MBMS International. Transforming Lives In Mission

When Katie Housek and the three other members of the Nomad Team came into the entrance of a valley, she sensed that this physical access was an entrance to something bigger – an opening to a spiritual realm.

There are very few Japanese who enjoy being the kumi-cho. In fact, more people regard this position as a burden than a delight. But for MBMSI missionary Laurence Hiebert, the role of kumi-cho, or community leader, has enabled him to make many connections and build friendships with countless neighbours in his cluster of houses in Toyota City, Japan. God is using these friendships to break up the hard soil in the hearts of the Japanese and plant seeds of truth.

It started out as a simple longing for pizza. Wheat and dairy: two products that most of us consume every single day, multiple times a day, even. But for one member of Trever and Joan Godard’s prayer team in Guadalajara, Mexico, pizza was on her forbidden foods list, its ingredients causing severe allergic reactions to her system.

God is building his Church in Germany. In a country where only 2% of the population are considered Evangelical Christians, the church is perceived as trivial and irrelevant. But in God’s great compassion, He’s taking the lost, the broken, and the self-reliant and drawing them to Himself.

A lady in South Thailand sits on the sits on the sidewalk reading palms for a living. Her belief in the supernatural is characterized by superstitions, numbers, and dates. The notion of a personal God stands in stark contrast to her impersonal and inconsistent religion. But when God orchestrated a divine encounter with missionary Kevin Klassen, she learned that she could take a drink from the streams of living water and be satisfied.

Phil and Carol Bergen live in Burkina Faso, Africa where they are translating Scripture, training leaders and leading a church plant. Along with all this, they also lead Bible Studies. After her women's group finished one study, Carol decided to read through Matthew for the next study. Week two of the study focused on Matthew 2. This is where the story begins, in Carol's own words:

Depression. Just the word emits labouring sighs. In Japan, depression is widespread and suicide is horrifically common. Some 32,000 to 33,000 people commit suicide each year, 73% of whom are male. Laurence and Leona Hiebert, church planters in Japan, know many people experiencing this epidemic of hopelessness. A friend of theirs has four managers, two of which are in a mental hospital due to deep depression. One of Leona's ESL students shared how her husband witnessed a friend at his office trying to commit suicide at his desk.

Two local teenaged boys joined a ten-day cross-cultural missions training program last year, hosted by Trever and Joan Godard at the Matthew Training Centre in Guadalajara, Mexico. The teenagers were looking for an adventure and a good time. They succeeded at both, though not in ways they initially imagined. God led them in a journey within their hearts, where all real adventures truly begin.