Hi, I'm Dustin Comm
with the Maranatha Minute.
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Maranatha recently
launched a water program
00:00:03.57\00:00:06.03
in the African
nation of Cote d'Ivoire.
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Maranatha started
working here in 2019,
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building churches and schools
near the city of Abidjan.
00:00:11.71\00:00:15.38
As the work began,
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it became clear that clean water
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was an issue for
many in this country.
00:00:18.25\00:00:20.95
In some parts of
the Abidjan area,
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water is
delivered by the government,
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but it's inconsistent
and costly for residents.
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In other places, existing wells
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are uncovered
leading to contamination.
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Moving away from the city,
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the situation is even worse
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with no drinkable
water in many areas.
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So far, Maranatha
has drilled five wells
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in Cote d'Ivoire,
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and local Seventh-day
Adventist leadership knows that
00:00:45.87\00:00:48.08
clean water will help
00:00:48.11\00:00:49.44
in reaching the
community with God's love.
00:00:49.48\00:00:52.18
To support Maranatha's
well drilling efforts
00:00:52.21\00:00:54.28
around the world,
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visit maranatha.org/donate
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or call the
number on your screen.
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This is the Camp
Fire Shed Project
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in Paradise, California.
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For Maranatha, Paradise
has become a familiar place
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and this works
out a familiar scene
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as it is the third installment
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of a project to
provide storage sheds
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for survivors of a
devastating wildfire.
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In November 2018,
the campfire raged
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through Northern
California's Butte County,
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burning through
95% of the structures
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in the city of Paradise.
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Most of the 26,000
residents lost their homes,
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85 people lost their lives.
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Among the structures lost
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was the Paradise
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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The fire left the
congregation homeless,
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yet the church's first response
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was to serve their
community with food,
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clothing, furniture, water...
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And storage sheds,
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a place for
survivors to store their things
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as they rebuild their lives.
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Paradise Church asked Maranatha
to partner in building sheds,
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the church
would find the funding
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and Maranatha the volunteers.
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So in November 2019,
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The Campfire
Shed Project launched
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welcoming nearly 400 volunteers,
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202 sheds, media attention,
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immense accolades.
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The project was a total success,
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a success that
called for an encore.
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For campfire survivors.
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So after the first project
that we completed in November,
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we received
over 900 applications
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of requests for sheds.
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We only had 200 to give out.
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So we obviously saw that
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there was still a
huge need in the community.
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And during the first project,
it had been suggested to us,
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"Maybe you should try for more."
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Joelle overseas
outreach programs
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for the Paradise
Adventist Church.
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She worked
closely with Maranatha
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to organize the shed project.
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You know, we were
really blessed the second time
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because we had experience.
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So it was good and bad.
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We knew more what to
expect, but at the same time,
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we weren't as naive.
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And so we worked really hard.
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We were able to get
a lot of other people
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helping in the process.
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And so going
through the second round,
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we were
obviously better prepared,
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had everything gone normally,
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had everything
gone according to plan.
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My fellow Americans,
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tonight I want to speak with you
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about our nation's
unprecedented response
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to the coronavirus outbreak
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that started in China
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and is now spreading
throughout the world.
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Today, the World
Health Organization
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officially announced that
this is a global pandemic.
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With the
president's announcement
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came travel bans
and restrictions.
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One by one,
Maranatha volunteer projects
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were canceled or postponed
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including the
Paradise Shed Project
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scheduled for the spring.
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We were planning
to be here in April,
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but instead because
of COVID and the virus,
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anyway we postponed the project
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and now we're here
in, what was it, August.
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So shed project
number two now set in summer
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started with fewer volunteers
which meant less production.
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The original scope
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to build 400
sheds dropped to 150,
00:05:05.17\00:05:07.90
but even that goal
was being threatened.
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So the first challenge
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that we have here on the project
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was dealing with the coronavirus
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and the regulations that
there are about distancing
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and wearing masks
and things like that
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because we have volunteers
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coming from many
different locations
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and we let them know what
the regulations, you know,
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whether
requirements are in California
00:05:25.92\00:05:28.12
and working with those,
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we're eating outdoors,
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we're having our
worships outdoors,
00:05:31.33\00:05:33.03
and, you know, the
places where we're staying,
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we're trying to
keep everybody separated
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so that we all stay healthy.
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The second
challenge that we face,
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that was a large challenge,
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was the fire nearby in Oroville.
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There was a
large fire in the area
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and we got to work
here on Wednesday morning
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getting ready to set
up and the sky was dark.
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We were using flashlights
and headlamps to see.
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With the smoke
and potential danger,
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Maranatha decided to
cancel work for the day
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and asked volunteers
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to temporarily leave
town as a precaution.
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The power also went out
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and the team
scrambled to find generators.
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All the hurdles
hindered progress on the project
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and left Joelle
feeling defeated.
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I think I always
had a sense from this
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from the first project
that I knew the next project
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wasn't gonna go as
smoothly as the first one had.
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I had no idea that was gonna
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this many
challenges in it though.
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But God, had it been my prayer
from the very start, like,
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Lord, I know
there's gonna be challenges.
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And I know that You
are bigger than those.
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Just help me to have
the faith to hold on.
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And God sent her faith in
the form of 185 volunteers
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who pushed through
and completed 118 sheds.
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Then Maranatha quickly organized
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a third project in November.
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This time, 216 volunteers
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arrived to build 132 more sheds.
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In total, over the
course of one year,
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780 volunteers
constructed 452 sheds
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for the survivors of
the campfire in Paradise.
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The experience has been a
triumph of the human spirit
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and evidence of God's leading.
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For Joelle, the experience
has always been personal.
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While her home survived,
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she lived through
the horror of the fire.
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The sheds had been a
way for her to build hope
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for a community she loves,
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but this time around,
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it was about more
than helping others.
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It was about growing
her own trust in God.
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I learned that my
faith wasn't as big
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as I thought it was.
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I regret to say that
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there were times of
my faith I questioned,
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I questioned how God
was gonna pull this off.
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I couldn't see
how He was gonna do it
00:08:04.28\00:08:07.58
and yet He has
00:08:07.62\00:08:10.39
and He's
provided more abundantly
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than I ever
thought He could... again.
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When we come back,
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we meet some of
the shed recipients
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and how this project
has impacted their lives.
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Although the pandemic
limited travel in 2020,
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Maranatha Volunteers
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still served
1,210 times last year,
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with 446 first timers.
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The first wave of volunteers
came between January and March,
00:08:45.02\00:08:48.69
when 506 people
served in 6 countries,
00:08:48.72\00:08:52.23
then COVID-19
brought travel to a halt.
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It wasn't until
June when volunteer trips
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started up again
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but only in the
United States and Canada.
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In all, 660 people
volunteered on 12 projects
00:09:01.97\00:09:05.34
in North America in 2020.
00:09:05.37\00:09:08.01
Then in December,
volunteers returned
00:09:08.04\00:09:10.21
to the
International Mission Field
00:09:10.25\00:09:11.58
on a project in Cote d'Ivoire,
00:09:11.61\00:09:13.48
our first overseas
project in nine months.
00:09:13.52\00:09:16.72
A total of 332 volunteers
00:09:16.75\00:09:19.12
served on 10
overseas projects in 2020.
00:09:19.15\00:09:23.19
When you're ready to
serve internationally again,
00:09:23.22\00:09:25.66
join us on one of
our upcoming projects
00:09:25.69\00:09:27.63
around the world.
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Go to maranatha.org/volunteer
to learn more.
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Some companies
spend millions of dollars
00:09:37.07\00:09:39.17
to bring you
these sounds and images.
00:09:39.21\00:09:40.81
These sounds and images
00:09:45.31\00:09:46.65
are created from the
dollars you give to Maranatha.
00:09:46.68\00:09:50.92
Your support of our
well drilling efforts
00:09:50.95\00:09:52.82
is bringing
clean accessible water
00:09:52.85\00:09:54.92
to communities in
Africa, India, and Brazil
00:09:54.96\00:09:58.83
because while this
sells soda, this saves lives.
00:09:58.86\00:10:03.20
Camp Fire Shed Project
volunteers can attest that
00:10:07.97\00:10:11.04
there is great
joy in building sheds,
00:10:11.07\00:10:14.44
but there is even greater
joy in seeing them delivered.
00:10:14.48\00:10:17.28
More than a year
00:10:38.67\00:10:40.00
after the fire
ravaged Jamie Johnston
00:10:40.04\00:10:42.07
and Rick Clark's home,
00:10:42.10\00:10:43.44
they have a new
house in Paradise.
00:10:43.47\00:10:45.57
The only problem, no garage.
00:10:45.61\00:10:48.51
Well, there has
been a lot of theft.
00:10:48.54\00:10:53.28
You know, and when you don't...
00:10:53.31\00:10:55.28
You know, if you've got
00:10:55.32\00:10:56.65
your little plot
of land, you know,
00:10:56.69\00:10:58.19
or your place
where you want to be
00:10:58.22\00:11:00.22
and it's just land
00:11:00.26\00:11:04.13
and your house
won't be delivered
00:11:04.16\00:11:06.83
for a year or,
you know, nine months.
00:11:06.86\00:11:11.43
In our case, I guess it
was, you know, about a year.
00:11:11.47\00:11:14.87
You know, the shed
00:11:14.90\00:11:16.24
is the most
important thing, really.
00:11:16.27\00:11:18.54
I knew that we would be
00:11:18.57\00:11:19.91
able to afford
after all of this,
00:11:19.94\00:11:21.88
after having to, you know,
00:11:21.91\00:11:24.21
put out so much
money to come home,
00:11:24.25\00:11:28.55
we wouldn't be
able to afford a shed.
00:11:28.58\00:11:30.62
And, you know, you
just can't keep shovels
00:11:30.65\00:11:34.22
and things in your bedroom.
00:11:34.26\00:11:37.19
It's just not...
00:11:37.23\00:11:38.56
It's not very homely.
00:11:38.59\00:11:42.50
You did the honors. Wow!
00:11:42.53\00:11:44.73
Oh, man! I'm moving in.
00:11:44.77\00:11:46.90
Oh, wow. You could live in this.
00:11:46.94\00:11:50.61
Wow. Wow.
00:11:50.64\00:11:51.97
Wow.
00:11:52.01\00:11:53.34
We build all kinds
of shelves and stuff.
00:11:53.38\00:11:55.58
Okay, let's go in, hop in.
00:11:55.61\00:11:58.05
I'm really
honored and blown away
00:11:58.08\00:12:01.05
by the generosity and
the thought, you know,
00:12:01.08\00:12:05.09
that went into this
00:12:05.12\00:12:06.52
because you knew that
people would have nowhere
00:12:06.55\00:12:11.06
to put things like that.
00:12:11.09\00:12:12.43
And a lot of people
actually had sheds on their land
00:12:12.46\00:12:14.93
before they had anything else.
00:12:14.96\00:12:16.87
So it tells you
how important it is.
00:12:16.90\00:12:19.73
And I appreciate
it so much. Thank you.
00:12:19.77\00:12:24.11
For some of the shed recipients,
00:12:24.14\00:12:25.87
Maranatha's
project inspired them to do
00:12:25.91\00:12:28.18
more than receive,
00:12:28.21\00:12:29.54
some were inspired to give back.
00:12:29.58\00:12:31.88
This is Karen Smith.
00:12:31.91\00:12:34.12
She's been working
on the third installment
00:12:34.15\00:12:35.98
of the shed project.
00:12:36.02\00:12:37.89
I heard about this
project through social media.
00:12:37.92\00:12:42.22
I'm here because just recently,
00:12:45.56\00:12:50.50
about a month ago,
00:12:50.53\00:12:52.00
I received my shed, and
I was overwhelmed with...
00:12:52.03\00:12:55.94
Sorry, happiness.
00:13:01.94\00:13:04.51
I wasn't expecting that,
00:13:04.55\00:13:08.72
which was my same reaction,
00:13:08.75\00:13:12.02
by the way, when the shed came.
00:13:12.05\00:13:14.96
So for all, I'm so
thankful, just so thankful.
00:13:19.39\00:13:25.03
I just really felt
the need to help out.
00:13:25.07\00:13:27.80
And so that's why I'm here.
00:13:27.84\00:13:31.61
Karen, who lost
her home in the fire,
00:13:31.64\00:13:33.78
says her shed has
already been a big blessing.
00:13:33.81\00:13:37.91
Now the Maranatha
project is offering her
00:13:37.95\00:13:40.28
a different kind of blessing
through her fellow volunteers.
00:13:40.32\00:13:44.72
It's been wonderful,
really, really wonderful.
00:13:44.75\00:13:47.76
And just I had no idea
00:13:47.79\00:13:49.79
how many helpful people
00:13:49.82\00:13:51.79
in the
organizations that there are.
00:13:51.83\00:13:55.63
It's been overwhelming
00:13:55.66\00:13:58.70
with kindness from people,
00:13:58.73\00:14:03.30
extremely good for my health.
00:14:03.34\00:14:06.74
And I just wouldn't feel right
00:14:06.78\00:14:09.84
without giving of myself
00:14:09.88\00:14:14.18
to help others in need.
00:14:14.22\00:14:17.59
Retired veteran Curtis Smith
00:14:17.62\00:14:19.29
is another Paradise
resident who received a shed.
00:14:19.32\00:14:22.02
He's now also a
Maranatha volunteer.
00:14:22.06\00:14:25.36
Well, I'm
choosing to do something,
00:14:25.39\00:14:28.20
and something good.
00:14:28.23\00:14:31.83
Being alone, with all
the COVID and so on around,
00:14:31.87\00:14:35.04
I'm locked in my house.
00:14:35.07\00:14:36.97
And depression was setting in.
00:14:37.01\00:14:40.04
So I know that I had to get out.
00:14:40.08\00:14:42.84
And when this came along,
00:14:42.88\00:14:44.45
I came down here
00:14:44.48\00:14:45.81
and it just felt
everything was good.
00:14:45.85\00:14:48.38
I like the people here.
00:14:48.42\00:14:50.25
I mean, it's almost
like going to church,
00:14:50.29\00:14:53.69
good people, good religion.
00:14:53.72\00:14:56.93
Just a great place to
work, great people to work with.
00:14:56.96\00:15:00.33
You got to go down.
00:15:00.36\00:15:01.70
Carrie Max is also a
survivor of the campfire.
00:15:01.73\00:15:06.03
So I heard about
getting a shed last year 2019.
00:15:06.07\00:15:09.87
And I think I saw it on Facebook
00:15:09.90\00:15:12.01
or something like that.
00:15:12.04\00:15:14.61
And it also as if
we wanted to help.
00:15:14.64\00:15:17.18
Well, I used to be
a flooring contractor.
00:15:17.21\00:15:19.71
And so also this whole fire
00:15:19.75\00:15:25.19
has created a lot of depression
00:15:25.22\00:15:30.59
and sadness.
00:15:30.63\00:15:32.09
And a lot of us
that have decided to stay
00:15:32.13\00:15:34.90
are in our places all alone.
00:15:34.93\00:15:36.67
And we're not even in a place...
00:15:36.70\00:15:38.03
Like I'm in a trailer.
00:15:38.07\00:15:40.77
And it just helps to
be around other people
00:15:40.80\00:15:44.57
and to be of service.
00:15:44.61\00:15:48.91
So Carrie started
coming to the job site to help.
00:15:48.94\00:15:53.52
Then she
eventually received the shed.
00:15:53.55\00:15:57.05
It's a space that
she's put to great use.
00:15:57.09\00:15:59.22
What's more,
00:15:59.25\00:16:00.59
it's a space to remind
her of the good in people.
00:16:00.62\00:16:04.23
And there's a sign on it
too saying all the people
00:16:04.26\00:16:07.96
that were involved,
so that's even like,
00:16:08.00\00:16:10.73
when I'm having a bad day,
00:16:10.77\00:16:12.10
it's like, all
those people love me.
00:16:12.13\00:16:13.57
From building
sheds to receiving them,
00:16:16.97\00:16:19.41
Carrie has loved being
00:16:19.44\00:16:20.78
part of the
Maranatha experience.
00:16:20.81\00:16:25.21
Act of service
has been mandatory
00:16:25.25\00:16:29.02
to help us heal.
00:16:29.05\00:16:30.99
If we stay in our little story,
00:16:31.02\00:16:35.56
we go tumbling down
00:16:35.59\00:16:36.99
this little hole of
sadness and depression.
00:16:37.03\00:16:42.16
And so it's just very
important to be of service
00:16:42.20\00:16:44.53
and to see things lifting
and coming up and coming out.
00:16:44.57\00:16:49.84
I'm still in a trailer,
00:16:49.87\00:16:52.24
and don't know
00:16:52.27\00:16:54.64
where that's gonna go,
00:16:54.68\00:16:56.58
but it's given
us the opportunity
00:16:56.61\00:17:00.88
to just be still
00:17:00.92\00:17:03.45
and just see
everyone and be seen.
00:17:03.49\00:17:09.29
It's just been a
gift them showing me
00:17:09.32\00:17:12.03
what love is, and
what love looks like.
00:17:12.06\00:17:14.40
When we come back,
we meet a volunteer
00:17:17.93\00:17:20.44
who fell away from his church,
00:17:20.47\00:17:22.24
but found his way
back to God in Paradise.
00:17:22.27\00:17:25.07
For more than a decade,
Maranatha Mission Stories
00:17:40.59\00:17:43.56
has taken you around the world,
00:17:43.59\00:17:45.66
showing you the need
00:17:45.69\00:17:47.03
and challenging
you to get involved.
00:17:47.06\00:17:50.53
Now we're introducing new
ways for you to stay informed
00:17:50.57\00:17:53.84
and inspired about the mission.
00:17:53.87\00:17:57.01
Watch your favorite episode
of Maranatha Mission Stories
00:17:57.04\00:18:00.01
as well as other Maranatha
videos on your Apple TV.
00:18:00.04\00:18:04.68
Visit the App Store,
00:18:04.71\00:18:06.05
search for The Maranatha Channel
00:18:06.08\00:18:07.98
and hit Install.
00:18:08.02\00:18:11.32
You'll have access
00:18:11.35\00:18:12.69
to all of our
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00:18:12.72\00:18:14.66
And you can watch any time.
00:18:14.69\00:18:16.66
Our videos are available
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00:18:16.69\00:18:21.13
Our content can also be viewed
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00:18:21.16\00:18:26.20
The Maranatha Channel
00:18:26.23\00:18:27.74
bringing mission
adventures to your living room.
00:18:27.77\00:18:30.21
People are drawn to
Maranatha Mission trips
00:18:39.01\00:18:41.28
for all sorts of reasons.
00:18:41.32\00:18:43.28
Volunteers love
the act of service
00:18:43.32\00:18:45.49
and making new friends.
00:18:45.52\00:18:47.59
Many times
people also go in search
00:18:47.62\00:18:50.23
of the deeper
connection with God.
00:18:50.26\00:18:54.46
But volunteer Randy Purviance
wanted none of those things.
00:18:54.50\00:18:58.10
He wasn't even
looking to volunteer.
00:18:58.13\00:19:00.77
Randy spent years
doing humanitarian work
00:19:00.80\00:19:03.44
for the church in
the mission field.
00:19:03.47\00:19:05.44
Then an event pushed Randy
out of his job and into trauma
00:19:05.47\00:19:09.34
and separation
from his church and God,
00:19:09.38\00:19:13.21
but all that
changed in Paradise.
00:19:13.25\00:19:17.02
Doing humanitarian
work, especially field based,
00:19:17.05\00:19:21.39
there's a constant
exposure to trauma,
00:19:21.42\00:19:26.90
other people's trauma,
00:19:26.93\00:19:28.86
and it can be traumatic,
00:19:28.90\00:19:31.50
you can experience
traumatic things yourself.
00:19:31.53\00:19:35.07
We felt abandoned, we
felt completely isolated
00:19:35.10\00:19:39.37
from any sort of support.
00:19:39.41\00:19:42.94
And so when I came
home in 2006, I thought,
00:19:42.98\00:19:47.68
"Well, you know, things
will get back to normal.
00:19:47.72\00:19:50.59
We're living here in Idaho.
00:19:50.62\00:19:52.05
We'll enjoy the life here.
00:19:52.09\00:19:55.66
And those things
will just disappear."
00:19:55.69\00:19:57.83
Well, they didn't disappear.
00:19:57.86\00:19:59.19
Those things don't
just leave your mind.
00:19:59.23\00:20:02.40
And I began having
increasing difficulties
00:20:02.43\00:20:08.10
with, I mean, even
going to church was a trigger.
00:20:08.14\00:20:12.47
It would leave me
with intense anxiety.
00:20:12.51\00:20:17.65
So I found it was
easier just to stop going.
00:20:17.68\00:20:21.28
My faith did collapse.
00:20:21.32\00:20:23.79
I felt isolated.
00:20:23.82\00:20:26.55
I was traumatized.
00:20:26.59\00:20:30.76
I was eventually diagnosed
00:20:30.79\00:20:34.20
with PTSD,
debilitating with PTSD.
00:20:34.23\00:20:38.53
I would say that God and I
00:20:38.57\00:20:40.57
were not on close speaking terms
00:20:40.60\00:20:43.30
for quite a while.
00:20:43.34\00:20:45.57
He may have been talking to
me, but I couldn't hear Him.
00:20:45.61\00:20:48.54
My wife decided it
was time to do something.
00:20:48.58\00:20:52.01
And that
something was to convince me
00:20:52.05\00:20:55.45
to go to the Weimar Institute
00:20:55.48\00:20:58.52
in Northern
California near Auburn,
00:20:58.55\00:21:02.02
where they have
an 18-day program
00:21:02.06\00:21:04.66
called NEWSTART.
00:21:04.69\00:21:06.03
I was very quickly overwhelmed
00:21:06.06\00:21:09.00
by the empathy and the love
00:21:09.03\00:21:13.74
and the care that
I experienced there.
00:21:13.77\00:21:16.67
So when I came home
00:21:16.71\00:21:18.57
after the first
Weimar experience,
00:21:18.61\00:21:23.18
I vigorously pursued
those things that I learned,
00:21:23.21\00:21:27.85
and then after about six months,
00:21:27.88\00:21:32.05
I suffered a head injury
that left me in the hospital.
00:21:32.09\00:21:35.89
And after that,
00:21:35.92\00:21:41.86
my wife thought,
00:21:41.90\00:21:44.50
you know, the one cure
was to go back to Weimar.
00:21:44.53\00:21:47.57
I went back in
September of last year.
00:21:47.60\00:21:52.91
And during the last weekend,
00:21:52.94\00:21:54.44
I was there, my
friends of many years,
00:21:54.48\00:21:58.55
David and Susan Woods
from we first met in Malawi
00:21:58.58\00:22:04.02
in Central
Africa, came to visit me.
00:22:04.05\00:22:08.22
They've told me
while I was at Weimar,
00:22:08.26\00:22:11.33
about the project, he
just very briefly said,
00:22:11.36\00:22:13.93
"We're building storage sheds
to distribute to the people
00:22:13.96\00:22:19.40
who are returning to their homes
00:22:19.43\00:22:21.40
after the fire that
destroyed Paradise,"
00:22:21.44\00:22:26.07
and that in three weeks,
00:22:26.11\00:22:28.11
they had built nearly
200 sheds at that point.
00:22:28.14\00:22:32.15
So I thought, "Well,
00:22:32.18\00:22:34.12
this is something
I maybe should see."
00:22:34.15\00:22:36.32
I said, "Dave, you
know, I'll drive through,
00:22:36.35\00:22:38.69
I'll spend 15
minutes and, you know,
00:22:38.72\00:22:41.56
I'll see what you're doing."
00:22:41.59\00:22:42.92
I wasn't prepared at all
00:22:42.96\00:22:44.99
for what I saw when I got there.
00:22:45.03\00:22:46.86
When I drove into Paradise,
I got directions to the church,
00:22:46.90\00:22:51.60
where the
church had been, and...
00:22:51.63\00:22:54.07
It's hard to put it to words,
00:23:00.91\00:23:02.51
but maybe
00:23:02.54\00:23:04.28
the most amazing act of worship
00:23:04.31\00:23:10.29
I've ever seen.
00:23:10.32\00:23:14.62
In that burnt down
church parking lot,
00:23:14.66\00:23:17.63
those Seventh-day
Adventists were...
00:23:22.80\00:23:28.04
despite their own losses
00:23:33.04\00:23:37.88
were helping their neighbors.
00:23:37.91\00:23:42.35
It's hard to just say
00:23:46.19\00:23:49.39
how powerful that impacted me.
00:23:49.42\00:23:52.89
And I was so
moved by what I saw,
00:23:52.93\00:23:58.00
that even before I
saw David and Susan,
00:23:58.03\00:24:00.67
I decided I needed to stay,
00:24:00.70\00:24:02.94
I needed to be part of that,
00:24:02.97\00:24:04.31
there was something
there that I wanted.
00:24:04.34\00:24:06.17
And I ended up
staying three days
00:24:06.21\00:24:09.41
to help deliver
sheds in Paradise.
00:24:09.44\00:24:11.65
And that was
quite an experience.
00:24:11.68\00:24:14.55
I got to hear people's stories
00:24:14.58\00:24:16.32
and soaked it in.
00:24:20.46\00:24:24.29
I decided that
00:24:24.33\00:24:29.30
Paradise was a place
00:24:29.33\00:24:30.67
where I could put my
feet back into the water,
00:24:30.70\00:24:34.44
so to speak, where
I could go to church.
00:24:34.47\00:24:37.84
I mean, what better
place for a troubled person
00:24:37.87\00:24:42.84
to go than to a church
00:24:42.88\00:24:46.51
where everybody
had experienced loss.
00:24:46.55\00:24:51.45
And I felt at home there.
00:24:51.49\00:24:53.15
How does Maranatha build people?
00:24:53.19\00:24:55.49
How does
Maranatha change people?
00:24:55.52\00:24:57.76
Each of us come with
different backgrounds.
00:24:57.79\00:25:00.53
Each of us have
different experiences,
00:25:00.56\00:25:03.23
but there's
something in the act of service
00:25:03.26\00:25:07.94
that it makes us vulnerable.
00:25:07.97\00:25:10.37
It draws us together.
00:25:10.41\00:25:12.44
And it changes
00:25:12.47\00:25:17.11
deep within us.
00:25:17.15\00:25:19.35
How we look at the
world, how we look at God,
00:25:19.38\00:25:21.88
how we look at
our faith community,
00:25:21.92\00:25:24.79
we aren't bystanders,
00:25:24.82\00:25:26.45
we are
participants, fully immersed.
00:25:26.49\00:25:31.19
In February, when I
returned to Paradise
00:25:31.23\00:25:33.66
for the second time to help,
00:25:33.70\00:25:36.93
prepare for the next shed build,
00:25:36.97\00:25:41.77
I arrived earlier
than I had anticipated.
00:25:41.80\00:25:47.01
So I once again drove
directly to the church
00:25:47.04\00:25:51.01
and it was in the evening.
00:25:51.05\00:25:53.21
And so I got out and
walked up those stairs again.
00:25:53.25\00:25:59.15
And I stood there thinking about
00:25:59.19\00:26:03.22
how I had found a
place back in the church,
00:26:03.26\00:26:08.46
at a burned out church,
00:26:11.47\00:26:14.70
the church that no
longer stood there.
00:26:14.74\00:26:17.81
And I felt like
I'd found a place
00:26:17.84\00:26:22.58
for my own burned out heart
00:26:22.61\00:26:27.15
that I could call home.
00:26:27.18\00:26:30.99
And so, you know,
00:26:31.02\00:26:33.66
that was really a
profound experience,
00:26:33.69\00:26:39.66
profound sort of
cementing the direction
00:26:39.69\00:26:44.20
I've been going
00:26:44.23\00:26:48.14
for the last several years,
00:26:48.17\00:26:51.34
just piece by piece,
00:26:51.37\00:26:55.58
argument by argument,
00:26:55.61\00:26:57.25
but my
resistance was melted down.
00:26:57.28\00:27:02.08
And so I knew standing
there that I was coming home.
00:27:02.12\00:27:08.06
Randy's story along
00:27:11.76\00:27:13.09
with everyone else's testimonies
00:27:13.13\00:27:14.63
heard on today's
program offer evidence
00:27:14.66\00:27:17.10
of how the simple act of service
00:27:17.13\00:27:19.43
can change your
life on multiple levels.
00:27:19.47\00:27:21.70
It can provide
security and shelter.
00:27:25.67\00:27:29.74
It can give new purpose.
00:27:29.78\00:27:33.25
It can reveal our vulnerability
while boosting our faith.
00:27:33.28\00:27:38.62
It can reconnect us
to the things we've lost
00:27:38.65\00:27:41.36
and remind us of the
mission that belongs to us all.
00:27:41.39\00:27:45.93
Service is God's love in action,
00:27:45.96\00:27:49.23
changing lives, even yours.
00:27:49.26\00:27:51.73