You're Invited to Our Spring Parties Next Weekend

Our spring trimester of programs will conclude next weekend with parties! These parties are the highlight of each trimester. Not only do the kids, adult English learners, and volunteers enjoy being recognized for their accomplishments and contribution, but the meal we share and the celebratory atmosphere make it a good time for everybody. These parties are also one of the best ways new people can get to know our ministry! That's why we encourage our program participants and worship community to bring their friends and family, and our volunteers to invite anyone they know that might be interested in the work that we do. We'd love to have you join us!


The party with our Latino friends will be Saturday, April 14 at 5:00 p.m.  The party with our Bhutanese friends will be Sunday, April 15 at 4:00 p.m.  Both parties will be at Bethany Community Center, 1120 Central Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66102.


In other news:

• Last week's beautiful weather created opportunities for extra time spent outdoors with neighborhood kids. Drew Hammond played soccer with  group of Bhutanese boys and Kristen Maxwell played with a group of girls.  And last Wednesday, Kristen, Lauren Timberlake and Holly Stetler, their own kids and a collection of Bhutanese kids rode bikes to a playground to play together.  These are examples of the way our staff and a number of volunteers share life with our immigrant friends, by living in and becoming part of the neighborhood we serve.

Prayer needs:

• Jarrett Meek is spending this week in Q-ba teaching at a discipleship training retreat.  Please pray for his last few days there to be a rich time with friends.
• Please ask the Lord to continue providing the funds for some of our Bhutanese outreach staff to take an exploratory-training-leadership trip to  Nepal and India in April.
• Please pray for our first Easter Celebration service with our Bhutanese friends, this Saturday.  This will be the first Easter celebrated by a number of new believers!  Pray for the non-believers that are in attendance to have clarity about the excellent news in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Also pray for our Latino community's Easter Celebration on Sunday, that as we rejoice in the way God demonstrated his love to us through Jesus, everyone's faith will be nourished.

Current needs:

• A washing machine, which has been requested through our resource center.
• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers.  Please contact Brooke (brookec@missionadelante.org) if you can teach swimming lessons to full-grown teens or can help us find a good instructor.
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• Large storage bins with lids (Rubbermaid-type)

Important dates:

• Thursday, April 12 @ 8:30 p.m. (immediately following Thursday evening programming) Bake Sale and Jewelry Sale to benefit the L.I.T. Canoe Trip at the end of the school year.  This is a reward trip for the students that succeeded at meeting the expectations for L.I.T. participation throughout the whole school year.
• Saturday afternoon, April 14 @ 5:00: Latino Spring Party at Bethany Community Center.
• Sunday afternoon, April 15 @ 4:00: Bhutanese Spring Party at Bethany Community Center.
• 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!

Teens Club Is Reaching Teenage Bhutanese Refugees

Written by Bhutanese Outreach Intern Hannah Hume

Mission Adelante believes that ministry is essentially relational in nature.  That's why we're so excited about what's happening with our Bhutanese Teens Club.

We all remember the difficulties of our teenage years: trying to figure out who we were; maneuvering dating, grades, and peer pressure; figuring out what we believed separate from our parents; enduring constantly fluctuating hormones. Now, imagine dealing with many of those same issues while being newly immersed in a foreign culture and language that you don’t understand. You're beginning to get a picture of what life is like for the Bhutanese teens that live in KCK.

The Purpose of teens club is to help students learn how to love God and love people as described in Luke 10:27, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" We believe that there is nothing that these teens need more during this incredibly malleable time in their lives than to know and love the only person who can be constant and unchanging: Jesus Christ.

Jesus is using Teens Club to change teens lives. We are seeing students who were at risk for joining gangs become followers of Jesus instead. This trimester students are getting to hear the story of Jesus, some of them for the first time in their own language, and they are becoming enthralled with Jesus. They want to know more about him. Some of the boys who used to be our most disruptive students during story time are now discussing the stories around their lunch tables at school, and some of the girls are whispering prayers to him at night before they go to sleep.

Teens club is still a new ministry, and in the formative stages. There continue to be challenges in helping our teenage friends. However, the spirit is undoubtedly moving. Please pray for the Bhutanese teenagers of Kansas City, Kansas, and for Teens Club, as we seek to continue to grow and learn together.

In other news:

• David & Holly Stetler's, Kristen Maxwell's and Drew Hammond's visas were approved for an exploratory-training-leadership trip they and some volunteers will be taking to Nepal April 18 through May 2.

Prayer needs:

• Jarrett Meek will be traveling back to Q-ba this Sunday to teach at a discipleship training retreat.  Please pray for a smooth and easy arrival, and a rich time there with friends.

Current needs:

• A washing machine, which has been requested through our resource center.
• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers.  Please contact Brooke (brookec@missionadelante.org) if you can teach swimming lessons to full-grown teens or can help us find a good instructor.
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A big-screen T.V. for use at a variety of times, including Kids Adelante Bible studies.

Important dates:

• Thursday, April 12 @ 8:30 p.m. (immediately following Thursday evening programming) Bake Sale and Jewelry Sale to benefit the L.I.T. Canoe Trip at the end of the school year.  This is a reward trip for the students that succeeded at meeting the expectations for L.I.T. participation throughout the whole school year.
• Saturday afternoon, April 14: Latino Spring Party
• Sunday afternoon, April 15: Bhutanese Spring Party
• 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!

Winter Jam 2012

The Winter Jam 2012 tour stopped in Kansas City on February 17 and many Mission Adelante youth, volunteers and staff got to attend together.  Winter Jam is reportedly Christian music's largest annual tour, and since its formation by NewSong in 1995, has featured many of the top names in Christian music. Molly Merrick, Mission Adelante Ministry Aide, took a few neighborhood girls to the show, who were thrilled by the live performance of songs they hear on the radio.  Of the nine bands that performed, their favorite was Skillet, much in part to their use of pyrotechnics!


Also attending the concert was a teen boy that has begun learning to play drums in the past year and drums on the teens' worship band.  After arriving at Winter Jam in low spirits, he also got very excited about Skillet's performance.  Kids Adelante Director Megan McDermott said, "He is a very talented musician but tends to conceal his true feelings about things.  When we left the concert, he turned to me with a huge smile on his face and in an excited tone of voice asked me if I had seen the amazing drummer.  We so rarely get to see him genuinely excited and joyful.  It was a blessing to see music that praises God bring that out in him!"


Megan invited a teen girl whose birthday happened to fall on the same day as the concert.  It's been some time since this teen has been a part of the teen Bible study, and Megan really enjoyed spending the evening with her.  Megan said, "At one point during the concert, I felt the Lord lead me to whisper in her ear that it wasn't a coincidence that the concert was on her birthday.  He wanted to bless her and let her know that He loves her."


After hearing Brooke Coon (Teens Adelante Director) talking about plans to take a group of teens to the show, a teenage boy's mom decided to take a vacation day day from work to go along with the Teens Adelante group, and really enjoyed her first concert!  Brooke said, "I was challenged to rethink about the words I was singing to each worship song, as every now and then she leaned over and yelled over the blaring music, asking me to translate different words such as 'grace' into Spanish. Her generosity in buying food for all the teen girls (from a ridiculously priced concession stand) completely moved me. Her joy in giving is one of her most beautiful traits, and in that moment I longed to have a heart that sees each opportunity to spend my money on someone else as a privilege. Afterwards, I told her son about his mom's generosity. He replied, 'I know. She gives even when she doesn't have enough.'"


Brooke went on, "It has been amazing to see Christ's work, which began in this teen boy, spreading into his family, and then to see Christ reciprocating His glory through his mom, back to Teens Adelante, and to the others of her 5 children. I find myself being ministered to by the very people I minister to...all because of His great power!  I love every moment I get to spend with this woman; her hunger for God and her sacrificial generosity are constantly inspiring me and reminding me of God's compassion and provision. As my relationship with this woman grows, God is showing me how to walk 'alongside' instead of 'ahead of' my immigrant friends. This morning, the Lord used 1 Corinthians 3:7 to encourage me by reminding me of His sovereignty over the lives of the teens and their families that I love and serve. It says, 'So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.'"


After the concert ended, the question on the minds of most of the youth that got to attend was, "Did you know Christian music could sound like that?!"  We're grateful to our generous God for special occasions such as Kansas City's Winter Jam 2012 tour stop, and the many angles from which he uses them to encourage and refresh us!


In other news:

• THANK YOU to those individuals that have supplied to us an abundance of goldfish crackers for Bhutanese kids club, a computer desk for a new work space, and a computer for use by LIT students!
• Corporate worship among the Latino house churches last Sunday (which we hold once each month) was highly attended and highly enjoyed.  After several meetings in their individual groups, everyone was excited to see one another and enjoy fellowship.

Prayer needs:

• Ask God to give wisdom to our board of directors as they consider how "business as missions" might fit into our ministry structure and allow our impact in our community to increase.
• A number of Mission Adelante staff members will be traveling during the upcoming week which is our spring break.  Please join us in asking the Lord to grant safe travels.

Current needs:

• Teens Adelante is hoping for summer swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers. Please contact Brooke if you can teach swimming lessons (to full grown teens) or can help us find a good instructor! brookec@missionadelante.org
• An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family.  We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use with the burlap material
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A big-screen T.V. for use at a variety of times, including Kids Adelante Bible studies.
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center

Important dates:

• Spring Break: March 14-17 the Mission Adelante office will be closed.  No evening programs Tuesday, March 13 or Thursday, March 15.
• Latino Spring Party: Saturday afternoon, April 14
• Bhutanese Spring Party: Sunday afternoon, April 15
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  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!

The Wait is Over!

Written by Lauren Timberlake, Bhutanese ESL Director


We moved into our house in Kansas City, Kansas, on Saturday. It was a long time coming, but this week I am praising God for his faithfulness to my family and for bringing us to this neighborhood in his perfect timing.

I was first introduced to Bhutanese refugees three years ago. I had a background in teaching English as a second language (ESL), and my church had asked me to help train some volunteers to become conversation partners. I had two small children at the time, so I didn’t think I could do more than one or two meetings. I decided to go to the first little class, and I was hooked! The Bhutanese people were so endearing and had such great needs. Soon after, we formalized a relationship with Mission Adelante and began offering weekly ESL classes. A year ago, I agreed to join staff and began fundraising. We bought a home to remodel close to Mission Adelante last April and put our southern Overland Park home on the market. It sold in one day. We found out we were expecting our third child and moved in with my (incredibly awesome) parents for the summer.

So we thought. The remodel of our home took longer than expected to complete. By the end of the summer, there were studs and wires, but not much else. Our baby girl was born in October, two months ahead of her due date. Praise God she was and has been perfectly healthy since then, but we needed a little more room, so we found a furnished apartment. Sometimes it was hard to understand why God didn’t help move things along faster with our house. We felt very much out of control and far away from what God was doing in our KCK neighborhood. But I think God used that to help us lean into him. Our friends and my Jesus Calling book kept reminding us that God uses time to make his sovereignty known, and that he doesn’t waste anything--that we could be close to him even if we physically weren’t where we wanted to be. Waiting can be very purposeful. So we waited.

As soon as there were flushing toilets and light switches, we moved. What seemed like an army of friends (including some Bhutanese teens!) came to help brush off the construction rubble from our things stored in the basement and move them upstairs. Still surrounded by boxes, we are humbled and blessed by where God has called us. We had three Bhutanese boys over to play with our kids on Monday, and it felt really good. We have been commuting to this neighborhood for three years, and we are eager to see what proximity does to grow our relationships here.

Please join us in praying for our Bhutanese friends and our family’s role as we begin to live among them. Pray for our children (8, 5, and 4 months) to adjust well and enjoy the adventure God is calling us to. God is definitely alive and active in this place, and we want to press in to what He is doing and use our resources well. The wait is over, but the adventure has just begun!

In other news:

• We were glad to have Rachelle Pichardo and Chris Gorney of Redeemer Fellowship visit us this week.  Redeemer Fellowship exists to cultivate communities of transformed disciples who live for the glory of God and the good of the city, and we're thankful to be in partnership with them.

Prayer needs:

• Mission Adelante's Board of Directors and Leadership Team traveled to Arkansas for a couple of days this week to observe a ministry with experience in "business as missions."  Pray for the Lord to grant wisdom as we explore whether particular business ventures could align well with our mission.
• Pray for us as we finalize our selection of 2012 summer interns.  If you know someone that would be great for the internship this year, urge him or her to fill out this form.  We would look at a late application.

Current needs:

• Teens Adelante is hoping for swimming lessons for 10-15 teenagers. Please contact Brooke if you can teach swimming lessons (to full grown teens) or can help us in finding a good instructor! brookec@missionadelante.org
• An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family.  We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use with the burlap material
• A ceiling-mounted projector and protective cage
• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A small computer desk or computer table to create an additional workspace in our offices
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center
• Containers of Goldfish crackers/animal crackers for Bhutanese Kids Club snacks (Sometimes the repeated purchase of seemingly inexpensive things can eat up a budget!)
• A well-working and Internet able C.P.U. or laptop for use by L.I.T. students

To respond to any of these needs, please e-mail Morgan at morganh@missionadelante.org.

Important dates:

• Observation Day: Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30-  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.
• Spring Break: March 14-17 the Mission Adelante office will be closed.  No evening programs Tuesday, March 13 or Thursday, March 15.
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  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!

Would You Pray?

Written by Jason Schoff, Director of Latino Outreach

Would you turn down a chance to pray?  We at Mission Adelante believe that dependent prayer glorifies the ultimate Provider and is the best weapon in a spiritual battle that can only be won if God moves.  That is why we decided a couple of years ago that all our Latino English (ESL) classes should include this component at the beginning or end of class.  Thankfully, our students have responded warmly to this important piece.  We might start with a beginning class by praying for simple and broad things like our students' success with learning and for God to take care of all our families and needs.  Later we transition into praying for the personal, individual needs of our students.  While this may not happen over night, we hope our groups grow in faith to believe that God cares about them enough to listen and He answers their prayers.  

Little by little, our classes become communities that begin to pray for one another.  They feel free enough to share about their needs and even express praise for ways God is responding to them.  We often begin asking our students to lead the prayer time by the second or third trimester of their studies with us.  It is an invitation, never an obligation.  Some in our groups have never in their lives prayed aloud and this becomes an open door for them to experience acceptance by their classroom community.  

Last week one of our volunteers asked Oscar* to pray.  She knew Oscar attended a church in our neighborhood and hoped he would take her up on the opportunity.  However, he wanted to pass!  He expressed how he stopped going to church several months ago and felt like he couldn't pray because God would not accept his prayers for that reason.  Ugh!  It was a sad moment.  The volunteer encouraged him and let him know that God would be very willing to receive his prayers.  What a humbling end to class!

Would you pray for Oscar to sense God's love and longing to hear his prayers?  Also, would you join us in praying that our Latino English classes will see prayer continue to touch people's hearts and draw them to God?  

*Name changed to protect privacy

In other news:

• We were pleased to have Dan Deeble and the rest of the Heartland Community Church Management Team visit our staff last week, and to hear about their vision for a great number of Christians practicing evangelism as a lifestyle throughout Kansas City.
• David and Holly Stetler attended a conference in South Carolina last week with 3d Ministries called Community of Practice and learned about leadership and community.
• The third of three Latino house churches began meeting in an  immigrant home last Sunday.  This demonstrates the ownership of the gatherings that immigrants are taking as our focus remains on reproducing disciples and leaders who are capable of multiplying the work.

Prayer needs:

• Join  us in asking the Lord's blessing of our staff's various fundraising efforts.

Current needs:

• An industrial sewing machine: the Bhutanese women's sewing cooperative is beginning a new and very promising product line using recycled burlap that is allowing a few women the opportunity to use their cultural trade and skills to earn an income for their family.  We already have orders for these products, but we need an industrial sewing machine to use on the burlap material
• A 3- or 4-drawer locking filing cabinet with keys
• A preschooler sized table and chairs or picnic table
• A small computer desk or computer table to create an additional workspace in our offices
• New vacuums or repair for our broken vacuums
• Men's and kids' winter clothing to make available through our resource center
• Containers of Goldfish crackers/animal crackers for Bhutanese Kids Club snacks (Sometimes the repeated purchase of seemingly inexpensive things can eat up a budget!)
• A well-working and Internet able C.P.U. or laptop for use by L.I.T. students

To respond to any of these needs, please e-mail Morgan at morganh@missionadelante.org.

Important dates:

• Observation Days: Tuesday, February 21 (Bhutanese)/Thursday, February 23 (Latino) 6:30-8:30  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!  If these dates don't work for you, please contact info@missionadelante.org to schedule an alternate evening.
• Adelante Missions Institute Seminar: Saturday, June 30 at 9:00  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!