The Making of a Leader

Written by Edgar Soriano, Latino Ministry Intern

When I was thirteen and I came to Mission Adelante for the first time, I didn't like it because there wasn’t anyone that I knew. As the days went by, I started to gain more comfort and trust in the volunteers. As I got older, I became involved with the teen’s group. I started growing more spiritually and figuring out talents about myself that I didn’t know I had. I grew closer to people and I found myself.

Last summer, I got involved in the Mission Adelante summer internship and it challenged me. It helped me grow in my relationship with God and my leadership role, which helped me help others. The internship gave me an opportunity to discover more of who Jesus had made me to be.  

Starting next week, Mission Adelante will be launching a new leadership training program for teens. This program is a year-long discipleship and training experience to help youth from our community reach their potential as disciples and leaders.  We will begin in January with 6-8 teen leaders and will build up to the summer with ongoing training, ministry together, and discipleship. We want to become a family who grows and does ministry together.  Those who do a good job during the spring will be invited to participate in the summer internship.  After the summer is over, the experience will continue with an emphasis on coaching the teen leaders toward discipling younger teens in our community.

I think this program is important because, like the internship did for me, it will give teens in our community an opportunity to find themselves and discover their identity and value in Christ. It will help them grow spiritually and learn new ways to help others.  It also will help the younger kids in our community to see teens that love Jesus and understand them because they have struggled with the same issues.

In other news:

• We're excited to offer Spanish classes to our Latino Leaders In Training for the first time this trimester to encourage literacy in their first language.
• The Bhutanese ministry is excited to offer a citizenship class this trimester. We will study civics and practice the English reading, writing and speaking skills required for refugees to pass the citizenship exam.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for this trimester of programs, that the launch would be smooth, and that the Lord would continue to use these programs to bless our community.
• The Adelante Thrift building search has brought us to a potential location that holds many of the qualities we are looking for in our retail and operations site. Please pray for clear direction from God and wisdom for the Adelante Thrift Board during negotiations.
• Pray for the immigrant leaders in our house churches who are taking on new responsibilities to trust God and walk courageously.

Current needs:

• Bhutanese Kids Club could still use a few more helping hands!  We are in need of 3 more volunteers for our spring trimester.  If you are interested in learning more please contact Kristen Maxwell at Kristenm@missionadelante.org
• Both Leaders in Training (our after-school tutoring program) and Kids Adelante (our Outreach Bible Study) are still looking for some dynamic volunteers to love on the kiddos.  Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org if you are interested.  
• We are looking for a donated or low-cost projector with a protective cage to mount to the ceiling in the kids’ room.  If you are able to help, please contact Sarah Winston at sarahw@missionadelante.org
• We're looking for household furniture for a Bhutanese family that has recently moved to Kansas City, KS. The family needs the following items: 3 queen size mattresses or beds, 2 twin size mattresses or beds, a kitchen table and chairs, 3 dressers for clothes, 2 medium size couches, and a coffee table. If you would like to bless this family by donating any of these items, please contact Drew Hammond by email at drewh@missionadelante.org.
• Foosball is one of the most popular games at our kids events any given week.  After multiple years of service our foosball tables have begun to show their age.  We are looking for a foosball table in good condition (all players and table legs in working order) to be used in our kids room every week.  If you have one you would be willing to donate please contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org.
• The Bhutanese ministry is in need of a 55 cup percolator for transporting and serving chia (Nepali tea) at various events. Please contact Jenny at jennyd@missionadelante.org if you know of one that's available.

Important dates:

• Spring trimester programs launch--this week!
• Child Protection Meeting--Saturday, February 22 at 9:00 a.m. All volunteers that serve the kids and youth of Mission Adelante should attend.