Participants:
Series Code: MMS
Program Code: MMS009143A
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00:01 - Hi. I'm Hilary Marcias with the Maranatha Minute.
00:02 It's already November. And as we enter the 00:05 holiday season, we're also kicking off our annual Giving 00:08 Tuesday campaign. Giving Tuesday is a global day 00:11 of giving, held on the first Tuesday after 00:13 Thanksgiving. And this year, Maranatha's goal 00:16 is to raise $100,000 for new classrooms 00:19 for the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center 00:22 in Kenya. The buildings will serve Maasai girls 00:25 who are rescued from female genital mutilation 00:27 and child marriage. The girls live and go to school 00:31 on campus. However, older students have to 00:33 attend secondary school at separate campuses, 00:36 which can be traumatic. So, Maranatha is expanding 00:39 the current campus to include high school classrooms. 00:42 You can help Maranatha raise money for this important 00:45 project. Make a change for a better future for 00:49 these young women. Start a Giving Tuesday campaign 00:51 using our fundraising website, or make a donation 00:54 now or on Giving Tuesday, December 3. Visit our 00:57 website for more information. 01:21 - Popular culture would have you believe that the 01:23 teenage years were a time to celebrate aimlessness, 01:26 wandering, or fool- hearted decisions. 01:29 But in this episode of Maranatha Mission Stories, 01:31 we're focusing on another side of youth-teens who 01:34 are breaking the mold by daring to serve and 01:37 connect with the world in meaningful ways. First, 01:42 in honor of Maranatha's 50th anniversary, we'll 01:45 take a look at a program that's been bringing teenagers 01:47 closer to Christ for nearly 30 years. 02:06 In the 1980s, the United States witnessed a seismic 02:09 cultural shift as the nation emerged from the turmoil 02:13 of the previous decade. In response to the 02:18 counterculture movement of the '70s,?Americans 02:21 began embracing monetary and professional success. 02:27 The yuppie became somewhat of an icon of the '80s 02:30 symbolizing wealth, status, and greed. 02:38 On the popular culture front, teenagers witnessed 02:40 the emergence of new technology, a new health 02:44 crisis, and a new type of television. The pop 02:51 culture machine was everywhere. It was at 02:55 the tail end of this decade that Maranatha 02:57 Volunteers International came upon a new program 03:00 aimed at the very young people who were being 03:03 consumed by this lifestyle. It was an antidote to the 03:07 times and the spiritual revelation for teens. 03:12 Insight was a youth magazine published by 03:14 the Seventh-day Adventist Church. One day while at 03:17 the gym with a friend, the editor had an idea. 03:21 - He was working it out with a friend at a 03:22 convention. They said, "This is what we do for 03:25 our physical bodies. What can we do for our 03:26 spiritual growth?" And so, they decided that the 03:30 way that young people can work out is through 03:34 service. - Insight came up with the idea of a 03:38 teens-only mission experience. And in 1990, 03:41 they launched what was named, "The Trip". 03:52 The next year, Inside asked Maranatha to 03:55 coordinate the effort, and they would market the 03:57 project in their magazine. The trip was reborn as 04:01 The Ultimate Workout, and 19 volunteers headed 04:04 to Honduras. 04:13 From then on, the program steadily grew, adding a 04:15 handful of people at a time. By the time 04:19 Steve Case got involved in 1993, the number of 04:22 participants had increased, and the workload was 04:25 outgrowing the small team at Maranatha. 04:29 Steve, a youth pastor, was among those who 04:32 helped to coordinate the effort at home and abroad. 04:35 - You had to talk with every parent of every 04:38 kid, and it just simply took too much time. 04:41 It was too costly for Maranatha to do it. 04:43 So, the lead into it just was so time-consuming. 04:46 So, I was told, "Steve, you're going to go on 04:49 this Ultimate Workout. And just so you know, 04:52 this is the last one. We just can't afford it." 04:57 - Steve understood the reasoning. But when he 04:59 returned from the project, he was convinced otherwise. 05:03 The positive impact on the participants was too 05:06 powerful to give up. - I came back and had 05:09 a very serious conversation with the president of 05:12 Maranatha Volunteers International in his office, 05:15 and I spoke to him not as a friend but this was a 05:19 professional conversation. I let him know in no 05:22 uncertain terms that this had to continue. 05:25 I understood that I was supposed to stop it; but 05:31 as the president of Maranatha, Don Noble, "You must keep 05:34 this going. In fact, if you don't, you'll have 05:37 to quit calling yourself a Christian." I was pretty 05:42 worked up. - Steve laughs at this memory, but his 05:45 impassioned plea was effective. Maranatha 05:48 decided to continue running Ultimate Workout. And 05:51 as they say, the rest was history. Maranatha 05:56 hired Steve to be the program director for 05:58 The Ultimate Workout, and he kept the role 06:00 for the next 20 years, using his background in 06:03 youth ministry to hone a spiritually powerful 06:06 project for teens with three core components. 06:11 - #1) It seeks to have a spiritually transforming 06:14 experience for the participants. That's 06:17 a high order, and we go for it. 06:25 [applause and cheering] 06:29 #2 is quality-constructed buildings, which is a 06:33 challenge when you have unskilled teenagers. So 06:36 you have to have some key leaders who are 06:38 willing to mentor and teach. 06:46 And #3 is to supplement what the church is 06:49 already doing to spread the gospel in whatever 06:50 location we're in. - As a result, volunteers 06:54 return year after year transformed. - It's life- 07:00 changing experience that I want to have every 07:04 year. I come back and I feel like I'm revived 07:08 all over again. - Ultimate Workout is not just about 07:12 going to a different place and seeing new 07:14 things; it's about connecting with other 07:16 people, doing the Lord's work... And you're really 07:22 going on a journey for yourself, looking inside 07:24 yourself... - Before my Ultimate Workout 07:27 experience, I felt distant from God; and after the 07:32 trip, it was just a completely different 07:33 feeling in me and I felt like a better person 07:36 after it. I felt like I made a difference in 07:40 someone's life, and it was a really good feeling 07:44 and it really helped me to connect with God. 07:51 - Before this trip, I never really pray on my own. 07:53 Before we ate as a family, we would pray and thank 07:58 Him for the food. But when I woke up, 08:00 I never thanked Him for waking me up. Or when I 08:03 went to bed, I never thanked Him for keeping 08:06 me alive throughout the day and keeping me safe. 08:08 When I go home, I know I'm gonna change some 08:11 things in my family- connecting with Christ 08:16 and praying. - Today, Ultimate Workout is 08:20 Maranatha's biggest project, and the trip draws anywhere 08:23 from 100 to 200 volunteers each year. There have 08:27 been more than 3,900 volunteer experiences 08:31 in the past three decades. While most years the 08:35 projects are in Latin America, twice Ultimate 08:38 Workout landed in the United States. 08:43 Twice, they headed to India. 08:48 And this year, Ultimate Workout went to Africa 08:51 for the first time. Nearly three decades 08:56 since the launch, interest in Ultimate Workout shows 08:59 no signs of slowing down. - Here's my analysis of 09:05 why Ultimate Workout is so potent. It's normal 09:08 in adolescent development to find out what your 09:11 identity is. That's just part of normal human 09:14 development. And the way you find out what 09:17 it is is you compare it with what it has been. 09:19 You're coming of age, and you start to push 09:21 back against the powers that are there-namely 09:24 your parents or other authority structures. 09:26 If you go on another project, say with your 09:28 congregation, with your school, with your family, 09:31 those people know you- and still has a high impact, 09:35 but you don't have that brand new start. You know, 09:38 the Bible says if anyone is in Christ, they are a 09:41 new creation, or a new creature. The old is gone; 09:45 a new life has begun. Well, that truly happens 09:48 on Ultimate Workout, and you see it, and it's 09:51 just truly amazing. - You come here as a stranger. 09:56 You come here as just a new person, a new 09:58 face, and you get to share that story and 10:02 you get to grow in just two weeks. I mean, it's 10:08 incredible how much you grow. - It's just the connection 10:13 with God and the connection that you get to have with 10:17 everybody here. It's a breath of fresh air with 10:19 His... You get to be away from all the distractions, 10:24 everything that's keeping you back from having 10:25 a relationship with God, and you're in a different 10:27 country that we don't know...and having that 10:31 relationship is just amazing. - When we 10:35 come back, we meet another group of teens who are 10:37 serving the mission field in a different way-from home. 11:02 - These women spend 560 minutes a day fetching 11:06 water. Water is life... ...but your life shouldn't 11:14 revolve around water. 11:21 We're raising money for water wells. Make a donation. 11:30 Give women the gift of time, health, family. 11:40 Sponsor a well. Give water; give life. 11:53 - For most of us watching, clean water is a given- 11:56 a commodity taken for granted as it pours from 11:58 our faucets with reckless abandon...yet there are 12:02 many parts of the world where water of any kind 12:05 is a rare gift. In a privileged enclave of 12:08 southern California, a group of girls heard 12:10 about this water crisis. Specifically, they learned 12:13 of the plight of women in Kenya who have to 12:15 walk miles for clean water. So, they decided 12:18 to do something by walking a mile or two in their shoes. 12:30 This is Del Mar Mesa, an attractive development 12:33 in the suburbs of San Diego. Here, long before 12:41 the neighborhood developed and right in its heart, is 12:44 Hooterville Estates. The new developers 12:47 wanted to buy the property but were turned away. 12:51 Hooterville remains. Its eclectic presence announcing 12:55 itself at the entrance. The seven-acre ranch 13:01 has become beloved by the neighbors-especially 13:03 those with children. Preserving a time and 13:08 spirit that suburbs often erode, Hooterville's owners 13:11 and residents, Elizabeth and Mike Rabbit, nurture a way 13:15 of life that once was common on these hillsides. 13:21 Today, however...we haven't come for the eggs. 13:25 (Elizabeth): What are you guys doing? 13:29 - Elizabeth has made the ranch the starting place 13:31 of the First Annual FAV and Friends Walk 13:33 for Water. The trick... is keeping the goats 13:37 from eating the sign. 13:45 But how did Elizabeth Rabbit and Hooterville 13:47 become the vortex of the FAV and Friends Walk for 13:50 Water? 13:57 Elizabeth first learned of the water crisis in 13:59 Africa while volunteering on mission trips with Maranatha. 14:04 Having seen the life-changing effects a well brings to 14:07 communities there, Elizabeth freely shared 14:10 her passion for water wells with her neighbors 14:12 back at home. This included Mia Goldman and Emma Reeves, 14:19 two young women who have known Elizabeth since they 14:21 were little kids. - Miss Elizabeth has always 14:25 been kind of this neighbor that I was kind of... Growing 14:29 up, I've lived here since I was 2, and I've always 14:32 looked in a store, "Oh my gosh, that farm is 14:35 amazing! I wonder who lives there." And finally, 14:37 I got to meet this amazing woman, Elizabeth, who's 14:40 kind of just this creative person, does what she 14:44 wants, builds her own things, raises horses, 14:48 and she's kind of just been a role model to 14:50 me probably since I was a little girl, and I've 14:53 always kind of wanted to be like her. - I met 14:55 Elizabeth from when I was 3 when we moved 14:59 here. I always looked up to her as just seeing 15:02 this crazy place with having all these horses 15:05 and having me be into horses, it really just made 15:07 me- she just inspired me. And by chance and 15:11 fate, I was so lucky to be able to keep my horses 15:13 here. And to think, over time, our families have 15:16 bonded, and we really just spend a lot of time 15:18 together. - My girls in this neighborhood that 15:21 I've... They've been coming to my ranch 15:25 here since they were 4, 5, 6 years old. They 15:29 were tiny, and they hang out here. We were painting, 15:33 and they were talking about going to college, 15:35 and they knew I had been to Africa, and they were 15:38 asking me questions about what I learned-about what 15:42 it was like. And they started, just, like, brainstorming, 15:45 and I don't know, really, whose idea it was. And 15:47 then they said, "Well, we could do this," and 15:49 "We could do that," and they said, "Well, we have 15:51 this club, Female Athlete Volunteers, and we have 15:54 to find projects for them in order to get 15:58 points, and the club has to sponsor so many events 16:01 a year. And so, that's how it started. - FAV 16:07 is Female Athlete Volunteers, and it is an amazing group 16:11 of young women, especially in San Diego. It's got 16:16 about 200+ members now, and it's something I've 16:19 been a part of for probably six years now. We kind of 16:24 go around San Diego and participate in any volunteering 16:28 events. This event, especially, was made for 16:32 FAV which I think was really cool and unique. 16:34 - And so, Emma and me are really... You took the 16:37 bull by the horns, and they contacted all their 16:40 friends and all the club members, and 16:42 that's why we called it Female Athlete Volunteer 16:44 and Friends, because there were several 16:45 people who wanted to be involved that weren't 16:47 in the club. 16:52 - The idea was to raise money to drill and set 16:54 a water well for a community in Kenya. Elizabeth was one 16:58 of 26 Maranatha volunteers who built a dormitory at 17:01 a school there. The Maranatha well-drilling team was there, 17:10 too. They discovered a source for water, and 17:16 it was one of the most prolific water wells they 17:18 had drilled in the country. Elizabeth saw an opportunity 17:24 to encourage Emma and Mia back home. - Emma 17:28 Reeves and Mia Goldman and all the female athletes... 17:31 - Elizabeth sent us some clips of her experience in 17:33 Africa. 17:48 - Right after she sent me those videos, I kind 17:51 of was tearing up because they were talking to me and 17:54 Mia, the girls in Africa, and I was kind of like... 17:57 Wow, this is real. This is really touching, and 18:02 this is actually affecting people in Africa. - This 18:06 specific fundraiser, I really wanted to help, 18:08 because these girls who are my age, girls from 18:10 5 and up to 50, they all go and they just walk 18:17 four or five miles a day twice a day carrying 18:21 six-gallon buckets of water, and it's just 18:25 crazy... I think that they could really be 18:28 spending a lot of this time gaining education 18:31 and getting social skills with their friends, and 18:34 I really just want to help them gain these 18:36 kinds of skills that could help them be successful 18:38 later in life. - The goal the group set for themselves- 18:43 $15,000-the median cost of drilling and setting a 18:48 well in Kenya. The event they created to bring 18:52 attention to the need- walking a mile to a local 18:55 pond to collect water in buckets and carry the 18:58 water back to Hooterville where it could be symbolically 19:01 collected. - Hi. I'm Mia Goldman. - And I'm Emma 19:06 Reeves. - And we're here in Carmel Valley doing our 19:08 First Annual Walk for Water. We're going... 19:11 - The three use Maranatha's online fundraising platform 19:13 to manage donations. They would meet regularly 19:17 to organize, plan, and prep materials. Emma and Mia's 19:21 friends, Morgan and Megan, also joined the leadership 19:23 team. - We just do Megan's, the one who lived across 19:28 the street from us, and we were like, "Remember 19:30 when she was little-she used to make so many of these 19:32 little arts & crafts," and we were just like, "I wonder 19:34 if she's still into it." And she was. She was 19:36 really willing to come over and help us. And 19:39 one day, she just decided to bring Morgan, and she 19:41 was such a helpful part of the team. I think we 19:44 work together so well and we just made it 19:46 happen. - All of the girls put social media 19:49 to work for them. - Emma drafted an email and she 19:52 sent it out to everyone. I went around my school 19:55 and through a lot of social media I posted it 19:58 everywhere I could. I made highlights on my 20:01 Instagram, I made sure to tell all my friends to 20:03 go check out my link and I'd send it to them, 20:06 and I had my dad send it to all of his friends, 20:09 and I really just made sure that everyone knew 20:12 about this, because it's really important to me. 20:16 - Local and regional press also took note 20:18 of Walk for Water. The day of the event, they, 20:22 volunteers, their friends, and even a group of 1st 20:25 graders arrived, ready to help. And, of course, 20:29 many moms ready to lend their support. - I tried to 20:33 make cookies. The first batch burned; the second 20:35 batch made it. - Okay! - It smells like burnt cookies 20:38 at my house now. - That's good. That's a good thing. 20:42 - Each girl received a handmade name tag 20:44 and a bracelet that Elizabeth brought home 20:47 from Africa. They also were given a black-and- 20:52 red checkered cloth they could use as a sash or 20:54 bandana. In honor of the blankets that are 20:57 commonly used during the cool Kenyan winters, 20:59 every girl received a bucket. The little ones, 21:03 gallon buckets. The bigger girls, two- to 21:05 five-gallon buckets. Without much fanfare, 21:09 they were off. 21:19 - I'll put it on my head. - Okay you put it anywhere, honey. 21:22 - So, what we're trying to do is represent what 21:25 African women do on a day-to-day basis and 21:29 taking the fact that they have to travel several 21:33 miles, several hours, to just get water-and 21:37 it's not even clean water, so we're trying to replicate 21:40 that by taking our own buckets and getting a 21:44 bunch of ladies in our community from, like, 21:46 elementary school to high school and kind of 21:49 show them what they go through every day. - I've 21:52 been with these kids since they were single-digit 21:54 age. They still call me Miss Elizabeth, they still 21:57 say they want to be like me when they grow up... 21:59 I mean, what could make you feel better? And unless 22:04 you're willing to give and to share and to 22:06 invest in the greater community... And one of 22:10 the things that I've been... I think I've been trying to teach 22:14 all of them is that even though we are just one 22:19 person, if you think about it, we're more like 22:22 a beehive. We don't feel like a beehive, but we're 22:24 all working together. We're a huge community. 22:27 And the idea of them being able to reach all 22:30 the way around the world to Africa to people that they 22:34 don't know and that they'll never meet, 22:37 to say, "We'd like to make a difference in 22:39 your lives," is a way for them to be part 22:42 of that bigger beehive and to be part of the 22:46 community. 23:01 - Carrying that water was kind of a challenge, 23:05 and I wasn't even carrying that much water. I 23:07 couldn't believe how difficult it would be for 23:09 girls, little girls, to travel hours with 23:14 that much water every day. It would be exhausting. 23:21 - It's so amazing. It's just such an amazing 23:24 feeling to know that I can be giving back to 23:27 other people, because living in this bubble's 23:29 great, but I haven't been able to really experience 23:32 the outer world. I feel like seeing all of this and 23:37 doing all this research and just looking at all 23:40 of this is just so eye-opening. I just really want to give 23:43 back. And whenever I think of people who 23:45 just have these First World problems, I'm just like, 23:48 "Well, I mean, it could be worse." I'm just so 23:53 happy that I can give back. It just makes me 23:55 feel so amazing that my peers on the other 23:57 half side of the world can have a chance of living a 24:01 normal lifestyle. - After the walk, the girls celebrated 24:06 with pizza. - So, even though girls my age 24:09 may think that they can't make a difference in the 24:11 world, if you grab a couple of your friends together 24:14 and send out a couple emails, it will just make 24:17 a world of change, because we've raised over $11,000- 24:20 just the four of us- and it's hopefully gonna 24:25 make a well for a whole village. - As of today, 24:30 Walk for Water has raised $15,585. A well will be 24:37 drilled and a pump placed in a village in Kenya. The 24:43 experience of fundraising for wells in Africa inspired 24:46 Mia to take her involvement a step further. A couple months 24:49 after the event, Mia, her mom, and her brother 24:52 traveled to Kenya to meet firsthand the people to whom 24:55 Maranatha is reaching out. They volunteered at the Gucha 25:00 School in Kisii, building a much-needed classroom. 25:04 It's an experience that's sure to ignite more involvement 25:07 from Mia. - We live in a bubble! We're in San 25:13 Diego and beautiful homes. We wake up 25:16 every morning, and just in paradise. And you think 25:22 about how lucky we are. I mean, doesn't that make 25:27 us responsible for sharing our luck and sharing our 25:31 wealth with others? I mean, if you imagine 25:33 that a world where nobody shared and if nobody was 25:38 willing to give back- if we all just kept it 25:42 to ourselves. I mean, we really depend on 25:44 people and their generosity and their need to share to 25:51 make the world a better place and to help somebody. 26:08 - Along with Kenya, Maranatha is drilling 26:10 wells in Zambia, India, and Brazil. Help us bring 26:13 clean water to communities in need by making a donation. 26:17 Go to maranatha.org to give today. 26:31 - Get a jumpstart on the New Year by registering 26:34 for a mission trip to Côte d'Ivoire. From January 26:37 30 to February 11, 2020, we need volunteers to 26:41 built the? Seventh-day Adventist 26:43 Church. Currently, this congregation is 26:45 meeting in a partially constructed building 26:47 that is unprotected from the rain and heat. Help 26:50 them to have a real church by joining this 26:52 project. If you can't make it to Africa, head 26:56 over to Alabama in the United States for a project 26:58 at Camp Alamisco! Volunteers on this project will help with 27:02 renovations for this Camp & Retreat Center. We'll be 27:05 working on flooring, demolition, electrical, 27:07 plumbing, window installation, and much more. As with all 27:11 North America projects, your food and lodging is 27:13 provided in exchange for your labor! All you have to 27:16 do is get there. Just be sure to register and receive 27:19 your confirmation of your registration before arriving 27:22 on the job site. Learn more about both of these 27:26 projects and others by visiting our website at 27:28 maranatha.org. 27:34 - When it comes to making a positive impact in the world, 27:36 there are no age limits. Passion, creativity, and 27:41 gumption are the only ingredients necessary 27:43 to make a change-because whether you're nine or 90, 27:47 God sees potential in all of us, and we are 27:50 all His messengers of grace. |
Revised 2020-01-09