Summertime is vacation season, but the volunteers who gathered at Upper Columbia Academy didn’t seem to get the memo. From June 22–July 2, 2025, the 62-member team provided free labor at the campus.
They remodeled the school’s home economics classroom, reroofed a staff house, painted fire escapes and a large pavilion, and reinforced a footbridge. Their service project was organized by Maranatha Volunteers International, a supporting ministry of the Adventist Church.
“For our plant services team, it has been a sigh of hope and relief that someone is there to help,” said PJ Deming, UCA principal. “Most of the time, we have difficulty finding the time to do maintenance; we do crisis management. Maranatha helps us get ahead of the game a little bit. It helps us have things done that usually go unnoticed just because of the volume of other things that need done.”
Maranatha volunteers' labor may be free, but it’s far from cheap. “They come with an expertise. They find the project and get to work, which is a huge benefit,” remarked Deming. “I’ve often seen many projects at our churches and schools left unfinished, but Maranatha finishes a project and that’s crucial.”
The physical impact of this project is obvious. “We see the improvements, and those improvements are long lasting,” said Deming.
The volunteers’ care for the campus also had an emotional impact. “When they come, it helps you feel like the mission you are doing is valuable,” explained Deming. “It makes us feel like we’re not alone — that they see the value. And to think that we are being seen as valuable enough for someone to care about and invest in — it leaves me speechless.”
Maranatha Volunteers International mobilizes volunteers to build churches, schools, water wells and other urgently needed structures around the world, including North America. Since 1969, Maranatha has constructed more than 16,000 structures and more than 3,500 water wells in nearly 90 countries.
Maranatha volunteers reroof a UCA staff house.
