Also attending the concert was a teen boy that has begun learning to play drums in the past year and drums on the teens' worship band. After arriving at Winter Jam in low spirits, he also got very excited about Skillet's performance. Kids Adelante Director Megan McDermott said, "He is a very talented musician but tends to conceal his true feelings about things. When we left the concert, he turned to me with a huge smile on his face and in an excited tone of voice asked me if I had seen the amazing drummer. We so rarely get to see him genuinely excited and joyful. It was a blessing to see music that praises God bring that out in him!"
Megan invited a teen girl whose birthday happened to fall on the same day as the concert. It's been some time since this teen has been a part of the teen Bible study, and Megan really enjoyed spending the evening with her. Megan said, "At one point during the concert, I felt the Lord lead me to whisper in her ear that it wasn't a coincidence that the concert was on her birthday. He wanted to bless her and let her know that He loves her."
After hearing Brooke Coon (Teens Adelante Director) talking about plans to take a group of teens to the show, a teenage boy's mom decided to take a vacation day day from work to go along with the Teens Adelante group, and really enjoyed her first concert! Brooke said, "I was challenged to rethink about the words I was singing to each worship song, as every now and then she leaned over and yelled over the blaring music, asking me to translate different words such as 'grace' into Spanish. Her generosity in buying food for all the teen girls (from a ridiculously priced concession stand) completely moved me. Her joy in giving is one of her most beautiful traits, and in that moment I longed to have a heart that sees each opportunity to spend my money on someone else as a privilege. Afterwards, I told her son about his mom's generosity. He replied, 'I know. She gives even when she doesn't have enough.'"
Brooke went on, "It has been amazing to see Christ's work, which began in this teen boy, spreading into his family, and then to see Christ reciprocating His glory through his mom, back to Teens Adelante, and to the others of her 5 children. I find myself being ministered to by the very people I minister to...all because of His great power! I love every moment I get to spend with this woman; her hunger for God and her sacrificial generosity are constantly inspiring me and reminding me of God's compassion and provision. As my relationship with this woman grows, God is showing me how to walk 'alongside' instead of 'ahead of' my immigrant friends. This morning, the Lord used 1 Corinthians 3:7 to encourage me by reminding me of His sovereignty over the lives of the teens and their families that I love and serve. It says, 'So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.'"
After the concert ended, the question on the minds of most of the youth that got to attend was, "Did you know Christian music could sound like that?!" We're grateful to our generous God for special occasions such as Kansas City's Winter Jam 2012 tour stop, and the many angles from which he uses them to encourage and refresh us!
In other news:
- THANK YOU to those individuals that have supplied to us an abundance of goldfish crackers for Bhutanese kids club, a computer desk for a new work space, and a computer for use by LIT students!
- Corporate worship among the Latino house churches last Sunday (which we hold once each month) was highly attended and highly enjoyed. After several meetings in their individual groups, everyone was excited to see one another and enjoy fellowship.
Prayer needs:
- Ask God to give wisdom to our board of directors as they consider how "business as missions" might fit into our ministry structure and allow our impact in our community to increase.
- A number of Mission Adelante staff members will be traveling during the upcoming week which is our spring break. Please join us in asking the Lord to grant safe travels.
Current needs:
- Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers. Please contact Brooke if you can teach swimming lessons (to full grown teens) or can help us find a good instructor! brookec@missionadelante.org
- An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family. We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use with the burlap material
- A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
- A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
- A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
- A big-screen T.V. for use at a variety of times, including Kids Adelante Bible studies.
- New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
- Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center
Important dates:
- Spring Break: March 14-17 the Mission Adelante office will be closed. No evening programs Tuesday, March 13 or Thursday, March 15.
- Latino Spring Party: Saturday afternoon, April 14
- Bhutanese Spring Party: Sunday afternoon, April 15
- Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00 We're pleased to announce that Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, will visit Kansas City at the end of June. Mark your calendar!
1 comment:
I loved hearing these encouraging stories!
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