Maranatha Mission Stories

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: MMS

Program Code: MMS011014S


00:01 Hi, I'm Dustin Comm with the Maranatha Minute.
00:03 Maranatha is wrapping up work
00:04 at the Immanuel Adventist Secondary School in Zambia.
00:08 This boarding academy serves 320 students,
00:11 and was a major focal point for Maranatha
00:13 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:16 Our local crews sheltered in place
00:18 to construct a three classroom building,
00:20 a girls' dormitory and bathrooms,
00:23 and are now completing a second three classroom block.
00:27 The team also made improvements to the school's water source
00:30 and supplied it to the boys' side of campus.
00:32 These additions will allow the school
00:34 to accept more students.
00:37 Previously, school leadership had to turn away
00:39 40 kids each year due to lack of space,
00:42 even with some students already sleeping in a garage.
00:46 Now as they returned to campus this week,
00:48 all of these students
00:50 will be properly housed in a dorm.
00:52 Projects like Immanuel
00:54 aren't possible without your generosity.
00:56 To support Maranatha's work around the world,
00:58 go to our website.
01:35 2020 started like any other year
01:37 for Maranatha Volunteers International.
01:44 We've just wrapped the Christmas Family Project
01:46 where 86 volunteers served in Peru.
01:54 A small team of volunteers took off for Cote d'Ivoire
01:56 for a church construction project.
02:02 Groups were trickling
02:03 into various countries here and there.
02:07 Meanwhile,
02:08 the Maranatha headquarters in California was preparing
02:11 for the annual surge of volunteers
02:13 in the month of March.
02:19 What was different this time, however,
02:20 was the threat of a new virus
02:22 that had been wreaking havoc in Asia and Europe
02:25 in January and February.
02:28 In early March,
02:30 things were evolving with COVID-19.
02:32 We're hearing stories out of China.
02:34 And then there was some cases in the United States.
02:38 And so we really weren't sure how it's going to impact
02:42 all of our volunteer activity.
02:45 So we had some groups that were that went out.
02:50 We had some trips that they started to question,
02:54 but most of our group leaders were moving forward as planned.
02:58 And then mid-March,
02:59 things started to really move quickly.
03:03 And I started to look like,
03:04 well, maybe we might be more affected
03:07 than what we had hoped we would be.
03:10 So on March 11,
03:12 President Trump held a press conference
03:14 where he announced that things were going to change,
03:17 there's a pandemic
03:19 and that created and triggered a number of effects.
03:22 The same day,
03:24 the World Health Organization announced
03:25 that COVID-19 was a pandemic.
03:29 Overseas, other countries started shutting their borders.
03:33 Airports closed, offices shut,
03:36 people self-quarantined in their homes.
03:39 Peru was put in a total lockdown.
03:42 India was on total lockdown.
03:45 Kenyan airports were closed
03:46 and everyone was put on a lockdown.
03:48 By March, groups were really starting to wonder
03:52 if they were going to be able to go
03:53 on their mission trip or not.
03:54 And by mid-March,
03:56 many of our trips had either cancelled, postponed,
03:59 or we had a few, a few groups that went out,
04:02 but then had to come back a little bit early.
04:05 And so, wrapped in within a space of a couple of weeks
04:08 things went from we're planning for a year as normal
04:11 to suddenly everything was shut down.
04:25 Last year, Maranatha mobilized over 2600 volunteers
04:28 to many countries around the world
04:30 to help build a number of different buildings.
04:33 But the number of buildings that those volunteers built
04:36 was actually a small fraction
04:37 of the total number of buildings
04:39 that Maranatha builds each year.
04:41 The rest we use local labor to build churches and schools
04:45 and water wells,
04:46 all are happening around the world
04:48 whether volunteers are there or not.
04:52 Quite frankly,
04:53 a lot of our projects are prepared
04:56 and completed by teams in the field.
05:01 We've actually spent decades developing a competent,
05:06 experienced, committed, dedicated team of builders
05:10 that travel around the world
05:11 and get these projects prepared,
05:13 work with the volunteers,
05:14 finish up with the volunteers
05:15 that don't finish when they're on the project.
05:20 So, we have been doing
05:22 actually a lot of work during this time
05:24 in the places that we can, some places we can't.
05:27 But many places we've been able to work
05:29 and it's still very effective.
05:34 Now, several months in, the world is slowly opening up,
05:38 but not necessarily for travel.
05:41 So the work of Maranatha is still being carried out
05:43 by our local crews in six different countries.
05:47 Crews are carefully working in regions that are isolated
05:50 or relatively untouched by the virus.
05:58 One of the places
05:59 where we've been working is Kenya,
06:01 a country that has welcomed more than 1, 000 volunteers
06:04 since we started working there extensively in 2016.
06:09 Adventist Church leadership in Kenya
06:11 asked Maranatha to build churches and schools
06:13 for their rapidly growing membership.
06:15 And since then,
06:17 Maranatha has completed more than 450 structures.
06:20 And since 2016,
06:22 the church has grown
06:23 from 850, 000 to more than 1 million members.
06:31 Kenya has been
06:32 one of Maranatha's most active countries
06:34 in terms of projects.
06:36 And while COVID has slowed the work,
06:38 it hasn't shut it down completely.
06:41 Just a few weeks
06:42 after the initial shutdown in March,
06:44 Maranatha's local crew
06:46 started working in rural locations
06:47 by sheltering in place.
06:50 So construction continued
06:52 at the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center
06:55 and Kiutine Adventist School.
06:58 Then, eventually,
07:00 the One-Day Church and well drilling teams
07:02 headed out to the bush to begin building once more.
07:05 We have put in 42 One-Day Churches.
07:10 We have put in 18 wells.
07:13 At Kiutine, we have put in a church,
07:17 which is completely blocked.
07:19 We have finished the sidewalks, the walkways.
07:21 We have finished landscaping.
07:23 We had some work at the staff housing
07:25 in a small kitchenette.
07:26 At Kajiado,
07:27 we finished the primary boys' dorm bathroom,
07:29 we finished the sidewalks,
07:31 we got a slab made for the classroom,
07:35 computer room and a staff room.
07:37 So when the country opens up and volunteers start coming,
07:39 we're all set and ready to get the work done.
07:41 So that's what has been accomplished
07:42 while Coronavirus happened.
07:45 In 2020 alone, even in the face of a pandemic,
07:49 the team in Kenya has completed nearly 100 churches
07:52 and more than 30 wells
07:54 along with the various projects at the school campuses.
07:58 Each project, whether it's a new church,
08:00 or classroom, or water well provides a great deal of hope,
08:03 especially during such uncertain times.
08:07 And this has provided Ron and his team
08:09 plenty of motivation
08:10 to keep pushing forward to get the work done.
08:14 When you see firsthand impact, because I see it firsthand.
08:19 And when you see that, it gives you more strength.
08:21 It gives you more courage. It sort of motivates you.
08:23 It tells you that, you know, you're on the right track.
08:26 And that you're part of the a greater ministry
08:29 that the Lord has chosen.
08:30 And that is what Maranatha does, you know.
08:32 That is what Maranatha believes
08:33 that we are here to build people
08:35 as we build buildings.
08:40 Northwest of Kenya,
08:42 another team is working hard on a number of projects.
08:45 Cote d'Ivoire, also known as the Ivory Coast
08:48 has been a busy place for Maranatha
08:49 throughout the pandemic,
08:51 as it hadn't yet been impacted by COVID-19
08:54 other than the airport closing and the curfew.
08:57 Most life remained the same in this African country.
09:02 Cote d'Ivoire is a nation of 25 million people
09:05 with a relatively stable agricultural industry.
09:09 From coconut to cassava, and chocolate.
09:17 A large portion of the country
09:19 is blanketed with farms and plantations.
09:22 The farming industry has attracted many immigrants
09:24 from its neighboring countries.
09:27 And today, about 24% of the population
09:29 is a mix of cultures and nationalities.
09:35 When it comes to religion,
09:36 the majority of the population is Muslim
09:39 with 33% professing Christianity.
09:43 There are about 10,000 Seventh-day Adventists,
09:46 but that's about to change.
09:48 The Adventist Church in Cote d'Ivoire
09:50 is slowly growing,
09:51 and they think
09:52 they can strengthen their community
09:54 by building churches and schools.
09:55 So they've asked Maranatha to help,
09:58 but just three volunteer projects in,
10:01 the pandemic struck
10:02 putting all mission trips on hold,
10:04 even in Cote d'Ivoire.
10:07 Then we start thinking,
10:08 how could we solve the situation, the challenge.
10:11 So we had the idea,
10:13 first, we will reduce our team
10:14 so that will give enough space distance for,
10:17 you know, social distancing.
10:19 Then we gave them meals here,
10:22 we provide them with some mattresses
10:24 where they could sleep here,
10:26 and we gave them gloves, they use mask,
10:29 they also use gel to clean their hands.
10:32 And this was how we were able to for four months
10:35 without the lockdown work here.
10:40 In time, workers completed the Abbebroukoi
10:42 and Anan Seventh-day Adventist churches,
10:45 two projects that volunteers had started,
10:48 plus a classroom building.
10:50 In September,
10:51 with restrictions lifted in the country,
10:53 both churches had dedication ceremonies
10:55 that welcomed the church leadership
10:57 and the local media.
11:00 In Abbebroukoi,
11:02 the dedication was an exuberant kickoff
11:04 to an upcoming time
11:05 of big positive change in the neighborhood.
11:13 In Abbebroukoi,
11:14 we are enrolling now the children
11:16 and about two months ago, nine of our lay evangelists,
11:19 they start visiting the area,
11:22 visiting the homes
11:23 and they enrolled 100 people with Bible studies.
11:26 And we were so glad that
11:28 about two weeks ago, 25 people, they were baptized.
11:32 When we started the church here,
11:35 barely the church could grow in this Muslim area.
11:38 But Adventist education will be a blessing for us.
11:41 And we hope by the end of this year
11:43 to have about 60 new members enrolled here in this church.
11:49 Next, the local crew is starting work
11:51 on another school.
11:53 There is an existing church in Niangon.
11:56 But for many years, they have been praying,
11:58 asking God to give them a school,
12:00 and the secondary school
12:01 because this is the greatest need
12:03 in the community.
12:04 And Maranatha is responding to their request,
12:07 given them seven classrooms, two labs,
12:12 science and computing,
12:14 five traditional classrooms.
12:17 Office to the principal as well,
12:20 a lunch room for the teachers.
12:22 And we hope that by December,
12:24 we will have a group of volunteers
12:26 coming here to help us to build that school.
12:31 When we come back, we'll head south to Zambia,
12:34 where crews are busier than ever
12:36 continuing the mission.
12:48 Maranatha is planning
12:50 a number of volunteer mission trips
12:51 around the globe for 2021.
12:54 But if you'd prefer to serve at home this year,
12:56 consider one of our many North America projects.
12:59 In May join us in Tennessee
13:01 as we construct a brand new building
13:03 for the Jamestown Seventh-day Adventist Church.
13:06 Volunteers on this project
13:07 will help with wood framing, siding, roofing
13:11 and window installation.
13:13 Then in June
13:14 help us in North Carolina at Mount Pisgah Academy.
13:17 Volunteers on this project
13:19 will help renovate 41 girls' dorm rooms.
13:22 The work will include electrical, flooring,
13:25 door installation, block wall removal,
13:28 and the installation of dressers,
13:30 shelving units and bunk beds.
13:32 If neither of these projects work for you,
13:34 Maranatha has plans
13:36 for around 20 North America projects in 2021.
13:40 Please visit maranatha.org/volunteer
13:43 to browse our current list of projects.
13:46 We hope to see you there soon.
13:57 Zambia is a Sub-Saharan African country
14:00 most famous for Victoria Falls,
14:03 a breathtaking waterfall spanning a mile wide
14:06 and a depth of 304 feet.
14:10 But by Maranatha standards,
14:11 Zambia is famous as a country
14:13 with one of the largest Seventh-day Adventist
14:16 memberships in the world.
14:18 More than 1.36 million people
14:21 are part of the Adventist faith in Zambia,
14:23 and many of them need a place of worship.
14:28 After working in Zambia from 2009-2015
14:31 to build hundreds of structures,
14:33 Maranatha returned in 2018 to build more churches,
14:37 schools, and also water wells.
14:41 When news of the pandemic hit the world,
14:43 work in Zambia shut down for a couple of weeks
14:46 as the crew assessed the country restrictions
14:48 and the potential risks.
14:50 Then in mid-April,
14:52 Maranatha decided to shelter in place
14:54 and work at the Immanuel Adventist Secondary School,
14:57 a campus in need of more classrooms.
15:01 When COVID came on the scene,
15:03 we needed a place to be able to work
15:06 that was a safe place
15:08 where we could bring our workers in,
15:10 and they weren't having to come on and off the job.
15:13 So the Immanuel School emerged
15:16 as a good place for us to do that.
15:17 There was a big need,
15:18 and so we talked to the leadership
15:20 and agreed on a couple of things
15:21 and we got started.
15:23 Since then the team has remained at Immanuel,
15:25 building several classrooms and a girls' dormitory.
15:30 And when the country began opening up some more,
15:32 Maranatha started venturing out to build One-Day Churches.
15:36 You can't go anywhere in the country
15:38 without finding Seventh-day Adventist.
15:39 Every village along the road, every shop,
15:41 there's just, there's Seventh-day Adventist
15:43 all over the country.
15:44 So the need for structures and buildings is huge.
15:50 They were meeting under trees.
15:52 If they have a structure, in general,
15:53 they have some kind of shade structure built up,
15:55 but it's made out of, you know, sticks,
15:57 we'll take what around us,
15:58 it just pulls grass over top, no metal roof.
16:02 So it's a termite buffet, you know,
16:05 and the buildings don't last very long.
16:06 And so that's what we find in most villages where we go
16:09 and been asked to build.
16:12 The team has also been drilling water wells at places
16:15 where we have constructed churches.
16:17 And the impact has been massive.
16:21 There are some denominations in eastern Zambia
16:23 where we were building back in February, March
16:25 that actually were restricting access
16:27 to only members.
16:28 And they actually charge them a certain amount of money,
16:31 and even if you were not a member,
16:33 you couldn't,
16:34 even with money you couldn't access the well.
16:36 Just you had to be like a real member,
16:38 you know, this club kind of thing,
16:40 or this church.
16:41 Our situation is completely different.
16:43 We put it in, everybody's so grateful,
16:44 because they can't afford it.
16:46 I mean, a subsistence farmer,
16:48 you know, scratching a living out of the ground,
16:50 they don't have money for water.
16:51 I mean, they go get it from poor source,
16:53 because they can't afford to pay for it
16:55 from some other better source.
16:57 So we're just super stoked
16:59 to be able to be providing free water
17:01 to every thirsty person.
17:03 And we're blessed with generous donors
17:05 and so we move as the Lord allows us
17:08 and as provides resources,
17:09 you know, but, but the impact is big.
17:12 And, of course,
17:13 we're going to see a lot more of that
17:15 as we continue to build for them,
17:17 that impact will continue to grow.
17:19 As of September 2020,
17:20 Maranatha had already constructed
17:22 more than 50 One-Day Churches
17:24 and drilled more than 100 wells in Zambia just this year.
17:29 The fact that most of Maranatha's projects
17:32 take place in rural areas
17:34 has been the saving grace for our work,
17:37 not just in Africa,
17:38 but also in other parts of the world.
17:49 As the COVID-19 virus spread around the world,
17:51 India quickly locked down the entire country.
17:56 The restrictions were most severe
17:57 in the urban areas
17:59 where people were not allowed to leave their homes.
18:04 On March 24, 2020,
18:07 our Prime Minister announced that
18:08 India is going in a complete lockdown.
18:11 And the guidelines for lockdown was
18:14 no flights,
18:16 no ground transportation, no trains.
18:21 Everybody was supposed to stay indoor.
18:25 And everything came to standstill,
18:27 complete halt, nothing moved.
18:30 And for that matter of fact,
18:31 some of our team members
18:33 actually stayed away from their families
18:34 for almost six to seven months.
18:36 They could not go back to their families
18:38 because the states were all also locked on,
18:41 the state borders were sealed,
18:43 we could not move.
18:45 But a couple weeks later,
18:47 the India team found a way to work again.
18:49 Unable to go home,
18:51 crews asked permission from local officials
18:53 to shelter in place at their construction sites
18:55 and keep working.
18:58 School and church construction projects
19:00 slowly started up again
19:02 with limited materials and even tools.
19:06 For example, like there was one instance
19:08 when we were trying to finish the church in Kerala.
19:12 We could not move our equipment from one site to the other.
19:15 So we had only one drill.
19:18 Only one drill to erect the entire church structure.
19:22 Plus also that same drill was used to place the roof.
19:26 And my team is very proud of that drill impact
19:31 because that was the only one equipment
19:33 we had to finish that church.
19:35 And sometimes
19:37 we even had to wait for three weeks
19:39 for just to get few screws
19:40 so that we could put it on the roof.
19:43 It was difficult,
19:44 but team was able to move along.
19:48 India has also been drilling wells
19:50 during COVID at locations
19:51 where Maranatha has constructed churches.
19:55 Water is a dire need for any mankind.
19:59 You cannot survive without water.
20:01 And that goes for my country too.
20:03 In India,
20:05 majority of our population does not have access
20:07 to clean drinking water.
20:09 And from past couple of years
20:10 we have been able to go and drill wells
20:12 for many communities in our country.
20:14 And that has helped our church tremendously
20:18 in making sure that,
20:19 you know, communities are reached
20:21 which do not have access to clean water.
20:23 Now some of those community people
20:24 are able to come to our churches
20:26 and attend churches.
20:29 Despite enduring one of the strictest lockdowns,
20:32 the team in India is continuing to work
20:34 to share God's message of hope through construction.
20:49 From India, we head to Brazil,
20:51 a country that is famous for its expansive rainforest
20:54 and the Amazon River.
20:57 But it is less known for its deserts,
21:00 areas that have a scarcity of flora, fauna and water.
21:07 Northeastern Brazil is one such place,
21:12 and it's where Maranatha has been focusing its efforts
21:14 since late 2019.
21:18 Here, rain is scarce and vegetation is sparse.
21:23 Water is a luxury to be purchased
21:27 or collected carefully when it rains, which is rare.
21:32 For years, Maranatha has been working in Brazil
21:35 to build nearly 1,000 One-Day Churches
21:37 for congregations in need.
21:40 Many of those structures were in this dry region.
21:44 And now Maranatha has returned to visit the congregations
21:47 and provide them a well even during the crisis.
21:51 Brazil has been hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,
21:55 and it has impacted people throughout the country.
21:57 Some of the cities have been hit extremely hard.
22:00 Yet out in the rural areas, we've been able to move around,
22:04 we've been able to drill wells
22:06 in some of these villages in areas
22:08 where the need is extremely high.
22:12 While some wells tend to be private or reserved
22:15 for certain denominations,
22:16 all Maranatha water wells are free to the public
22:19 with no strings attached.
22:22 As we've drilled water wells in Brazil,
22:24 we've seen those wells be an opportunity
22:27 for a Seventh-day Adventist congregation
22:29 to get to know their community
22:31 in a way that they didn't before.
22:36 They're meeting their neighbors,
22:39 they're showing their care for people around them.
22:43 And it's actually completely changing the view
22:46 that the neighbors have about them as congregation
22:49 and about them as Christians.
23:04 While Maranatha has been able to continue the mission
23:07 in most countries,
23:08 there is one place where work has been halted
23:10 for several months, Peru.
23:16 Maranatha worked in this South American country
23:19 about 15 years ago,
23:20 providing churches and schools to dozens of communities.
23:26 The beautiful setting, rich culture,
23:29 and friendly people
23:31 made it a beloved project for volunteers.
23:34 And in 2020, the return to Peru was going to be a big focus.
23:39 The goal was to build churches and a school
23:42 in the suburbs surrounding Lima,
23:44 Peru's capital city.
23:48 Congregations that had been chosen
23:50 to receive a new church
23:51 prepared for Maranatha's Volunteers
23:53 by tearing down their old buildings
23:55 and clearing the way for the work.
23:57 Then everything came to a heartbreaking stop.
24:01 So we're really excited
24:04 for the month of March and April.
24:06 Those are the busiest months of the year for us.
24:10 We're expecting about eight groups
24:12 and close to 500 volunteers.
24:16 In early March,
24:17 Elmer and his team welcomed
24:18 two of the eight groups to Peru.
24:21 As soon as the groups arrived,
24:22 we start hearing that
24:24 there was one case and two cases.
24:25 By the end of the week,
24:27 there were six cases
24:28 and that's when
24:30 the World Health Organization
24:32 announced that this was a pandemic.
24:34 At that moment,
24:35 the president of the country decided to close the country
24:38 completed with all the borders close,
24:41 the airport, the land borders and sea.
24:47 In conjunction with the Maranatha team
24:48 in the United States,
24:50 Elmer's local team worked frantically
24:52 to get 100 volunteers home before Peru's border shut.
24:56 Thirty hours later and with 10 minutes to spare
25:00 before the border is closed, everyone got out.
25:06 It was one problem solved.
25:08 But in Peru, Elmer and the team were basically on house arrest.
25:13 Work has not restarted in Peru since March.
25:16 But Maranatha is continuing to pray for projects in Peru.
25:21 I can't predict the future.
25:22 But I can tell you that
25:24 we're still committed to trying to do
25:26 what we had planned to do
25:27 and to honor our commitments that we made in Peru.
25:30 Right now, it's not possible to work there.
25:33 But we're waiting for the door to open
25:34 and when it will open,
25:36 we'll walk through and do what we can.
25:43 What keeps me hoping and trusting
25:46 that God's going to take care of us
25:48 looking in the past
25:49 and see how He has led our lives,
25:51 He has led the work of Maranatha,
25:53 and personally has been taking care
25:54 of me and my family.
25:56 And I know that He can do anything,
25:59 and He has all under His control.
26:01 We may not understand, but God sees the big picture.
26:04 So it's a exercise every day to trust Him
26:09 and know that He's taking care of us.
26:12 Through God's blessing and guidance,
26:14 we know He will open doors for us
26:16 to help these faithful congregations,
26:18 not only in Peru, but also in Kenya,
26:22 Zambia,
26:24 Cote d'Ivoire,
26:26 India, and Brazil.
26:29 We also trust that each of you watching
26:31 will be inspired to get involved.
26:33 Now more than ever,
26:35 we need your support
26:37 as we navigate this new reality.
26:41 Well, the more I watch
26:42 what's transpired and continues to transpire
26:45 during this COVID-19 time period,
26:48 the more I am convinced
26:51 that God wants us here that we're supposed to be
26:53 or that we're supposed to be reaching out to people.
26:58 I think that those that watch Maranatha
27:01 or involved with Maranatha.
27:03 They're involved because
27:04 they want to see something happen.
27:06 They don't want to see people go back in a corner
27:09 and fold their arms and retreat.
27:13 They want to see do as much as you can.
27:16 Push on all the doors that you can.
27:18 Don't be stupid about it, don't be unsafe about it.
27:21 But push on all the doors
27:22 and accomplish everything you can
27:24 and see if God doesn't open those doors
27:25 and make something happen.
27:28 As we keep pushing, God keeps blessing,
27:30 and that's,
27:32 what's better than that?


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Revised 2021-02-18