Residents of the coastal area around Chiclayo, Peru, have five brand new Seventh-day Adventist churches. Built by 182 volunteers from Canada, Peru and the United States, the churches were part of the 16th annual Ultimate Workout mission trip, sponsored by Maranatha Volunteers International, a non-profit organization that specializes in building churches and schools around the world.

Challenging young adults aged 14 to 18 to flex their spiritual muscles as well as their biceps, the two-week Ultimate Workout is a high-energy service opportunity and an equally intense spiritual experience, say planners.

Designed to encourage participants to approach mission on their own terms, the Ultimate Workout offered a variety of service opportunities. Beyond mixing mortar and laying brick for the churches, volunteers helped staff medical clinics, conducted Vacation Bible Schools, passed out literature and even played soccer with local children.

With just two physicians, three nurses and two assistants, volunteers at the Chiclayo clinic saw more than 1,300 patients during the Ultimate Workout. Kristi Joiner, a 19-year-old emergency medical technician from Nebraska, noted the importance of getting involved.

“We could hire people—doctors, pediatricians, pharmacists, to do this. But it’s also really important for participants and for staff members to come down and have the experience of being outside of their comfort zone, of learning something new.”

“They need a church more than I need to be at home. So I decided to get up, get out of my house, and come help as much as possible,” said Jovan Davis, a teenager from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who helped build one of the churches.

Volunteers say the Ultimate Workout changed their lives as dramatically as it did the once-empty sites where churches now stand. Erin Houda from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, says, “I want to be a missionary when I grow up because of all this. I want to come to different countries, and I want to share Christ with others. I want to help build churches and fix homes and do everything. It has changed my life drastically.” 

Maranatha Volunteers International, founded in 1969, is a non-profit Christian organization, which organizes and implements the construction of urgently needed buildings all over the world. Over the past 33 years, more than 50,000 people have volunteered for Maranatha projects in 61 countries.