Easy In, Easy Out: A World of Opportunities

Easy In, Easy Out: A World of Opportunities

Mission Builders International has had one job to do since 1996: recruit volunteers to come alongside YWAM missionaries around the globe and assist them with their practical needs. Each year, hundreds of people bring their skills and strengths to jobs ranging from construction to teaching to auto maintenance to cooking. There’s always plenty to do on YWAM campuses, and volunteers can help for as little as two weeks or up to three months, allowing for easy-in, easy-out service.

The downside? The need for more people—of all ages—to see what’s going on in missions and catch the vision. There are so many ways to be involved!

When it comes to volunteering, nothing beats teamwork. By concentrating and organizing the labor, time and abilities of multiple people, projects get done in record time. Veteran mission builders Lynn and Jacky Battermann, Pat and Thelma Lewis and Lynne and Len Benson are masters of the team concept. They recruit friends, family, churches and fellow RVers to band together and travel from one location to another to get things done fast. As a result, missionaries get past logistical needs and on with the core work of their missions calling.

Adoption is another win-win between missionaries and volunteers. Some mission builders love to serve at numerous locations so they may enjoy a variety of cultures, friendships and travels. Others find a single campus they fall in love with, embracing it as a gathering of like-minded friends and making it the recipient of their ongoing service. Master electrician Phil Sauer, for instance, has become a trusted co-laborer and campus-development advisor to YWAM Chapala and YWAM Mazatlan in Mexico. Here in Montana, MBI depends on Jim and Joy McGatlin, who show up for busy summer months to serve as enthusiastic hosts and to manage the campus grounds.

The next wave of mission builders is rising from the millennial generation. Millennials are known for seeking meaningful ways to invest in their communities and the world. Because they naturally gravitate toward influential service and teamwork, they’re well-suited for volunteerism. Give them an opportunity to work as part of a fun, productive team that makes a difference, and they’ll make things happen. Offer a millennial a wide selection of service opportunities, and they’re quick to embrace multiple locations, as did Kristen Hinton (featured in MBI’s Connections, “God’s Fantastic Idea,” Fall 2016).

The world is accessible to those whose hearts beat for volunteer service. The only hindrance to realizing their dream is not knowing where their opportunities lie. MBI is a gateway to global possibilities, and we’re working hard to get the word out.

If you (or someone you know) have been searching for a just-right opportunity, whether it’s your first time to volunteer or you’re a veteran, MBI has what you’re looking for. Visit our website at www.missionbuilders.org and click on the Where to Go tab. Once you’ve found your “sweet spot,” go to our Contact Us page and fill out your application.

You’re halfway there, and a world of service is within your reach!

 

God’s Fantastic Idea

God’s Fantastic Idea

“Has God ever promised you something? Has God ever clearly led you?”

ATCrocFarm - CopyWhen twenty-nine-year-old Kristen H. of Fredericksburg, VA, gave God the opportunity to fill her heart with His desires, she didn’t dream it would involve living boldly and serving Him globally. God surprised Kristen with a mission-building journey. She spent a gap year as a volunteer with Mission Builders International, helping at YWAM locations and visiting missionary friends in Uganda, Swaziland, South Africa, Cambodia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Israel and Germany.

How did it all get started? Kristen says:

“A little over one year ago I was able to attend a retreat just a couple hours from where I live. You’re thinking I’m going to say that God slowly showed me something through the speakers that weekend, right? But no, God didn’t even wait for the retreat to officially start to speak to me.

 “It happened that I was there a couple hours early, so I walked down to the pond, with my Bible in hand, and just sat before the Lord and quietly read and prayed. While I was sitting there, God clearly spoke to me through a few different verses in Psalm 20 and 21 and promised me that He would give me the desires of my heart. I asked God to do as He promised and grant me my heart’s desires, to make His desires mine and direct my steps. I didn’t know what those desires of my heart were and in what way God would fulfill that promise until almost a year to the day later. 

“I do love to trKristen_HomeschoolKids_YWAMMatamataNZ - Copyavel and, while I had a gap year in life and was seeking God for the direction I needed to take, I thought it would be great to take a little time and maybe plan a trip across the United States. But, as God continued to lead, I had no idea He would bring me to a place of traveling the world!

 “I was praying and seeking Him on whether this mission trip was what He had for me and realized it was exactly where He was leading me. I’m not the girl who has always had a pull toward being on the mission field, but when I asked God to grant my heart’s desires and make His desires mine, He took me seriously. He created in me a desire I didn’t even realize I had: a desire to see His work advanced, a desire to serve His people, a desire to live boldly for Him.” HousekeepingwithPartnerinCrime_Philip - Copy

From teaching English and making jewelry to cooking meals and taking care of small children, from housekeeping and reception work to organizing in a café that employs marginalized women, Kristen served the YWAM campuses that hosted her and the people they reach out to. In the midst of serving, she also experienced the beauty of her host nations physically, culturally and historically.

 “His ways and plans are so much better than ours,” Kristen says. “I had a big idea, He had a fantastic one!”

 Kristen’s story may not be very different from one just waiting to unfold in your life. What are your heart’s desires, and where in the world might God be leading you? For fantastic possibilities, visit www.missionbuilder.org!

Kristen_withtheBibleStudyClass_BusiaUganda - Copy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(To see more photos from Kristen’s journey, visit her blog at mymissionjourney.com.)