If you know me, you know that I get excited about all things youth development and all things Jamaican.
At our last Adelante Youth Club gathering, we played a couple of rounds of Hot Seat. Volunteers and teens took turns getting to know each other, from dream travel destinations to most-hated chores. I learned so much about the friends I share life with!
Since we haven’t recruited most of you to volunteer at Youth Club just yet, I thought I’d bring you into the fun by putting myself in the Hot Seat. Hopefully, you’ll learn something new about me in this article.
If you want to share your own answers to these questions, or have any other burning questions for me, shoot me an email at patriqueh@missionadelante.org.
Also, consider including a round of Hot Seat questions at your next group gathering. You might be surprised by how much you discover, even about the people closest to you.
Today, I want to take a moment to highlight something wonderful that has been happening in our ministry over this past decade: the story of service of our dear volunteer, Dean Williams.
Ten years. An entire decade of serving, teaching, and walking alongside our community at Mission Adelante. Dean began by teaching English, helping break down language barriers and supporting immigrants as they bravely overcame their fear of speaking a new language and found their place in a new community. Over time, his path of service took a new direction, and he began volunteering with our Citizenship Program. Since then, he has walked alongside many students as they prepare to reach an important milestone: becoming citizens of the United States.
And that is truly wonderful.
Some people leave a mark on our lives that we don’t fully understand until years later. They walk alongside us through difficult seasons, speak words we carry long after the conversation ends, and help shape the people we become. For me, one of those people was Misha Lewis. Misha passed away during COVID, but I still think about her every day. I wish she were still here. I would love to hear her laugh again or have one more conversation. But when I think of Misha, I feel more than the sadness of missing her. I feel an overwhelming gratitude that God placed her in my life and allowed her to shape my story.
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Richmond, Virginia, to attend this year’s CCDA Conference. The theme was “Behold,” which focused on Isaiah 43:19:
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
This scripture was meaningful to me because it reminded me that God is always at work, even when I cannot see it. As I continue growing in my role as Youth Ministry Manager at Mission Adelante, I am reminded that God is doing something new in me, in our youth, and in our community. Ministry comes with challenges, uncertainties, and seasons when it may feel like progress is slow, but this verse encourages me to trust God’s plan and remain faithful to the work He has called me to do.
In my day-to-day at Mission Adelante, I have the privilege of meeting people from all places and experiencing life with the special people I have grown to love who allow me into their circle. I have attended birthday parties and other events and shared meals at their homes. Throughout the years, I have listened to people talk about their home countries with such pride, longing, and nostalgia, and I have heard so many stories of their loyalty to the US that I have lost count.
