Happy New Year :: 2012

written by David Stetler

The New Year is here and as we look back on all that the Lord has done through Mission Adelante this past year, we are especially grateful to our church partners, donors and volunteers who give of their lives in so many ways to bring the Truth and Love of Jesus to our immigrant friends here in Kansas City, Kansas.  Most importantly we are grateful to our Father in heaven for giving us love, life and mission.

Two-thousand eleven was full of so many highlights.  Whether it was the overseas mission trips or the amazing training we received in Indianapolis at CCDA, our experiences outside Kansas City seemed to only further the ministry in a huge way and increase our passions for the things that God has called us to do.

We also launched a new ministry that grew overnight. The Bhutanese Teens Club started over the summer with about 15 Bhutanese teens and now it has over 40 teens every week! In Teens Adelante we continue to watch as the Latino teens rise to the challenge of becoming leaders.  We've watched them mature and grow in ways that we hadn't ever imagined…leading worship on Sundays, serving on Tuesday nights and caring for one another in deep and real ways.

Lastly, we saw new believers baptized and new house churches planted.  As we continue to set our hearts on the Great Commandment of loving our neighbors and the Great Commission of making disciples that make disciples that make disciples…we watch as the One who holds it all together gets all the glory!

Every year is an adventure and as we look forward to 2012 we can only anticipate this journey to continue to be an amazing one.  We look forward to watching God unfold His plan and move in power over our city, our ministry, our friends and our very lives as well.

Happy New Year,
           Feliz Año Nuevo and
                     Naya Barshako Shuvakamana!

May the Lord bless you all in this new year.

In other news:

• Both the Latino and Bhutanese communities worshiped together on Christmas Eve.  In fact, about 30 Bhutanese individuals celebrated Christmas as followers of Jesus for the first time this year!

Current needs:

• A dining table and chairs
• Volunteers for the Spring Trimester, beginning the week of January 16:
• Tuesday evenings:
• Bhutanese Teens Club and Kids Club: several male volunteers needed
• Bhutanese Teens Club: worship leader needed
• Bhutanese ESL class: 2 conversation partners needed
• Wednesday afternoons:
• Leaders In Training: male tutor needed
• Wednesday evenings:
• Latino Teens Adelante: female volunteer needed
• Thursday evenings:
• Latino ESL class: 4 conversation partners needed
• Kids Adelante: 4 volunteers needed
• Flexible times:
• Resource center: several volunteers to help sort donations/organize needed

Upcoming dates:

• Saturday, January 14, 9:00-12:30: Volunteer Orientation & Training
• Monday, January 16, 6:30-8:30: All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert
• Tuesday, January 17, 6:30: Bhutanese programs launch
• Thursday, January 19, 6:30: Latino programs launch

Celebrating God's Movement in 2011!

Written by Jarrett Meek

On Tuesday our staff sat around the table in our small conference room reflecting on all the highlights and milestones that our Lord provided for us in 2011.  It was a celebratory atmosphere with caramel popped-corn, caramel-filled chocolate cookies, and pizzelles, all homemade.  We celebrated and wrote down a list, a HUGE list, a too-long-to-share-it-all-here list, of blessings that God bestowed on our ministry this year.  I would like to include a few of the most exciting ones here.

Latino Outreach Highlights

Brooke Coon with Latino Teens

• Celebrating new life in Christ on our Soccer field: Several Baptisms in an inflatable pool!
• Teens Adelante TAKES OFF under the leadership of new staff member Brooke Coon, in many ways setting pace for the rest of our ministry in the area of relational disciple-making and leader development.  
• One of our English Classes became a Discovery Bible study when the students graduated!
• We launched 3 House Churches and involved many more immigrants in leadership roles on the church side of our ministry.

Bhutanese Outreach Highlights

Kristen Maxwell with Bhutanese Kids

• Bhutanese Teens kept coming to Kids Club, so we launched a Teens Outreach in partnership with Mill Creek.  Forty teens are involved!
• Nine of our Bhutanese friends were baptized this year and many more are investigating Jesus.
• God birthed two House Churches for the Bhutanese in our neighborhood.
• New staff are joining/have joined our team...Kristen Maxwell (raising funds to join as Kids Club Director), and Lauren Timberlake (Bhutanese ESL Director).

Resource Center

• Launched Canasta Básica, an exciting initiative to provide basic food staples to immigrant families in need.  
• Immigrants are helping lead the Resource Center Team
• Provided backpacks, schools supplies and coats for over 200 kids and teen

Jarrett Meek and the RAICES team

RAICES (Discipling Ministry in Q-ba)

• Discipleship Vision planted deeply in their home church
• Experimenting with a Micro-Finance ministry to help start new businesses in the community
• Prepared to multiply their ministry to another community through relationships with emerging leaders there.

Leadership and Administration

Summer Interns ROCK!!

• Hired Marla Hansen as Operations Director.  Marla spent the year revamping our internal systems and positioned us to take advantage of future opportunities that God may bring our way!
• Greatly improved our Summer Internship.  Hosted and equipped six interns this summer!
• Staff training trips to Cuba (Latino Team) and Nepal (Bhutanese Team) this year!
• Our Staff attended the Christian Community Development Association annual conference.

A Special Messenger

Written by Jason Schoff


Who is the best suited to deliver a message? Is it a friend, a neighbor, a countryman or just anyone? We often times listen most closely to those who are most like us and understand our lives best. It made perfect sense to invite our Latino friend, Edwin, to share the gospel message at our Latino Christmas party this past Saturday. Edwin loves Jesus like few others you will ever meet and he and his wife, Zeidy, know what it means to care for the foreigner living in their midst.

We sometimes think of Edwin and his family as the grandfathers of Mission Adelante because they showed incredible friendship to the Meek family, Mission Adelante's founders. In 2001, the Meeks arrived in Costa Rica as outsiders and Edwin's family befriended them, watched out for them, and patiently tried to help them learn Spanish through conversational practice. A real life model was presented for how to love your neighbor--your immigrant neighbor, and a seed was planted for Mission Adelante. Since 2001, Edwin and Zeidy have continued to host several Mission Adelante staff families, including my own, in their Costa Rican home.

Earlier this week Edwin, Zeidy and their daughter, Monica, boarded a plane back to Costa Rica after sharing a week full of wonderful moments with the Mission Adelante family. Edwin's message at the Latino Christmas party hit the bulls-eye with our community and despite being foreigners here, they reached out to immigrants and Americans with the same conviction to love their neighbor--the one standing next right next to them wherever they are! Thank you, Lord, for Edwin, Zeidy, and Monica.


In other news:

• Thank you to the volunteers from Shoal Creek Community Church and Hillcrest Covenant Church who helped us set up for the Latino Christmas Party last Saturday, and who engaged all of the kids in special and very fun activities!
• Thank you to the volunteers from Christ Community Anglican Church who hosted the Bhutanese Christmas Party last Sunday!  Our Bhutanese friends were very lovingly served in many thoughtful ways.  It was the most well-attended Bhutanese party yet, and one Bhutanese man and few "assistants" were dignified  by being hired to prepare the food for the 320 people who attended the party!
• Thank you, Christ Community Evangelical Free Church for proving the Tuesday meal for our Leaders In Training this whole school year!
• We were honored to have Glenn Kahler from The Gathering Network and Matt Adams from Young Life visit our staff this week.  Glenn described the ways that he and the other Gathering Network leaders are encouraging people to go beyond church attendance and take on ministry as a lifestyle.
• The Latino teens shared a special experience the weekend before last on a retreat at which they practiced team-problem-solving skills to conquer an indoor challenge course.  Later that evening, they began to offer one another verbal encouragement that continued to go on and on.  Teens Adelante Coordinator Brooke Coon could sense the Holy Spirit moving the kids to support one another, and it created an atmosphere of fellowship with the quality of purity.  Brooke was very surprised by the respect and maturity that each and every one of them displayed, and said that upon returning from the retreat, the group feels like a big family!

Prayer needs:

• The weekend before last, 12 Leaders In Training students had a great time on an overnight reward trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  On Saturday, the group discussed forgiveness.  That whole day, one of the student's tutors, who was not on the trip, felt prompted in her spirit to pray for that student's heart to change.  The 13 year old girl had been displaying a negative attitude for some time, but responded to God's conviction by apologizing to her mother after returning home.  In return, her mom apologized to her, and her younger siblings to one another!  Praise God for being in the business of restored relationships, and help us pray for continued healing in this particular family!
• Please continue to help us petition the Lord to provide for our ministry through generous year-end gifts.

Current needs:

• Walmart gift cards, to purchase ministry supplies
• A gas stove, which has been requested through our resource center.  If you can donate one, please contact Molly at 913-281-6274 x5 to arrange dropping it off.
• Men's, women's and children's winter clothing, outerwear, and shoes, to offer in our resource center.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274 x5 to arrange a donation.

Important dates:

• The Mission Adelante office will be closed December 25 - January 1.
• Saturday, January 14, 9:00-12:00: Volunteer Orientation & Training  All volunteers should attend this training once at the beginning of serving with Mission Adelante.  It's also a great way for someone to become familiar with Mission Adelante.  If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about what we do, and about our volunteer opportunities, please plan to attend/encourage him or her to attend this informative training.

Matching Gift!! Strategic Year-End Giving Opportunity!!

Dear friends,

We all wish our Kingdom giving could be multiplied to make a bigger impact! I'm excited to share that a generous foundation has offered a partial matching opportunity to support Mission Adelante! If we meet our year-end giving goal of $45,000, the foundation will contribute an additional $14,000 to help towards next year's salary for our Operations Director! Your gift gets multiplied!! 

This has been an outstanding year of ministry fruit and growth for Mission Adelante's ministries. Our Bhutanese Outreach launched a teens ministry and two new house churches. Our Latino ministry emphasized disciple-making and saw several immigrants move into volunteer serving roles. God equipped six emerging leaders through our summer internship program. And, our organization and infrastructure was improved and positioned for future initiatives that we see God putting in our path. We approach the final weeks of the year energized and encouraged about the work we have seen Him do in our midst, and enthusiastic to see what He will do next year. So, we invite you to partner with us! Help us finish the year strong financially and launch into 2012 with a boost! We appreciate you and your support for our ministry.

Support checks may be made to:
Mission Adelante 22 South 18th Street
Kansas City, KS 66102
("year-end gift" in the memo)

In His Grace,
Jarrett Meek, Founder/Executive Director
Mission Adelante, Inc.

Discovering Truth

Written by Hannah Hume - a volunteer-mentor for Bhutanese Teens Club

Discovering truth is a beautiful endeavor. It's one thing to be told something is true. We may believe it, or we may not. We will judge the validity of what we have been told on many things, mainly the reliability of the messenger. However, to discover truth for ourselves means that we have to interact with it, and wrestle with its claims. When we do this, we haven't borrowed someone else's ideas but have created and taken ownership of our own convictions. Once we we do this, its nearly impossible for someone to persuade us to think otherwise, because we are certain of what we ourselves have seen, touched, and experienced. This is what I love about discovery Bible studies.


In teens club at Mission Adelante we have been taking the teens through Jesus' life using discovery Bible studies. This method of study doesn't teach the teens what to believe, instead it allows them to discover truth from the Bible for themselves. We go through the story from the Bible together and then ask questions about who God is, and how these stories interact with our own lives, using scripture as the ultimate guide for our discussion. We only discuss what is in the story, and any conclusions we arrive at need to clearly be seen in the story. Having the freedom to discuss, and interact with the scripture is a lot of fun for all of us, and it's amazing to see some of the truths the teens are discovering for themselves.

A few Tuesdays ago we learned the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. As we began to ask questions about who God is, and what we could learn from it, the teens discovered some astonishing truths. After asking questions about and considering the roles the two thieves played in the story of Jesus' death, the teens concluded that the only way to get to get to heaven is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God! They also discovered that even though they have done some bad things, all they would have to do to go to heaven is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. These are truths I could have told them, but it's so much more wonderful to see them discover them for themselves, with the Spirit and scripture as their guide. I am so excited to see what the Lord will continue to allow us to discover together in the upcoming weeks.

In other news:

• Thank you, Heartland Community Church, for sharing five complete Thanksgiving dinners with families in our neighborhood.
• The Mission Adelante staff enjoyed a refreshing holiday weekend.  It offered the rare opportunity to unplug from ministry responsibilities for a few days, as well as extra rest for staff that had been under the weather.

Prayer needs:

• Help us pray for God to supply for Mission Adelante through abundant end-of-year giving.
• This weekend, the Latino teens will go on a retreat.  Pray that a challenge course will aid in team building, and that an introduction to spiritual gifts will help them begin to learn their roles in the body of Christ.
• Twelve Leaders-In-Training kids are going on an overnight reward trip to Great Wolf Lodge this weekend.  Pray for fun and safety for them, and that they would grow deeper in their relationships with the Lord as they discuss forgiveness.

Other needs:

• A Multi-Media Specialist, who will devote two to three hours a week to the use of multi-media to tell the story of Mission Adelante, its programs, and its people in ways that increase ownership and passion and inspire others to get involved. Please contact Jarrett at jarrettm@missionadelante.org
• Male volunteer tutors for our Leaders In Training program on Mondays from 4:00-6:30  for the rest of the school year.  Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.
• Kids' and adults' hats, gloves, and scarves to make available through our resource center.  Please call Molly at 913-281-6274 x5 to arrange dropping off your donation

Upcoming dates:

• Latino Christmas Party: Saturday, December 10 at 5:00, Bethany Community Center, 12th Street and Central Avenue in Kansas City, KS 66102.
• Bhutanese Christmas Party: Sunday, December 11 at 4:00, Bethany Community Center, 12th Street and Central Avenue in Kansas City, KS 66102.