For the third consecutive year, Maranatha volunteers recently poured onto the campus of Mount Pisgah Academy in Candler, North Carolina, United States. More than 50 volunteers completed a variety of tasks, including the renovation of two guesthouse bathrooms, which involved removing old tubs and putting in new showers. But the focus of this project was the renovation of the school auditorium. The space was gutted — volunteers removed 300 stadium seats and all the old flooring. They installed new sound wiring, and the sound booth was expanded to four times as large as before.
Previously there was no real stage, so volunteers constructed an elevated stage with ample storage on both sides. Sheetrock was installed throughout the auditorium, even in high places reserved for a contractor that didn’t show up. The group also applied new paint and installed carpet tiles before their work ended. As a gift to the school, volunteers raised more than US$700 for stage curtain rods.
Return volunteers to Mount Pisgah continued to deepen their connections with God and each other. “We’ll miss the camaraderie, the friendship, and the fun,” Joy Thomas said in poem. “It kinda leaves a loneliness when all the work is done. Each one that came to participate worked hard without a shirk. Each of us leaves behind some of their heart left there by very hard work.”
Even first-time volunteers like Myrtice Lawson were impacted beyond their expectations. “I didn’t realize I could be so spiritually fed. I thought I would learn how to do construction, but you guys have turned my world upside down. It’s been so spiritual.”
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.
About Mount Pisgah Academy
Mount Pisgah is a Seventh-day Adventist boarding high school located outside Asheville, North Carolina. The school’s stated mission is to love, educate, and disciple students for God’s service.
The school promotes an educational journey that “extends beyond the classroom.” It offers a wholistic approached focused on whole health of the student.
Mount Pisgah advertises itself as “a culturally diverse Seventh-day Adventist School that welcomes students of all faiths,” adding, “Students enjoy a close community, engaging classes, caring teachers, and innovative programming surrounded by the breathtaking Southern Appalachians.”
About Maranatha Volunteers International
Maranatha Volunteers International, a nonprofit Christian organization that is a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, mobilizes volunteers to build churches, schools, water wells, and other urgently needed structures around the world. The organization fulfills requests for construction assistance. Each project is carefully considered for need, overall impact on the community, and resources for long-term maintenance and support.
Since 1969, Maranatha has constructed more than 11,000 structures and 1,500 water wells in nearly 90 countries around the world.The original version of this story was posted on the Maranatha Volunteers International site.
