Voices of Their Own

Written by Megan McDermott, Latino Children's Ministry Director

Do you remember what it was like to be a teenager?  For some, it was an easy time, while for others, it was a tumultuous experience. Regardless of what we went through, the common feeling that we all experienced was that ache to be grown up and seen as important, able to contribute something that others would see as worthwhile.  To put it simply, we wanted to have a voice.

One of the most poignant parts of serving in children’s ministry is watching a child grow before your eyes.  They let you into their struggles, their triumphs, their sorrows, and if you are lucky, their hearts. As we walk with the children of our community, we truly seek to help raise up leaders that will affect real change in their own neighborhoods.  We believe that by investing in the children of today, we will help the youth of our community to become disciples and leaders within the community in the future.  We desire to give these young leaders a place where their voice is heard and honored.

Recently, at our summer trimester party, our community celebrated a simple rite of passage as three young girls transitioned from our children’s program to our teen’s ministry.  Amid embarrassed giggles and excited smiles, our community recognized these young women as youth rather than as children.  Our hope is that by continuing to love and disciple these young ladies into their teen years, they will have the confidence to share their voice and use that voice to spread the love of Christ.

In Other News:

  • The parties we threw in the park to celebrate the conclusion of the summer programs were a blast!  Thank you to all of you that came out to spend some quality time with our community! At one of the parties, we gave out about 25 copies of the Life of Jesus video to Bhutanese families. Please pray that these families watch the video, and that it bears fruit in our community.
  • Thanks again to everyone who contributed backpacks and school supplies this year!  In addition to distributing around 230 backpacks through our weekly kids and youth programs, we were able to put an additional 30 in the hands of our partner schools for them to assist students that come without supplies.

Needs:

Important Dates:

  • Volunteer Training: Saturday, September 12, 9:00-1:00  All volunteers should attend this training once at the beginning of serving with Mission Adelante. It's also a great way for someone who is curious about what we do to become familiar with Mission Adelante's ministry. If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about what we do, and about our volunteer opportunities, please plan to attend/encourage him or her to plan on attending this informative training, and to contact Morgan at morganh@missionadelante.org for all the details.
  • All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert: Monday, September 14, 6:30 p.m. We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our Fall trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch!

  • Fall trimester programs launch: Week of September 14