Florida’s bustling Camp Kulaqua got a bit busier when 59 volunteers from Maranatha Volunteers International, a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, arrived to help spruce up the campus. The summer camp and retreat center is one of the largest Adventist camps in the world, hosting roughly 50,000 visitors each year.
Maranatha projects at Kulaqua are somewhat of a tradition, this being the seventh service trip volunteers from across the country have completed at the Camp. In addition to various maintenance and construction tasks, team members had the unique opportunity to work on animal enclosures at Kulaqua’s zoo.
Camp Kulaqua’s zoo features a variety of animals native to Florida: raccoons, bears, porcupines, and several exotic species like lions and tigers. Maranatha volunteers built a wooden viewing platform to accompany the lion exhibit. They also constructed an owl enclosure, complete with a sturdy wooden frame and metal wire screens.
The group tackled other projects around the camp in addition to their work at the zoo: new audio/visual building and cabin porch railings built, and rotten benches replaced. The team also repaired a boardwalk damaged by Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
In addition to their love for service, many volunteers enjoy Camp Kulaqua projects because Florida’s winter is milder than winter at their respective homes. “They want to get out of the cold,” project coordinator Betty Beattie-Chrispell explained mirthfully. But, this year’s volunteers faced uncharacteristically chilly temperatures. “They were very surprised,” she said. “They had to wear their jackets the whole time.” Yet, the unexpected chill was no match for the team’s warm camaraderie. “We had such a good group. The Lord just always brings the right people; I am always so amazed,” said Beattie-Chrispell.
Maranatha Volunteers International mobilizes volunteers to build churches, schools, water wells, and other urgently needed structures around the world. Since 1969, Maranatha has constructed more than 14,000 structures and more than 3,000 water wells in nearly 90 countries.
Florida | May 2025
Comments are closed.