PODCAST · religion
Inside Missions
by Maranatha Volunteers International
An in-depth look at the people, cultures, and countries where Maranatha is working. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate and review, and share!
Episodes
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Episode 48: High Schoolers Share Raw Mission Trip Experiences in the DR
What is it really like to go on a mission trip for high schoolers? Hear from teens Audrey Welty, Ezri Emmanuel, and Jonah Cicle as they give an unfiltered look at Ultimate Workout 36 in the Dominican Republic. From travel mishaps and initial culture shock to making lifelong friends and…
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Episode 47 - Three Decades in India Comes to a Close
We reflect on Maranatha’s 28-year history in India as we prepare to close our effort there. Since opening a field office in 1998, Maranatha has completed approximately 3,600 projects across the country, including constructing more than 2,000 churches, 1,200 water wells, and 700 school structures....
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Episode 46 - Young adult project at 12,500 feet in Peru: Catalyst 2026
Maranatha’s re-launched mission project designed specifically for young adults aged 18–28 landed in the high-altitude landscape of southern Peru in July 2026, where 40 volunteers faced the physical challenges of working at 12,500 feet, and the bitter cold to build a new church for the…
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Episode 45 - Ultimate Workout 36 - Dominican Republic - Maranatha’s mission trip for high schoolers
We dive into the heart of Ultimate Workout (UW), Maranatha’s mission project for teens, fresh off the 36th iteration of the longstanding project. For more than three decades, UW has been a defining experience for high school volunteers. In this episode, UW leaders go behind the scenes to discuss...
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Episode 44 - Decades in the DR - Maranatha’s long history of working in the Dominican Republic
Explore Maranatha’s profound, decades-long history in the Dominican Republic. Tracing the journey from early post-Hurricane David relief in the 1980s to the pivotal "Santo Domingo ’92" project, the team discusses how a landmark mission involving 1,200 volunteers building 25 churches in 70 days...
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Episode 43 - Origins of Ultimate Workout - How Maranatha’s annual high school mission trip began
In this episode we uncover the origin story of one of Maranatha’s most iconic mission trips: our annual high school project, Ultimate Workout (UW). Long-time UW leader Steve Case and the visionary for the project, Chris Blake, join our VP of volunteer services, Lisandro Staut, to share how this...
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Episode 42 - A Decade in Kenya - Unique challenges, ethical questions when cultures collide, geographic diversity, strong tribal traditions, and a deeply welcoming culture. Why it’s been a favorite destination for volunteers for the past ten years.
Join us for a special episode of Inside Missions as we celebrate a significant milestone: 10 years of Maranatha Volunteers International’s work in Kenya. With more than 1,200 structures built, including churches and classrooms, and more than 2,000 volunteers deployed, the impact on the ground has...
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Episode 41 - Maranatha Mythbusters - Volunteering - Does Maranatha only use volunteer labor? Do short term missions yield sustainable results? Are there any limits on who can volunteer? Do you have to live in rough conditions for a mission trip to count?
Staff from our volunteer department dismantle common misconceptions about volunteering with Maranatha, including four major myths. Does Maranatha only use volunteer labor? Do short term missions yield sustainable results? Are there any limits on who can volunteer? Do you have to live in rough...
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Episode 40 - Miracles in the Mission Field - Skepticism, supernatural stories, and how western minds process the supernatural compared to global counterparts
Long-time Maranatha leader and adjunct professor at Andrews University, Dr. Steve Case, joins the show for a discussion on one of the most compelling and confounding topics about the mission field: miracles. The discussion is sparked by Maranatha’s vice president of marketing, Julie Lee, and her...
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Episode 39 - Maranatha Mythbusters - Is Maranatha an Adventist Church entity or receive funding from the Church? Does Maranatha pick where we work? Do we only work overseas? Do we do disaster relief like ADRA or ACS?
Four vice presidents of Maranatha get together to talk about some of the most common myths they hear about the organization. They tackle some common general questions like “Is Maranatha an Adventist Church entity?” “Does Maranatha receive funding from the Adventist Church?” “Does Maranatha pick...
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Episode 38 - Mission Trip Leaders’ Playbook - Behind the scenes of short-term mission trip organization. From pre-trip planning, to the daily schedule, to the unseen challenges of a leader, this conversation reveals how mission trip coordinators do their
Volunteer leader Jennifer Trujillo joins the crew to share her experience leading short-term mission trips with Maranatha, fresh off a project in India. They talk about what drives their motivation to lead this time-consuming and challenging endeavor, the transformation they see in volunteers…
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Episode 37 - The Art of Storytelling in the Mission Field - Having a detailed plan but staying open to God’s lead, building rapport with interview subjects, how pre-trip preparation pays off, and one woman’s tearful reaction to visualizing her new church
Julie Lee and Sidney Needles share details of their recent trips to India and the Dominican Republic, and the stories they were sent to capture. Julie describes what travel is like in the northeast Indian state of Mizoram, including the exciting traffic, harrowing mountain roads, varying…
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Episode 36 - Don and Laura Noble - Our most difficult projects ever, including a remote desert in Kenya and Communist Cuba, and Don’s first Maranatha project involving a plane crash, circumventing a war, and breaking down in the middle of the ocean.
Don and Laura Noble join the show to talk about some of the most problematic projects, countries, and situations we’ve had to deal with over the years, and why Maranatha chooses to push through these roadblocks, when it would be easier to just move on. They discuss the difficulties of working in...
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Episode 35 - Teen Transformation on Ultimate Workout - Josue Quispe - Life change for youth, quitting his job for missions, and finding his wife on a mission trip
What started as a one-time translation job for a Maranatha volunteer project turned into a lifelong passion of service, and bringing others along for the ride. Josue got his first introduction to Maranatha on our teens-only mission trip, Ultimate Workout (UW), as a 16-year-old translator in his...
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Episode 34 - Making Responsible Impact - Monty Jacobs - Ethical gift giving, serving on Maranatha’s board, and the importance of partnerships in local communities
Maranatha board member and Executive Director of Global Missions at AdventHealth, Monty Jacobs, joins the crew for a conversation about engaging volunteers in meaningful, ethical service. Monty talks about his first Maranatha mission trip experience as a high schooler in 1982, and how that...
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Episode 33 - Career Path to Missions - Kenneth Weiss - Turning down a career in D.C. for Maranatha, the impact of Maranatha employment on our children, and our expanded worldview of what it means to be Adventist
Our chief operating officer joins the team for the first time in the show’s new format, sharing some of his personal journey to missions after 30 years working for Maranatha. Growing up in a missionary family, there was a certain expectation that Kenneth would do something for missions. But at a...
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Episode 32 - Serving in Africa - David Woods - Why he loves Africa, learning local languages, and miracle stories
Our country director for North America and Zambia makes his second appearance on the show, this time with our group of hosts in the new format. He shares stories from his time in Africa that he never told in Episode 1, explaining why he loves the continent so much, and some of the differences in...
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Episode 31 - Mission Field TV. Our producers talk international media production, travel, finding stories, and conducting interviews through interpreters.
** NEW FORMAT! Going forward our TV producers will be regulars each episode, discussing a wide variety of topics related to missions, and sometimes bringing guests into the conversation.** What’s it like being a television producer in the mission field? Go behind the scenes with our “Maranatha...
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Episode 30 - Erton Köhler - President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Erton Köhler joins us in-studio in one of his first long-form interviews since being elected during the General Conference Session in July 2025. Pastor Köhler talks about his journey to pastoral leadership, the growth of missions in…
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Episode 29 - Elmer Barbosa - Jungle church construction, starting from scratch in a new country, and leading a large mission trip for teens
Our country director for Peru and Paraguay returns as the show’s first repeat guest after an abbreviated first appearance in Episode 5. Elmer shares how the work in the Amazon jungle region of Peru progressed since then, and talks about his new responsibility in also overseeing Maranatha’s work…
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Episode 28 - Eddie Heinrich - Breaking his neck on a mission trip and why he keeps taking youth on projects
As Youth and Pathfinder Director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Northern California, Eddie has decades of experience taking youth on mission trips around the world. He recounts his first experiences with Maranatha, talks about the importance of doing a pre-trip site visit, and explains…
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Episode 27 - Marcos Paseggi - Adventist Review’s senior news correspondent on reporting on the mission around the world
As Adventist Review’s senior news correspondent, Marcos has traveled the world covering stories for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and has the unique experience of coming to the mission of Maranatha via journalism. Early in his time at Adventist Review, he was asked to cover the dedication of…
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Episode 26 - Leo Macias and Sidney Needles - Debriefing a TV production trip to India
What is it like to produce a television program in another country? Maranatha’s media production manager Leo Macias and communication specialist Sidney Needles debrief their recent trip to India. Come behind the scenes and learn how TV is produced in the field, and hear about specific challenges...
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Episode 25 - Kenneth Weiss - The Mission in Communist Cuba
Maranatha’s chief operating officer talks about his earliest impressions of Cuba from the mid-90’s, how Maranatha got involved, some of the challenges of the Seventh-day Adventist Church there back then, and how Maranatha worked to construct or renovate more than 200 churches on the island over…
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Episode 24 - Loretta Spivey - “You’ll be in a wheelchair the rest of your life,” and leading thousands of teens on mission trips
Long-time Maranatha mission trip leader, Loretta Spivey, shares her journey to the mission field, from becoming the first Seventh-day Adventist in her family as a result of a visit from a literature evangelist, to a year-long missionary assignment in Indonesia. She’s been heavily involved with...
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Episode 23 - Danny Poljak - Explosives, Escaping War, and Mission Field Construction
After serving as a Maranatha volunteer for years, Danny now works for Maranatha to ensure our buildings are constructed soundly. But his journey to Maranatha starts as a child in the former Yugoslavia, the son of a Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor there. He remembers international Church…
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Episode 22 - Susan Woods - Air raids, riding a refugee train, mission field pregnancies/raising kids
Maranatha’s medical services coordinator grew up as a missionary kid in Asia, and later took her own family into the mission field to serve in several countries around the globe. Over her lifetime she’s experienced a wide range of danger and harrowing situations, from wartime air raids to local...
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Episode 21 - Lisandro Staut - Troublemaker turned ministry leader talks overcoming labels, why he left a successful career path, and a criticism of short term missions
Maranatha’s vice president for volunteers explains his unlikely path to missions, from his reputation as a teen troublemaker to pursuing ministry—much to the surprise of those around him. He reflects on the labels others put on him, and a crucial moment where he tested God with his future.…
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Episode 20 - Dina Ramirez - From volunteer to staff member, how God uses people to answer prayers
Long-time Maranatha volunteer turned staff member talks about her transition from serving with the organization to working for it. She recounts how she first got into short term missions, how it has impacted herself and her family, and why she has a passion for using service to reach youth. She...
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Episode 19 - Maranatha Volunteer Support Staff - Behind the scenes of sleepless nights, contingency plans, and the power of prayer
Three of Maranatha’s volunteer support staff join us for our first-ever panel! Maria Molleda from Peru, Alice Danla in India, and Kotesh Rao in Kenya, talk about the other side of the mission trip from what volunteers see. From booking hotels and excursions, to orchestrating outreach…
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Episode 18 - Don Noble - Taking over Maranatha Flights International in 1983, food poisoning, car attacks, and doubters saying he was the wrong guy for the job
Maranatha’s president since the early 80’s, Don tells the story of how God called him to a small, fledgling organization called “Maranatha Flights International,” the original name for Maranatha. He shares how he listened for God’s leading in that initial decision, and how he has stayed attuned…
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Episode 17 - Kyle Fiess - First reactions to girls escaping child marriage and female genital mutilation, and managing the six-year project to improve their school's infrastructure
Maranatha’s vice president of projects describes his first day visiting the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center in Kenya, in what would become a six-year project he oversaw. He recalls his initial reactions to the plight of these Maasai girls who ran away from their homes to escape female...
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Episode 16 - Mission to Kajiado: An Audio Story - How Maasai girls escaping child marriage and female genital mutilation found a home and new family
This audio story is about the Kajiado Adventist School and Rescue Center in Kenya. It’s a haven for Maasai girls, sometimes as young as six years old, who are escaping child marriage and a dangerous ritual called female genital mutilation (FGM). Maranatha dedicated the campus in July 2024 after…
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Episode 15 - Jason Blanchard - Growing up as a missionary kid in Malawi and returning to the same country as the CEO of Malamulo Adventist Hospital
Jason is the Executive Director of Clinic Operations at Loma Linda University Health in California, but talks about life as a missionary kid in Malawi, and his subsequent return in adulthood as the CEO of the Malamulo Adventist Hospital. He describes his journey in-between and how volunteering on...
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Episode 14 - Greg Hatch - Escaping the COVID shut down in Ivory Coast, food poisoning, and pre-mission trip site visits
A long-time Maranatha volunteer and leader, Greg explains how he first got into missions, influenced by his parents and uncle, Maranatha board member, Roger Hatch. He reflects on the first mission trip he led solo, how he’s improved in handling interpersonal conflicts on a project, how he’s…
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Episode 13 - Nancy Davis - Growing up in a missionary family in Thailand and the challenges of being a "third culture" kid
At the age of 11, Nancy’s family moved to Bangkok, Thailand, to serve as missionaries. She reflects on what it was like to grow up as a missionary kid, how her identity came to be more Thai than American, and how she struggled to assimilate into American culture as a young adult in the United...
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Episode 12 - Joelle Chinnock - Escaping the 2018 Camp Fire and helping in the aftermath
Currently the coordinator for the Ending Homelessness Initiative for the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Joelle previously served as the Director of Disaster Recovery & Development for the Paradise Seventh-day Adventist Church in California. She worked closely with...
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Episode 11 - Steve Case - Why missions is important for teens and the fundamental goal of mission trips
Since 1992 Steve has run his own ministry, “Involve Youth,” speaking for youth events, conducting training seminars for youth leaders, creating youth ministry resources, and teaching youth ministry professionals. He’s an author of many books and coordinates the Intergenerational Church cohort for...
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Episode 10 - Karen Godfrey - Curating the mission trip experience, and recruiting 1,200 volunteers to build 25 churches in 70 days
How do you curate a volunteer experience that makes people want to come back time after time? Our VP of Advancement shares how Maranatha has worked to provide mission trips that make a difference in the lives of project recipients, as well as the volunteers doing the work. Karen’s journey with...
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Episode 9 - Laura Noble - From running with California's rich and famous to a mission non-profit
Laura has worked for Maranatha in Donor Relations for years, but there was a time when she never thought she’d work for such a ministry. Her early career in software sales was lucrative, allowing her to rub shoulders with California's rich and famous. Yet, she wasn’t happy. Her job lacked…
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Episode 8 - Julie Lee - Marketing the mission, telling stories of need, and planning a 2,000-person event
Our VP of marketing shares her journey in telling the story of Maranatha through print, TV, and more. What’s it like to capture the essence of people in need halfway around the world? What goes through the mind of a field producer as they’re curating a story for television? Julie shares her...
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Episode 7 - Christina Lloyd - Embedding with a well-drilling crew in the bush, witnessing a girl rescued from child marriage/FGM, and producing a TV show in the mission field
Go behind the camera with our director of television, who breaks down how we produce a TV program in the mission field. It’s a balance of logistics, planning, and keeping your eye open for just the right story. Christina has been filming and producing programming for Maranatha since the early...
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Episode 6 - Luke Johnson - Language barriers, raising young kids in the second smallest country in Africa, and the heartbreak of finding no water when drilling
In our first field episode, Dustin Comm talks to our country manager for Zambia under a mango tree at the Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church, during a mission trip where Maranatha volunteers were constructing a medical clinic in October 2023. Luke’s career started in India’s corporate world, but...
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Episode 5 - Elmer Barbosa - Helping volunteers escape the COVID shutdown, working in the Amazon, and physically constructing hundreds of churches
Maranatha's country director in Peru shares how he started in the mission field as a 20-year old missionary to Mozambique. Elmer recalls how he constructed hundreds of Maranatha's One-Day Churches in both Mozambique and Brazil, and how the COVID pandemic affected the work in Peru, including...
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Episode 4 - Gilberto Araujo - Raising kids in the mission field, life in the Middle East, and surviving violence
Our country director for the Dominican Republic shares his lifelong journey in missions, from a missionary’s kid in the north of Brazil, to Africa and the Middle East as an administrator for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and now in the Caribbean for Maranatha. Gilberto talks about the...
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Episode 3 - Vinish Wilson - Meeting Mother Teresa, using explosives to find water, and Maranatha's work in India
Dustin Comm sits down with Maranatha’s country director in India, who shares his journey from a Himalayan town in northern India to becoming a Seventh-day Adventist and eventually working for Maranatha for the past 23 years. Vinish talks about his initial experience with Maranatha as a translator...
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Episode 2 - Anu Kedas - Ebola, loneliness, and God's protection in Africa
Dustin Comm sits down with Maranatha's country director in Kenya who talks about her journey to Maranatha and how she's seen God's leading no matter the challenges. From moving to Africa with a two-year old, to facing an ebola epidemic with her family of four, Anu has overcome many obstacles…
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Episode 1 - David Woods - Moving your young missionary family to the mission field, and surviving a break-in
Dustin Comm sits down with Maranatha's country director for Zambia and North America, who talks about his journey with Maranatha, including what it's like to move a young family to Africa, and the challenges of living in the mission field. He shares the projects he's been involved with through...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
An in-depth look at the people, cultures, and countries where Maranatha is working.
Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate and review, and share!
HOSTED BY
Maranatha Volunteers International
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Inside Missions have?
Inside Missions currently has 48 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Inside Missions about?
An in-depth look at the people, cultures, and countries where Maranatha is working. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate and review, and share!
How often does Inside Missions release new episodes?
Inside Missions has 48 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Inside Missions on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Inside Missions?
Inside Missions is created and hosted by Maranatha Volunteers International.
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