From June 15-July 1, 39 total volunteers traveled to the Dominican Republic to construct the Nueva Jerusalen II church in Bonao, DR. We had two separate groups - first week was for our High School age and the second week was for Collegiate and Young Adult. We also had teachers and other adults on the trip AND two of us stayed for both groups.

The construction teams were supposed to work on a very large church for both weeks. It quickly became apparent that the High School team was moving far faster than anyone expected. We knew we were not going to have enough for both weeks. The high school kids worked so quickly they had finished the outer and inner walls all the way to the top of the 15th course in five days! The Maranatha team finished the front wall while we were on excursion. The collegiate team finished the other two gable ends and helped put the roof on during their first day of construction. Maranatha had identified another project for us: Sabbath School Classrooms for a Haitian congregation in La Vega, 45 minutes away from the school where we were staying. After for days of construction with a small, 11 volunteer team (with a great amount of support from the Maranatha team), we were able to complete the walls for the Sabbath School rooms!

During the first week, our young people led out in a Vacation Bible School conducted at the school. Hundreds of children were blessed by the experience.

If you are interested in taking part in a future mission trip. please reach out via the Contact page for more information about short term missionary opportunities.