Almost 200 Seventh-day Adventist teenagers from the United States took part in a project to build four churches and an education center in central Costa Rica in July.  The 12-day volunteer project, called “the Ultimate Workout” and billed as a “no-frills, short-term mission trip for teenagers,” was organized by Maranatha Volunteers International, a lay Adventist organization based in Sacramento, California.

The volunteers divided into five groups and went to separate sites where they worked on construction. Four of the five sites, located across central Costa Rica, encountered intense rain. Volunteers were forced to pitch their tents in community buildings or sleep in local church members’ homes.

The Ultimate Workout is a unique mission trip that provides an intense environment for teenagers to focus on building their physical and spiritual strength, say organizers. Participants are stripped of modern amenities, including Walkmans and computers, and are given a rigorous daily regimen of laying heavy blocks and mortar. The workday begins as early as five in the morning and continues until evening. In the evening, volunteers gather for worship and Bible study.

The Costa Rican project marked the eleventh annual Ultimate Workout, a concept developed in 1989 by Chris Blake, then editor of Insight magazine. Since the early 1990s, the yearly event has been coordinated by Maranatha Volunteers International, a nonprofit organization that constructs urgently needed schools, churches, and community buildings around the world, and provides opportunities for volunteerism.