by Becky Hefty | Apr 3, 2024 | Connections Article
MBI exists to help YWAM locations thrive and achieve the best possible kingdom results in their work. In January, MBI’s Leadership13 (L13) members Ron Brewster and Dawn Masucci traveled to Cambodia to continue training and encouraging the YWAM Battambang University of the Nations leadership and staff. Ron’s wife, Jeanette, accompanied them to provide debriefing services. MBI is helping YWAM Battambang realize its vision for “serving the community, educating youth, and developing leaders” in Cambodia.
Cambodia is recovering from the genocidal war waged against its people by the Pol Pot regime in the mid-‘70s, which devastated their elderly and educated population, leaving the vulnerable young to fend for themselves. According to WHO and the UN, Cambodians still face widespread poverty and illiteracy, lack of proper sanitation and access to clean drinking water, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, and sex trafficking. But the missionaries at YWAM Battambang believe they can “transform the nation in one generation.” They accomplish this through elementary education, teaching English, reaching out to families facing HIV/AIDS, fitness programs, business-as-missions projects, youth development, and more.
As the MBI team made the four-hour journey to Battambang, they listened to worship songs and discovered 
that their driver, a man named Dang, was a believer. Dang told the team that in the ‘90s, a former YWAM outreach center took him in when he was thirteen years old. He became a follower of Jesus, which is remarkable since only 2% of Cambodians are Christians (YWAM Battambang has since started a church to share the gospel; it now has 350 believers, with indigenous staff and preaching). He learned English there, which allowed him to find a job driving and earn a living. Today, Dang is married and has two children, nine and eleven.”
Ron says: “Does it really matter what MBI does to help YWAM locations and missionaries? It matters to people like Dang, our driver! It’s a good reminder that there are Dangs all over the world, and what we do weaves us into beautiful God stories!”
by Becky Hefty | Sep 13, 2023 | Connections Article
It’s no secret that poverty and hunger plague communities of people at home and abroad, from rural villages to inner cities to drought-stricken and war-torn nations. Statistics show that 719 million people live in extreme poverty worldwide, and 828 million suffer from hunger.
YWAM missionaries know feeding and caring for impoverished men, women, and children is a powerful part of its mandate to make God known. Meeting real physical needs reveals God’s intentional love for those who hunger body and soul. YWAM Gleanings for the Hungry understands this. They say:
“As a mercy ministry of Youth With A Mission, our mission is to feed the hungry of the world, both physically and spiritually. A large part of fulfilling our mission is the procurement and production of shelf-stable food. In the summer, we dry peaches and nectarines not pristine enough for sale. Year-round, we produce a dehydrated vegetable soup mix, mostly from donated products. We give everything we produce free of charge to partner ministries worldwide for distribution in impoverished areas, along with the love of Jesus. We are a destination for all ages to come and volunteer, working together for eternal impact in a hurting world.”
YWAM Gleanings’ work depends on volunteer help. MBI’s Volunteer Placement ministry provides the visibility
ministries like YWAM Gleanings need to attract helpers while offering an easy, seamless application process that gets volunteers on campus and to work quickly.
“The work was so rewarding because we helped prepare food to send to the poor in developing countries.” —Joan and Morry ▪ “Their mission of feeding the hungry locally in their community as well as around the world is a sight to be seen.” —Juli ▪ “Wow! Lots of service opportunities here that are touching people all around the world.” —Ed
MBI supports the work of YWAM frontline missionaries by providing the volunteers and vital services necessary to help keep them productive and thriving. Visit our website at www.missionbuilders.org and apply to volunteer today!
by Becky Hefty | Jun 1, 2023 | Connections Article
How do you engage the nations for Christ on a global scale?
By filling a child’s belly, rescuing a trafficked human being, sharing the gospel with someone, or building a home to shelter a family in need. Global YWAM missionaries do these things daily, and MBI helps meet their practical needs so they may thrive and impact as many lives as possible.
YWAM San Antonio del Mar in Mexico is one of many heroes reaching the least, the last, and the lost. They serve in a dynamic region that draws people worldwide searching for hope and a better life. They say:
“Last year, we sent outreach teams to eighteen nations and many states in our beloved Mexico. We also spent time with our friends on the streets of Tijuana. One week, we spent the afternoon inviting people to the table. We shared a meal, listened to them, and spoke life over them. The Father has set the table for us, and all are welcome. It’s our turn to extend that invitation, to pull out a chair for our brothers and sisters so they may taste and see that He is good.”
“We’re passionate about community engagement and walking with the families we serve by building Homes of Hope and through various other services. We meet people where they’re at, bringing hope and transformation.”
Is it possible to measure a family’s or an individual’s joy and anticipation of better things to come? To find out, click here to see the moving account of a single Mexican mother and her children rescued from a threadbare tarp hovel and given a new chance at life in a Homes of Hope dwelling.
Every volunteer and team that MBI recruits for an all-star location like YWAM San Antonio del Mar is a solution to the needs of the communities those missionaries serve. Mission Builder volunteers help frontline YWAM missionaries engage a broken world—one life, one family, one tribe, and one nation at a time.
Be the solution for frontline YWAM missionary heroes and the people they reach. Visit www.missionbuilders.org and volunteer today.
by Becky Hefty | Mar 8, 2023 | Connections Article
MBI helps YWAM missionaries and ministries flourish because when they do, so do the people they serve. That’s why MBI is YWAM’s go-to center for unique, professional-level, contextualized services like those offered by Leadership13 (L13).
The L13 team consists of experienced mission leaders who understand that successful leaders don’t just happen—they’re trained. Focusing on leadership teams is one of their top priorities and why L13 offers Train the Trainer seminars, helping equip and empower YWAM leaders.
MBI co-director and L13 member Dawn Masucci says: “At Train the Trainer seminars, we provide materials and
instruction for the ‘trainers’ who will return to their YWAM locations and teach their leaders. This approach helps identify and counter the difficulties of campuses experiencing a higher turnover rate.”
Pioneer team members at YWAM Lancaster in Pennsylvania said: “We grew so fast our systems were not in place for sustainability. L13 helped us work through the stages of growth and success. Their input was a turning point for us. And their Train the Trainer seminars have increased our ability to raise and equip leadership within our staff. MBI has given us solid, useful tools that created a stable foundation to fulfill our mission of reaching the unreached.”
A YWAM attendee at a Train the Trainer event in Tijuana, Mexico, wrote: “I was so encouraged after a great week with you guys. I spent a few days with a campus we pioneered in YWAM Analco in Durango, Mexico. I saw the material we learned in Tijuana come to life as I walked them through several sessions. Thanks for investing in me and indirectly in our new Durango YWAM location! You are helping people like me to thrive so we can also help others thrive.”
MBI continues to serve global YWAM missionaries and campuses at their specific points of need. As a result, those ministries can stay focused on how God has called them to “go and make disciples of all nations.”
by Becky Hefty | Sep 6, 2022 | Connections Article
MBI helps frontline YWAM missionaries thrive in their work by offering valuable services, perhaps none as unique and timely as that of its newest ministry service: Mission 91.
J.T. Pharr and Matthew Praetzel founded Mission 91 as a professional YWAM missionary team offering consulting, training, and ministry best practices in situational awareness, de-escalation, and risk mitigation. Mission 91 also offers a four-month, biblically centered training program to instruct missionary members and church staff in crisis mitigation, enhancing property
security, emergency preparedness, and how to be a source of refuge in their communities.
J.T. says: “Ministries and missionaries recognize that traditional security models are not conducive to ministry context. They need help establishing effective security measures without compromising their effectiveness in ministry. Mission 91 is the perfect avenue for utilizing the skill sets of those with a call to prepare others. Through this program, the body of Christ will become better equipped to walk boldly into stressful situations with high awareness and readiness.”
“Jesus was the most situationally aware person ever,” says Matthew. “He modeled how we can impact the people on the fringes of society by noticing them and speaking into their situation, whether they’re victims of injustice, perpetrators of crises, or simply individuals who feel left out. Mission 91 training enables Christians to be Jesus to people amid their worst days or decisions.”
“Our vision for Mission 91 from the beginning,” J.T. and Matthew conclude, “has been to help ministries worldwide thrive in crisis-related incidents and environments. MBI allows us the space and resources to do exactly that. Our unique backgrounds provide something new to MBI, and we look forward to helping expand the reach of this awesome ministry. The team at MBI has the kind of quality people we wish to surround ourselves with. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opportunity to work with this community.”
(Photo: J.T. Pharr, Luke Smith, Matthew Praetzel)
by Becky Hefty | Jul 14, 2022 | Connections Article, Memorial
On Monday, June 20, 2022, dear friend and mission builder Frank Castles Jr. passed away unexpectedly in Lakeside, MT. He was doing what he loved to do: giving his time and skills to kingdom work.
“Frank and his wife, Relda, wandered into the MBI office and our hearts over 20 years ago. Their hunger to pursue the things of God as they neared retirement opened opportunities for service that took them around the world and down the street in whichever neighborhood they lived. With Southern hospitality and the warmest “Howdy, y’all!” Frank endeared himself to others in his workplace as a professional engineer and to us as a member of MBI’s board of directors.
“Relentless, whether he offered his help or insisted on having fun together, Frank modeled Jesus with a Southern drawl. Those who knew him came to know his family and learned that Frank lived life large as “Big Daddy” to his children and their children.
“God gives us ‘suddenlies’ in our lives that can surprise and change our course of direction in an instant. Frank’s sudden passing reminds me more than ever to take the time to say “I love y’all” each day to those around me because we don’t know the day or the hour of our last breath—or theirs.
“Frank gave of his time and talents to bless others, even to his very last moment on earth. He “just showed up” to help us 20-plus years ago, and he was gone an instant later (gratefully, it was a long, 20-year instant). Frank loved Jesus, and it’s obvious Jesus loved him—suddenly.
“I will miss Frank’s deep, resonant voice reciting the Shabbat prayer with his Southern accent: ‘Blessed are You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe. You hallow us with your commandments and command us to kindle the lights of Shabbat. Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’zivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.’
“I pray you are blessed with a friend like Frank Castles in your circle of influence—with or without the Southern touch. Shalom, y’all.” —John Briggs
“Frank was one of the most gentle, fun-loving, hard-working, friendly guys I have known. He graciously gave his time, talent, and treasure to MBI. Through his hard work and diligence, Frank pushed our Mission Lodge project to a place where we can now go on to the next stage. He will be missed greatly, not just because of his talents and contributions, but because of who he was.” —Ron Brewster, MBI co-director
“Frank spent the last month of his life investing in what God is doing through MBI. With a lifetime of experience as a civil engineer and hands-on knowledge of the MBI utility system, he applied his skills and talents to the civil construction work for the new MBI Mission Lodge project. He was able to mobilize and direct teams to begin clearing the site, moving dirt, and installing sewer lines. On any given day, you could find him calling volunteers, ordering materials, placing stakes around the site, and sharing his knowledge with all those around him. His work has laid a foundation that the future of MBI will rest on.” —Ross Lackey, Partner Architects
Excerpted from Frank’s obituary:
“Born December 31, 1946, in Starkville, Mississippi, Frank was an avid Mississippi State fan. He served overseas as a Navy Seabee during the Vietnam War. After returning to the States, Frank enrolled in Mississippi State University, earning a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering. He owned a civil engineering firm in both Tupelo and
Saltillo, MS, before serving as the associate city engineer for Kalispell for several years. After retiring from his Kalispell position, Frank and his beloved wife, Relda, moved back to Mississippi to be closer to family.
“A loving family man, Frank was known affectionately as Big Daddy. He was strong in his Christian faith, passing those values to his family along with his love for the outdoors and fishing. He and Relda enjoyed life to the fullest, making many trips back to Montana and Israel, where they volunteered their skills and shared their faith and spiritual gifts, resulting in countless adventures, wonderful memories, and lifetime friendships.
“Memorials can be made to Mission Builders International at PO Box 406, Lakeside, MT 59922, www.missionbuilders.org/ donate or Fields of Wheat, PO Box 729, Middlefield, OH 44062.”
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