A Summer To Remember

A Summer To Remember 

by Patrique Harris, Youth Ministry Director

Sold-out stadiums and concert venues across the United States for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour will certainly cement Summer 2023 as one for the history books. Yet, I posit that there was something even more special brewing in Wyandotte County this summer. Being the Youth Ministry Director at Mission Adelante, I am probably biased, but I witnessed something extraordinary in my neighborhood. I saw God establish a group of seven outstanding teenagers who used their gifts together to impact the lives of many in the Mission Adelante community!

At the end of May, shortly after wrapping up their school year, Lucy, Alana, Julissa, Adiella, Vanessa, Anisha, and Camilo joined the Mission Adelante staff as summer interns. Each of these teens has their natural specialties. Lucy is a thorough planner and musical by nature; Alana is practical and can command a team; Julissa brings humor and encouragement to teammates; Adiella is a mediator and enjoys being of service; Vanessa is creative and detail-oriented; Anisha is great at engaging others, especially children; Camilo is a dreamer and brings great enthusiasm. I liken the group to a machine, each intern being a distinct gear. Though different, all the gears ground together in a melodic rhythm to motor our ministry this summer.

One thing that caught my attention this summer is how other young people gravitated toward these interns. I almost always saw them with an entourage following them around. As such, I would impress upon our interns that they are true “influencers,” similar to Jesus. Their platform may not be quantifiable by five thousand mouths fed, overflowing stadiums with thousands of concertgoers, or millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok. Nonetheless, their very being still has sway and power! I believe God has entrusted our young people and these young leaders with Kingdom purpose. That said, it is unfortunate that many question their worthiness daily. Many youngsters are made to feel ineffectual, sometimes even by family, friends, educators, and other prominent people in their lives. So today, I encourage you to celebrate the gifts of our young people. Give them opportunities to use those gifts and assure them that though they may be young, they are mighty. Or, as we would say in Jamaica, “yuh likkle but yuh tallawah.”

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LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
JOIN US TO VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION
SEPTEMBER 9TH

Join our team of volunteers for the summer trimester and be part of "loving people from all places." Attend our volunteer orientation on September 9th 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/serve

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Be part of our programs!

 We are so excited to start our fall trimester 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 Observation Nights. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

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

Summertime at Mission Adelante

Summertime at Mission Adelante

by Patrique Harris, Youth Ministry Director

From left to right: Lucy, Anisha, Camilo, Vanessa, Adiella, Julissa and Alana

Summertime at Mission Adelante is a blast! It is the time of year when we invite a special group of budding young leaders from our neighborhood to join our staff as summer interns. The internship is an intensive discipleship and leadership development experience that aims to help young people become passionate followers of Jesus and leaders in our community. This year, Lucy, Anisha, Camilo, Vanessa, Adiella, Julissa, and Alana have committed their summer to serving alongside us at Mission Adelante. Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to! 

An essential part of the internship is developing close relationships within the group early. What better way to do that than to spend a weekend away together! So, earlier this month, we traveled to Manhattan, Kansas for a weekend of fun and fellowship. Together we worshiped, laughed, played, exercised, made meals, explored the city, tried new sports, shared dreams, and even washed each others’ feet! I am always blown away by how quickly connections can build, regardless of age, gender, background, and even culture. God’s power is demonstrated in the way these interns moved from being acquaintances to friends in just one weekend!

Once we returned from a refreshing weekend away, it was time for the interns to get their hands dirty! The interns have taken on significant leadership responsibilities in Arts Community, Adelante Youth Club, and Kids Adelante under the tutelage of myself; Carla Flores, our Children’s Ministry Director; and Mikya Wright, a former summer intern herself and our new Ministry Apprentice! They are hanging out with kids, teaching Bible lessons, teaching creative classes, and even leading worship!

We have also spent time visiting and serving with other impactful ministries and nonprofits in our neighborhood. We literally got our hands dirty at the New Roots for Refugees’ Juniper Gardens Training Farm. New Roots for Refugees is a collaborative program between Catholic Charities and CultivateKC that provides farm training and market opportunities for refugee families that have settled in our neighborhood. Giving the Basics was also an eye-opening exposure trip for us. Giving the Basics distributes a host of hygiene necessities, often not covered by government assistance programs. We visited the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank (KC Fed) and toured the Money Museum with Daniel Nguyen, a volunteer in Mission Adelante’s Citizenship class. Daniel shared details about the history of U.S. currency and the importance of the KC Fed in managing the money supply of Kansas, Missouri and neighboring states. We learned a ton about upcycling at ScrapsKC, an organization that is focused on reducing waste in Kansas City with creative reuse while also supporting teachers and the unhoused community. We also paid a visit to our sister organization, Adelante Thrift. Adelante Thrift is located in our neighborhood on 38th St and State Ave and sells gently used clothing, furniture and more. Sales proceeds from the store cover around 25% of our expenses at Mission Adelante.  

This cohort of interns has already added a ton of value to our ministry. Please keep them in your prayers and feel free to send a note to their email (interns@missionadelante.org) with words of encouragement! If you feel moved to financially support our internship program and leadership development more broadly at Mission Adelante, consider giving to our summer fundraising campaign, Infinity 2023. Our goal is to raise $60k for the Community Leader Fund by August 6. Check this link for details www.missionadelante.org/infinity2023

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LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
MISSION ADELANTE OBSERVATION NIGHTS ARE HERE
JULY 10 -13

Are you interested in taking the next step to volunteer? Take a glimpse of what is going on at Mission Adelante and what we are doing in our different programs.

This is a great opportunity to have the full experience of a Mission Adelante volunteer.

For more information visit: www.missionadelante.org/observe

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Be part of our programs!

 We are so excited to start this summer trimester 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 Observation Nights. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

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

Calling All Volunteers! 📣

Few activities do more to fan the flame of compassion and promote mutual understanding than serving in a relational volunteer role at a ministry like Mission Adelante. There is just something about investing time in building relationships and serving with people from other backgrounds that causes us to grow. It’s faith in practice. It’s seeing the God-given dignity in people from all places. It’s making a difference! The Mission Adelante community invites YOU to serve with us this summer!

Julie Strohmeier has been serving with Mission Adelante since 2007! It’s hard to measure the impact someone makes when they invest so many years in children from our community. Hear about Julie’s experience in her own words in this brief video above!

If you’re interested in jumping in with us for the summer, we’d love to have you join us for our Volunteer Orientation Seminar on Saturday, May 22nd from 9:00am to 12:30pm. Here you’ll get a deep dive into our mission, get to know our staff members and their stories, and be equipped to serve in one of our ministry programs for the summer. You can let us know you’re coming and indicate your area of interest by clicking the button below. We’re especially needing volunteers to help with our kids outreach program on Thursday afternoons and our Arts program on Monday evenings.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.