As COVID-19 continues to impact every aspect of our life, many of you have asked how is this affecting Maranatha?
As an international mission organization, we’ve been tracking everything from travel restrictions to cancelled flights, and our Projects Department is working hard to help volunteers who were in the mission field or en route.
As of March 23, 2020, all volunteers have returned to their home countries. All projects for the rest of March and April have been postponed. Maranatha will continue to assess the situation for projects scheduled later this year.
The postponement of any project is not something we take lightly. Volunteers often dedicate much time to plan and save funds for their mission trips. It is disappointing to have to change plans.
Postponement also has a considerable impact on the communities we serve. For all, their hope of a new church and school may have to be put on hold, and that can be crushing.
But Maranatha and our volunteers are committed to rescheduling projects and stepping into the mission field when the time is right. After all, the world can change all around us, but the mission remains constant.
So while volunteers may have to wait, the work will not. Maranatha has crews stationed around the world, and our team will be building churches, schools, and water wells wherever they are permitted to continue working.
During this time, Maranatha is also pushing forward with the work at our headquarters in California. We are available through phone, email, and online. Our communication team continues to work on updates about places you’ve supported. They’re also creating more mission resources, such as video segments, that will provide great content for your family at home. You’ll also continue to hear from us through letters, Maranatha Matters, our weekly email newsletter; The Volunteer, our magazine; Maranatha Mission Stories, our television program; and Facebook and Instagram, our social media channels.
In our staff meeting room at our office in California, we have a large rock in the corner. It is our Ebenezer stone, and in Hebrew, ‘Ebenezer’ means ‘a stone of help.’ It refers to a story found in 1 Samuel, chapter 7, and it signifies our total trust in God during times of trouble. It reminds us that whenever we take the opportunity to look at the past, whether difficult or not, we can see that God reliably led us through. Through the past 50 years, God has protected and guided this organization in countless ways, and we can fully trust He is with us now.
‘Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.” –1 Samuel 7:12
Thank you for all the support you have given to this mission.
Please continue to pray and seek courage in our God during this uncertain and challenging time.
Don Noble
President