Maranatha’s chief operating officer talks about his earliest impressions of Cuba from the mid-90’s, how Maranatha got involved, some of the challenges of the Seventh-day Adventist Church there back then, and how Maranatha worked to construct or renovate more than 200 churches on the island over the years. He shares what it’s been like to build rapport and work with Cuba’s Minister of Religion long-term, the challenges of having periods of abundant government project approval, followed by seasons of restriction, and why Maranatha chose to stay committed to the country through it all.

Kenneth talks about the Adventist seminary constructed by Maranatha, and its impact on the Adventist Church in Cuba and beyond. The guys discuss the current state of the country post-COVID, and how the pandemic negatively affected everyday people and the Adventist Church, including the seminary. Kenneth explains how the idea to send critical aid to the people of Cuba was hatched, how it was pulled off using shipping containers. He talks about how passionate the church members are in Cuba, how influential Maranatha’s work has been to them, and the latest projects going on, including the first volunteer project in years.

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Long-time Maranatha mission trip leader, Loretta Spivey, shares her journey to the mission field, from becoming the first Seventh-day Adventist in her family as a result of a visit from a literature evangelist, to a year-long missionary assignment in Indonesia. She’s been heavily involved with Maranatha’s mission trip for high schoolers, Ultimate Workout, initially as a correspondent for Insight Magazine, a publication for Adventist youth, and later as a project leader. She explains why this project is so impactful for teens and talks about her goals for volunteers. She reflects on how she prepares the mission trip experience for the volunteers she’s leading, and some of her toughest challenges during projects.

Loretta also shares the scary experience of becoming paralyzed from the neck down through a condition called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and her journey to healing.  

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After serving as a Maranatha volunteer for years, Danny now works for Maranatha to ensure our buildings are constructed soundly. But his journey to Maranatha starts as a child in the former Yugoslavia, the son of a Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor there. He remembers international Church leaders passing through, talking about what God was doing around the world. As a kid, Danny wondered if he could travel and serve around the world one day too. 

As a young man, Danny fulfilled mandatory military service where he learned explosives and demolition, an ironic job, as he’d spend the rest of his life building up structures instead of destroying them. He started his own construction company in his early twenties and got married, but the young couple had to abandon their new life, as Yugoslavia began to collapse into war. Danny started a new business in the United States doing mostly remodels, where he also had his daughter, and his life was on a nice trajectory. 

Then a friend invited him on a Maranatha mission trip to India, an experience that would change his life forever. What started as one project turned into multiple each year, and soon he started taking his daughter on projects. Eventually he realized that there were more important things than earning a good living through his company. He subsequently listened to God’s call to use his skills and experience to work for Maranatha. Danny talks about behind-the-scenes work that goes into each building Maranatha constructs, from making updates to the plans to working with draftsmen and architects, and how Maranatha’s in-country construction crews get creative in overcoming unique challenges on the job site.

Watch Danny’s daughter’s testimony - https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mk-poljak

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Maranatha’s medical services coordinator grew up as a missionary kid in Asia, and later took her own family into the mission field to serve in several countries around the globe. Over her lifetime she’s experienced a wide range of danger and harrowing situations, from wartime air raids to local violence, and even attempted break-ins and muggings. But she’s also seen how God has been faithful to her and her family as they have worked to expand God’s kingdom. There are three themes she’s found to be true in her life of service, and in this episode she talks about them. 1) “God keeps you safe wherever you are.” 2) “The mission is wherever God puts you.” 3) God equips you for what he calls you for.”  

Susan shares her life journey through childhood living in Asia, having her first baby in Africa, losing a baby to a rare heart defect, and having two more kids that spent time in the mission field. She also reflects on how God gave her family the desires of their hearts when things didn’t make sense initially, and how she processed difficult moments over the years. She explains her current work for Maranatha as a medical services coordinator, and how a request for a medical clinic turned into a memorial to their late daughter.

“Rachelle’s Place of Healing” segment: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mms11e39-1 (go to 15:00 to watch that segment only)

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Maranatha’s vice president for volunteers explains his unlikely path to missions, from his reputation as a teen troublemaker to pursuing ministry—much to the surprise of those around him. He reflects on the labels others put on him, and a crucial moment where he tested God with his future. Lisandro went on to study theology and journalism in Brazil, working in marketing for his academy alma mater, his university alma mater, a local conference, and eventually, Adventist media giant Novo Tempo. His career trajectory was set to the highest levels of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, but Lisandro chose a different path that ultimately led him to short term missions with Maranatha.

The guys talk about how his denominational experience helped him in his current role serving volunteers, what his goal is for each volunteer that serves with Maranatha, and how he sees himself in the teen volunteers that come on Ultimate Workout, our annual teens-only mission trip. Lisandro lays out why short term missions are valuable, addresses a criticism of short term missions, and how volunteers come alongside communities to be a part of what God is already doing there.

Watch the story of the Serraria Seventh-day Adventist Church, the congregation served by a volunteer group that Lisandro led: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mms11e48-1 The segment on Serraria starts around 19:00.

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Long-time Maranatha volunteer turned staff member talks about her transition from serving with the organization to working for it. She recounts how she first got into short term missions, how it has impacted herself and her family, and why she has a passion for using service to reach youth. She describes Maranatha’s 2024 high school mission trip to the Andes mountains of Peru, Ultimate Workout, including an extraordinary story of answered prayer. You can watch Ultimate Workout volunteer, Mary Arrick, tell her testimony that Dina references here: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/cv24b-arrick

Dina talks about how she’s grown closer to God through Maranatha, and why mission trips seem to put people in just the right place to connect with God in new ways. She shares her most recent project in the Dominican Republic, working on the Ciudad del Cielo School, dedicated to the memory of Maranatha’s late vice president of projects, Darrell Hardy. 

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Three of Maranatha’s volunteer support staff join us for our first-ever panel! Maria Molleda from Peru, Alice Danla in India, and Kotesh Rao in Kenya, talk about the other side of the mission trip from what volunteers see. From booking hotels and excursions, to orchestrating outreach opportunities like medical clinics or Vacation Bible School, these people go to great lengths to make sure everything is ready for our volunteers when they arrive. 

They talk about the lack of sleep during projects, the importance of prayer, back-up plans, and the ways they try to influence a project spiritually. Over the years, our volunteer support staff have formed deep bonds with volunteers, who have inspired them in return. Maria, Kotesh, and Alice also share how they have seen Maranatha mission trips transform volunteers and reflect on how they’ve grown closer to God through all of their missions experience.

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Maranatha’s president since the early 80’s, Don tells the story of how God called him to a small, fledgling organization called “Maranatha Flights International,” the original name for Maranatha. He shares how he listened for God’s leading in that initial decision, and how he has stayed attuned to God’s direction in every decision for Maranatha since. He explains how Maranatha interacts with the Adventist World Church, from the division level down, to respond to official requests for help through the construction of churches, schools, and water wells.

Don describes one of the most dicey non-volunteer projects he experienced while in Afghanistan in the early 2000’s. On this trip he got severely sick, to the point that a General Conference vice president stayed up with him through the night because he thought Don might die. He recounts a car attack in Haiti, and explains why there are certain countries that Maranatha will not send volunteers if it’s not safe. 

Without a construction background, Don remembers early doubters saying he was the wrong man for the job. He talks about his initial commission by Maranatha’s board to “make it fly,” and how it’s his same job description today. After merging with an organization called “Volunteers International” in 1989, “Maranatha Volunteers International” took on a watershed project in the Dominican Republic where Maranatha constructed 25 churches in 70 days. This showed Maranatha and the Church that the organization was capable of more. Don also considers what he’s learned about God, and about himself over four decades of service through Maranatha.

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Maranatha’s vice president of projects describes his first day visiting the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center in Kenya, in what would become a six-year project he oversaw. He recalls his initial reactions to the plight of these Maasai girls who ran away from their homes to escape female genital mutilation and child marriage. The guys discuss what it’s like for these girls as they escape, not knowing where they’re going, and somehow end up at the Kajiado center. It becomes their new home as they are not welcome back in their village. 

Kyle explains how Maranatha’s scope of work started by simply providing adequate sleeping and bathing arrangements with new dorms. Over time, it grew to include much more infrastructure, including a high school. He also recounts a critical moment in the project, where campus water was needed, but geological reports indicated it was unlikely to be found. One of the special aspects of this long-term project was the hundreds of volunteers who came, sometimes on multiple mission trips, to help build the campus. These visits allowed opportunities for volunteers to serve as positive role models, providing advice and perspectives on endless possibilities for the girls’ bright new futures. 

Television episodes about the Kajiado School:
Transformation at Kajiado: https://watch.maranatha.org/maranatha-mission-stories/videos/mms11e50-1

A Refuge of Hope: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mms907

New Life at Kajiado: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mms910

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This audio story is about the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center in Kenya. It’s a haven for Maasai girls, sometimes as young as six years old, who are escaping child marriage and a dangerous ritual called female genital mutilation (FGM). Maranatha dedicated the campus in July 2024 after six years of completely transforming the property, but in this story you'll hear what life was like at Kajiado closer to the beginning of Maranatha’s involvement. You'll also take in the depth of the connections formed between Maranatha volunteers and Kajiado students—a microcosm of the hundreds of volunteers that would end up serving on this project over the years.

Television episodes about the Kajiado School:
Transformation at Kajiado: https://watch.maranatha.org/maranatha-mission-stories/videos/mms11e50-1

A Refuge of Hope: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mms907

New Life at Kajiado: https://watch.maranatha.org/videos/mms910

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