In my day-to-day at Mission Adelante, I have the privilege of meeting people from all places and experiencing life with the special people I have grown to love who allow me into their circle. I have attended birthday parties and other events and shared meals at their homes. Throughout the years, I have listened to people talk about their home countries with such pride, longing, and nostalgia, and I have heard so many stories of their loyalty to the US that I have lost count.
When you walk down Central Avenue in Kansas City, KS, one thing stands out; there are a lot of immigrant-owned businesses. Bakeries, taquerías, ethnic grocery stores, ice cream shops, and small clothing stores owned by immigrant entrepreneurs occupy spaces that were vacant and boarded up 20 years ago. In our neighborhood, as is true in cities across the nation, immigrants are revitalizing urban neighborhoods, one new business at a time.
A few days ago, I celebrated two years since I arrived in this beautiful country as a refugee. During this time, I have shared with you some of my fears, challenges, and what it has meant to begin a new life far from my home country. A few days ago, I also celebrated my first year at Mission Adelante. And as I look back, there is something I want to say from the bottom of my heart: more than everything I have been able to give, I feel that I have received so much more.
Those moments have made me think a lot about what community really means. We often talk about community as a place or a group of people, but I think it is so much more than that. Community is people noticing. Community is people caring. Community is people showing up. And sometimes, in those simple acts of kindness, we get a glimpse of something much bigger than ourselves.
For me, that is where I see God's serving heart. The tree, the storm, the machine, and the helping hands may seem like completely unrelated moments. But together, they have reminded me of something I don't want to forget: we were never meant to do everything alone. There is so much beauty in people coming together. And honestly, I'm just grateful that I got to experience it.
On Wednesday nights, Mission Adelante has a youth program called Youth Club. Youth Club is a program where we offer youth mentoring, fellowship, and encouragement as they grow in their walk with Jesus.
When I was younger, my sister Carla and her husband, Daniel, always tried convincing me to attend Teens Adelante, which is what Youth Club was called back then. I was always hardheaded and never wanted to join. Then, back in middle school, I got in trouble, and my mom forced me to attend Teens Adelante. Little did she know that it was going to be one of the greatest gifts of my life.
