A "Year of Breakthrough"

Written by Kristen Maxwell, Bhutanese Children's Ministry Director

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to go on a prayer and planning retreat.  It gave me a chance to slow down and take time to listen to the Lord.  During my time away I heard from the Lord that this year would be a "Year of Breakthrough" for our after school leadership and character development program, Leaders in Training.  As I returned from the retreat and began to dive deeper in to what the Lord was saying, I felt challenged by a verse in the book of Isaiah.  

“But forget all that—

    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

For I am about to do something new.

    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)

Will you join me in praying this verse over our 30 Latino and Bhutanese Leaders in Training for the 2013-2014 school year?  Will you pray with us that the Lord would help them to see the new things He is doing, and point them in the right direction?  Pray that the Lord would give them growth and confidence in their academic life, and speak to them about their walk with Him.  

Will you pray for the volunteers and staff that have the joy of loving on these kids every day?  Would you pray that we would not stick to old ways, but would eagerly follow the new ways that the Lord is leading us?  Would you pray for renewal in the lives of the LIT staff, mentors and kids?

We are currently looking for some more mentors to lock arms with us and lead the leaders that the Lord is raising up in our community.  If you are interested in learning more about how to help, contact Megan McDermott (Latino LIT) atmeganm@missionadelante.org or Kristen Maxwell (Bhutanese LIT) at Kristenm@missionadelante.org.

In other news:

• Congratulations to Jenny & Garett Dunn on the birth of their first child, Rowen Matthew, on Saturday, August 31!  He was healthy, weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long.  Mom and baby are doing great!
• Four of our staff members, six immigrant leaders, and one volunteer will be in New Orleans until Sunday for the CCDA conference.  It’s a tremendous opportunity to learn about, and network with others immersed in, Christian community development.  Pray for this team to grow together and bring home new vision.

Prayer needs:

• Pray for our Congress as they return from legislative break to sort through important issues like Syria and immigration reform.
• Pray for our LIT program as we kick off over the next week and a half.

Current needs:

• Want to hang out with some fun kids and share Jesús in a meaningful way? We are looking for 3-4 volunteers for our Outreach Bible Study on Thursdays from 6:30-9.  Please contact Megan if you are interested at meganm@missionadelante.org.
• Our Bhutanese Kids Outreach is looking for a few new friends!  We are in need of 6-7 mentors to walk with kids at part of our Outreach Bible Study on Tuesday nights from 6:30-9:00pm.  If you are interested in learning more please contact Kristen at kristenm@missionadelante.org.
• We need some Rubbermaid-type storage tubs to store clothing in our Resource Center. Please contact Molly at mollym@missionadelante.org if you’d like to help.

Important dates:

• Volunteer Orientation & Training: Saturday, September 21, 9:00-12:30 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's ministry. 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. 
• All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert: Monday, September 23, 6:30 p.m. We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our fall trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch. 
• Fall trimester programs launch: Week of September 23