New Year Update

Happy NewYear friends!

It is hard to believe that in just a few hours we will be saying goodbye to 2014! This past year has been extremely busy for us! It seems like we have hardly had a chance to catch our breath since our sweet Sadie was born! 

Ministry Highlights

• The studio is finished!!! We have been in the process of building the new studio 501 over the past three years and it is finally a fully functioning recording studio.  We still have some finishing work to do here and there, but doesn't it look amazing?!!!

drum room

guitar room

Outside view

"So that the world may know..."

• We have run three successful Audio Production Courses, over this past year and will be running the next one in the Spring of 2015.   

Individuals from Thailand, Germany, Canada, South Africa and all over the US have come through the APC with big dreams of bringing Gods Kingdom to the nations through music. Our graduates are going on to places like Ireland, Thailand, Germany and Nashville, to name a few.

Fall 2013 APC

Spring 2014 APC

Fall 2014 APC on a Hike to Glacier National Park

It has truly been a privilege investing in these people and we look forward to the welcoming students from India, Africa, South Korea and USA to the next Audio Production Course!

• Whats cookin' for Winter quarter? Justin will spend the mornings, helping to run the base kitchen here at YWAM Montana. He will be helping to oversee quality control, planning, preparing and serving meals to the hundreds of students and staff who are fed by our base daily. This is a really big job and he is excited about this new challenge. His afternoons will be spent in the studio doing finish work, preparing for the next APC and doing any projects that the studio takes on. 

• Base Haps:  YWAM Montana is really excited to be developing strategies for focusing more intensely on our Five Target nations (Cambodia, Ukraine, Thailand, Nepal, Taiwan) over the next five years. One of these strategies is to send a "surge" of people to the nation of Taiwan. This video will tell you all about the Surge:

to watch the video in HD click here

On the Homefront

Our sweet Ella is now Four and a half. Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday she was a new born baby. Ella is a bright, active and fun little girl. She enjoys playing with her friends, helping mommy with her little sisters, and loves anything she can do that is hands on and creative. She is thoughtful, kind, loves people and enjoys discovering the world around her. It is such a wonderful experience to be walking alongside her as she is develops her own faith and relationship with the Jesus.

Bennet just turned Three on Christmas day. She is sweet, sensitive, smart and enjoys playing with her sisters. She is often lost in her imagination, and loves her quiet times alone to ponder and play. Bennet is as spicy as she is sweet; full of gumption and determination! She loves books and it is a delight watching her grow into the little girl God has made her to be.

Sadie just turned One, and my oh my is she a handful! We are so thankful for her and cannot imagine our family without her. She has just started walking and could charm the socks right off of just about anyone! She loves to snuggle mommy, is full of energy and will hopefully be sleeping through the night some time before her 16th birthday ;)

Needless to say this has been an exhausting year on the homefront. My heart is full, but my bones are tired. Through it all, Jesus whispers to my (Annie) heart, a call to trust in His plans, rest in His grace and grow in holiness. It is through the daily demands of mothering three small children that Jesus reminds me of who He is, how greatly He loves and how all-sufficient His grace is for the weaknesses in my life.

Prayers Requests

• Finances: We really need to raise our financial support! Please pray that we can triple what we are currently living off of. If you are interested in partnering with us through finances, please contact us. 
• Traveling Mercies:We have been visiting Justin's hometown of up-state New York and will be heading back to Montana mid-January. Please pray for safe travels and happy kids ;) 
• Perseverance: Please pray for continued strength to press into what God is calling us to. 
• Kids: That our girls would walk with Jesus from a young age, and that he would dazzle them with His love! Pray that they will be world changers!

Thank you so much to all of you who partnered with us in 2014! Because of your help, people have been sent out to the nations in the name of Jesus and equipped with the skills to make an impact in their sphere of influence. We could not do what we do without you! We wish you a blessed New Year!

Love,
Justin, Annie, Ella, Bennet and Sadie

She's here!

Our precious baby girl, Sadie Louise Frase arrived at 3:12am on Dec 26th weighing 7lbs 1oz. She is beautiful and in perfect health. 

We are so in love with our newest addition.

We are praising Jesus for an amazing labor and delivery and for his incredible faithfulness to our family throughout this crazy season of expectancy. Justin and I are trusting in that faithfulness as we enter this next season of being outnumbered by people ages three and under! :)  

We wish all of you a very blessed new year!

Love,

Justin, Annie, Ella, Bennet and Sadie :)

This Crazy Blessed Life

Hey friends!

What a whirlwind the past few months have been! Here are a few of the highlights from our journey as of late:

Baby Girl is coming soon!

 That is right our third little girl is due on December 26th! We are so excited to meet her!

We've moved houses (again!)

Ironically every time we have been expecting a baby, we have moved. This time is no different. We are still living on the YWAM base, but the opportunity to move into a house that is better suited for our growing family opened up, and we felt strongly that the Lord was leading us to take it. The move was a little chaotic for us, but we have been in our new house almost two weeks and are slowly starting to feel more settled.  We love our new home and feel blessed to be in it.

The Audio Production Course!

Studio 501 has been running an Audio Production Course (APC) since September. The main focus of this course is to train students in Pro-tools which is the main program used now in studios to engineer music. Students are gaining practical technical skills that are essential if they are to work in the recording industry. The thing that makes this course unique though, is that alongside their developing technical skills, they are being challenged and invested into spiritually so as to prepare them to stand firm and be a light in the music industry. One of Justin's responsibilities as APC staff is to oversea the "spiritual development" aspect of the course. Among other things, he arranges for weekly speakers and teachers who have great wisdom and training in areas such as theology/biblical training, and character development to share with the students. The music industry is one of the most influential spheres of society today and as workers in such an environment, an integral and Christ centered foundation is essential. There is great opportunity to be a beacon of hope and transformation in people's lives through music which is why the unique "spiritual development" aspect of the course is, in my opinion, such a special and critical part of their training as sound engineers. 

The course is twelve weeks long. The four students we have (who hail from USA, Thailand and South Africa) will be completing their time here with us in the next couple of weeks. Working with this school has been an awesome experience for Justin! He has been given opportunities to grow as a leader and has been gleaning both technical and spiritual wisdom alongside the students. He can not say enough good things about the students he has been working with over these past ten weeks! Please be praying for them as they are now preparing to go out and use what they have learned to glorify Jesus in the world.

The long awaited "New studio 501" is projected to be completed at the end of March, which Justin is excited for! Another Audio Production Course might be in the works as early as Spring as well.

Frasie Crazies!

This has been such a busy season for us! Between kids, a pregnancy, illnesses, financial strains, varying responsibilities, (and that nasty little thing called sin that we are all working to overcome) we often find ourselves completely overwhelmed by the things God is calling us to. However, Jesus has reminded us time and again of his unending faithfulness to us. We have been so blessed by the people who have come alongside us to invest in us and help us grow and push forward through these crazy times. We are in awe of the remarkable gift we have in the people that the Lord has surrounded us with.  What a privilege it is to serve Jesus and be a part of His family!

Prayers Please!
Here are some things you can be praying about for us:

• Sleep: Our kids are not sleeping well. This is exhausting for us. Please pray for wisdom and rest for us as parents and of course please pray for our girls' sleep. 
• Baby on the way: Please pray for a healthy baby, mommy and delivery.
• Finances: We REALLY need to grow our monthly support! Especially with a new little one on the way.  Please pray for God's provision, for growth in our income, and pray about if God might want you to join our financial support team. 
• Our family: As you know, marriage, parenting, ministry, its all hard work. and we are about to have 3 kids ages 3 and under. Pray for us!

Love,

Justin, Annie, Ella, Bennet and Baby

A Special Announcement

Yay!

But in honesty, this pretty much sums of life in the Frase household right now. 

We are  now 14 weeks into our pregnancy, and are optimistic that we may be coming back from the dark side soon. Hopefully just a few more weeks until the "morning sickness" and chaos of a not up to par mommy, two busy toddlers and a very overwhelmed husband/daddy will subside...

So hang in there with us and keep your prayers a comin'.

We are blessed and so excited that the Lord is growing our family. 

And we are thankful times a million for all of your prayers, support, love and friendship!

Love you all!

Justin, Annie, Ella, Bennet and Baby #3

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth.

-Proverbs 127:4-

God Story: We got a van!

Hey friends!

We are so so so excited to share a huge God story with you: After praying and waiting for 2 + years God has provided us with a larger vehicle!!!!!! We are so excited!!!

As our family has grown over the last few years, we have frequently been faced with an ever demanding need for a car more suited to our family. However this has seemed financially impossible to us. Saving for a large vehicle when you are living on faith based support as missionaries is tricky business.

As we have prayed and waited on the Lord about this, we continually felt it pressed upon our hearts to walk in faith by being grateful for the car that we have (as it is a good reliable car) and to wait on God: He would provide the car we needed when the timing was right. And did He ever!

Recently, the parents of a fellow staff member here at YWAM Montana became interested in donating their van (which wasn't getting much use by them) to someone in missions. They wanted it to go to a family that really needed it and through a series of circumstances it was brought to their attention that we had need for a van. After spending some time in prayer, they felt that the van was meant to go to us! God truly did fulfill His word to our family: He dropped a whole van right into our laps at no cost to us! Is that amazing or what?!

I am so happy that we trusted God's timing, as we might have missed out on this awesome blessing had we done otherwise. It is experiences like this that encourage our hearts and help to build our faith for those difficult seasons of waiting that inevitably make their way into our lives. For our family, this act of provision will be a stone of remembrance of His faithfulness to us. We are amazed at how the Lord has provided for us over the years. It all just doesn't makes sense how we are able to do what we do, but it works. God is our provider in every respect and he is so incredibly faithful!

Thank you Jesus for your constant faithfulness and provision for our family. Your acts of kindness to us outnumber the stars and we love you so much! And thank you to every single person who took the time to pray for us about this! Thank you thank you thank you! God heard your prayers and He answered in a big way!

 The car is in great shape! It is a 2000 Chevy Venture, was driven minimally and well cared for. The girls are so excited! They love their new van... Ella thinks it's hers ;) She keeps saying, "Thank you God for my van." I love watching things like this build her faith as well of ours.

Love,

Justin, Annie, Ella & Bennet

The Great Rescue: Some Christmas Reflections

...I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 

Luke 2:10

At times, I feel like we hear these words so often around the Christmas season that they begin to blend into the background.  They get lost a midst the hustle and bustle of decorating, mailing cards, shopping and other busyness that surrounds the Holidays.

And then in a quiet moment of meditation, or maybe rather, a noisy one of desperate frustration with the sin and chaos of life - a powerful whisper penetrates all of the stress and distraction,

 "God himself has come to rescue us." 

The peace begins to fill my soul again as I am reminded of the truth of Christmas.  It isn't simply about remembering the birth of a baby, but remembering who that baby was and what his birth means to us.  As we reflect on the birth of our savior, we are reminded of the incredible love of our God.  In our sin, brokenness and utter depravity, He made the unthinkable journey to bring us, His lost beloveds back to him.  We celebrate the love of a God who was willing to do whatever it would take to rescue his long lost Love: humanity.  Even if it meant moving heaven and earth to do so.

Now as a mother of my own small children I have a new perspective of the utter humility involved in the act of the God and Creator of all coming to earth as a tiny baby.  There is nothing more vulnerable than a newborn.  When I held my newborn children in my arms for the first time I was overwhelmed by the utter vulnerability and trust I was looking upon as a tiny bundle in my arms.  Babies are defenseless, and completely dependent in every way.  In the culture Jesus was born into children had no rights at all. Almighty God and Creator of all humbled Himself to the status of a tiny, vulnerable, defenseless and completely dependent newborn in order that we might know His love for us.  In order that we might understand who He is, and how far reaching His compassion and understanding of the human experience truly is.

 Jesus could have chosen to be born anywhere: a palace, a wealthy family, a community of status, but instead he came into the world in poverty, with nothing - not even a real bed to sleep in.  He was born in a dark, dirty underground barn (nothing like the nativity scene that we have grown up with in our minds) among the stench of livestock and lay to sleep in a feeding trough.  Could you imagine laying a newborn baby in a germ ridden feeding trough?!  This filthy stinky place fit for animals was the God of the Universe's first stop on His great rescue mission.  This is mind blowing to me, and reminds me once again how much I just don't get it. 

 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,the Lord. 

in other words, The Great Rescue has begun!

Christmas is not simply about presents and mistletoe but about remembering with prostrated hearts the launching of the greatest rescue mission to ever take place, and the most beautiful love story ever told!  We get to celebrate the boundless love of God as displayed in a baby lying in a manger.  It is in remembering that baby, the God baby, that I begin to develop an even greater understanding of the meaning of these famous words that The Apostle Paul spoke with such conviction:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Romans 8:38-39

This Holiday season, I rejoice in a God who did the unthinkable; who crossed the great divide, walked among us, and moved heaven and earth that we might be rescued.  May you too be reminded of the relentless boundless love of God for YOU displayed in a tiny little baby who was born to take away the sins of the world. 

And now...

A Look at the Last Few Months

Annie:
 I  wrapped up my commitment to the the Dorm 1 Faith Project in September with our final fundraiser- a golf scramble.  The fundraiser was very successful and we as a team were very pleased with how all of our hard work paid off.  I was in charge of the decorating for the dinner banquet which took place after the golfing. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this project and loved being able to use my gift of hospitality and my creativity in way that expands and supports the work of our mission.

I have also started a blog called Luv U to the Moon... and Back where I share more in depth about my personal journey as a wife and mother.  This blog has been a great creative outlet for me and something that I hope is a ministry of encouragement and inspiration to its readers.

The Lord has been challenging and growing me personally in what feels like leaps and bounds over the past months.  I am amazed at the vastness of His grace and feel humbled daily at His relentless love and patience with me as I learn to grow in and walk out my faith.  I delight in my calling as a mother and am passionately motivated by the importance of my role as a minister of the gospel to my children.

Justin:
Great progress has been made in the construction of the new studio and we are on the final stretch toward completion.  All of the walls are now up and at the beginning of 2013 we will be working on getting our HeatingVentilationAirConditioning system installed and our ceiling up.  Then we will be working away at treating each individual room of the studio acoustically.  As you know this project has taken much longer than we anticipated but God has used this time of waiting to build our faith and demonstrate his power to provide.  We are eager to get into the new studio and excited for how God will use this new facility.

One of the projects we get to do in the current studio is record music that the students in the Discipleship Training School (music track) and School of Worship have written.  I enjoy being able to walk these students through the recording process and getting to see how God has influenced the songs that they've written.  Every day at work I am in awe of the great blessing it is for me to be learning what I am and to be able to use music to influence the world.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend:
Recently a brother in the faith and inspiring leader in our mission went to be with Jesus.  We grieve the loss of our dear friend Don Gillman but feel so privileged to have known him for the time that we did.  He was one of the most inspiring men either of us have ever known and had it not been for his influencing Justin to do SBS when he did, the two of us might never have met.  Don lived with an incredible and challenging sense of eternal perspective.  He loved Jesus and was passionate about missions.  You couldn't know him without being infected by his contagious burden for the lost.  When thinking about Don's life one can't help but be reminded these immortal words:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day... 

2 Tim 4:7-8
You did it Don! 

Thank you Friends:
As we look back over this past year we are overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who have invested in us so faithfully with your support, prayers, and friendship.  We are so incredibly blessed by you! We could not be here without all of you who have invested in us and want you to know how deep of an impression all that all you do has made upon our hearts.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  We are truly grateful. Thank you for believing in what the Lord is doing in and through us in this place and season of our lives and for your obedience to Jesus in walking this journey alongside us.

Merry Christmas to you all and a Blessed New Year!

Love,

Justin, Annie, Ella & Bennet

Go Anmol!!!!!

Back in 2009 We posted the following testimony from one of our former SBS students:

"The Bible has opened my eyes to the reality of the living vibrant grace, power and love of God.

The Bible has shown me more of the reality of what Jesus did on the cross and the fact that eternity is on its way.

I want to start a school for the impoverished and poor kids of India. Studying the Bible has ripped open blinds, given me a passion to go out with the love of God. The school for the kids will be founded on the word of God."

-Anmol, India

Back in May, a local paper produced this article about Anmol!  She is goin' for it and we are so proud of her!

"FVCC grad earns prestigious award

By CANDACE CHASE/Daily Inter Lake | Posted: Sunday, May 20, 2012 7:40

pm

Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas introduced one

of the college’s brightest and most gracious students as the audience

cheered at a recent dinner to thank donors to the FVCC Foundation.

Anmol Grace Manchala, an international student born in India, was

bewildered as the crowd nudged her forward. Her anatomy and physiology

instructor Sue Justis had taken her to the scholars room that

afternoon for a private talk.

'I thought I was in trouble,' she said with a laugh. 'I thought maybe

I did a really bad job on my lab report.'

INSTEAD OF A scolding, Anmol walked into a surprise party celebrating

her selection as the first student from the community college to earn

a Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship. Awarded to just 60 students across the

country, the scholarship provides $30,000 a year for two to three

years to finish her degree in premedicine at the institution of her

choice.

Because she had applied last November and hadn’t heard, Anmol said she

assumed that she wasn’t selected.

'I could hardly believe it,' she said. 'Even my parents didn’t know —

that’s why they started crying, too,'

Her parents, Raju and Grace Manchala, work with Youth with a Mission

which brought the family, including son Finney, 10, and Anmol, 21, to

Montana. Raju spoke at the surprise party, struggling to control his

emotions as he explained they had no idea how they would afford to

send their daughter to college when they came to the United States.

Although Raju holds a degree in accounting and Grace has a master’s

degree in sociology, the couple devoted their lives to serving God

through teaching in schools around India and other countries. He told

the group that working for a nonprofit, they raise their own support,

leaving no extra money for college.

OTHERS DOUBTED that Anmol could go to college.

'God worked out every small and big detail,' Raju said. 'My daughter

had one of the best experiences of her life here.'

Anmol couldn’t agree more. She said her parents put her future 'in

God’s hands” from the day of her birth in Bombay, now known as Mumbai.

'I kind of grew up all over India,' she said. 'For the first few years

of my life, I studied in a school that Youth with a Mission has for

kids so that’s where I learned English.'

As they moved to different states in India, Anmol attended Indian

schools. At about 14, her parents moved to Kanpur in the heart of

India where they pioneered a school and she attended upper grades.

In the 10th grade, Anmol found herself drawn to science as a career.

'I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to be until a few years ago,' she

said. 'I took biology as my major but I still wasn’t sure what I

wanted to do with my life. Then I came here.'

HER FAMILY first came to the U.S. in 2006 when her parents started a

Youth with a Mission school in Las Vegas. They then traveled to 42

other states, including Montana.

The Manchalas thought very highly of the Youth With Mission

discipleship training program here while Anmol immediately fell in

love with the beauty of the Flathead Valley.

'That’s why I came back to Montana the following year (2007) to do my

training here,' she said.

After finishing her discipleship training, which included a mission to

Ukraine, she enrolled in a School of Biblical Studies for nine months

of intensive biblical studies.

During that time, she said she began to think of the children in Third

World nations. She grew up watching children living on the streets of

India, collecting garbage to resell for a few rupees (a few cents).

Anmol imagined her little brother on the streets without loving

parents, without food or shelter and foraging to live.

'You know, it broke my heart,' she said. 'So during SBS I decided that

I wanted to go to college and use my degree to help start schools,

orphanages and hospitals.'

ANMOL STARTED FVCC in 2009 mainly because she was living here.

Although she said she wasn’t a great student growing up, she found her

dream of helping children changed things.

'I was more motivated,' she said. 'Over here, I knew this is what I

want to do with my life. So I really went for it.'

Anmol started her studies in education, thinking she would teach. But

then she joined the Scholars honors program at the college where

students pursue seminar-type independent research.

As part of one of her Scholars classes, she prepared a 30-minute

presentation on bio-ethical issues.

'During that time, I discovered DNA and I did a lot of research on it

and I fell in love with it,' she said. 'I decided I should probably go

into the medical field because I absolutely love studying biology.'

ANMOL SAID credentials as a physician would open doors for her when

she returns to India to work with families with no access to health

care.

'The poorest people here are rich compared to people (in the streets)

over there,' she said.

Her switch to medicine brought new challenging courses such as anatomy

and physiology. Anmol called it one of her toughest but one of her

favorite courses even though it involved working on cadavers.

'It’s just amazing studying how the body works,' she said. 'Just

thinking how the body is created is mind-blowing — how everything

works with amazing precision. Everything is perfect.'

Each new discovery about the human body’s inner works increased her

sense of awe. She said unlocking the secrets of life through science

did not change her views of creation.

'It really made me thank God even more for how he made us,' she said.

She named the Scholars program Director Ivan Lorentzen and Justis as

her heroes, along with Colleen Unterreiner, executive director of the

college foundation. They believed in her and pushed her ahead, she

noted.

AT GRADUATION, Anmol received two associate degrees and was honored

for receiving the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship.

'Without help from the Scholars program and the college, I wouldn’t

have been able to get this far,' she said. 'You walk on a road and you

don’t see what’s ahead of you, but you just trust and you keep going.'

Along the way, she refined her dream career to pinpoint pediatrics in

line with her love of children. Anmol begins studies at Montana State

College in Bozeman this fall with the goal of attending medical school

at the University of Washington.

She said she would advise others to not give into fear or settle for

less than their dreams. Anmol said she was afraid when she first

decided to come to the community college but she knew God was with her

and would help her through every obstacle.

'He’s really done that — miracle after miracle happened to me here,'

she said.'"

To view the original article click here

Isn't that a awesome! Anmol is such an amazing girl!  Isn't it encouraging when you here about what God is doing through the people you have invested in? We are so encouraged by this article and hope you are too! Thank you to all of you who have invested in our ministry here at YWAM MT!

With love and gratitude,
Justin, Annie, Ella & Bennet