Maranatha Volunteers International’s work is best represented by stories of the individuals who experience it firsthand, like volunteers, local crews, and project recipients. But a big-picture perspective, gained through data, can also offer a valuable view of what God has made possible. A look at this year’s figures reveals an unwavering truth: God has blessed the Maranatha mission immensely in 2023. Crews and volunteers have built 400 church structures, worked on ten school campuses, drilled 680 water wells, and carried out 922 well maintenance and repair check-ins (both in person and over the phone) in eight countries. They’ve also completed several uncategorized projects, like a medical clinic in Zambia and numerous renovation projects at 14 Seventh-day Adventist Church organizations across North America.
God’s blessings are also evident from the number of volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to the mission. This year 2,460 volunteers participated in Maranatha projects in seven countries around the world, and 1,124 of these were first-timers! The United States saw the most volunteers in 2023, with a total of 975. The Dominican Republic came in second, with a total of 843. Kenya had 249. Peru and India tied with 158. Zambia had 44, and Canada had 33.
In addition to trips planned and attended by specific groups, like churches or schools, Maranatha hosted 34 trips with enrollment open to anyone. Twenty-three of these trips took place in North America, and 11 were international.
Maranatha’s vice president of projects, Kyle Fiess, has seen many year-end reports travel across his desk and attributes each year’s productivity to God’s direct guidance. “From a bird’s-eye perspective, the numbers from this year show that our teams were busy and accomplished what they set out to do. We were successful in achieving our goals. From a more intimate perspective, every single one of our projects was a miracle, and I’m very grateful that God has blessed us in a way that we have been able to accomplish what we have.”
Maranatha Volunteers International, a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, mobilizes volunteers to build churches, schools, water wells, and other urgently needed structures around the world. Since 1969, Maranatha has constructed more than 14,000 structures and more than 2,200 water wells in nearly 90 countries around the world.