Bringing Outsiders In

Written by Hannah Hume, Bhutanese Outreach Intern

This summer, the interns spend every Saturday evening together.  We call it Intern Family Night, and it’s a chance to relax and to bond.  Last Saturday, we wound up playing board games at IHOP.  If you haven’t visited an IHOP late at night, take it from me, the people that gather there tend to be a little rough and quirky. 

I began to observe our fellow restaurant patrons.  There were teens, college students, and people in their fifties and sixties; they were in different phases of their lives, and all wearing different styles of apparel. They seemed to be the types that live at the fringes of society, perhaps not widely accepted by others. To be completely honest, I found myself not merely people watching, but judging them. I had no interest in getting to know them, and loving them never crossed my mind. I think if we are all perfectly honest my response is not an uncommon one. However, as I've thought more about them, I've been reminded that these are just the sort of people with whom Jesus spent most of his time.  In that day, it was the prostitutes, tax collectors, and fishermen that were widely disliked. But Jesus loved the outsiders.

At Mission Adelante we are all about making outsiders insiders. We want to help those who don't speak English, and don't fit into America's culture become insiders in both America and in the Kingdom of God. What about outsiders in our own culture though? Jesus calls us to love both the foreigner in our midst, and the “native” that just doesn't seem to fit in.  If we want to be a people marked by love and community, who live like Jesus did, our value of bringing outsiders in should extend to all outsiders.  Bhutanese and Latino immigrants are the outsiders in my backyard this summer.  Who are the outsiders in yours?

This week's news:

• Support the Latino Teens' effort to raise funds to go to summer camp!  They're holding a Bake Sale this Thursday between 8 and 9 p.m. (immediately following ESL and Kids Adelante) at our building.  We're hoping to take 15 to 20 teenagers to Point 11 Camp on Table Rock Lake in July.  It will be the first time for any of them to experience summer camp.  You can scholarship one teenager's trip to camp for $200.
• We really want to thank Bill Tiemann and his friend, Dallas, from Blue Valley Baptist Church, for coming up and doing some projects around our building at the end of last week.
• We also want to express a big "Thank You!" to the team of about 25 from Shoal Creek Community Church that came down to KCK to lead an outreach Summer Kids' Camp three evenings last week.  The activities were very well organized and smoothly executed, and the kids really had fun!
• We're into our third and final week of Kids' Summer Camp, led by a team of about 30 high-schoolers and adults from Emmanuel Baptist Church.  They kicked-off the week on Monday night with a cook-out and an outdoor movie projected onto a big screen.  About 50 neighborhood kids came, and many of their families stayed for the fun, too.
• Our interns, Lindsey Bokach, Drew Hammond, Hannah Hume, and Blake Johns, are really doing great rolling with the punches of ministry as life, and of jumping in to do whatever is asked of them.  Recently, this has included competing in a pie-eating contest, and driving bus routes to pick up immigrants for our activities.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for a young boy in our Latino community who is struggling with deep emotional and behavioral issues.
• Pray for growth in the depth of relationships and community among our staff and volunteers living in KCK.
• Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, is visiting our ministry today through Saturday.  Please pray for the time we spend with him to be productive, enlightening, and inspiring.
• Finally, a Latino family in our community has been deep in turmoil for a couple of months.  Please ask the Lord to draw their hearts to Him, and to cause them to begin diligently seeking Him.

Current needs:

• Thank you, everyone who has donated items to our Resource Center, which distributes clothing, household goods, and food to immigrants in need.  If you have items to donate, please contact Molly at  913-281-6274 x5 in advance to schedule a time to make the drop-off.  Calling ahead will help us tremendously to keep things orderly around here!
• Paper grocery sacks for resource distribution in our Resource Center.  Why not request, "Paper, please" the next time you go to the store, and bring them up with you the next time you come to the neighborhood?  Please contact Molly Merrick at 913-281-6274 x5 to tell her when you'll be bringing some.
• Wireless Internet-capable laptops for use by our Leaders In Training.
• A twin bed frame and a washing machine have been requested in our Resource Center.  Please contact Molly Merrick at 913-281-6274 x5.

Important dates:

• Saturday, June 30, 9:00-12:00 It's not too late to register for the Adelante Missions Institute Seminar  this Saturday at Mission Adelante featuring Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association!  There is a cost of $10 per person, which includes a continental breakfast.  Register here.
• Week of July 2 Summer break; no programs
• July 17, 19, 24, 26, 31, August 2 Observation nights.  Ever wondered what goes on here on a typical evening of programming?  Come on up on a observation night and find out!  Tuesday evenings are Bhutanese outreach, Thursday evenings are Latino outreach.  Come to 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102.