Jarrett Meek
Adding Fuel to the Entrepreneurial Fire

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.

Adding Fuel to the Entrepreneurial Fire
Mission Adelante
Spanglish, Cats, and an Unexpected Friendship

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.

Spanglish, Cats, and an Unexpected Friendship
Mission Adelante
When the Whole Neighborhood Shows Up

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.

When the Whole Neighborhood Shows Up
Erick Flores
Poured Into, Now Pouring Out

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.

Poured Into, Now Pouring Out
Patrique Harris
This Summer, in Snapshots

And just like that, the summer season has come to a close. The season brought many sunshiny days, honest conversations, significant milestones, happy reunions, and hard goodbyes.

One of my favorite things to do is scroll through my camera roll and remember what I've been up to. There are so many memories I didn't capture, but here are a few of my favorites!

This Summer, in Snapshots

YouthClub

Poured Into, Now Pouring Out

Poured Into, Now Pouring Out

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.

To a New Beginning

To a New Beginning

By Erick Flores, Ministry Apprentice

I’m just at a loss for words on how my start at Mission Adelante has gone. I needed a new job as I was trying my best to leave a toxic and unhappy work environment. My older sister, Carla, showed me an open position at Mission Adelante, and suddenly the Lord blessed me with an open door to a whole new world of possibilities. Patrique reached out to me with a job offer and I happily accepted it. I prepared myself for weeks as I was entering a new journey in life.

I joined halfway into the second trimester of programs, which meant I was unable to get an easy start. Luckily, I was able to jump right in where I was needed and did a decent job! With an amazing staff welcoming me into Mission Adelante, I felt like I was home. We also had an amazing Summer Intern group and I built the best relationships with every single one of them. On top of that, Arts Camp started my second week of work, and it went amazing! Mikya did a great job teaching me how to be a leader; she’ll be handing off her throne to me as I will lead Arts Camp next year. Mikya did a great job passing on her responsibilities. I feel very prepared with no stress at all! Patrique also gave me an overview of Youth Club. I have started to get more and more comfortable leading some weeks and have grown my relationships with so many youth!  

Spending the summer with the interns definitely gave me brain rot! But in all honesty, I couldn’t have gotten through the summer without the interns. They just made every day fun and they would always come in with a smile on their faces, ready to spend the day learning! Even on a tough day, they just knew how to make me laugh and get me in a better mood. Joining them on their internship activities, I was able to learn more about the value of the internship, learn more about the city, and give back to the community by doing community service. I just loved seeing in the little time I had with them how they matured over the summer and were becoming young adults. I have very high hopes for their future! 

It makes me very happy that I was able to conclude this summer with end-of-trimester parties and retreats! At Arts Community, we had a dance party! At Youth Club, we played Olympic games and had a Lake House Retreat last weekend! At Kids Adelante, we ended with a water slide party! The Interns had a weekend away from KC to clear their minds before they entered the school year. And to top it all off, we threw a big summer party! It was definitely a very successful summer and I look forward to the third trimester when all our programs resume again! I’m going to end this article with a passage in the bible I looked up to as I was entering Mission Adelante, Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans”. I trusted the Lord to take me wherever he desires and He found the perfect home for me. 

Be part of our programs!

We are so excited for everything that is happening in our programs and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us next trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our Observation Nights. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

DONATE NOW

Two Amazing Brother and Volunteers - The Pollock Brothers

Two Amazing Brother and Volunteers - The Pollock Brothers

by Carla Flores, Kids Ministry Director

All siblings are different from each other, and they share similarities too. Personally, I get the blessing to be the oldest sister to my two younger brothers. Each of us is very different from one another - I enjoy spending time outside, hiking, and enjoying nature. My middle brother, Diego, enjoys video games and watching anime. My youngest brother, Erick, enjoys playing soccer and the violin during his free time. But we also have many similarities like we all have the same sense of humor, love our mom’s mole, and enjoy watching action movies. 

During my time here at Mission Adelante, I have met many families with siblings just like mine that have different personalities but might share a few similar interests. A pair of brothers that always come to mind are the Pollock brothers. Andrew and Michael Pollock have been a part of the Mission Adelante family for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I think about Mission Adelante, I think about them. These brothers just like any other siblings have distinct personalities, interests, and hobbies. But they share one big similarity that impacts everyone who walks through our building: they love our community and are eager to serve and share life with people from all places. 

Andrew Pollock has been a part of Mission Adelante since 2009. He has volunteered in many of our programs and has supported Mission Adelante through many projects. Currently, Andrew serves in Adelante Arts Community and has been leading Arts and Crafts class. If you know Andrew, you know he is creative and God has blessed him with amazing artistic abilities. This year, he has been a big help with our hallway expansion project and is often seen in our building fixing or adding new things like shelves. His daughters are part of our programs and you can tell they share dad’s trait of having a servant’s heart. Thank you Andrew for all you do for our community! 

Michael Pollock has been a part of Mission Adelante since 2010. He has served in a multitude of our kids and youth programs and he is a natural leader. Michael is someone you can always count on to help with any task! Currently, he serves in Youth Club and Leaders in Training. He is a blessing to me personally since I have known and been mentored by Michael since I was 15 years old. My favorite thing about Michael is how genuine and authentic he is with his faith. He taught me what it means to be a true follower of Jesus and he inspires me to continue pressing into those questions and doubts. Thank you Michael for always being someone I can count on and loving our community so well! 

These brothers are different and similar just like any other siblings. Their gifts and talents are a blessing to our building and everyone who walks through our doors. From the bottom of my heart, thank you both for your generosity, kindness, and friendship. I pray you and your families are blessed greatly and know that as much as you love our community, our community loves you too! 

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION

Join our team of volunteers for the summer trimester and be part of "loving people from all places." Attend our volunteer orientation on May 20th and find your place serving kids, youth, or adults in the immigrant community in KCK

For more information about volunteer opportunities visit www.missionadelante.org/orientation

Be part of our programs!

 We are so excited to start this year and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us this trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our volunteer Orientation. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

Donate now