by Becky Hefty | Jul 27, 2015 | Connections Article
What does it take to be a mission builder? Please circle any or all of the applicable answers below:
- Good looks.
- Personal charm.
- A big bank account.
- The right connections.
- Skills everybody but you has.
- None of the above.
If you answered ‘none of the above,’ you are correct. Mission Builders International is looking for those who are willing to just show up and do whatever it takes. Period. We don’t require fees, memberships, or special skills. We make it as easy as possible for potential volunteers to connect with a best-fit missions service opportunity.
What about you? Do you want to serve and make a difference but don’t know how to get started? Let us help you. Answer the three following questions and you’ll be off to a good start.
Where would you like to go? MBI currently serves over 100 YWAM locations worldwide. Chances are we’re already sending volunteers to some area of the world that comes to your mind. Some locations may require a little more time, money and effort to reach, but we can help you navigate the complexities. You’ll be a pro in no time!
What would you like to do? Perhaps you have a particular skill or talent you’d like to offer, such as cooking, sewing, construction or landscaping. Maybe you’re tech savvy, artistic, or great with kids. Or maybe you’re the kind of person who likes a long and varied punch list so you can roll up your sleeves and say, “Let me at ‘em!” Whatever you’d like to do, there’s a place for you.
When can you go (and for how long)? Depending on the area of the world you choose and how your timing fits with the schedules and needs of different YWAM facilities, the sky is the limit. Go Down Under when it’s cold north of the Equator? Check. Go to the city or state next door so you can be in the vicinity of friends and family while you serve? Check. Go someplace that shares your ministry passion? Check. Put it on your calendar and contact us!
It’s easy to be a mission builder!
by Becky Hefty | Jul 16, 2015 | Volunteer Viewpoint
When Pat and Thelma Lewis of Wenatchee, WA, arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they were surprised and delighted to learn the only way to get to their village destination involved United Nations transport. It was one more remarkable experience to add to their four-month mission building adventure. Shoulder to shoulder with Pakistani peacekeeping soldiers, the Lewises arrived in Minembwe by helicopter to assist missionary friends for two weeks at the village’s primary school and fledgling University of Eben’ezer.
Nearly 300 students attend the two schools, many of them walking an hour or more one way for the privilege. Pat spoke to the students ab
out MBI’s role as a Christian volunteer agency, and together, using a curriculum designed in part by the university’s teachers, he and Thelma taught English classes to “very bright” children in the primary school. Thelma also instructed college students in basics of dental hygiene and created diagrams for use in future classes. “Older village women,” she noted, “reveal a thin, black line of gum tissue when they smile—the result of brushing with coal.”
The Lewises also helped with local projects. “God really used these opportunities to give back to communities wherever we went,” they said. “People in the Congo have nothing. Their provision is whatever they can raise, and their dependence on God is much greater than we could even comprehend. As Americans, our norm far exceeds their wildest dreams. Congolese men talk about survival, not retirement. So Westerners coming to give of themselves and help was the biggest gift these villagers could imagine.”
Even the Pakistani soldiers responded to the Lewis’s good will volunteerism. “They took us in like their own,” Pat says. “We worked hard right alongside them and they alongside us to help in Minembwe.”
While their time was short due to transport schedules, Pat and Thelma know they contributed in significant ways to transformation in the Congo.
All over the world, there are possibilities for helping to change lives just as the Lewises have done—one act of service at a time.
Visit us at www.missionbuilders.org and find your unique opportunity.
Click here to apply online
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