Living Out Our Values

Written by Lauren Timberlake, Bhutanese ESL Director


Nearly 30 Bhutanese volunteers and their families met together a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the community God is putting together to serve our neighborhood. It was exciting to see the passion and variety represented in the body of Christ, listen to stories, and just enjoy deepening friendships. As I listened to what God was doing in the lives of our volunteers, several of Mission Adelante’s core values were represented. Here is just a sample of what God is doing among the Bhutanese at this time:

Love for foreigners. I don’t know why I am still surprised when I hear volunteers talk about how much they love our Bhutanese friends. The Holy Spirit has obviously planted a fondness for them in so many of our hearts. One of our ESL volunteers moved last week from Olathe into our neighborhood in order to spend more time with her Bhutanese friends. Another told me at the party, “I almost feel guilty about how much fun I have as a volunteer. I just love it!” This love is a God-given love, sacrificial and live-giving. Without it, our ministry would be powerless.

Service and Relationships. God is using cross-cultural relationships to bless both Bhutanese and Americans. When a crisis happened in the family of one of our volunteers, her Bhutanese “mother” here cared so much that she fasted and prayed. That kind of relationship comes from hours of practical service and time spent together. Pabitra (the Bhutanese “mom”) was able to see beyond her own neediness and serve her friend with love. That’s the kind of dignity and relationship that God grows through this ministry. It is such a blessing to watch.

Partnership. The MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) from Hillcrest Covenant Church created flower pot kits as Mother’s Day gifts for Bhutanese moms. Our friends loved the pots and look forward to growing something beautiful in their homes, and it gave the MOPS moms and their little ones a practical way to show love to immigrants in our city.

These are just a few ways that God is using the Mission Adelante family to bless our community here in Kansas City, Kansas. Please pray that these values of love, service, relationship and partnership continue to grow and bear fruit in the lives of Bhutanese refugees, Latino immigrants, our volunteers, and church partners. To read more about our values as an organization, look on our website.


In other news:

• We're excited about the way that the summer trimester is shaping up, and about the great volunteer teams that are in place for all of our programs! God is faithful, every new trimester, to supply the volunteers that we need for our ministry programs to be effective!
• We're eager for the arrival of our summer interns, Lindsey Bokach and Blake Johns, who will move to our neighborhood this Saturday to join our one-year interns, Drew Hammond and Hannah Hume.

Prayer needs:

• We have an urgent need for a CDL licensed driver to pick up our Bhutanese friends for weekly programs beginning this Tuesday, and for a volunteer (preferably male) that knows sign language to help a deaf Bhutanese man in ESL classes on Tuesdays throughout the summer. Will you help us pray for God to supply these two specific people?
• Pray for the safety of our friends, Joe & Judy LeMaster and Drew Timberlake, who are presently on a ministry trip to Nepal.
• Pray for God to work in difficult domestic situations being experienced by a few of the LIT students' families, and for His will to be done as to whether those students are able to go on the canoe trip next weekend, which they earned as a reward for their participation in LIT.

Current needs:

• Bhutanese outreach volunteers for the summer trimester--Tuesday evenings May 29 through August 7.  Please call David at  913-281-6274 x6 or e-mail him at davids@missionadelante.org if you're interested in any of these roles.
• A CDL licensed driver to pick up our Bhutanese friends from around Kansas City, Kansas each Tuesday between 5:30 and 6:30 in our 22 passenger mini-bus.
• A male Kids Club volunteers to work with 5th or 6th graders
• A worship leader for Teens Club
• A volunteer familiar with sign language and deaf culture to work with deaf Bhutanese ESL students.
• Kids summer clothing to stock our Resource Center, and three sofas, which have been requested through our Resource Center.  Please contact Molly at 913-281-6274 x5.
• A ceiling-mounted projector in a protective cage for use in our kids' room.

Important dates:

• Summer trimester program launches--Week of May 28
• Saturday, June 30 @ 9:00 a.m. Adelante Missions Institute Seminar.  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!