In late September, Maranatha Volunteers International sent a group of volunteers to Camp Lawroweld in southwest Maine. Established in the early 1900s, the Seventh-day Adventist summer camp is beautiful but aging. The Maranatha team completed a number of much-needed maintenance projects, including replumbing and remodeling several buildings, building a deck onto the medical building, wiring the craft house for electricity, and various smaller projects.
Glenda Davidson, the trip’s coordinator, admitted some nervousness when only 17 volunteers confirmed to be on the project, as she had been hoping for more. “I will honestly say it. I had a twinge of worry. But whatever [God] sends up will be enough.” Glenda was reminded of this when she stepped into Lawroweld’s dining hall for the first time and saw the previous summer’s motto on a banner: “More than enough.” With God’s help, her group was more than enough, completing more projects than she could have anticipated. “It was amazing how our team worked,” she said.
Maranatha sent its first volunteer group to Camp Lawroweld in 2020. Volunteers renovated the camp’s lodge, poured a concrete floor for the girls bathhouse, and installed pine boards onto the walls and ceiling of the boys staff lounge. Maranatha returned again in 2021 to complete numerous other projects around the camp. Serving on both trips inspired Glenda to return for the third. “[Camp Lawroweld’s] main focus … is reaching out to young people, and that’s why we go,” she explained. “There’s something about the rustic quietness of those surroundings that can touch hearts like nothing else can.”
Each year, Maranatha works with organizations in the United States and Canada to provide volunteer labor for various construction or renovation projects at summer camps and retreat centers, schools, and churches. Work ranges from renovations of existing buildings to new construction, and saves thousands of dollars in labor costs