives.
21:38 For more than a decade,
21:40 Maranatha mission stories is taking you around the world,
21:43 showing you the need
21:45 and challenging you to get involved.
21:48 Now we're introducing new ways for you to stay informed
21:52 and inspired about the mission.
21:55 Watch your favorite episode of Maranatha mission stories,
21:58 as well as other Maranatha videos
22:00 on your Apple TV.
22:02 Visit the App Store,
22:04 search for the Maranatha channel
22:06 and hit install.
22:09 You'll have access
22:10 to all of our latest video content,
22:12 and you can watch anytime.
22:14 Our videos are available on demand 24 hours a day.
22:19 Our content can also be viewed on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
22:24 The Maranatha channel,
22:25 bringing mission adventures to your living room.
22:36 We're friends. You're friend.
22:38 Know a kid who loves mission stories?
22:41 Tell them about Maranatha kids.
22:46 Maranatha kids is a fun and easy way for your children
22:50 to explore the mission field
22:51 and learn how even kids can make a difference for God.
22:55 Each week we'll email you a short video
22:57 featuring a person, place or facet of the work
23:01 Maranatha does around the world.
23:04 You'll also receive a discussion guide
23:06 with additional information,
23:07 questions to consider
23:09 as well as things to pray about.
23:13 You can also join
23:14 the Maranatha kids Facebook group
23:16 for additional content
23:18 and to connect with other mission minded families.
23:23 Visit maranatha.org/kids to sign up
23:28 and get your little volunteer started
23:30 on their mission adventure.
23:37 All of Maranatha's mission trips
23:39 focus on building community,
23:41 not just for the people who are being served,
23:43 but those who are serving.
23:45 Friendships created on experience
23:47 are what makes each project so special.
23:50 And while these relationships are formed
23:51 on international projects,
23:53 the ones formed
23:54 through North American mission trips
23:56 are arguably stronger,
23:57 since these mission trips are mostly free,
23:59 volunteers can participate in multiple experiences a year,
24:03 which means they see
24:05 many of the same faces on the project.
24:07 The familiarity contributes
24:09 to deeper and long-lasting friendships.
24:11 This special community
24:13 is why Wesley Wilson loves Maranatha.
24:16 Wes is a relatively new volunteer,
24:18 but he is discovering an unexpected dedication
24:21 to this lifestyle.
24:22 Well, I'd heard about Maranatha
24:24 back in probably the 80s and the 90s.
24:28 And I thought, oh, I would like to do that
24:30 but I couldn't afford it raising a family.
24:33 Fast forward a couple decades
24:34 and Wes was retired and a widower.
24:38 Well, I watch 3ABN quite a bit.
24:41 And what's her name?
24:44 Hilary Macias,
24:46 she was on there and she would promote Maranatha
24:49 and you need to come and all that.
24:51 Man, it's kind of like the Lord was saying,
24:53 yeah, you better go.
24:55 So I put it off and I watched another one,
24:58 and he got more stringent, more urgent.
25:02 Okay, Lord, I'll go
25:03 and that wound up being the Vancouver project.
25:06 So I loaded it up
25:07 and I went up to Vancouver, Washington
25:11 and drove up there and, oh, wow, boy,
25:16 I really, do I really want to do this?
25:19 Wes was nervous
25:20 until a fellow volunteer came up
25:22 and gave him a big hug to welcome him.
25:25 I like the fellowship and a friendship.
25:27 And the more that I work,
25:29 the friendlier I got and I enjoyed the work.
25:33 The part of feeling included with people
25:37 is a big part of the human experience.
25:40 But people who joined Maranatha you become part of the group.
25:46 You make friends with them, they treat you as an equal.
25:51 And they welcome you at every step of the way.
25:54 This sense of community
25:56 is what draws thousands of people
25:58 to Maranatha mission trips every year.
26:00 Some come in search of adventure,
26:03 others want to stay active,
26:05 all come seeking a purpose and a way to give back
26:09 even in the midst of a pandemic.
26:12 Well, one of the things about Maranatha
26:15 is that the people that are part of Maranatha,
26:19 they want to be a blessing, they want to serve.
26:22 And it's just amazing to be with people who are,
26:26 love the Lord
26:27 and want to be a blessing to others.
26:29 It's just invigorating to be
26:32 among a group of people like that.
26:36 The Coronavirus pandemic has certainly upended
26:38 the service aspect of Maranatha that we all love.
26:42 It's hard to predict
26:43 when Maranatha volunteer projects
26:44 will return to normal
26:46 with a full schedule of opportunities for service.
26:48 For now, we're taking it one project at a time.
26:53 Yet most of Maranatha's construction projects
26:55 have always been built by our local and country crews,
26:59 and now more than ever,
27:00 they are needed to continue the work.
27:02 Since March, these teams have been building churches,
27:05 schools and water wells in countries like India,
27:09 Brazil,
27:13 Zambia,
27:17 Kenya...
27:21 and Cote d'Ivoire.
27:24 Whether in Milo, Oregon, or Abbebroukoi, Cote d'Ivoire,
27:29 the work has never stopped.
27:32 And this mission needs your continued support.
27:35 Please make a donation to Maranatha
27:37 as we carry forward this commission.
27:40 After all, we may cherish the joy
27:42 that comes with service.
27:44 But the ultimate goal of Maranatha
27:46 is to build people, communities
27:48 and the gospel throughout the world.


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Revised 2020-10-04