Welcome Aboard, Megan!

I learned a ministry principle years ago from very wise people: "Invest in what God is doing." Often times we simply see a need and try to direct resources to meet it. But, this principle suggests that there should be more to it than that. We should look for areas of need, but also places where there are signs of fruit or God's handy work.

Over the past two years Kids Adelante has met both of those criteria. Immigrant kids in KCK certainly have needs on every level. At the same time, God has been moving in our Kids Adelante program and bearing fruit. Attendance at our outreach Bible study has increased from an average of around 20 kids to nearly 60 without a staff person directly responsible for it. Volunteers have taught, mentored, and loved on kids. Kids have received Christ, been baptized, earned awards for improvement at school, and experienced genuine community. Of all ministry areas within our ministry, Kids Adelante has seen the most significant growth over this two year period.

So, following the principle above we're excited to announce that we've hired Megan McDermott, a long-time volunteer and former Spanish teacher in the Blue Valley district, to oversee Kids Adelante. We learned a lot about Megan last year through her summer internship with us and are excited about her love for kids, her leadership and organizational ability, her love for Christ, and her strong Spanish language skills. She is a great addition to our staff and to our neighborhood! Welcome aboard Megan! You may contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.

In other news:

• Becky Masters, our sole summer intern this year, has arrived! She moved to the neighborhood today and will spend the upcoming weeks working primarily with the English program, teaching ESL classes and doing relational contact work. Please pray that she will quickly and effectively connect with people in our community.
• A group of 16 high school youth, interns, and leaders from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Overland Park are here for several days this week. They kicked off a four-evening VBS with an outdoor movie in our new soccer field on Sunday evening. They're spending the days working on projects in our building.
• We had record attendance at the Kids Adelante outreach Bible study last Thursday night: 62 kids! WOW!

Prayer needs:

• Please pray that Tacho and Mari will understand the gospel clearly despite confusion caused by conversations they've had with Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
• A family that we've known for several years but that has repeatedly come and gone in our community has been back in Bible study and Worship for several weeks in a row. They requested prayer for God to supply the strength they need to persevere through difficult circumstances.
• Please ask that new kids that have been attracted by the VBS programs last week and this week would become consistent attendees of Kids Adelante.

Current needs:

• We're already collecting school supplies to distribute to about 60 community kids in August. It would be most helpful for backpacks to come already stocked with all the supplies an elementary school student will need. Those items are listed below. Could you organize a "Backpack Drive" for your church or group?

BACKPACK
500 sheets wide lined notebook paper
5 wide lined spiral notebooks
4 glue sticks (keep in package)
1 - 8 oz. bottle Elmer's glue (no blue glue)
1 small zippered bag for pencils
1 pkg. erasable pens (blue or black)
5 pocket folders
1 box colored pencils
1 ruler
2 "Sharpie Markers"
2 pkgs. 3 x 5 index cards
1 red felt tip pen
1 pkg. #2 pencils
2 boxes crayons (24)
1 pair small scissors

• Box fans or oscillating fans for use in our facility and for distribution through our resource center.

Important upcoming dates:

• June 29: Spanish class cancelled.
• July 1-4: Midterm break. The Mission Adelante office will be closed and there will be no activities on Thursday. **Monday morning English class and Tuesday evening English tutoring will continue uninterrupted.**