This week, we’re headed to the Dominican Republic--a country that is special to Maranatha as it is the first place where we organized a major construction effort (see below in “Did You Know?”). Today’s story takes place in 2015, when we met a man called Papun. His church used to meet in his home for worship because they didn’t have a church building. We’ll learn about how he and his fellow church members did everything they could to try and build a church on their own, but could not finish it, and how Maranatha came to help.

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Pre-video Discussion Questions
- Have you ever started a project then given up because it was too difficult to complete on your own?

VIDEO
In today’s video, learn about how when people work together on a difficult task, we can accomplish great things!

Post-video Discussion Questions
- How do you think it felt for Papun and his fellow church members to give up on their church construction project?
- Why do you think the students from HMS Richards school were able to see a different side of their principal on a mission trip?
- How does stepping outside our daily comfort zone open our eyes to new perspectives? Can you think of an example when this happened to you?

Prayer Points
- For us to listen to the calling to help each other.
- For us to have opportunities to step outside our comfort zones and see each other in a new light--even our family members!
- Ask kids what they would add to the prayer list.

Did You Know?
- In 1992, Maranatha organized a major effort in the Dominican Republic called Santo Domingo ’92, where the goal was to build 25 churches in 70 days. Approximately 1,200 volunteers gathered in the capital city of Santo Domingo to work on the project.
- The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Dominican Republic asked Maranatha to return in 2002 to build 50 more churches. We returned again in 2013 to build 19 churches and 13 Sabbath School structures.