Finishing Strong: Leaders in Training Go Canoeing

Written by Megan McDermott, Latino Children's Ministry Director
      
There's something about the wildness and unpredictability of nature that awakens something in all of us.   I think it returns us to a place of simplicity and purity, giving us a faint glimmer of what the Garden might have been like. Being out on a river with the tree branches swaying and the gentle lapping of  the waves, and seeing trees and rocks that were formed long before we were, reminds us of our smallness in comparison to God's grandeur.  It reminds us that we are part of God's glorious and infinitely lovely creation.  We are part of something bigger than just our own selves.

One of the biggest struggles the children in our community face is finding where they fit in.  They strive and push to find a place where they can find their significance and worth.   The Lord has blessed our community with a small group of twelve children that we have had the privilege to walk with in discipleship,conflict, love, and laughter this year in our Leaders in Training Program.  As we chose the best way to reward them for their incredible efforts this year, we thought about their struggle to belong.    We wanted to offer them an opportunity to get completely out of their comfort zone and really see the glory of the Lord in their surroundings.  Often, with the environment they live in on a daily basis, it is a fight to see the Lord at all.  After a great deal of prayer, we decided to take them on a weekend canoe trip to the North Fork River in Caulfield, Missouri.   

Thirty of us packed into cars and drove the five hours down to our campsite. This was many of the kids' first experience camping and sleeping outside.   We cooked over a campfire, made s'mores, and saw the majesty of the starry night sky in all its glory.  There were also many unexpected adventures and blessings along the way in which we saw the Lord intervene in mighty ways: car trouble, overturned canoes, communication between partners, snakes falling INTO canoes, and even a mini waterfall!  When we prayed for safety, we never imagined how powerfully God would answer those prayers!  

It wasn't until the end of our journey that I believe I really got to see the Lord's heart for His children and why this particular trip was so important.  Like many other outdoor activities, once you begin, you have to finish.  This is often a challenging concept for our kids because when things get tough in their lives in school, with friends, or at home, they tend to give up.  God was so faithful in not just giving us challenging circumstances to overcome on this trip, but also helping us all push through to finish together, as a family.  There is something very powerful about starting and finishing something as a group. It builds confidence in a truly necessary way.   I believe this trip will be more than just a fond memory of a great weekend out in the wilderness for the children.  I think it will continue to echo throughout their lives as a moment where they didn't just try, they succeeded.


In other news:

• A team in the ballpark of 50 volunteers from Westside Family Church, Heartland Community Church, Grace Church, and Life Church, Olathe spent the What If The Church Serve Day with us last Saturday.  The things that were accomplished were far beyond our expectations.  We want to give a special thanks to John Craiglow, our site coordinator, for using his skill, his passion for the Kingdom, and his servant leadership to plan for and lead very well on Saturday.
• Eighteen kids, ages 12 and up, finished the week of Free Wheels for Kids,  a new program that, in the course of one week, taught them bike maintenance and road safety.  They each earned a bike that they helped to refurbish, and celebrated the completion of the class with a ten mile group ride.  We at Mission Adelante were glad to partner with Ben Alexander and Free Wheels for Kids.
• Around thirty middle-schoolers, high-schoolers, and staff from Christ Church Anglican have come up to KCK the past two evenings for our first week of Summer Kids' Camp.  The camp has been going really well, and 109 neighborhood kids turned out the first night!  We're eager for our final evening with the Christ Church Anglican team tonight.
• Kristen Maxwell, Bhutanese Children's Ministry  Director, was privileged to share this week about Mission Adelante with 500 kids participating in Westside Family Church's VBS.  Kristen got to expand their definition of "missionary" by explaining how the Lord has brought people of other ethnicities here who need to hear about Jesus, and how she and the rest of our team have dedicated ourselves to the task.

Prayer needs:

• Please keep Lauren Timberlake, Bhutanese ESL Director, in your prayers.  In the course of just a few days, Lauren broke her foot and then underwent emergency surgery a week ago today for a detached retina.  The Lord has given her a faster-paced recovery from the surgery so far than what is normal.  Please pray for continued supernatural healing, and continued patience with that process for Lauren and her husband Drew.
• Pray for the evening Kids' Camps going on this week and the next two weeks here at Mission Adelante.  Pray for the kids to have fun, be safe, and most of all to see the Lord more clearly through the activities.
• Please lift the members of our partner ministry in Cuba up in prayer; pray especially for their financial stability.

Current needs

• Kids flip-flops of various sizes in neutral colors.  Please contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org.
• Monetary contributions to offset the cost of replacing four laptops that were stolen from our building during a break-in the weekend before last.  (We've already purchased replacements.)  Contributions may be mailed to Mission Adelante, 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102, and "laptop replacement" indicated in the memo line.
• Paper and plastic grocery sacks for resource distribution in our Resource Center.  Why not gather up all the sacks that have accumulated in your kitchen and bring them up with you the next time you come to the neighborhood?  Please contact Molly Merrick at 913-281-6274 x5 to tell her when you'll be bringing some.
• Eight copies of The Action Bible, which are used in our Bhutanese children's ministry.  If you would like to provide some of the Bibles, please contact Kristen Maxwell at 913-281-6274 x9.  If you like, you can have them shipped directly to us at: Mission Adelante, c/o Kristen Maxwell, 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102.

Important dates:

• Saturday, June 30, 9:00-12:00 Adelante Missions Institute Seminar at Mission Adelante featuring Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association.  There is limited space, so we've offered priority registration to our staff and volunteers, and are now opening registration to a wider group.  There is a cost of $10 per person, which includes a continental breakfast.  Register here.
• Week of July 2 Summer break; no programs
• July 17, 19, 24, 26, 31, August 2 Observation nights.  Ever wondered what goes on here on a typical evening of programming?  Come on up on a observation night and find out!  Tuesday evenings are Bhutanese outreach, Thursday evenings are Latino outreach.

When God Transforms Tragedy into Purpose

Written by David Stetler, Bhutanese Outreach Director


In the early 80's a twenty-two year old Nepali man experienced something that would change his, and his fourteen year old pregnant wife's, lives forever.  That young man fell out of a tree and was paralyzed from the waist down. He would live the rest of his life in a wheel chair in Nepal as an outcast.

But God had different plans for this young man, whom we'll call BK.  Through this one event God gave BK, literally, a front row seat into the miserable life of the unjust treatment experienced by disabled people in Nepal and the Lord began to use him and his family to love and care for the disabled of Kathmandu.  

Thirty years later we see the power of the gospel piercing through this family and their community of lepers, disabled and sick people that make up an amazing expression of God's love and compassion.  The SD Church, by the mighty hand of God and His amazing grace, have reversed the seemingly inevitable fate of these people: they no longer identify themselves as outcasts, but as children of the living God!

SD helps these sick and disabled people, who come to Kathmandu from surrounding villages, navigate the complexities of the health system so that they will get the right treatment.  SD cares for their health needs and shares the love and truth of Jesus.  They are physically cared for and discipled in the way of Jesus, and some are trained to be leaders sent back to their villages to gather and shepherd new believers in their hometowns to participate in the mission of God in restoring the broken places in this world.  

We met the SD community at about the same time that we began to minister to the Bhutanese here in Kansas City and it has been a constant honor to love them, support what they are doing, learn from them and hopefully encourage them. Last month we took a team to visit SD again and were encouraged by all that the Lord continues to do through them.  It's amazing to see a life seemingly destined for struggle and hardship being so full of joy and life.  This is only through the power of God Almighty who makes all things new and "bestows on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61)

In other news:

• The Leaders In Training canoe trip last weekend took the students out of their normal environment and created a context for the deepening of relationships and community.  The Lord answered our prayers for safe travel and safety on the North Fork River, and it was a fun time for everyone who went.
• Mission Adelante is partnering with Free Wheels for Kids, a new program that, in the course of one week, teaches kids ages 12 and up bike maintenance and road safety, and gives them the opportunity to earn a refurbished bike.  Fifteen kids, most from KCK, are participating, and Blake Johns, our Latino Children's intern, is getting to know them while he helps out.
• We're blessed by the increased volunteer role that Jacob Holland has assumed.  He's gone from leading a class in his home during past trimesters to coordinating student and volunteer participation in the Level One class this trimester, which is always the largest class.
• We're eager for the What If The Church Serve Day this Saturday!  We're looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones from metro churches and getting a few things from our "to do list" done!
• We had a break-in last Friday night, and four laptops used by administrative and ministry staff were stolen.  Thankfully, our alarm sounded, scaring away the burglar(s), and the police responded promptly.

Prayer needs:

• Please be in prayer for Lauren Timberlake, Bhutanese ESL Director, and her family.  Lauren broke her foot last weekend, and then during her routine eye exam yesterday, she was found to have a detached retina, and so she underwent emergency eye surgery today.  Lauren said, "It's a doozy of a surgery, so it may be a while until I'm back in the game."  Please pray for a speedy recovery, and for God's provision of help to care for Lauren's and her husband, Drew's, household in the meantime.
• Latino Children's Ministry Director Megan McDermott is extending invitations this week to kids that have been selected to participate in LIT during the upcoming school year. This group of kids receives spiritual mentoring, academic tutoring, and character development.  Pray for God to define Megan's vision for this year's program, and to guide her preparation throughout the summer.
• Praise God for providing the two Bhutanese teen girls' mentors we needed! 

Current needs:

• Monetary contributions to offset the cost of replacing the four stolen laptops.  (We've already purchased replacements.)  Contributions may be mailed to Mission Adelante, 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102, and "laptop replacement" indicated in the memo line.
• Someone to mow (with their own mower) our property (22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102) by this Monday.  Evening kids' camp begins this Tuesday and will be held outdoors in our soccer field.  Please contact  Sarah Winston at 913-749-7958.
• Paper and plastic grocery sacks for resource distribution in our Resource Center.  Why not gather up all the sacks that have accumulated in your kitchen and bring them up with you the next time you come to the neighborhood?  Please contact Molly Merrick at 913-281-6274 x5 to tell her when you'll be bringing some.
• Eight copies of The Action Bible, which are used in our Bhutanese children's ministry.  If you would like to provide some of the Bibles, please contact Kristen Maxwell at 913-281-6274 x9.  If you like, you can have them shipped directly to us at: Mission Adelante, c/o Kristen Maxwell, 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102.

Important dates:

• Saturday, June 30, 9:00-12:00 Adelante Missions Institute Seminar at Mission Adelante featuring Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association.  There is limited space, so we've offered priority registration to our staff and volunteers, and are now opening registration to a wider group.  There is a cost of $10 per person, which includes a continental breakfast.  Register here.
• Week of July 2 Summer break; no programs
• July 17, 19, 24, 26, 31, August 2 Observation nights.  Ever wondered what goes on here on a typical evening of programming?  Come on up on a observation night and find out!  Tuesday evenings are Bhutanese outreach, Thursday evenings are Latino outreach.

From Mission Adelante to the Foreign Mission Field!

Mission Adelante serves "a mission field in our own backyard."  But, what about the need to send missionaries abroad?  In our passion to involve ordinary, everyday Christians in cross-cultural missions in our city, we are not unaware of the constant and urgent need for missionaries to serve in foreign fields as well.  In fact, you might be surprised to know that Mission Adelante has played a role in equipping and preparing 12 missionaries who have gone on to serve on foreign fields.  Serving here sometimes leads to serving abroad!

As a missionary on the foreign mission field for more than three years, I can't count how many times I've been asked about culture shock and how we and the kids dealt with it. The truth is, I don't think it was much of an issue for us after our time with Mission Adelante. From having a Mexican woman live with us for nearly a year and a half, to leading Spanish-language Bible studies in our home or attending and serving in a Spanish-language church, we'd already experienced many cross-cultural challenges in Kansas City. --Seth Sears, Missionary in Costa Rica    

It is my belief that missionaries who begin foreign missions assignments with significant home-side ministry experience make a much greater impact than those who show up in foreign contexts with little or no experience at home.  And, imagine the difference it would make if that home-side experience were cross-cultural!  Many missionaries these days serve on a foreign field for 2 years or less.  This is barely enough time to learn the language and begin adapting to the culture.  If a missionary is also having to learn how to do ministry during this time, little kingdom work is actually accomplished.

Mission Adelante is really good at celebrating relationships.  We always made friends in our English classes, probably because Latinos are generally warm and easy to make friends with.  The relational ministry style of Mission Adelante turned out to be great preparation for the kind of friendships we've formed here in Colombia.  It helped build our confidence that we could build relationships with people, even when we couldn't communicate perfectly.                                       --Sam Posladek, Missionary in Colombia

It has been fun over these first six years of ministry with Mission Adelante to see God bring emerging missionaries to gain valuable training and experience with us.  This kind of dynamic interaction between home-side missions and foreign missions is fostering an exciting Kingdom synergy that benefits both the immigrant mission field in our own backyard, as well as the mission field in far-away places!  Because Jesus said, "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few", Mission Adelante will always be serious about developing workers for the harvest, whether here or abroad!


Here is a list some of the missionaries who have served with Mission Adelante before going to a foreign field.  We are honored to have served with you!

Seth and Andrea Sears: Costa Rica

Sam and Kassie Posladek: Colombia

Rachel Grimes: Costa Rica

Seth Wing: Costa Rica

Beth Brown: Bolivia, Mexico

Adam and Abby Sallee: South Africa

Courtney Colin: South Africa

Bethany Owens: Asia

Rachel Sams: Ecuador

In other news:

• Our summer interns have arrived!  Much of the Mission Adelante Missionary Team community enjoyed welcoming them at a cook-out on Saturday night.  Blake Johns will be working primarily with the Latino kids, and upon meeting Blake for the first time, a number of the boys seemed to be magnetically attracted to him!  Lindsey Bokach will be working primarily with Bhutanese kids, so Bhutanese Outreach interns Hannah Hume and Drew Hammond are showing her the ropes.  Lindsey especially enjoyed her first experience visiting a Bhutanese family in their home at the beginning of the week.
• The Summer session of Bhutanese Outreach launched on Tuesday night, with a very strong showing of volunteers and well-planned programming.  We expect the participant numbers to increase during the next couple of weeks, after a few things get ironed out.  The Latino Teens outreach launched last night with a cook out at David & Brooke Coon's home, and four new teenagers present.  They're following God's leading into a new stage of meeting teenagers on their own turf.  Our Latino Outreach staff and volunteer team are eager for our Latino outreach launch this evening!
• The Holy Spirit is imparting an understanding of Scripture and spiritual things to an extended Bhutanese family that meets together for weekly worship.  Last weekend, they remained together much longer than they typically do, until they were satisfied with their grasp on the meaning of the passage they were studying.
• The Latino and Bhutanese kids are going to get to enjoy three weeks of evening kids' camps put on by three of our partner churches.  Come on down some evening if you would like to join in the fun, June 12-14, 19-21, and 25-28.  Also, pray that God will make these great outreach events effective for reaching more neighborhood kids.

Prayer needs:

• Praise God for supplying a driver for our mini-bus on Tuesday evenings!  This volunteer role is crucial, as transportation is foundational to our Bhutanese friends' ability to participate in our programs.
• Please pray for safe travel for our LIT students and volunteers on their reward trip to North Fork River this weekend, as well as safety on the river and in the campground. Also, pray for the kids to see their smallness, relative to God's greatness and purity, as is so well demonstrated by nature.
• Pray for vision and wisdom for Kristen Maxwell, as she continues to formulate plans for Leaders In Training for Bhutanese students during the '12-'13 school year, and as she invites others to be a part of it.
• Pray for Mission Adelante staff  to pace ourselves this summer by planning well and taking things as they come, and to trust God for the time and resources necessary to carry out our mission. (Can you tell that there's an awful lot going on up here? :-D)

Current needs:

• Two females to serve as mentors for Bhutanese teenage girls each Tuesday evening through August 7.  Please contact Hannah Hume at hannahh@missionadelante.org.
• Kids summer clothing to stock our Resource Center, and two sofas, which have been requested through our Resource Center.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274 x5.
• A ceiling-mounted projector in a protective cage for use in our kids' room.

Important dates:

• Saturday, June 30, 9:00-12:00 Adelante Missions Institute Seminar at Mission Adelante featuring Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association.  There is limited space, so we've offered priority registration to our staff and volunteers, and are now opening registration to a wider group.  There is a cost of $10 per person, which includes a continental breakfast.  Register here.
• Week of July 2 Summer break; no programs

Living Out Our Values

Written by Lauren Timberlake, Bhutanese ESL Director


Nearly 30 Bhutanese volunteers and their families met together a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the community God is putting together to serve our neighborhood. It was exciting to see the passion and variety represented in the body of Christ, listen to stories, and just enjoy deepening friendships. As I listened to what God was doing in the lives of our volunteers, several of Mission Adelante’s core values were represented. Here is just a sample of what God is doing among the Bhutanese at this time:

Love for foreigners. I don’t know why I am still surprised when I hear volunteers talk about how much they love our Bhutanese friends. The Holy Spirit has obviously planted a fondness for them in so many of our hearts. One of our ESL volunteers moved last week from Olathe into our neighborhood in order to spend more time with her Bhutanese friends. Another told me at the party, “I almost feel guilty about how much fun I have as a volunteer. I just love it!” This love is a God-given love, sacrificial and live-giving. Without it, our ministry would be powerless.

Service and Relationships. God is using cross-cultural relationships to bless both Bhutanese and Americans. When a crisis happened in the family of one of our volunteers, her Bhutanese “mother” here cared so much that she fasted and prayed. That kind of relationship comes from hours of practical service and time spent together. Pabitra (the Bhutanese “mom”) was able to see beyond her own neediness and serve her friend with love. That’s the kind of dignity and relationship that God grows through this ministry. It is such a blessing to watch.

Partnership. The MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) from Hillcrest Covenant Church created flower pot kits as Mother’s Day gifts for Bhutanese moms. Our friends loved the pots and look forward to growing something beautiful in their homes, and it gave the MOPS moms and their little ones a practical way to show love to immigrants in our city.

These are just a few ways that God is using the Mission Adelante family to bless our community here in Kansas City, Kansas. Please pray that these values of love, service, relationship and partnership continue to grow and bear fruit in the lives of Bhutanese refugees, Latino immigrants, our volunteers, and church partners. To read more about our values as an organization, look on our website.


In other news:

• We're excited about the way that the summer trimester is shaping up, and about the great volunteer teams that are in place for all of our programs! God is faithful, every new trimester, to supply the volunteers that we need for our ministry programs to be effective!
• We're eager for the arrival of our summer interns, Lindsey Bokach and Blake Johns, who will move to our neighborhood this Saturday to join our one-year interns, Drew Hammond and Hannah Hume.

Prayer needs:

• We have an urgent need for a CDL licensed driver to pick up our Bhutanese friends for weekly programs beginning this Tuesday, and for a volunteer (preferably male) that knows sign language to help a deaf Bhutanese man in ESL classes on Tuesdays throughout the summer. Will you help us pray for God to supply these two specific people?
• Pray for the safety of our friends, Joe & Judy LeMaster and Drew Timberlake, who are presently on a ministry trip to Nepal.
• Pray for God to work in difficult domestic situations being experienced by a few of the LIT students' families, and for His will to be done as to whether those students are able to go on the canoe trip next weekend, which they earned as a reward for their participation in LIT.

Current needs:

• Bhutanese outreach volunteers for the summer trimester--Tuesday evenings May 29 through August 7.  Please call David at  913-281-6274 x6 or e-mail him at davids@missionadelante.org if you're interested in any of these roles.
• A CDL licensed driver to pick up our Bhutanese friends from around Kansas City, Kansas each Tuesday between 5:30 and 6:30 in our 22 passenger mini-bus.
• A male Kids Club volunteers to work with 5th or 6th graders
• A worship leader for Teens Club
• A volunteer familiar with sign language and deaf culture to work with deaf Bhutanese ESL students.
• Kids summer clothing to stock our Resource Center, and three sofas, which have been requested through our Resource Center.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274 x5.
• A ceiling-mounted projector in a protective cage for use in our kids' room.

Important dates:

• Summer trimester program launches--Week of May 28
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Reaching Out To Jesus

Written by Drew Hammond

About two weeks ago, a small team of staff and volunteers from Mission Adelante’s Bhutanese outreach returned from a trip to Nepal and India. Since then, people have been asking me what my “one big takeaway” is. It is very difficult to pin down the single most valuable thing the Lord taught me over the course of our journey, but the following is definitely near the top of the list.

One of the experiences I will always remember is our visit to a house church in a colony of ex-lepers in Nepal. This is a group of people that has been cast out from society because they happened to contract one of today’s least understood diseases. I was asked to share something with this group of people. In the back of the taxi on the way there, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I could teach this group of people. After twenty minutes in the car, I still hadn’t come up with anything, even after thinking all morning. Finally I gave up. How could I relate to a people that had been rejected from society? There was nothing that I could find within myself to relate to them. As a last ditch effort, I started flipping through the New Testament to try to find something that could work. Then it hit me: I was my way to visit a group of people who had also found refuge in the arms of Jesus.  The Bible is where I should have started!

As I scoured through narratives about Jesus, the Lord led me to Matthew 14: Jesus walking on water. I felt a sense of comfort as I  realized how well I was able to relate to Peter’s experience. Jesus calls Peter to step out of the boat, onto the water. The water which was new territory for Peter, a surface upon which all of his prior experience told him was impossible to walk.  As Peter stepped out of the boat towards Jesus, he became afraid and cried out “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30). Then Jesus reached out His hand and said “You of little faith, why do you doubt?” (verse 31), and the two climbed back into the boat together.  I shared of the similar experience I had had when I began working with the Bhutanese, facing the options of either reaching out to Jesus or sinking into the depths of fear. I told them that I don’t hear Jesus’ words in verse 31 in a harsh and correcting tone, but in a loving and protective one.  A tone that says, “Don’t you know who I am?  You have nothing to fear in me!”

The Lord definitely changed my heart in that moment, and over the course of our journey. It became even more clear to me that I belong to the Lord, and that I have nothing else to fear.


In other news:

• We're grateful for a generous donation of over 100 children's books in excellent condition for our children's library from Scott Bunte in memory of his mother, Joanne Paulsen Bunte.
• We're looking forward to the What If The Church? Serve Day at Mission Adelante on June 9. The main projects will be remodeling a couple of rooms in our facility and beginning work on a house next door that we recently acquired. Register to volunteer here!
• Our Latino and Bhutanese Missionary Teams have gathered the last three Monday evenings for grilling and fellowship followed by worship around a fire pit. One of the things we love most about doing ministry together is the rich community that is cultivated!

Prayer needs:

• Help us pray for a smooth on-ramp to our summer trimester. Ask God to put all the pieces in place, including each individual volunteer and immigrant participant in each of our programs, so that our love for Christ would be demonstrated by serving immigrants.
• Continue to pray for an immigrant family in crisis. Pray for healing and peace, especially for the kids as they get used to a new family dynamic.
• Pray for endurance and clear guidance for Executive Director Jarrett Meek as he leads the way into new initiatives, while keeping up with his many ongoing responsibilities. Also, pray for our Board of Directors as they plan for these new initiatives, which will allow us to have a broader impact in our community.
• Pray for the Lord to bless the fundraising efforts of our staff and interns.

Current needs:

• Bhutanese outreach volunteers for the summer trimester--Tuesday evenings May 29 through August 7.  Please e-mail morganh@missionadelante.org if you're interested in any of these roles.
• Five Kids Club volunteers
• A worship leader for Teens Club
• A driver with a CDL
• Individuals familiar with sign language and deaf culture to work with several deaf Bhutanese ESL students

• It's time to stock our resource center with baby's and kid's summer clothing.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274x5 if you can donate any.
• Several 4-8 person tents for the upcoming L.I.T. canoe trip, and tarps large enough to put under the tents. Please contact Megan at 913-281-6274x2.
• Fifteen reusable water bottles for Teens Adelante.  Please contact Brooke at 913-281-6274x8.
• A  ceiling-mounted projector in a protective cage.  Contact Kristen at 913-281-6274 x9
• Large Rubbermade storage bins with lids, and disposable cups.   Contact Kristen at 913-281-6274 x9

Important dates:

• Volunteer Orientation & Training--Saturday, May 19 @ 9:00 a.m.  All volunteers should attend this training once at the beginning of serving with Mission Adelante.  It's also a great way for someone to become familiar with Mission Adelante.  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 attend this informative training.
• All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert--Monday, May 21 @ 6:30 p.m.  We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our summer trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch.
• Summer trimester program launches--Week of May 28
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Boys' Night Out

Written by volunteer Brad Gregory


As a long-time volunteer at Kid's Adelante, I have truly come to love my Thursday nights with the kids. I savor my time with them, but my hectic schedule keeps me from getting anywhere near enough time with them outside of the Thursday night programming.  But, thanks to the generosity of a Mission Adelante supporter, I had the opportunity last weekend to take three of our young men LIT students to the Sporting KC game at Livestrong Park.  We started the evening with some great pizza at D' Bronx in Mission followed by a highly-competitive round of putt putt mini golf at Mission Bowl. It only took a short while with these young guys to remind me of two things that I had forgotten:
1) How to laugh - these boys know how to have fun. They were more entertained by hitting the ball into the water than into the cup!
2) Young men can EAT!!  They always want something else to eat!!!


Sporting KC played a great game, and we especially enjoyed the fantastic seats we had. We were having such a good time that the boys wanted to be sure I didn't return them home any sooner than the time I had told their parents, so we even squeezed in a late-night McDonalds' run.

As I drove home after dropping them off, I asked myself why I don't do that kind of thing more often. I loved every minute of it and this reminded me of how impacted and blessed I am by sharing life with the families and kids in the Mission Adelante community.


In other news:

• David Stetler, Kristen Maxwell, and Drew Hammond, the Bhutanese Outreach staff that returned  last week from a trip to Nepal and India, are occupied with processing through all that they saw and experienced, and are formulating personal and ministry applications.
• Kristen Maxwell, Director of Bhutanese Kids programs, held an informational meeting last Sunday to announce to the Bhutanese community the launch of Leaders In Training for Bhutanese students this fall.  The parents of potential participants caught the vision for the tutoring and character development program, and their sons and daughters were invited to apply.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for Blake and Lindsey, our summer interns who will arrive on May 26, as well as Drew and Hannah, both in the middle of a one-year internship.  Pray for their fundraising efforts, and for God to prepare them for the fast pace and intensity of the summer!
• Pray for Megan McDermott, Kids Adelante Director, as she is in the season of discerning which students to invite to participate in Leaders In Training next year.
• Help us ask the Lord to supply the volunteers we need for our summer trimester, which begins the week of May 28.

Current needs:

• Bhutanese outreach volunteers for the summer trimester--Tuesday evenings May 29 through August 7.  Please e-mail morganh@missionadelante.org if you're interested in any of these roles.
• Five Kids Club volunteers
• A worship leader for Teens Club
• A driver with a CDL
• Individuals familiar with sign language and deaf culture to work with several deaf Bhutanese ESL students

• A couch has been requested through the resource center.  It's also time to stock our resource center with baby's and kid's summer clothing.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274x5 if you can donate any of this.
• Several 4-8 person tents for the upcoming L.I.T. canoe trip, and tarps large enough to put under the tents. Please contact Megan at 913-281-6274x2.
• Fifteen reusable water bottles for Teens Adelante.  Please contact Brooke at 913-281-6274x8.

Important dates:

• Volunteer Orientation & Training--Saturday, May 19 @ 9:00 a.m.  All volunteers should attend this training once at the beginning of serving with Mission Adelante.  It's also a great way for someone to become familiar with Mission Adelante.  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 attend this informative training.
• All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert--Monday, May 21 @ 6:30 p.m.  We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our summer trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch.
• Summer trimester program launches--Week of May 28
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Parents' Night Out

Written by Megan McDermott


I often stand in awe of parents!  They sacrifice their time, money, food, sleep, and even their own desires to provide the best for their children.  Since our house church began this past November, we have been looking for ways to connect in a more relational way with the families. We wanted to serve them in a way that would not only bless, but also encourage them. 


Since ministry is primarily a relational endeavor for us, those of us in leadership of the house church asked ourselves, "What is something that every parent would want and appreciate, and that we could give them by virtue of the fact that we have relationships with them?"  How about a break?

Last Sunday, a few of us from our house church linked arms to give the hard-working parents among us a much needed night off.  Some of them used the opportunity to reconnect with their spouse over a quiet dinner.  One mom excitedly expressed to me, "We actually got to start AND FINISH the same conversation!"  Another family decided to have a girls night out and the grandma, mother, and granddaughter enjoyed some rare quality time together.  Each family, without tiny hands and voices distracting them, got to rest and relax in a way that meant something to them.


Meanwhile, all the kids and teens gathered at the Mission for about three hours to eat pizza, watch a movie, play some pretty intense four-square, and enjoy some rich relational time. It was one of the most fun nights I can remember having with them because we simply got to play together!  



I know that the parent's night out was meant to bless our families, but it blessed us as well.  These amazing children that we are privileged enough to to walk with on an everyday basis, bless us with their laughter, joy, and love for the Lord.  




In other news:

• Jarrett Meek was impressed and encouraged at the beginning of his house church gathering last Sunday to find out that many of the immigrants arrived having studied the Bible passage for the lesson in advance and having memorized a Bible verse.
• We're continually encouraged by our partnerships with the people in ministry at local churches, and by the evidence that these partnerships are win-win.  This week, some of the leadership from Christ Community Church sought advice from Jarrett Meek and Jason Schoff about a particular matter, which Jarrett and Jason considered an honor and a highlight of their week!

Prayer needs:

• Praise God!  An interview at the U.S. embassy has been scheduled for Yanelis on May 9!  Yanelis is the leader of Raices, the ministry we work with in Cuba, and we want her to join us in Kansas City for leadership training during our summer trimester.  Now, join us in praying that her visa will be approved, and that it will be issued very rapidly!
• Pray for strength in the marriages in our immigrant community.  A particular immigrant family is currently separated and struggling.  Please pray for them to become more and more open to God working in their lives, and for God to purify and sculpt their hearts to reflect His character.
• Pray for another family struggling through a difficulty.  Pray that they'll find the resources and support that they need, and that they'll have a particular awareness of God's presence and love.
• Our summer trimester of programs is approaching.  Please pray with us for God to draw each individual volunteer and participant that he wants to compose the classes.
• Praise God for the new things (understanding, vision, passion and energy, approaches to challenges, etc.) that have been/will be borne of a trip to Nepal and India that the Stetlers, Kristen Maxwell, Drew Hammond, Rachel Yeargin, and Lori Gossenauer have just returned from.  Pray for their re-entry into our time zone, neighborhood, and ministry lifestyle.

Current needs:

• A couch has been requested through the resource center.  It's also time to stock our resource center with baby's and kid's summer clothing.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274x5 if you can donate any of this.
• Several 4-8 person tents for the upcoming L.I.T. canoe trip, and tarps large enough to put under the tents. Please contact Megan at 913-281-6274x2.
• Fifteen reusable water bottles for Teens Adelante.  Please contact Brooke at 913-281-6274x8.

Important dates:

• Volunteer Orientation & Training--Saturday, May 19 @ 9:00 a.m.  All volunteers should attend this training once at the beginning of serving with Mission Adelante.  It's also a great way for someone to become familiar with Mission Adelante.  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 attend this informative training.
• All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert--Monday, May 21 @ 6:30 p.m.  We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our summer trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch.
• Summer trimester program launches--Week of May 28
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Mission Accomplished

written by Jason Schoff

"Serving Immigrants to Christ and Mobilizing them to Serve." This phrase launched Mission Adelante on a trajectory nearly seven years ago. It gave our staff, volunteers, and immigrant friends a framework for why Mission Adelante exists. It continues to serve us as a clear mission statement that propels us in ministry, and this past month I saw a first hand glimpse of our mission coming to fruition.

Our morning English class for Latino immigrants is made up of just six students who did not know one another before the class. This hasn't seemed to matter, since every week our students bond more and become closer friends with one another. To my delight, Carmen*, one of the women in the class, has also begun to attend one of the three Latino house churches. Carmen has begun to embrace Christ and learn what is looks like to know and follow him.

One day in class, Laura*, another of the students, shared a prayer request and financial need: her husband needed an surgical procedure and they would have to come up with a few thousand dollars for it. Laura seemed discouraged by the obstacle, but Carmen quickly spoke up. 


 "Have you called the radio to see if you could ask them to collect donations for you? I would be willing to ask my coworkers for donations to help you." Wow! Carmen was serving! She wanted to help Laura in her desperate situation. Carmen was fulfilling our mission statement, first by being one of the immigrants Mission Adelante served and now by serving as a vessel for God's compassionate help. I praise God for showing us a mission accomplished in one immigrant's life!

*Carmen and Laura's name have been substituted to honor their privacy

In other news:

• Both the Latino and Bhutanese Spring parties were outstanding!  They're a great way to honor kids and English students, and for the whole Mission Adelante Community to be together in one place celebrating.  We want to give a big thanks to the group of adults and teens from Christ Community Church and the Bhutanese outreach volunteers for all their help pulling off the Bhutanese party, and to the volunteers from New City Church of KC, MO and Mill Creek Community Church for all their help pulling off the Latino party.
• A big thanks to the five volunteers from Heartland Community Church's Millennial Group that spent Saturday doing a lot of work around our facilities.
• The Teens Adelante teens had a great time at Shoal Creek Community Church last weekend when they joined the Shoal Creek youth group for an overnight lock-in.

Prayer needs:

• Pray for our two incoming summer interns, Blake and Lindsey.  Pray that God will prepare them for the weeks they'll spend with us, and that He'll bless their fundraising efforts and provide the necessary funds.
• Pray for God's continued blessing and protection of our team that's presently traveling in India and Nepal, including the Stetler family, Kristen Maxwell, and Drew Timberlake, as well as a few volunteers.  They plan to return May 3.
• We've applied for a visa in order for Yanelis, the leader of Raices the ministry we work with in Cuba, to come to Kansas City for training.  We'd love to have her with us during the summer trimester, so please pray that her interview with the U.S. embassy in Cuba would be scheduled very soon.

Current needs:

• A couch has been requested through the resource center.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274x5 if you have one to donate.
• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers.  Please contact Brooke (brookec@missionadelante.org) if you can teach swimming lessons to full-grown teens or can help us find a good instructor.
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• Large storage bins with lids (Rubbermaid-type)

Important dates:

• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

RAICES Discipleship Retreat--Enjoy this Video!

In the Perfect Shepherd's Care

Written by Brooke Coon, Teens Adelante Director

As one of the volunteers, Karlie  Cooper, was sharing with Teens Adelante about her spiritual gift of Shepherding, something she said pierced my heart. “One of the drawbacks, or temptations of this gift can be that we are easily discouraged by the condition of the flock.” In the past two years, I have seen teens come and go. I have seen them step into their full potential and then watched them lured back into destruction, and I struggle through the choice between relentlessly pursuing these straying sheep and giving them space to grow, while focusing my energy on the ready disciples.  

Last week I felt a nudge to pursue a teenager that I had painfully let distance herself last Fall. Jesus reawakened  my heart to be with her, so I hesitantly called her, not sure how she would respond, and she jumped at my invitation to spend time together. 

By the end of our joyful evening together, I found myself humbled at what God had been doing in this young woman during the past few months. I asked her if she recalled one of the last spiritual conversations we had and we picked up from there. “Are you still angry at Him?” I asked. “No,” she simply replied, so lightheartedly.  I was kind of shocked and asked her, “How did that change happen?”  “Well, I pray,” she said. She continued on and I began to see that in her time away from this community, she has discovered what she doesn’t want to fill her life with. Some of us have to go through a process of elimination to get to the Truth and it can be painful to watch ones we love “turn away” from what we think is good for them. But I am so encouraged this week by the Good Shepherd.

I can so easily forget that he holds every sheep in his hand, no matter how ugly the battle appears.  As much as I wanted to gain all my energy from the encouragement of a lost sheep regained, I reminded myself of how I don’t want all my energy to be lost over a sheep gone astray. I thanked the Lord for this encouragement and his consistent pursuit of her, and worshipped him for being the perfect Shepherd, always full of patience and compassion for those who are lost. Always in control of the Teens Adelante flock, whether united or scattered. It seems that they are just learning to distinguish the sound of His voice by hearing the way all the others contrast.

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” John 10:3-4

In other news:

• Our Easter celebration with our Bhutanese friends was a prayerful pursuit on the part of the staff to give families a context for worshiping Jesus that included elements familiar to their culture, so as to show them that commitment to Christ and the Lordship of Jesus does not mean a cultural conversion, but a new life in Jesus.  It was well-attended and a thoroughly enjoyable celebration!
• Our Easter celebration with our Latino community was also very well attended, with immigrants leading the congregation through many parts of the worship.
• There will be a Bake Sale and Jewelry Sale this evening (April 12) at 8:30 (immediately following programming) to benefit the L.I.T. Canoe Trip at the end of the school year.  This is a reward trip for the students that succeeded at meeting the expectations for L.I.T. participation throughout the whole school year.
• Join us for our Spring parties this weekend!  The party with our Latino friends will be Saturday, April 14 at 5:00 p.m.  The party with our Bhutanese friends will be Sunday, April 15 at 4:00 p.m.  Both parties will be at Bethany Community Center, 1120 Central Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66102. 

Prayer needs:

• Pray for staff members David & Holly Stetler and children, Kristen Maxwell, Drew Hammond, and several volunteers who will travel to Nepal/India next week for an exploratory-training-leadership trip.  Pray for the Lord to grant them easy and trouble-free travel.
• Join us in praying for a couple of particular families going through really hard times right now.  Also pray for an abundance of patience, discernment and courage for the members of our staff that are walking with them.
• Praise God for the amazing ways God was at work during Jarrett's trip to Q-ba last week, and for Jarrett's safe return to Kansas City on Monday.

Current needs:

• A washing machine, which has been requested through our resource center.
• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers.  Please contact Brooke (brookec@missionadelante.org) if you can teach swimming lessons to full-grown teens or can help us find a good instructor.
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• Large storage bins with lids (Rubbermaid-type)

Important dates:

• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

You're Invited to Our Spring Parties Next Weekend

Our spring trimester of programs will conclude next weekend with parties! These parties are the highlight of each trimester. Not only do the kids, adult English learners, and volunteers enjoy being recognized for their accomplishments and contribution, but the meal we share and the celebratory atmosphere make it a good time for everybody. These parties are also one of the best ways new people can get to know our ministry! That's why we encourage our program participants and worship community to bring their friends and family, and our volunteers to invite anyone they know that might be interested in the work that we do. We'd love to have you join us!


The party with our Latino friends will be Saturday, April 14 at 5:00 p.m.  The party with our Bhutanese friends will be Sunday, April 15 at 4:00 p.m.  Both parties will be at Bethany Community Center, 1120 Central Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66102.


In other news:

• Last week's beautiful weather created opportunities for extra time spent outdoors with neighborhood kids. Drew Hammond played soccer with  group of Bhutanese boys and Kristen Maxwell played with a group of girls.  And last Wednesday, Kristen, Lauren Timberlake and Holly Stetler, their own kids and a collection of Bhutanese kids rode bikes to a playground to play together.  These are examples of the way our staff and a number of volunteers share life with our immigrant friends, by living in and becoming part of the neighborhood we serve.

Prayer needs:

• Jarrett Meek is spending this week in Q-ba teaching at a discipleship training retreat.  Please pray for his last few days there to be a rich time with friends.
• Please ask the Lord to continue providing the funds for some of our Bhutanese outreach staff to take an exploratory-training-leadership trip to  Nepal and India in April.
• Please pray for our first Easter Celebration service with our Bhutanese friends, this Saturday.  This will be the first Easter celebrated by a number of new believers!  Pray for the non-believers that are in attendance to have clarity about the excellent news in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Also pray for our Latino community's Easter Celebration on Sunday, that as we rejoice in the way God demonstrated his love to us through Jesus, everyone's faith will be nourished.

Current needs:

• A washing machine, which has been requested through our resource center.
• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers.  Please contact Brooke (brookec@missionadelante.org) if you can teach swimming lessons to full-grown teens or can help us find a good instructor.
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• Large storage bins with lids (Rubbermaid-type)

Important dates:

• Thursday, April 12 @ 8:30 p.m. (immediately following Thursday evening programming) Bake Sale and Jewelry Sale to benefit the L.I.T. Canoe Trip at the end of the school year.  This is a reward trip for the students that succeeded at meeting the expectations for L.I.T. participation throughout the whole school year.
• Saturday afternoon, April 14 @ 5:00: Latino Spring Party at Bethany Community Center.
• Sunday afternoon, April 15 @ 4:00: Bhutanese Spring Party at Bethany Community Center.
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Teens Club Is Reaching Teenage Bhutanese Refugees

Written by Bhutanese Outreach Intern Hannah Hume

Mission Adelante believes that ministry is essentially relational in nature.  That's why we're so excited about what's happening with our Bhutanese Teens Club.

We all remember the difficulties of our teenage years: trying to figure out who we were; maneuvering dating, grades, and peer pressure; figuring out what we believed separate from our parents; enduring constantly fluctuating hormones. Now, imagine dealing with many of those same issues while being newly immersed in a foreign culture and language that you don’t understand. You're beginning to get a picture of what life is like for the Bhutanese teens that live in KCK.

The Purpose of teens club is to help students learn how to love God and love people as described in Luke 10:27, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" We believe that there is nothing that these teens need more during this incredibly malleable time in their lives than to know and love the only person who can be constant and unchanging: Jesus Christ.

Jesus is using Teens Club to change teens lives. We are seeing students who were at risk for joining gangs become followers of Jesus instead. This trimester students are getting to hear the story of Jesus, some of them for the first time in their own language, and they are becoming enthralled with Jesus. They want to know more about him. Some of the boys who used to be our most disruptive students during story time are now discussing the stories around their lunch tables at school, and some of the girls are whispering prayers to him at night before they go to sleep.

Teens club is still a new ministry, and in the formative stages. There continue to be challenges in helping our teenage friends. However, the spirit is undoubtedly moving. Please pray for the Bhutanese teenagers of Kansas City, Kansas, and for Teens Club, as we seek to continue to grow and learn together.

In other news:

• David & Holly Stetler's, Kristen Maxwell's and Drew Hammond's visas were approved for an exploratory-training-leadership trip they and some volunteers will be taking to Nepal April 18 through May 2.

Prayer needs:

• Jarrett Meek will be traveling back to Q-ba this Sunday to teach at a discipleship training retreat.  Please pray for a smooth and easy arrival, and a rich time there with friends.

Current needs:

• A washing machine, which has been requested through our resource center.
• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers.  Please contact Brooke (brookec@missionadelante.org) if you can teach swimming lessons to full-grown teens or can help us find a good instructor.
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A big-screen T.V. for use at a variety of times, including Kids Adelante Bible studies.

Important dates:

• Thursday, April 12 @ 8:30 p.m. (immediately following Thursday evening programming) Bake Sale and Jewelry Sale to benefit the L.I.T. Canoe Trip at the end of the school year.  This is a reward trip for the students that succeeded at meeting the expectations for L.I.T. participation throughout the whole school year.
• Saturday afternoon, April 14: Latino Spring Party
• Sunday afternoon, April 15: Bhutanese Spring Party
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Winter Jam 2012

The Winter Jam 2012 tour stopped in Kansas City on February 17 and many Mission Adelante youth, volunteers and staff got to attend together.  Winter Jam is reportedly Christian music's largest annual tour, and since its formation by NewSong in 1995, has featured many of the top names in Christian music. Molly Merrick, Mission Adelante Ministry Aide, took a few neighborhood girls to the show, who were thrilled by the live performance of songs they hear on the radio.  Of the nine bands that performed, their favorite was Skillet, much in part to their use of pyrotechnics!


Also attending the concert was a teen boy that has begun learning to play drums in the past year and drums on the teens' worship band.  After arriving at Winter Jam in low spirits, he also got very excited about Skillet's performance.  Kids Adelante Director Megan McDermott said, "He is a very talented musician but tends to conceal his true feelings about things.  When we left the concert, he turned to me with a huge smile on his face and in an excited tone of voice asked me if I had seen the amazing drummer.  We so rarely get to see him genuinely excited and joyful.  It was a blessing to see music that praises God bring that out in him!"


Megan invited a teen girl whose birthday happened to fall on the same day as the concert.  It's been some time since this teen has been a part of the teen Bible study, and Megan really enjoyed spending the evening with her.  Megan said, "At one point during the concert, I felt the Lord lead me to whisper in her ear that it wasn't a coincidence that the concert was on her birthday.  He wanted to bless her and let her know that He loves her."


After hearing Brooke Coon (Teens Adelante Director) talking about plans to take a group of teens to the show, a teenage boy's mom decided to take a vacation day day from work to go along with the Teens Adelante group, and really enjoyed her first concert!  Brooke said, "I was challenged to rethink about the words I was singing to each worship song, as every now and then she leaned over and yelled over the blaring music, asking me to translate different words such as 'grace' into Spanish. Her generosity in buying food for all the teen girls (from a ridiculously priced concession stand) completely moved me. Her joy in giving is one of her most beautiful traits, and in that moment I longed to have a heart that sees each opportunity to spend my money on someone else as a privilege. Afterwards, I told her son about his mom's generosity. He replied, 'I know. She gives even when she doesn't have enough.'"


Brooke went on, "It has been amazing to see Christ's work, which began in this teen boy, spreading into his family, and then to see Christ reciprocating His glory through his mom, back to Teens Adelante, and to the others of her 5 children. I find myself being ministered to by the very people I minister to...all because of His great power!  I love every moment I get to spend with this woman; her hunger for God and her sacrificial generosity are constantly inspiring me and reminding me of God's compassion and provision. As my relationship with this woman grows, God is showing me how to walk 'alongside' instead of 'ahead of' my immigrant friends. This morning, the Lord used 1 Corinthians 3:7 to encourage me by reminding me of His sovereignty over the lives of the teens and their families that I love and serve. It says, 'So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.'"


After the concert ended, the question on the minds of most of the youth that got to attend was, "Did you know Christian music could sound like that?!"  We're grateful to our generous God for special occasions such as Kansas City's Winter Jam 2012 tour stop, and the many angles from which he uses them to encourage and refresh us!


In other news:

• THANK YOU to those individuals that have supplied to us an abundance of goldfish crackers for Bhutanese kids club, a computer desk for a new work space, and a computer for use by LIT students!
• Corporate worship among the Latino house churches last Sunday (which we hold once each month) was highly attended and highly enjoyed.  After several meetings in their individual groups, everyone was excited to see one another and enjoy fellowship.

Prayer needs:

• Ask God to give wisdom to our board of directors as they consider how "business as missions" might fit into our ministry structure and allow our impact in our community to increase.
• A number of Mission Adelante staff members will be traveling during the upcoming week which is our spring break.  Please join us in asking the Lord to grant safe travels.

Current needs:

• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers. Please contact Brooke if you can teach swimming lessons (to full grown teens) or can help us find a good instructor! brookec@missionadelante.org
• An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family.  We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use with the burlap material
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A big-screen T.V. for use at a variety of times, including Kids Adelante Bible studies.
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center

Important dates:

• Spring Break: March 14-17 the Mission Adelante office will be closed.  No evening programs Tuesday, March 13 or Thursday, March 15.
• Latino Spring Party: Saturday afternoon, April 14
• Bhutanese Spring Party: Sunday afternoon, April 15
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

The Wait is Over!

Written by Lauren Timberlake, Bhutanese ESL Director


We moved into our house in Kansas City, Kansas, on Saturday. It was a long time coming, but this week I am praising God for his faithfulness to my family and for bringing us to this neighborhood in his perfect timing.

I was first introduced to Bhutanese refugees three years ago. I had a background in teaching English as a second language (ESL), and my church had asked me to help train some volunteers to become conversation partners. I had two small children at the time, so I didn’t think I could do more than one or two meetings. I decided to go to the first little class, and I was hooked! The Bhutanese people were so endearing and had such great needs. Soon after, we formalized a relationship with Mission Adelante and began offering weekly ESL classes. A year ago, I agreed to join staff and began fundraising. We bought a home to remodel close to Mission Adelante last April and put our southern Overland Park home on the market. It sold in one day. We found out we were expecting our third child and moved in with my (incredibly awesome) parents for the summer.

So we thought. The remodel of our home took longer than expected to complete. By the end of the summer, there were studs and wires, but not much else. Our baby girl was born in October, two months ahead of her due date. Praise God she was and has been perfectly healthy since then, but we needed a little more room, so we found a furnished apartment. Sometimes it was hard to understand why God didn’t help move things along faster with our house. We felt very much out of control and far away from what God was doing in our KCK neighborhood. But I think God used that to help us lean into him. Our friends and my Jesus Calling book kept reminding us that God uses time to make his sovereignty known, and that he doesn’t waste anything--that we could be close to him even if we physically weren’t where we wanted to be. Waiting can be very purposeful. So we waited.

As soon as there were flushing toilets and light switches, we moved. What seemed like an army of friends (including some Bhutanese teens!) came to help brush off the construction rubble from our things stored in the basement and move them upstairs. Still surrounded by boxes, we are humbled and blessed by where God has called us. We had three Bhutanese boys over to play with our kids on Monday, and it felt really good. We have been commuting to this neighborhood for three years, and we are eager to see what proximity does to grow our relationships here.

Please join us in praying for our Bhutanese friends and our family’s role as we begin to live among them. Pray for our children (8, 5, and 4 months) to adjust well and enjoy the adventure God is calling us to. God is definitely alive and active in this place, and we want to press in to what He is doing and use our resources well. The wait is over, but the adventure has just begun!

In other news:

• We were glad to have Rachelle Pichardo and Chris Gorney of Redeemer Fellowship visit us this week.  Redeemer Fellowship exists to cultivate communities of transformed disciples who live for the glory of God and the good of the city, and we're thankful to be in partnership with them.

Prayer needs:

• Mission Adelante's Board of Directors and Leadership Team traveled to Arkansas for a couple of days this week to observe a ministry with experience in "business as missions."  Pray for the Lord to grant wisdom as we explore whether particular business ventures could align well with our mission.
• Pray for us as we finalize our selection of 2012 summer interns.  If you know someone that would be great for the internship this year, urge him or her to fill out this form.  We would look at a late application.

Current needs:

• Teens Adelante is hoping for swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers. Please contact Brooke if you can teach swimming lessons (to full grown teens) or can help us in finding a good instructor! brookec@missionadelante.org
• An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family.  We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use with the burlap material
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A small computer desk or computer table to create an additional workspace in our offices
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center
• Containers of Goldfish crackers/animal crackers for Bhutanese Kids Club snacks (Sometimes the repeated purchase of seemingly inexpensive things can eat up a budget!)
• A well-working and Internet able C.P.U. or laptop for use by L.I.T. students

To respond to any of these needs, please e-mail Morgan at morganh@missionadelante.org.

Important dates:

• Observation Day: Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30-  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.
• Spring Break: March 14-17 the Mission Adelante office will be closed.  No evening programs Tuesday, March 13 or Thursday, March 15.
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Would You Pray?

Written by Jason Schoff, Director of Latino Outreach

Would you turn down a chance to pray?  We at Mission Adelante believe that dependent prayer glorifies the ultimate Provider and is the best weapon in a spiritual battle that can only be won if God moves.  That is why we decided a couple of years ago that all our Latino English (ESL) classes should include this component at the beginning or end of class.  Thankfully, our students have responded warmly to this important piece.  We might start with a beginning class by praying for simple and broad things like our students' success with learning and for God to take care of all our families and needs.  Later we transition into praying for the personal, individual needs of our students.  While this may not happen over night, we hope our groups grow in faith to believe that God cares about them enough to listen and He answers their prayers.  

Little by little, our classes become communities that begin to pray for one another.  They feel free enough to share about their needs and even express praise for ways God is responding to them.  We often begin asking our students to lead the prayer time by the second or third trimester of their studies with us.  It is an invitation, never an obligation.  Some in our groups have never in their lives prayed aloud and this becomes an open door for them to experience acceptance by their classroom community.  

Last week one of our volunteers asked Oscar* to pray.  She knew Oscar attended a church in our neighborhood and hoped he would take her up on the opportunity.  However, he wanted to pass!  He expressed how he stopped going to church several months ago and felt like he couldn't pray because God would not accept his prayers for that reason.  Ugh!  It was a sad moment.  The volunteer encouraged him and let him know that God would be very willing to receive his prayers.  What a humbling end to class!

Would you pray for Oscar to sense God's love and longing to hear his prayers?  Also, would you join us in praying that our Latino English classes will see prayer continue to touch people's hearts and draw them to God?  

*Name changed to protect privacy

In other news:

• We were pleased to have Dan Deeble and the rest of the Heartland Community Church Management Team visit our staff last week, and to hear about their vision for a great number of Christians practicing evangelism as a lifestyle throughout Kansas City.
• David and Holly Stetler attended a conference in South Carolina last week with 3d Ministries called Community of Practice and learned about leadership and community.
• The third of three Latino house churches began meeting in an  immigrant home last Sunday.  This demonstrates the ownership of the gatherings that immigrants are taking as our focus remains on reproducing disciples and leaders who are capable of multiplying the work.

Prayer needs:

• Join  us in asking the Lord's blessing of our staff's various fundraising efforts.

Current needs:

• An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family.  We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use on the burlap material
• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A small computer desk or computer table to create an additional workspace in our offices
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center
• Containers of Goldfish crackers/animal crackers for Bhutanese Kids Club snacks (Sometimes the repeated purchase of seemingly inexpensive things can eat up a budget!)
• A well-working and Internet able C.P.U. or laptop for use by L.I.T. students

To respond to any of these needs, please e-mail Morgan at morganh@missionadelante.org.

Important dates:

• Observation Days: Tuesday, February 21 (Bhutanese)/Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

Engineered Ministry

Written by Operations Director Marla Hansen

In the years before joining the staff of Mission Adelante, I enjoyed a career as a manufacturing engineer.  My job was to improve the production and bottom line of the factories I worked in.  Throughout my career this ranged from factories that made anything from mailboxes to nuclear control valves.  My specific area of expertise was in the implementation of something called Lean Manufacturing and in Constraint Theory.  Basically both these ideas are based on the concept that individual efficiency is not always the answer, and can actually make both your production and your bottom line worse.  In brief this is how it works: when you first begin to work with a process, the first thing you do is just watch.  Take time to understand each step of the process, the equipment involved, the people involved, and the output capabilities at that step.  Constraint theory will lead you to identify your bottlenecks (the processes that can’t keep up) and you then focus your resources on improving them.  Lean Manufacturing will lead you to remove any waste (excess work) out of those bottlenecks.  It can be very counter-intuitive and counter-cultural.  In some cases you would actually be better off to pay workers to go home than to have them keep producing faster than the bottleneck process can keep up. 

As I have spent the last year being a part of Mission Adelante, I have come to realize that ministry done well works in pretty much the same way.  Jesus said himself, “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few”.  It’s incredibly important to use resources strategically in order to make the biggest kingdom impact.  I have watched the leadership and ministry staff at Mission Adelante do much the same in the neighborhood as I did in the factory with one important difference:  where my job in factories was to get to know the processes and look for the bottleneck, the Mission Adelante staff gets to know the neighborhood and looks for where God is at work.  From there out, it’s really the same thing.  In manufacturing you subordinate your resources to the bottleneck whereas in ministry you submit your resources to God’s plan; both will allow you to be the most productive whether you are trying to produce mailboxes or Kingdom fruit.  And just like Lean Manufacturing, applying resource to the wrong place can be completely ineffective – regardless of the intention or hard work of any individual.  If it isn’t God’s will, you’d be better off sitting at home.   

So other than being interesting to nerdy types like myself what is the point of this comparison, you might ask?  Well I think there are two:

1. If you’ve ever wondered if the time, talent or financial donation you share with Mission Adelante is being used in the most effective way, this engineer’s opinion is: Absolutely. 
2.  If you’ve ever thought that maybe your talents don’t really fit any ministry role, ask God to show you differently and watch expectantly for Him to show you the answer.  This article narrates the answer I received when I asked that question.

In other news:

• Drew Hammond, Bhutanese Outreach Intern, visited Xenos Christian Fellowship the weekend before last in Columbus, Ohio.  Like Kansas City, KS, Columbus is a resettlement location for Bhutanese refugees, and like Mission Adelante, Xenos is actively reaching out to their population to demonstrate the love of Christ.  Drew enjoyed conversing with Xenos leadership and meeting Bhutanese believers, including a young man who is one of the only believers in his family. Drew was able to encourage him with the news that there are many believers in Kansas City that share his last name!
• It's really exciting to see the enthusiasm of people that are new to reading the Bible! The Latino teens are learning about the various spiritual gifts, and thereby finding very clear application of scripture to their lives. The Bhutanese kids are reading through the narrative contained in Genesis week by week, and are simply captivated by it.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for a family that has been away from our community for a period of time to begin coming to our church gatherings again, which they expressed interest in doing.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to provide Molly Merrick with guidance and wisdom as she mentors two pre-teen girls.

Current needs:

• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A small computer desk or computer table to create an additional workspace in our offices.
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center.

Upcoming dates:

• Summer Internship Application Deadline--Wednesday, February 15: Our summer internship combines practical missions experience in an urban context with mentoring and seminars on key topics relevant to ministry. This opportunity is perfect for the college or post-college person who is exploring a potential call to missions or urban ministry.  The internship lasts from May 26 until August 12.  To fill out the our interest form go to www.missionadelante.org/internform. You'll also find an attachment there with all the details.
• Observation Days: Tuesday, February 21 (Bhutanese)/Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June.  Mark your calendar!

We Are a Family!

Written by Kids Adelante Director Megan McDermott

Over the years, church has come to mean many different things to me. It has been a place of worship, a place to pray, a place to grow in fellowship with other believers, and an environment that invites the Holy Spirit to come and dwell. As we have begun the exciting new chapter of planting house churches within the Mission Adelante community, I was blessed to be able to open my home up to our Mission Adelante family for a few months.

A typical Sunday night for us begins with a potluck meal that allows everyone to contribute and fills us with yummy food as we catch up with each other. This is one of my most favorite times because we are able to invest in each other in a more intentional and relational way. Then, we are led in lively and reverent worship by David Coon, who is accompanied by Edgar, one of the many amazing teens in our community. As we dive into the Word together and explore, with our head (intellect), heart (spirit) and hands (will and actions) what we feel the Lord is saying, a lively discussion often breaks out as we share our individual interpretations. We end the night by splitting into small groups to share on a more personal level, how the passage has touched our hearts and more importantly, how we desire to live out what we have learned. I get to spend intentional, discipleship time with with the young women of our community and walk with them through the challenge of following the Lord in their teen years. This is an especially sweet time for me personally to reconnect with them and encourage them through the trials of their lives.

During the past few weeks, we have had the exciting blessing of our house church moving to one of the Hispanic homes! We pray that this move will allow more friends to join our church family. I have felt the Holy Spirit in a very tangible way during our Sunday night house church. It has felt like I am having a family reunion each Sunday complete with the joy, chaos, and love that only real family could bring. It has been beautiful to watch, as the weeks pass, how our community is becoming a real family!


In other news:

• I (Morgan, administrative staff member) am impressed over and over by the ways our ministry staff dedicated to kids and teens use the situations in the youth's lives to help them grow in maturity and personal responsibility.  Whether Megan McDermott inspiring our Leaders In Training to take ownership of their participation in the selective leadership development program, or Brooke & David Coon, Teens Adelante Leaders, mentoring two of the older teens that have begun dating, I am humbled (being a parent, myself), and inspired, as I hear about the many ways they steward so well their roles of influence over the next generation. 
• We are persistently thankful for the many volunteers (currently 177 of them!), both North American and immigrant, who take part in carrying out Mission Adelante's mission of serving immigrants to Christ and mobilizing them to serve.  Molly Merrick arrived at our Resource Center late on Saturday after having a flat tire to find it fully operating under the care of two immigrant ladies.

Prayer needs:

• Praise God!  He enabled us to stay within our 2011 budget, and provided year-end gifts exceeding our goal which made us eligible for a partial matching grant!  We praise Him for abundantly supplying for our needs!  On a related note, help us ask God to provide some more long-term donors, particularly for staff support.
• Thank you for praying over the past week for the Latino family for whom we petitioned prayer.  God has been active in their lives this week and has calmed the situation.  Please be in continued prayer that God will make the way for good communication and healing of relationships, and that the family will take advantage of resources being offered to them.
• Pray for peace in the adjustment period for three Bhutanese families that have recently arrived in Kansas City.  Pray for God to provide opportunities for Mission Adelante staff to make significant connections with them this month that will lead to lasting, trusting relationships.

Current needs:

• Two more Tuesday-evening volunteers for the Bhutanese Kids Club (contact Kristen at kristenm@missionadelante.org), and one more Wednesday afternoon male L.I.T.  volunteer (contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org).
• A locking 3 or 4 drawer filing cabinet.  Please contact Marla at marlah@missionadelante.org.
• Nonperishable food such as canned vegetables and soups, pasta, dry cereal, etc. to make available to families in need through our resource center.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274 x5 to arrange a time to drop off.)

Important dates:

• Summer Internship Application Deadline: February 15  Our summer internship combines practical missions experience in an urban context with mentoring and seminars on key topics relevant to ministry. This opportunity is perfect for the college or post-college person who is exploring a potential call to missions or urban ministry.  The internship lasts from May 26 until August 12.  To fill out the our interest form go to www.missionadelante.org/internform. You'll also find an attachment there with all the details.
• Observation Days: Tuesday, February 21 (Bhutanese)/Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.

There and Back Again - A Himalayan Journey back to Kansas City

written by Mission Adelante Intern Hannah Hume


Two years ago, I got on a plane and headed to India. I had no clue what to expect. However, over the five months that I was there the Lord changed my heart and the course of my life forever. I worked in the Himalayan mountains with Nepali refugees, seeking to spread the gospel and plant churches. I loved it.  I loved the Nepalis. I loved church planting.  And I desperately wanted this people group, who lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world, to honor, worship and know the God who made the mountains they lived in.


When I returned to the states five months later, my heart felt broken. You would think I would have been excited to see my family and return to the comforts of American life, but I wasn’t. All I wanted was to go back. I had seen the Lord move in miraculous ways like you read about in the book of Acts. The Lord had put a  love for church planting and the Nepali people in my heart, and it felt like being among those people was where I needed to be. I didn’t understand why God had brought me back to Kansas City. Praying over, and seeking the answer to that question became the majority of my prayer life.


Then, about a year ago I stumbled across Mission Adelante through a link on a church website. I wasn’t familiar with who Mission Adelante or the Bhutanese refugees were. I just knew I wanted to serve in a cross cultural context, so I went to check it out. Upon arrival, I was shocked to hear the Bhutanese refugees speaking Nepali, the same language spoken by the people I worked with in India. I learned that the Bhutanese were ethnically Nepali, and nationally Bhutanese. The Lord had brought Nepali people to Kansas City!


Since that time, I have been serving among the Bhutanese of Kansas City, Kansas through Mission Adelante. When I got on that plane to India two years ago I never thought that I would end up back in Kansas City working with Bhutanese Refugees. When I returned to the states five months later I never would have dreamed that the Lord had a plan to fulfill his purposes for me in my own backyard. Its been a long, and at times frustrating, journey to get where I am today. However, I wouldn’t want the trek to look any different than how God planned it. God’s ways truly are higher than ours and He is faithful.


Now, I am setting out on a new adventure with Mission Adelante and the Bhutanese of Kansas City, KS. After serving with Mission Adelante as a volunteer for two trimesters, I am joining Mission Adelante as a year long intern. This new opportunity will help to fill a serious need for a person who can invest more time into the Teens Club program, and more importantly, into the teens themselves. The Bhutanese teen girls  need someone to come alongside them and help them navigate the trials of being a teenager in America. They are struggling with issues of identity, school, boys, etc. all while being in a totally new foreign environment, and attempting to understand and speak the language around them. Please join me in prayer as the Lord gives me opportunities to assist these girls in navigating these trials, and ultimately point them to Christ. He is the only one that can deal with their biggest need, which is a personal relationship with Him.



In other news:

• We had a great trimester launch last week and are amazed at the volume of relational ministry that our volunteer team of 177 individuals can accomplish!  That army is many times multiplied from the 25 volunteers that were serving at this time six years ago!
• A Bhutanese couple eagerly dedicated their newborn baby girl to Jesus last Saturday morning at the house church they're part of.  David Stetler, Director of Bhutanese Outreach, encouraged the new parents and the Bhutanese community to raise the little girl in Christian faith.  Worship the Lord for this evidence of the family's surrender to Jesus!
• We continue to be encouraged by both our Bhutanese and Latino friends' growing initiative in driving the house churches, in some cases such that Mission Adelante staff feel that we're being swept along by them!

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for the Lord to grant wisdom to the Bhutanese Outreach staff to know how to respond to a family of peace they've identified among the Bhutanese community of Kansas City.
• Pray for unity among the Leaders In Training students, and that they'll grow in their ability to work more like a family during this trimester.
• Pray for healing in the family of one of our teenage participants, and wisdom and discernment for Mission Adelante staff to help them keep walking forward.

Current needs:

• Two Bhutanese Kids Club volunteers on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30. Contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org or 913-281-6274x9.
• A male Leaders In Training tutor for Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 to 7:00. Contact Megan McDermott at meganm@missionadelante.org or 913-281-6274x2.
• Men's, children's, and babies' winter clothing to make available to families in our Resource Center.  Contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org or 913-281-6274x5 to arrange a time to drop off your donation.  Please do not leave donations without them being received by a Mission Adelante staff person.

Upcoming dates:

• Summer Internship Application Deadline: February 15  Our summer internship combines practical missions experience in an urban context with mentoring and seminars on key topics relevant to ministry. This opportunity is perfect for the college or post-college person who is exploring a potential call to missions or urban ministry.  The internship lasts from May 26 until August 12.  To fill out the our interest form go to www.missionadelante.org/internship. You'll also find an attachment there with all the details.
• Observation Days: Tuesday, February 21 (Bhutanese)/Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typically evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.

Summer Internship in Cross-Cultural Ministry! Apply by February 15

Get your feet wet in cross-cultural ministry!  Our summer internship combines practical missions experience in an urban context with mentoring and seminars on key topics relevant to ministry.  This opportunity is perfect for the college or post-college person who is exploring a potential call to missions or urban ministry.  You will make a kingdom impact and you will learn a lot!  The internship lasts from May 26 until August 12.  Applications must be received by February 15.  For all the details about the summer internship, click here.  To fill out the our interest form and receive the application, click here.

Teens Adelante Retreat 2011

Eight teens and five adults went on an overnight retreat to Heartland Presbyterian Center in Parkville this December. For many of the teens, being apart from siblings and out of the urban core was a new and exciting opportunity. The teens did an indoor challenge course where they grew as a team, learned about the Body of Christ, and constructed a puzzle designed to encourage each of their unique roles. They also got to worship together, eat tacos, and play "sardines" until way past bedtime! We were amazed by the walls that the Lord took down, and the unification that He restored in these eight kids who have been the core for the rest of the newer teens who couldn't be present. Here's more from the perspective of volunteers Brian and Sandy Teachout:

What a blessing the volunteers received when we celebrated the 2011 retreat with the teens! We saw God's hand in it from the moment we arrived at the retreat center. But to continue this story we need to back up a couple of years. The teens we met then are not the transformed teens we know today. They were, to say the least, a bit rough around the edges, hurting, confused, and at times even disrespectful. But they were also very bright, curious, and full of life. These kids never stopped coming to our newly-organized Teens program when it started in 2010, and we have grown to love them since then.

Let's just say that this retreat was a milestone for our lives as well. The retreat was what we call the epitome or crescendo of all the months spent with the teens. It was a refreshing time of team work, personal responsibility to each other and a precious time of sharing our hearts. There was laughter, joy, comedy, quiet time, sharing and tears. Some of the tears were the fruit of sharing their hard times, their challenges, even their past frustrations in light of the difficult challenges they have lived as such young hearts. But the greatest blessings were the tears of joy as they opened their hearts to show how God had been part of their every experience as He is soothing their hurts and healing their scars. The joy of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is touching a part very deep within them and their confession that Jesus is now the Savior of their lives gives us a joy that is inexpressible. The love we have for these wonderful, challenging teens has increased in our hearts to the point that we see them as our own and we know God has a wonderful plan for each of their lives. We know beyond a shadow of doubt that if any new volunteers join us in this awesome ministry they will fall in love with these kids and will find themselves hard put to leave it if they have to in the future! All we know is that our own lives have been enriched beyond what we could have imagined by having been part of their lives.

In other news:

• Thank you, Westside Family Church, for giving us a 19 passenger mini-bus.  It will be extremely helpful for facilitating transportation to ministry events!
• The second Latino house church has begun meeting in a Latino family's home.  Similarly, some of our Bhutanese friends are demonstrating an increase in their ownership and leadership of their own house church, with a 12-year-old girl who recently became a new believer leading the other kids last weekend.  These are exciting developments because we believe that the essence of the great commission is reproducing disciples and leaders who are capable of multiplying the work!
• We had a full house on Monday evening for our All Volunteer Huddle and Dessert, with a festive atmosphere.  The Bhutanese team launched our spring trimester on Tuesday evening, and the Latino team are eager to do the same this evening.

Prayer needs:

• Praise God for supplying many of the volunteers we needed for this trimester in a variety of ways, including full rosters of ESL conversation partners in both the Bhutanese and Latino outreaches!  Please help us pray for the volunteers that are still needed to round out the volunteer teams in the other programs.

Other needs:

• Dining room chairs
• Volunteers for the Spring Trimester, beginning immediately:
• Tuesday evenings:
• Bhutanese Kids Club: two volunteers needed
• Wednesday afternoons:
• Leaders In Training: male tutor needed
• Wednesday evenings:
• Latino Teens Adelante: female volunteer needed
• Flexible times:
• Resource center: several volunteers to help sort donations/organize needed
• Hats and gloves to make available in the Resource Center.
• 1" wide blue painters tape: several rolls.  We use it to define spaces on the carpet.

Important dates:

• February 15: Application deadline for summer internship.  Click here for information about the internship, and click here to fill our our Internship Interest Form if you would like to receive an application.