Willie Klassen, a trade partner for Betenbough Homes Lubbock South, knows what it feels like to be in a desperate situation and have his prayers answered.
Back in 2019, he needed a career change. Although young, he’d already injured his back working for a roofer. The job he held at the time as a welder for a steel company was hard on his heart and lungs. Willie and his wife knew the time had come for a change, but they didn’t know what to do next. So they prayed.
Multiple family members mentioned he should work for his brother-in-law, Jake, who was a crew leader for a Betenbough Homes trade partner. The idea didn’t sound good to Willie at first. “I just wasn’t interested in trim work,” he shares. But he couldn’t get the suggestion out of his head. God started nudging his heart, helping him envision the daily commute from Seminole to Odessa some days and to Lubbock other days. He decided to give trim work a try, and that job turned out to be the answer to his prayer.
After a few months, Jake was tired of all that driving, so he asked Willie to find a worker and take over the Betenbough Homes Lubbock jobsite. Willie knew that finding good, reliable help can be tough, so he prayed.
That very night, he hired someone who could start the next week — another answer to his prayers. He had a learning curve, as there were tasks like closets and door adjustments that he’d never done before. But Willie caught on quickly and began to thrive in his new role.
Meanwhile, his family was growing. Willie and his wife had five children at the time, and they were living in a 2-bedroom, 1-bath singlewide trailer. They were expecting their sixth child and knew they needed more space. The couple found a home they loved in Seminole and tried to buy it, but they didn’t qualify for the loan. They were frustrated by the impossible situation, so they prayed.
The perfect home came on the market, so Willie called the seller. The price was too high; he’d just been turned down for a mortgage loan on a similarly priced property. The seller needed the cash, so he wasn’t interested in seller financing. That ended the call and the probability of that house working out, but it didn’t end Willie’s thoughts about it. “I just had a feeling that was our home,” recalls Willie.
The seller didn’t wait long before calling back. He wanted to know how much cash they could put down on the house. Willie already had a buyer lined up for their current home, so he knew how much he’d have for a down payment. The seller thought through the details overnight, then asked Willie and his wife to come to his house — the one the Klassens wanted to buy. The couple toured the home, falling in love with the size, the land, and the possibilities it held for their family. Then the seller made him an offer no one could’ve predicted and Willie couldn’t refuse: an interest-free loan that would be paid off in just eight years! “That house was made for us,” Willie says. “The payments were going to be a stretch, but I knew this was God answering our prayers.”
They moved into their new home four years ago. As they expected, the family grew. The Klassens had their sixth child, then in November 2024 a set of identical twin boys arrived, bringing their total to eight kids! Family life was getting busier and busier, but Willie continued to make the three-hour round trip to serve two Lubbock regions, earning a reputation for excellence and integrity.
But another desperate situation was waiting just around the corner for the Klassen family. In early 2025 Jonah, one of the twins, became terrifyingly ill. Willie and his wife, once again, felt helpless. So they prayed.
In a way only God could orchestrate, Dr. Ben Edwards from Veritas Clinic in Lubbock was in Seminole that very day and was sent to Willie’s home. He treated little Jonah, who made a miraculous and immediate recovery — the most dramatic and important answered prayer of Willie’s life.
Willie, his wife, and his kids were incredibly grateful for their spacious home and healthy family. But the monthly mortgage payments made their finances tight. Everyone was making sacrifices. The couple realized they needed more income, but they weren’t sure how to get it. So they prayed.
Not long after Jonah’s astonishing healing, the trade partner Willie had been working for chose to separate from Betenbough Homes. The construction manager and builder who had been working with Willie encouraged him to start his own company and take the place of the former trade. Willie initially resisted. “That sounded like a lot of responsibility. I had several things on my mind that were holding me back,” Willie shares.
But the Betenbough Homes team kept urging him, saying, “Now’s your chance!”
Never one to make a hasty decision, Willie asked questions. As he got answers and ran the numbers, he realized the opportunity in front of him could be the answer to his prayers for more income. He thought, “If I don’t like it, I can always quit.”
But he did like it, and he didn’t quit.
In fact, things are going really well. “I had an opportunity to meet Willie out in the field and share a really meaningful heart-to-heart conversation,” recalls Justin Betancur, general manager for Betenbough Homes Lubbock South. “He told me how grateful he was for the chance to grow — from being a foreman to owning his own trim-installation company. But I had to remind him of the truth: he was the blessing to us. We were in a tough spot when our previous trade partner walked away. Willie stepped in, stood firm, and delivered. Seeing both sides so appreciative of each other is powerful.”
Making the monthly payment on his home is no longer a problem for Willie. The family can even afford some “extras” like a nice swing set for his kids and two sets of couches for the living room. Now, when he hosts singing rehearsals on Saturday night before church, there’s space for all the singers, spouses, and children to sit.
Once the kids had outdoor play equipment and the living room could boast plenty of seating, the time came to upgrade the old enclosed trailer that hauls Willie’s tools back and forth to Lubbock. He looked at financing a new trailer through a dealer in Seminole, but the interest on the loan would almost double the price of the trailer. That didn’t seem affordable or wise, so he continued to use the old trailer, despite its dilapidated condition. He wasn’t sure how or when he could afford a new trailer, so he prayed.
While doing some warranty work with Diego Cruz, warranty technician, Willie shared his need for a new trailer. Diego explained that Betenbough Homes sometimes offers interest-free loans to trusted trade partners. Diego spoke to Harrison Roeder, construction manager, and the loan was approved. Willie laughs, “I don’t know why God keeps sending me these interest-free loans!” He’ll have his new trailer before Thanksgiving 2025.
“Betenbough Homes has offered me the best help I’ve ever had,” Willie says. “They’ve given me opportunities in my career I’d never received.”
Willie’s story keeps unfolding with the same steady pattern: a need, a prayer, and God’s surprising provision. May we all follow the Klassen family’s example: they didn’t always have the answers, but they always had their faith. So they prayed.
