Jesus knows best
by Elaine Reimers, Adult Ministry Director
I am in my third year of this blessed (pun intended!) ministry journey that began, truthfully, from desperation. In November of 2023, after six years of being cooped up in a corporate sales office and feeling disconnected from my family and community, I decided to leave my job (and, unfortunately, some really great friends I acquired over those years) in search of a more meaningful job. Never in my life did I imagine I would end up in ministry, and even if I had dreamed about a ministry job, I highly doubt I would have picked adult ministry! I have carried in my womb, birthed, and reared four children, so of course I would want to do children’s ministry, right?! Negative! Although I genuinely love children and definitely recognize the importance and value of children’s ministry, I am not the one! My hat goes off to people like (excuse me while I name drop!) Megan Fountain (McDermott), Patrique Harris, Carla García, Erick Flores, Kristina Flores-Muñoz (she´s my daughter-in-law!), and every single one of our Mission Adelante Children’s and Youth Ministry volunteers! Thank you for doing what you do so that people like me don’t have to!
All joking aside, I wholeheartedly admire each of my fellow ministry teammates for the heart, prayers, sweat, and tears (possibly some blood from all the paper cuts) they pour into their ministry areas- from the everyday mundane stuff to the nitty-gritty! I said this out loud, and with extra enthusiasm at the end of our first day back as a ministry team at our first “house church” of the year: “We’re a good team!” Patrique giggled a little, probably because it was kind of corny, but I think our whole team would agree that God was really thoughtful when putting our team together. I believe he intentionally and strategically hand-picked each one of us! We all have our unique strengths and abilities. Each of us has a story of how God called us to Mission Adelante - so distinct, yet I believe all share one common theme: God was picking us for such a time as this!
It’s undeniable that our world has seemed to be turned upside-down and shaken over the last couple of years, particularly in the past year. I could even go as far as to say in the past thirty days! On December 14, 2025, the Bondi Beach Shooting. On Christmas Day 2025, U.S. and Nigerian forces conducted missile strikes on Northwest Nigeria. On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela. What about the ICE raids in many parts of the U.S., resulting in the horrific death of a protester in the state of Minnesota? I could go on and on, but you get the point. The world is restless, and from a human perspective, most likely hopeless. There does not appear to be an end in sight- an end to the hatred, the injustice, the hunger, the violence, the Godlessness, the greed, the lust, the pride. Sin. Yes, I know, I know… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), but what about “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (from the mouth of Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40)?
I am aware that not everyone is a Christian and not everyone shares the same mission and vision of Mission Adelante. Not everyone has a reverence for God or His Word. My question would be “why would someone not be a Christian nor have a reverence for God and His Word?” if I did not already know what I believe to be the two (and only sensible) correct answers to this question. I am convinced that the only two reasons someone could withhold the reverence due to our Savior Lord Jesus Christ are either that they have not heard about Him, or they have not given Him a chance. I say all of this to try to make at least a little sense of why the world is in the state it´s in today. I believe that the world needs Jesus! If the world knew Jesus, people would think twice before they persecuted someone, and people would care for one another- actually love one another. They would more closely live the way Jesus lived. He always took the time to understand people and responded to whatever situation they found themselves in with love and compassion.
So, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I pray that God would help all of us to continue to be bright and brave advocates for the gospel and that Jesus’ command to love the Lord our God with everything that we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves would soak into our hearts, our souls, and our minds until there is no more room within us, and that all the overflow would come gushing out onto this broken world. I pray for our immigrant friends and family in this community and in this country. I pray that they would not only know they are loved in their minds, but they would feel they are loved in their hearts. I pray that God would remove every misplaced label they have grown to believe as they have navigated life as an immigrant. I pray for peace in their homes and minds. I pray for physical protection when they come and when they go, God. And, Lord, please have mercy on us and protect the innocent children involved in all this… In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
I’ll close by saying that I love my job. I love what I get to do, and I am grateful that God brought me to Mission Adelante. I am grateful for our staff, our donors, our church, our volunteers, and our participants. We are a family. We love each other. We help each other. We pray for each other. Please keep our staff and its participants in your prayers as we ease into and navigate what God has planned for Mission Adelante in 2026. We don’t know what we might experience due to the current unrest in the world and even in the U.S., but we do believe that God will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). We hope for the best and give God the rest!
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Give Your Time, Heart, and Care!
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