She's Just the Person that Unlocks the Door

We at Mission Adelante believe that serving to meet practical needs is a critical aspect of loving immigrants. The "kingdom value" of service increases when word and deed unite to clearly proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ. One of the ways Mission Adelante helps meet the practical needs of immigrants in our neighborhood is through our Resource Center, which operates out of a detached garage on our property. It helps channel resources such as clothing, furniture, household items, and food from donors to immigrants with specific needs. Resource Center volunteer Michelle Holland says, "Many people in our community have not connected to a support system. Having a place that offers to meet some of the essential needs, such as food and clothing, is so important in showing the love of Jesus. Meeting those needs can hopefully lead to beginning relationships that will build their support system and share a support system--Jesus--that will never fail them!"

Each Saturday morning for about the past two years, Ministry Aide Molly Merrick has opened the Resource Center to the waiting group of immigrants that have gathered in the parking lot. Molly is well suited to run the weekly operation because of several of her characteristics that she's well known for around here. Those who know her will tell you that she is compassionate and possesses a servant's heart. Her Christ-like vision leads her to welcome anyone who comes through the door. She diligently and cheerfully manages the ministry, which is a lot of behind-the-scenes work without much glory. She quickly recognizes needs and will do whatever she can to find a way to meet them. She's also shown resourcefulness, given that she speaks little Spanish, by braving the language barrier and creatively generating volunteers to help staff the Resource Center. In addition to the Holland family, three Latina women and their children, all of whom have been a part of our church at some point, are some of Molly's most dependable volunteers. Even when they've had long absences from church, serving in the Resource Center has shown them a way that they can serve and lead, and has preserved their connection with Mission Adelante.

Now, Molly describes her role by saying, "I'm just the person that unlocks the door." She says that the best part of managing the ministry is not having to worry about the Saturday-morning operation of the Resource Center because she knows that the volunteers that are helping know just what to do. This frees Molly up on Saturday mornings to visit with the families that come, play with the kids, and manage the volunteer groups that sometimes come for work days.

We believe that God calls believers to demonstrate special hospitality for "strangers," going out of our way to show them compassion. That's why we're so thankful for Molly, and her leadership of the Resource Center, which is one of the most tangible ways we have found of demonstrate compassion.

Current needs:

• Molly needs volunteers to help her sort and organize donations to our Resource Center. Please call Molly at 913-961-2984 to arrange a time to come help.
• Two refrigerators, which have been requested by immigrant families. If you can donate one, please contact Molly at 913-961-2984.
• The Resource Center door is a standard locking garage door, but the lock sometimes doesn't work correctly. If you could replace the lock, please contact Molly at 913-961-2984.
• Many of the immigrant families we serve have a need for the basics, like food. Help provide staple food items for neighborhood families by hosting a Canasta Basica Assembly Party! Find all the details by clicking here!

Important dates:

• July 8th at 7:00 p.m.: All are welcome to join us for tea, coffee, and dessert, and to meet the two new staff members we've added to the Bhutanese Outreach. You'll also hear about their calling to this ministry and the financial needs that we have to make them full time staff members. Join us at Larry & Barb Stetler's, 5814 W. 84th Street, Overland Park, KS 66207. Please RSVP by clicking here.

A Lesson about Hospitality

Written by summer intern Ariel Anib

There is a proverb that says, “Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even though you wish they were”. You can bet that oftentimes that is the mentality of those of us from the United States. We say things like “Make yourself at home” while still breathing a sigh of relief when our guests leave.

Through the internship with Mission Adelante, each intern is matched with our own immigrant family to whose house we go once a week for dinner. For the past month, I have been invited Erika’s house. She is a single mother of two children, Natalie and Kevin, and her friend Ana also resides there. At first, I was nervous about going to eat in a stranger’s house, anticipating forced conversation and awkward silences. However, this fear was soon proven to be unnecessary. The first week, I was there for a straight three hours. Even after that long of a time, the family was still sad to see me go. Don’t get me wrong, I had my share of what I like to call “Lost in Translation” moments. For example, I asked Erika if she would bring her kids to the cannibal instead of the carnival, and I probably said "repite, por favor" ("please repeat") over 100 times. Through it all, they remained patient with me and listened. I can be sure that they were listening because they next week, they made my favorite dish, chiles rellenos.

Overcome, by the heart that this family had shown me, I promised to take them to the pool. With only one public pool in their city, the kids never got the opportunity to take swimming lessons, let alone swim at all. So, I took the kids back to my apartment pool in Olathe, along with Erika and her friend’s child Edmond whom she cares for during the day. After a couple of hours, we went across the street to meet my mom. Erika and my mom instantly connected, since they are both mothers by profession and shoppers at heart. On our way back to KCK, I realized that I had left my cell phone somewhere and turned around to go back. I ran out of the car and was quickly followed by both of the kids to help me search. They did not even have to be told. Once again, I was amazed by the purity of heart these children had!

This past Sunday, I opened the door to Mission Adelante and was met by Kevin and Natalie running into my arms. I was shocked; although the children go to Kids Adelante weekly, their mother Erika had never been to our church. With a smile on her face, Natalie said, “We came to support you while you give your testimony in Spanish today”. My heart swelled at this beautiful depiction of 1 Corinthians 13. The next day at dinner, Erika told me that seeing the people of Mission Adelante on the Leaders in Training camping trip over the weekend and the joy on her kids’ faces after Kids Adelante testified to the work that Mission Adelante was doing.

So, I leave you with one last challenge. The next time you are looking at the clock, wondering when your guests will finally leave. I encourage you to stop and think of Hebrews 13:1-2, “¹Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware”.

In other news:

• A group of about 30 L.I.T. students, family members, Mission Adelante staff, volunteers, and interns spent last weekend at a state park in Kansas. It was an enormously valuable time for them to leave the neighborhood and just have fun. They swam in a lake, played a game called Mafia, devoured s'mores, and slept in tents, but perhaps the best thing afforded by the trip was the opportunity for the volunteers to bond with one another and with the kids.

Prayer needs:

• A team of six from Mission Adelante are traveling to Qba today to spend about a week strengthening the sense of unity between our ministry and the Raices ("Roots") ministry there, with whom we partner. Please pray for their arrival there this afternoon to go smoothly, and that the Lord would use our team powerfully as they participate in some Raices ministry functions this week.

Current needs:

• Two refrigerators, which have been requested by immigrant families. If you can donate one, please contact Molly at 913-961-2984.
• Molly needs volunteers to help her sort and organize donations to our Resource Center, which helps channel resources such as clothing, household items, and food from donors to immigrants with specific needs. Please call Molly at 913-961-2984 to arrange a time to come help.
• Many of the immigrant families we serve have a need for the basics, like food. Help provide staple food items for neighborhood families by hosting a Canasta Basica Assembly Party! Find all the details by clicking here!

Important dates:

• June 28-July 4: Summer break. No Bhutanese or Latino outreach programs. The Mission Adelante office will be closed June 29-July 4.
• July 8th at 7:00 p.m.: All are welcome to join us for tea, coffee, and dessert, and to meet the two new staff members we've added to the Bhutanese Outreach. You'll also hear about their calling to this ministry and the financial needs that we have to make them full time staff members. Join us at Larry & Barb Stetler's, 5814 W. 84th Street, Overland Park, KS 66207. Please RSVP by clicking here.

Big Picture Ministry

Written by Geo Ammerman

When looking at it from the outside, an entire summer committed to full-time ministry seems significant. Nearly three months, 11 weeks; yet, here I stand nearly halfway through my fourth week and I wonder where the time has gone. God, how I can make a difference in such a short amount of time? How can I speak truth into the lives of individuals who I can’t relate to? Whose frustrations, fears, sufferings and struggles don’t seem the least bit comparable to mine? Teenagers whose heavy eyes paint a picture of the burdens they carry, burdens that middle-class suburbia hasn’t prepared me for? I barely speak their first language, I don’t understand their culture, and I am supposed to sweep in and save the day?

No; no I am not, because I can’t. These problems are bigger than me, much bigger. I can’t relate, I can’t comprehend, and I can’t speak truth. Even if I could, at my best “all [my] righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The fact of the matter is that I, in my pride, would try to do a work that has already been done: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 5). Fortunately I serve that God: “⁹ But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

The day I accepted this internship I walked into a field where men and women had already begun God’s work. Mission Adelante did not need me and I may soon be forgotten, but God in his sovereignty has chosen me to play a part. The full-time staff of this ministry are the primary workers, with interns and volunteers providing support, but ultimately even they recognize the real work is being accomplished by God. “⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. […] ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:7, 11).

Thus I am called to two things as an intern. First I need to trust God’s perfect will: “⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). I am playing a small role in a big plan of bringing God glory in Kansas City, Kansas and I need to take him at his word and trust the work of the Holy Spirit. Second, with a sense of desperation I need to intentionally bring Christ into everything, both in word and deed. Knowing that Christ commands us in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples of all nations, I have no other choice. I am honored to have a small role in the incredible ministry work being done at Mission Adelante and the greater work of bringing God all glory, honor, and praise.

In other news:

• This was the first year that all of our Leaders In Training--students that participated in our intensive tutoring and character development program during the past school year--finished out the year! Therefore, all 12 students earned the privilege of going on a camping trip this weekend! A group of 35, including the students, a few family members, Mission Adelante staff, interns, and volunteers will enjoy a weekend of fun at a Kansas state park.
• A team of about 20 middle- and high-schoolers from Shoal Creek Community Church with lots of energy are conducting a Vacation Bible School at Mission Adelante in the evenings this week. Up to sixty Bhutanese and Latino kids from the neighborhood have gathered on our soccer field the past three evenings for interactive storytelling, games, and crafts. The theme of the week is obedience to God, parents, and teacher as illustrated by the story of Jonah.

Prayer needs:

• Please ask the Lord for clear, sunny skies this weekend during the LIT camping trip. Also, as Megan McDermott teaches about what the cross means to us, pray that those on the trip will connect deeply with one another and the Lord.
• Pray for David Stetler and Drew Timberlake, who are presently in Nepal. Ask the Lord to guide them as they make the difficult and exhausting journey to the Bhutanese refugee camps this week. The opportunity to travel to the camps is very significant, because it will give David insight into where our Bhutanese friends lived for a couple of decades before resettling in Kansas City, as well as the chance to meet their family members and bring back news.
• A team of six from Mission Adelante will travel to Qba next week to strengthen the sense of unity between our ministry and the Raices ("Roots") ministry there, with whom we partner. Please pray that the Lord would accomplish that purpose, and use our team powerfully as they participate in some Raices ministry functions.

Current needs:

• Two refrigerators, which have been requested by immigrant families. If you can donate one, please contact Molly at 913-961-2984.
• Molly needs volunteers to help her sort and organize donations to our Resource Center, which helps channel resources such as clothing, household items, and food from donors to immigrants with specific needs. Please call Molly at 913-961-2984 to arrange a time to come help.
• Many of the immigrant families we serve have a need for the basics, like food. Help provide staple food items for neighborhood families by hosting a Canasta Basica Assembly Party! Find all the details by clicking here!

Important dates:

• June 28-July 4: Summer break. No Bhutanese or Latino outreach programs. The Mission Adelante office will be closed June 29-July 4.
• July 8th at 7:00 p.m.: All are welcome to join us for tea, coffee, and dessert, and to meet the two new staff members we've added to the Bhutanese Outreach. You'll also hear about their calling to this ministry and the financial needs that we have to make them full time staff members. Join us at Larry & Barb Stetler's, 5814 W. 84th Street, Overland Park, KS 66207. Please RSVP by clicking here.

Inviting Bhutanese Teens to Become Part of God's Story

Written by Nate Bozarth

There was an unexpected peace three weeks ago at the first ever Bhutanese Teens Club. Prior attempts at any sort of similar gathering had led to unruly behavior including miniature basketballs beaming swiftly into the heads of multiple teenagers. This time the club, hosted at Dynamic Life Baptist Ministries just a stone’s throw away from Mission Adelante’s building, carried on without hardly a hiccup.

Volunteers and teens arrived around 6:30, ready to play a little bit of ping pong and socialize. The first night over 20 Bhutanese high school students showed up, alongside a handful of American students from Mill Creek Church acting as intentional Jesus‑following peers to the Bhutanese. Other volunteers led worship, told the evening’s story, and led small group discussion about the story.

The story? Yes. The more I learn about the Storyformed Way and their model of discipling by way of telling the stories found in the Bible, the more excited I get about the concept. When people tell stories, the listeners can inhabit and feel the story. They can become a part of the story. This is exactly the point. Since God created mankind He has invited us to become a part of His story, a part of something bigger than ourselves. So, every Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m, I would invite you to become a part of what God is doing by praying that the masterful testimony of God’s sovereignty across history is communicated effectively to the Bhutanese at Teens Club as we invite them to become a part of God’s story.

In other news:

• The summer interns have had two full weeks of meeting many of the people in our community. They have enjoyed dinners in families' homes, gone to the spray-ground and ice cream shop with kids, played soccer, and have already made new friends. After all the hard work of fund raising, they're thrilled to have begun engaging with people relationally!
• Geo, one of our interns, has connected a few times with Lalo, one of our more troubled teenage boys. We're really excited to see how God works through their friendship this summer.
• Summer intern Jessie Chastain has discovered the significant role she can play in connecting the culture she's from with the immigrant culture we serve here. Sharing her experiences so far with a suburban friend made her realize her opportunity to be an ambassador for the immigrant populations in Kansas City, Kansas.
• Several recent crises in the Bhutanese community have given David Stetler, Director of Bhutanese Outreach, opportunities to enter into a pastoral role within their community as he's guided and counseled them through. It's amazing to see people from a Hindu culture identify a Christian as their pastor!
• Holding memorial services is a way for us to walk alongside family members in our community who lose a loved one in their home country and can't return. A week ago we held a memorial service for a sister and a father of two members of our community that had passed away in Mexico.

Prayer requests:

• A Bhutanese couple facing marital problems have agreed to delay divorcing to be counseled by David Stetler. Please pray for them to receive wisdom from David, and for God to transform their hearts in order to heal their marriage.
• Please pray for the interns to connect deeply in relationships within our community.
• David Stetler will be traveling to Nepal tomorrow to spend almost three weeks there and in India. He has a full itinerary including fellowship with a friend who is a Nepali pastor, helping train Nepali pastors about church planting, and making strategic connections that will benefit the Bhutanese in Kansas City, Kansas. Please pray for the Lord to guide his travels, protect him, and accomplish all He wants to.

Other requests:

• Many of the immigrant families we serve have a need for the basics, like food. Help provide staple food items for neighborhood families by hosting a Canasta Basica Assembly Party! Find all the details by clicking here!

Upcoming dates:

• June 28-July 4: Summer break. No Bhutanese or Latino outreach programs. The Mission Adelante office will be closed June 29-July 4.

The Making of an Intern

Written by Jarrett Meek

What pastor or ministry leader wouldn't rejoice at the opportunity to invest 12 weeks in six emerging ministry leaders who have a passion for Jesus, teachable hearts, and a hunger to pour themselves out to serve a mission field in our own backyard? We certainly do!! And those six emerging leaders are called INTERNS!! This summer Mission Adelante will be blessed with six amazing college and post-college interns, most of whom have the beginnings of a long-term calling to cross-cultural ministry! What an honor!

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.

--Mark 3:13-15

Coaching interns is more than just finding cheap labor and putting young people to work doing the kinds of things the rest of the staff doesn't want to do. Instead, it is really discipleship at a high level. When Jesus appointed "the twelve' he chose them to be "with him", an important aspect that disciple-makers should remember whether working with new believers or emerging leaders. The most important lessons of ministry leadership are gained primarily through modeling, one reason for which the best ministry leaders and missionaries often can point to great mentors rather than great classes they had in seminary. The "With Him" principle means that our interns will do ministry and life alongside us for the summer, a scary, somewhat intrusive, but extremely rewarding Jesus-way of equipping leaders.

Most college and post-college aged ministry interns find themselves in the stage of development that Robert Clinton calls the "Inner Life Growth" phase in his book, The Making of a Leader. Clinton writes, "Superficially it may appear that ministry training is the focus of this development phase. But closer analysis shows that the major thrust of God's development is inward. The real training program is the heart of the person, where God is doing some growth testing." As our interns engage in what for some will be an extremely challenging summer of immersion in cross-cultural ministry and relationships, we are certain that God will not only equip them with new ministry skills, but that He will also expose weaknesses and strengths, reveal hearts and challenge attitudes, and through the process, draw them closer to Himself. "Though there may be fruitfulness", writes Clinton, "the major work is that which God is doing to and in the leader, not through him or her."

So with excitement and great anticipation we and the whole Mission Adelante community await their Saturday morning arrival! WELCOME INTERNS!!

In other news:

• For some time, there has been a need for an outreach focused on the Bhutanese teens. Many of them are really hungry to learn more about Jesus. Mill Creek Community Church has stepped up to partnership with us in the new venture of Teens Club: discipleship groups that will match one mentor with three teens. Teens Club begins next week with seven initial groups.
• Having become bilingual himself, Gabriel, a Latino church member, will serve this summer as an ESL conversation partner in both the Latino and Bhutanese outreaches! He is fulfilling our mission to mobilize immigrants to serve!
• Thanks to Dru Shiner for installing tile on the Mission Adelante entry-way floor, which has given the area a much more polished appearance!

Prayer needs:

• Praise God! We're celebrating alongside a family in our community that has been reunited after almost a year apart!
• Janoy, a member of our Latino church community, is moving back to Miami. Please pray for God to help him find work and establish himself well there.

Current needs:

• A refrigerator, a crib, dishes, and adult and children's summer clothing and shoes are needed in our resource center. If you have any of these items to donate, please call Molly at 913-961-2984 to arrange drop-off.
• Help provide staple food items for neighborhood families by hosting a Canasta Basica Assembly Party! Find all the details by clicking here!

Upcoming dates:

• Monday, May 30: Mission Adelante office closed
• Tuesday, May 31: Summer launch for Bhutanese outreach programs
• Thursday, June 2: Summer launch for Latino outreach programs
• Wednesday, June 8: Summer launch for Latino Teens Adelante