Maranatha Mission Stories: Recent Episodes
Maranatha Volunteers International
Real people are making an impact for Christ all over the world in their hometowns or across the ocean. Join host Dick Duerksen each week on an adventure around the world to witness the exciting growth of the Gospel message. From stories about villages transformed by a church building to profiles on volunteers who have put missions at the center of their lives, Maranatha Mission Stories celebrates the transforming power of service.
Watch how Maranatha is providing worship space for thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in Angola, and the upcoming project to build one of the only school buildings in the city of Santa Clara.
In 2013, Maranatha Volunteers International responded to a need for a new school in Santiago, Panama. Take a look at the impact the school has already made in the past few years.
Meet an amazing team of prayer warriors who will soon be celebrating their best answer to prayer yet.
The story of why a woman relocated her family to be near a church, and how Maranatha helped.
Teen volunteers gathered for a weekend of worship and outreach in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.
See how a simple church frame can jumpstart construction and galvanize a community in service.
Meet a group of volunteers who were eager to help their fellow Brazilians--and found themselves changed as well.
Meet a woman who was searching for an Adventist Church--and found one, through Maranatha.
Volunteers from Northern California share what a mission experience in the Dominican Republic taught them.
A young couple's decision to be missionaries and the construction of a church have brought hope to the small town of Quingoma, Brazil
Jorge and Edjane Barbosa left a comfortable life behind to take the Gospel to an unreached area in Brazil.
See how Maranatha volunteers are making a difference in a small neighborhood in the Dominican Republic.
The prayers and perseverance of church members along with the hard work of Maranatha volunteers makes the dream of a new church possible for the Fe en Jesus congregation.
Blasious Ruguri, president of the Adventist Church in east central Africa, shares his thoughts on why church construction is an important part of the Adventist mission.
Seasoned project leader Steve Case shares his thoughts on what it means to live out God’s grace.
Maranatha volunteer and project leader Claudio Japas share an update on the Tokmok school in Krygyzstan.
Hear how Maranatha's arrival in Panama ended one congregation's search for a permanent church home.
Dan Jackson, president of the Adventist Church in North America, shares why the U.S. and Canada are mission fields.
We return to a school campus in Zimbabwe that is full of students eager to learn and grateful for the gift of a school.
Israel Leito, president of the Adventist church in Central America and the Caribbean talks about the value of building churches in his area of the world.
Although challenging, Maranatha's construction of churches Angola is bringing hope to needy communities.
Volunteer Walt Groff talks about the connections created on a mission trip and what they have taught him about ministry back at home.
Volunteer Trishany Adams shares her thoughts on the lessons she learned on her very first mission trip, the Ultimate Workout.
Gilbert Wari, president of the Adventist Church in West Central Africa talks about the impact of churches and schools on a community and the world.
Teenage volunteers build a church for the Palmarito congregation in the Dominican Republic.
Domingo had no interest in God--he didn't even know who Jesus was--until a stranger invited him to church.
Domingo had no interest in God--he didn't even know who Jesus was--until a stranger invited him to church.
Marilene’s mother had always wanted her to be a Seventh-day Adventist. But it wasn’t until her mother died, that Marilene decided to give it a try. The problem was, there was no church to go to.
David Woods Maranatha country director in Zimbabwe shares the immense need for churches and schools and the even bigger impact Maranatha's work is having in this country.
Patience doesn’t come easy – even though it is clearly one of the virtues God is expecting us to develop.
Reiner Moreno is passionate about taking the Gospel into the jungle of Costa Rica and Maranatha is supporting these small congregations by constructing One-Day Churches.
Vinish Wilson, Maranatha country director in India shares the impact Maranatha churches, schools and volunteers have had on his country.
For the Foliente family, a high school mission trip turned service into a regular part of this family's life.
Maranatha photographer and videographer Leo Macias shares his photos from a recent church building adventure in the jungles of Costa Rica.
More than twenty years ago Maranatha built the Piedra Linda church in the Dominican Republic. Today it continues to grow and impact lives in the community.
Gilberto Araujo, Vice-President of the Adventist church in Southern Africa shares an update on the need and impact of Maranatha work in Angola.
Learn about a group of volunteers from Delhi, India traveled into the mountains to build a church for a needy congregation.
Several communities in southern Africa are now stronger because Maranatha volunteers built schools and shared love.
Compassion demands passionate participation and is a trait that shows up often on Maranatha projects.
Volunteer Projects Specialist Rebekah Widmer shares how giving to Maranatha can change young people's lives--including her own.
Pastor Harrington Akombwa shares a story highlighting the hunger people in Zambia have for God.
Maranatha volunteers move students in Jowai, India out of a cowshed and into bright new classrooms.
For the last 24 years, the Ultimate Workout project has taken teenagers around the world to learn more about themselves while serving others.
Volunteer Nadine Brooks shares how sacrificing to go on a Maranatha project impacted her life.
Maranatha president Don Noble gives an update on a church construction project in Cardenas, Cuba.
The Yellowknife project was an important moment in Maranatha's history and the church continues to be a positive influence in the community.
Maranatha volunteers help the Sierra View Junior Academy to continue to make a difference in their community.
Maranatha country director Ron Kedas shares how building a school in Ghana has brought an entire family to Christ.
Photographer and filmmaker Igor Camargo shares the impact a trip to Africa had on his life.
Christianity is about God loving people, and people discovering the joy of being delivered by God.
Maranatha supporters find giving their time, energy and resources a rewarding experience
Got wants to take everything you are and weave it tightly with everything He is to make one family.
The most successful volunteers focus on how they can work with God to impact the lives of others.
Going on a Maranatha project changed David's life, and not in the way you would expect.
The story of how a congregation in the Dominican Republic didn't even dare pray for a church, and how hope brought about a miracle.
Ultimate Workout leader Steve Case talks about how he's seen God transform both teens and adults.
The story of how a congregation in the Dominican Republic didn't even dare pray for a church, and how hope brought about a miracle.
Pastor Samuel Larmie talks about how he wants to make the Gospel available to every child especially in Ghana.
Like the biblical school of Tyrannus, Maranatha constructed schools strive to be centers of impact.
It's often the strangers or the outsiders who have the greatest impact on God's family.
Interview with Pastor Luis Fernandez about how the Ambato Adventist school is impacting the community.
Quality education is the desire for parents all over the world, including Ambato, Ecuador.
Maranatha medical clinics aspire to heal people phyically and spiritually like Christ did.
Maranatha volunteers leave their offices, classrooms, kitchens, and shops to make waves all over the world.
Pastors Nilton Garcia and Melvin Eisele talk about the impact of building churches for the people they serve.
See how easy it is to join The $10 Church, an incredible program that sponsors at least one church a month for congregations in need.
In Bere, Chad, a deteriorating Adventist hospital was in desperate need of more space. So in January 2013, Maranatha volunteers headed to Chad to provide a solution.
When a school is destroyed by a severe storm, volunteers stepped in to build a brand new One-Day School campus.
After worshipping in a bat-infested house, the Los Angeles congregation in Nicaragua finally received a proper church.
2012 was full of exciting opportunities, changed lives, challenges, and God's blessings.
Each day, Maranatha workers travel Malawi's dusty roads to build churches and bring hope to hundreds of congregations.
The Camelback Adventist church volunteers find their faith stretched on a mission trip to Honduras.
Volunteers in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe build the first One-Day School campus and become addicted to missions.
See how God has performed giant miracles and how the One-Day Church and School are providing hope for thousands.
The very first One-Day School campus is shaping the future of an entire community in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Check in with the children of the Ongole Seventh-day Adventist School and follow one young boy whose life has been changed forever.
Come along for an adventure of a lifetime with your young adult peers. Watch this for a glimpse into Maranatha's Young Adult and Collegiate projects.
Elizabeth Verstappen gets up at 5 a.m. every Thursday to bake bread for her neighbors. Watch her story to find out why.
The large school campus in Ongole, India is transforming the lives of hundreds of children, as well as the volunteers who visit there.
Meriah and Roger Matthews have found a way to teach their young children an attitude of giving.
After two weeks in Mexico, nothing's the same about the Ultimate Workout teens or the communities they reached.
Watch the process of turning coils of steel into One-Day Churches for congregations worldwide.