The Intersection of Two Worlds

Mission Adelante is not only a ministry to Hispanic immigrants; it is also a ministry for people who have a heart for cross-cultural ministry. From our inception, we have realized that there are many, many people in suburban churches in America who feel some sense of calling to invest in people from other cultures. Some have lived oversees. Others have been on short-term mission trips. Many feel a sense of unease about wrapping themselves in affluence without ever rubbing shoulders with people experiencing the brokenness of poverty or struggling to survive here in a foreign land. Mission Adelante stands as a bridge between these two worlds which are geographically so close but whose intersection with one another is so very limited.

Bethany Croasmun is a volunteer who recently joined the Mission Adelante team. Growing up in urban Chicago, Bethany learned to speak Spanish in school and with friends and has had a lot of cross-cultural experience for a woman her age. Mission trips to Ecuador, followed by a year of Bible college there were some of the building blocks of her desire to serve in a cross-cultural context. As a part of her International Relations program at Georgetown University, Bethany studied abroad in Mexico City. And, following her study abroad experience, was beginning a short-term stint working as a missionary there when a serious illness struck and she had to return home.

With a passion for Hispanic culture and ministry, Bethany doubted she would find an outlet for her calling here in Kansas City. But, in her words, “God took something that could have been really traumatic in my life and turned in into an opportunity to grow in cross-cultural ministry in a different context.” For Bethany, like most of us, it was surprising to find a mission field in her own backyard. For many of us who have lived in another country and been welcomed with open arms it is easy to imagine how lonely and isolating the experience would have been without the support and hospitality of people in our host country. Unfortunately, that is the experience of many immigrants in the U.S. However, when Christians show godly compassion and hospitality to “outsiders” in our country they are surprised and moved by it. Bethany notes, “The combination of physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs really puts people in a place where they are open to hearing about God’s love.”

It has been exciting to see how God has used Mission Adelante to connect people like Bethany to a cross-cultural ministry opportunity right here in our own city. Currently more than 70 ongoing volunteers serve on a regular basis at Mission Adelante in addition to many more who come as part of occasional work projects. Even with such a strong team of volunteers, the opportunity and need is much larger than we can address. As the Mission Adelante board and leadership look forward over the next five years, we anticipate the need for more staff and more volunteers to continue to meet the needs in our current neighborhood as well as other areas of the city where Hispanic immigrants make up a significant portion of the population. Please pray with us as we continue to make the effort to mobilize people who are called to serve in cross-cultural ministry to this mission field right here at home.

In other news:

• The Board of Overseers met Sunday and approved the Five-Year Plan, which details the development of Mission Adelante's ministry through 2013. Please pray for board and staff members to have wisdom to discern the initial steps to implement during 2009.
• The Resource Center Team including one Hispanic opened the Center on Saturday morning. A very thankful family received food and clothing items.
• Spanish classes to help equip volunteers have ramped up again this fall, with ten students.
• We're grateful for Karen Harvey and her team from Christ Community Church that provides a complete meal for Leaders In Training students and volunteers each Monday.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for Seth Sears' family, as they're grieving the loss of Seth's grandfather this week. Also, keep Jason Schoff and his family in your prayers, as Jason's grandfather is in his last days.

Current needs:

To restock our resource center:

• baby items, especially diapers and wipes
• non-perishable food item
• winter clothes

To find a complete list of requested items to stock the Resource Center, click http://www.missionadelante.org/docs/ResourceCenterOngoingNeedsList.doc.

Important upcoming dates:

• Monday, December 1 @ 6:30: All Volunteer Team Meeting
• Saturday, December 13: Trimester-End Party

Apples in the Desert

When Mission Adelante launched three years ago, our hope was that one day we would see Latino immigrants who had received Christ through our ministry beginning to discover the blessing of serving others and doing ministry alongside us. This, in fact, is precisely what Jesus did this with His disciples. He called them to follow. He taught and modeled the Christian life. He demonstrated ministry and delegated responsibilities. He supervised and gave feedback. The ministry of Jesus, as much as it was to the multitudes, was even more focused on twelve “disciples” who he was equipping and mobilizing to one day bring to fruition the first phase of his plan to redeem people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Today, half way around the world, and in every corner of the earth, we are still carrying out this same mission.

This evangelizing-establishing-equipping-mobilizing process does not take place over night! It requires a long-term commitment and investment in the lives of people who are learning to seek God for the first time. For nearly a year the core team of staff and volunteers involved in our first Bible study poured themselves into one couple who had received Christ and many others who we were meeting through our English classes. In year two, many more began to join our group and grow in Christ. Now, at the close of year three, we are seeing many of these fledgling believers begin to find their wings in serving. For the first time we have two Latino couples co-leading Bible studies in homes. A young Hispanic woman leads our “service team” with several other Latino members who maintain our new facility. Another Hispanic woman coordinates hospitality for our worship services. And, as our small congregation continues to grow, members from our own community have begun to take responsibility for developing a children’s ministry on Sunday nights. God is producing fruit.

The spiritual process of planting, watering, and harvesting is not without its heartaches. It seems that each victory is hard-fought in our context. The volatility of immigrants’ lives, the cultural obstacles to overcome, and the raw brokenness that comes from sin make for some pretty discouraging days. And so, I find myself writing this brief update, not only to fill you in on God’s work, but also to encourage myself to reflect on the ways God has produced fruit from some very dry and weary soil. Please pray with us for the immigrants in our community who are beginning to serve. Pray that they would serve with joyful hearts. Pray that they would become more and more consistent and diligent in their service. Pray that their faith and commitment to Christ will grow through their work for Him.

In other news:

• Thirty-five English Language Learners, 49 kids, and 33 American volunteers made for a great first night of our fall trimester last Thursday!
• Twenty-five adults attended small groups in neighborhood homes on Sunday evening and began studying Paul's letter to the Philippians.
• Marty Siler of Epic Landscaping volunteered his time to level the soccer field that is being built on the Mission's property and prepare it for seeding.

Prayer needs:

• Jose, who we told you returned to Mexico last week to care for his ill son, arrived there and called with an update: His son has come out of a coma and is no longer mortally ill, but faces several more months in the hospital. Please continue praying for his recovery.
• Please petition God to stabilize the financial situation of one of our community families.
• Pray for Rogelio, the 11-year-old son of a family in our community. He is displaying a lot of rebellion and becoming quite a challenge to his parents.
• Jacob and Michelle Holland, volunteers and faith-community members, are expecting the arrival of their baby girl this week. Please pray for a safe and pleasant delivery.

Current needs:

To restock our resource center for the new trimester:

• baby items (diapers, wipes, etc.)
  
• non-perishable food items

To find a complete list of requested items to stock the Resource Center, click http://www.missionadelante.org/docs/ResourceCenterOngoingNeedsList.doc.

Mobilizing Kids to Serve

Iris, the daughter of one of our ESL students joined Kids Adelante over a year ago. Now, having turned 13 years old, she has graduated from our Thursday night Kids Club and has joined our brand new Leaders-In-Training program (LIT), designed to mold the most responsive youth from Kids Adelante into leaders among their peers. Last night Iris stood in front of about 30 Mission Adelante volunteers, introducing herself and explaining that she was excited about becoming a volunteer in Kids Adelante “because the volunteers are such an inspiration to the kids.”

We believe that God can use a program like LIT to help at-risk kids navigate the minefield of their blighted neighborhood and come out the other end, not only having survived, but having thrived and having brought other kids along with them. Following The Hope Center’s example, Mission Adelante has selected 13 kids to participate in LIT, an intense after-school program that includes three-days-a-week of tutoring workshops in math, grammar, and spelling as well as character development and recreational components. In addition to these essentials, kids are given small responsibilities and opportunities for leadership growth within LIT as well as other areas of Kids Adelante.

All of us who have invested time in Iris over the last year or more were as proud of her as parents last night. Oh how far she has come! And oh, how much farther she can go! And now, as LIT finds its rhythm for the first time, I have no doubt that God will use the 14 new LIT volunteers to shape not only Iris, but also the 12 other young potential leaders that are a part of the program over the course of the next nine months.

Praise God for his work in these kids’ lives! And pray with us for them as they are called to a higher standard of character and leadership. Pray for support from their parents and pray for their faith to become solid and dynamic.

In other news:

• Fall ESL classes and Kids Adelante begin this Thursday. God has again supplied all the volunteers we need for the four English classes and the kids club and we're looking forward to getting off to a great start!
• Our worship community has finished a year-long study of Acts and will begin studying Philippians in small groups this Sunday.
• Mark Deras and David Schall of Heartland Community Church are helping Mission Adelante develop a worship team. They debuted on Sunday night.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for our service teams, which are primarily made up of the Hispanic members of our worship community, to gain momentum and begin to thrive.
• Jose, a member of our community, is returning to Mexico this week to care for his seriously ill 13-year-old son. Please pray for his son's healing as well as Jose's journey there and continued spiritual growth.

Current needs:

To restock our resource center for the new trimester:

• baby items (diapers, wipes, etc.)
• non-perishable food items

To find a complete list of requested items to stock the Resource Center, click http://www.missionadelante.org/docs/ResourceCenterOngoingNeedsList.doc.

Upcoming dates:

• Thursday, September 18: Beginning of Fall Trimester