Morgan Ham: A Faithful Team-Player

written by Jarrett Meek

Morgan and Felipe were looking for a bilingual Pastor to help in their wedding ceremony. By God's providence I had recently arrived from Bolivia and met Felipe who was studying through Heartland's Ministry Apprenticeship Program. So God brought us together in this unlikely way and the Hams became part of the team of volunteers who founded Mission Adelante in 2005.

Morgan began her volunteer tenure with Mission Adelante as our primary level one ESL instructor. Her clear spoken manner of teaching made it easy for students to understand her, and her heart for Hispanic people shone through just as clearly. As Morgan taught that first ESL class around our dining room table, her husband Felipe was in the basement hanging out with a handful of kids who would become the first kids of Kids Adelante.

These days Morgan works in our office 12 hours/week as our Executive Assistant. Her objective way of thinking, her commitment to excellence and her diligent faithfulness make her a highly effective assistant. But her positive attitude, her ownership of our ministry vision and her long-term dedication make her an invaluable member of our staff team. We love Morgan and Felipe and are very thankful for their ministry and friendship as a part of Mission Adelante.

In other news:

• We're in the early planning stage of a Mission Trip for volunteers to Costa Rica in May 2010. If you're interested, please contact Jarrett.
  
• About 30 volunteers from Mill Creek Church, Christ Community Church, and Church of the Resurrection had fun slinging paint at the walls in the Kids Adelante room and the second floor of our building on Saturday. They were a great help and the building keeps looking better and better each step of the way of the renovation.
• The women of the Mission Adelante community enjoyed an afternoon of fellowship at our Women's Christmas Tea on Saturday afternoon. Jarrett and Jason graciously entertained the kids while the women enjoyed conversation, finger foods, an encouraging message, and a Christmas craft.
• The two in-home Bible studies both concluded their season of meeting together as small groups with well-attended dinners on Sunday evening. Beginning this Sunday we're transitioning to weekly worship services.

Prayer needs:

• Pray for a smooth transition to weekly worship services to be held every Sunday evening at the Mission, and that our faith community would become even more tightly-bound through the increased frequency of meeting together.
• Pray for God to bear fruit through Jarrett and Jason's pursuit of several families that are on the verge of becoming committed members of our community.
• Please continue to pray for the pregnant mother in our community that is presently facing a myriad of trials. She has become a single mother through events of the past couple of weeks, and desperately needs the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Current needs:

• ESL volunteers for morning and evening classes to begin in January. For more information, please contact Jason.
• L.I.T. volunteers for weekday afternoons beginning in January. For more information, please contact Megan.

Important upcoming dates:

• Thursday, December 10: Last day of ESL and Kids Adelante. Activities resume Thursday, January 21.
• Saturday, December 12, 6:00 p.m. @ Bethany Community Center: Christmas Party. Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Kids Adelante, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service. Bethany Community Center is located on Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas (66102) between 11th and 12th Streets, behind the fire station.