Selecting Kids for “Leaders-In-Training”

Do you remember how you felt when you received the call from your first employer and heard, “You’re Hired!”? As you read this article this afternoon (Tuesday), Megan McDermott and Jarrett Meek will be visiting the homes of seven kids, giving them the news that they have been selected to be in our Leaders-In-Training (LIT) program.

Seven kids from last year’s pilot group along with the seven new kids have made the invite list by demonstrating diligence and positive leadership characteristics in our Thursday night Outreach Bible Study and other contexts. As these kids grow up in our urban neighborhood, we will invest in their development so that, instead of succumbing to the negative influences of their peers, they can be leaders who influence others to follow Christ.

Please pray with us as you read this that the kids we invite along with their parents will recognize the unique value of this opportunity. Pray that they will accept the invitation and begin the year with soft and teachable hearts. And, please pray that God would raise up additional volunteers tutors to help with the program.

In other news:

• Alberto led one of the home Bible study groups on Sunday evening for the second time and did a good job preparing and leading.
• Molly Drake and Rachel Nighswonger took the kids from their Kids Adelante group to the zoo on Sunday afternoon.
• We've begun using a new format with the kids on Sunday evenings to help them engage more in studying the Word. It's a smaller group than Thursday evenings, which is good for discussion.
• Megan McDermott and Maria Rentas' housewarming party last Saturday evening drew and enormous crowd and provided a nice atmosphere for most of our community to connect and socialize as well as get acquainted with some new folks.

Prayer needs:

• Praise God with us! Eduardo, one of the community kids most at-risk of gang involvement, has recently shown signs of change in his attitude and behavior. His family has also had more consistant attendance at worship and Bible studies lately.
• Please pray for depth in the preteen girls' purity Bible study and Sunday evening Bible studies.

Current needs:

• Volunteers for Adult English classes and LIT tutors beginning in September. If you're interested in being an English conversation partner, please e-mail Jason at jasons@missionadelante.org. If you're interested in tutoring kids in the afternoons, please e-mail Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.
• A trailer for transporting large items to ministry events
• A portable CD player "boom box" for use with the kids on Sunday nights
• A washer and dryer for a family in our community
• A flat screen computer monitor
• Diapers, sizes 5, 4, and 3. Diapers are one of the most sought-after items in our Resource Center and seem to fly off the shelves as fast as they're donated.

Important upcoming dates:

• Monday, August 3 @ 6:30 p.m. Volunteer Team Meeting at the Mission
• Sunday, August 9: Trimester-end Party

Urban Missions through the Eyes of Youth

Youth groups from 3 churches have participated this summer in mini-mission trips to the Mission Adelante neighborhood. Amber Donoho, from Shoal Creek Community church wrote the following reflections about her experience helping to lead one of the Kids' Club activities in a local park.

Reflections by Amber Donoho
"At first when I get to the building I have a dinner sandwich and I'm so nervous. I don't know what to really expect when I get there. Two ladies come in to the room and explain to us what we are doing and it surprises me. I knew we were coming there to see kids and play soccer and things like that, but I didn't know we were actually talking to them in English and singing songs. I became a little more nervous when the lady said some of the children might be scared of us or not talk any English at all. When we loaded up in the cars to go to the park I prayed for God to free all of my worries and I will be myself. I also prayed to magically remember the few years I had played soccer. I knew that these younger kids are going to look up to us and know that we are friends to them not enemies.

"When I get to the park there are just a few people there. I start getting butterflies again about how I'm going to converse with these children. So I hang with my friends for a little bit and start drawing with chalk with a little girl named Jasmine. It was fun to see her smile. After that we went to split off into our groups of activities. I was assigned to be in the soccer group and I realized these kids are really good at soccer. It was so fun to watch the kids play soccer with smiles on their faces. The effort they put into it is so great that it takes their minds off of everything else that goes on in their lives. When they got hurt by the soccer ball they didn't even flinch, but I guess they have be tougher to live here.

"Later on, we all went to the shaded corner of the park to sing "Big House". It was so fun because I knew all the words and I got to teach the hand signs. When I'm up there I feel happy and energetic. When the kids started catching on I felt so happy and worth something in these kids' lives. When you look down into each of the kid's eyes, you see a little glimmer of something that makes your heart heavy with feeling. You can't help but go home, cry, and feel like, " Wow, have I really made that much of a difference?" It's mind boggling to know that these kids will remember these few days of happiness. That God is really there for them no matter what and nothing can change that. I also know that I can never forget these memories as long as I live because this journey has brought me closer to God than I have been in a long time. So, I thank this program for changing my life and others."

In other news:

• "Thank you" to the 22 Heartland Community Church interns that spent the day last Saturday painting the recently sheet rocked walls in our facility!
• Mission Adelante staff were encouraged to spend about four days last week with Brandon Martin and three others from "The Bridge Hispanic Ministry" in Hickory, North Carolina. They came to observe our outreach strategies and learn from our experiences.
• Our Resource Center is overflowing with items available to community families in need! We're normally open each Saturday morning for people to come and select items they can use. We had our best turnout yet last Saturday morning when about ten families benefited from donated goods, several of whom inquired about volunteering as a way to give back.

Prayer needs:

• Tomorrow Megan M. and six preteen neighborhood girls will resume the Purity Bible study they met for last summer. Please pray for the girls to participate with authenticity and to go deep in the study.
• Please pray for God to raise up more volunteers for the Leaders In Training program during the upcoming school year, and to continue to develop our worship team by inspiring members of our community to become involved.
• Pray for Alberto, who has been a part of our community for about a year and a half and shows potential for church leadership. Jarrett and Jason are beginning to equip him to preach at our worship celebration, with a goal of preaching his first sermon in September.

Current needs:

• We're collecting school supplies to distribute to about 60 community kids in August. It would be most helpful for backpacks to come already stocked with all the supplies an elementary school student will need. Those items are listed below. Could you organize a "Backpack Drive" for your church or group?

BACKPACK
500 sheets wide lined notebook paper
5 wide lined spiral notebooks
4 glue sticks (keep in package)
1 - 8 oz. bottle Elmer's glue (no blue glue)
1 small zippered bag for pencils
1 pkg. erasable pens (blue or black)
5 pocket folders
1 box colored pencils
1 ruler
2 "Sharpie" markers
2 pkgs. 3 x 5 index cards
1 red felt tip pen
1 pkg. #2 pencils
2 boxes crayons (24)
1 pair small scissors

• A portable CD player "boom box" for use with the kids on Sunday nights
• A washer and dryer for a family in our community

Important upcoming dates:

• Monday, August 3 @ 6:30 p.m. Volunteer Team Meeting at the Mission
• Sunday, August 9: Trimester-end Party

Young Kids are Learning to Discern the Truth

One of the greatest opportunities with the children of Mission Adelante during summer vacation is the blessing of extra time. Two weeks ago, one of our Kids Adelante volunteers, Karlie Mann, began a Bible Study with four of our young girls. Over the course of five weeks, Marlen, Gissel, Gabi, Andrea, and Karlie will be digging into topics about how one can follow God and the characteristics of faith needed to pursue Him.

Last week, the group discussed the fruits of the Spirit. Much of the language used in the Bible tends to be unfamiliar to the kids. Karlie was able to discuss with the girls what following God really looks like and explain God’s word in a meaningful way. The Bible Study allows the girls to ask questions about God as they encounter information that is contradictory to what they have learned at the Kids Adelante Outreach Bible Study.

This was exemplified as Marlen described to Karlie how her parents have had ties to the Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, and Catholic churches. The incongruity of three different doctrines has caused ten-year old Marlen to seek where the truth lies. Marlen has used the teachings of the Bible that she learned at Kids Adelante as the lens through which she has observed other faiths. She was able to see the truth of God’s wisdom amidst so much confusion!

She has been praying for God to show her where HIS truth lies. As a result of her prayer, her parents announced that they would no longer be attending the Mormon Church. The faith of this little girl and God’s pursuit of her has been evident since she stepped through the doors of Mission Adelante! Please pray that God would continue to show Marlen and her family the truth of His love.

In other news:

• Megan McDermott, Molly Merrick, and the Kids Adelante Group 4 leaders, Brad and Amy, took seven kids to the Royals game last Tuesday. They had fun watching the game and interacting outside the neighborhood.
• Becky Masters, our summer intern, has jumped into our ministry with both feet! She is involved in two adult ESL classes, English tutoring, the resource center, this week's evening VBS, and contact work with individuals in our community. She also has a goal to help a discipling pair finish up the discipleship course this summer. Having grown up in Argentina, Becky is able to relate to Hispanic immigrants in a special way.
• A team of four starting "The Bridge Hispanic Ministry" in Hickory, North Carolina will be visiting for 4 days this week to observe our work and learn from our experience with cross-cultural ministry. Please pray that they'll be able to assimilate everything they learn here into their ministry there.

Prayer needs:

• Rogelio is a neighborhood man who has done work on the roofs of our facility and Jarrett and Jason's houses. Please pray for him and his family to turn to the Lord for comfort as they mourn the loss of his 15-year-old son, who was shot outside their home last week.
• Four new kids were drawn to the VBS last night that the First Presbyterian Church youth group from Manhattan, Kansas is leading this week. Please pray for more neighborhood kids to be attracted through the VBS activities and to become consistent at Kids Adelante.
• Twenty-five Heartland Community Church interns will have a free car wash in our parking lot this Saturday morning. Pray that their demonstration of servant evangelism will be well received by the neighbors and will facilitate our overall outreach effort.
• Please continue to pray for discernment and clarity for Jarrett and Megan M. as they select the kids to invite to participate in Leaders In Training during the upcoming school year.

Current needs:

• Our resource center is overflowing with clothing--thank you for all the generous donations!
• We're already collecting school supplies to distribute to about 60 community kids in August. It would be most helpful for backpacks to come already stocked with all the supplies an elementary school student will need. Those items are listed below. Could you organize a "Backpack Drive" for your church or group?

BACKPACK
500 sheets wide lined notebook paper
5 wide lined spiral notebooks
4 glue sticks (keep in package)
1 - 8 oz. bottle Elmer's glue (no blue glue)
1 small zippered bag for pencils
1 pkg. erasable pens (blue or black)
5 pocket folders
1 box colored pencils
1 ruler
2 "Sharpie" markers
2 pkgs. 3 x 5 index cards
1 red felt tip pen
1 pkg. #2 pencils
2 boxes crayons (24)
1 pair small scissors

Important upcoming dates:

• Monday, August 3 @ 6:30 p.m. Volunteer Team Meeting at the Mission
• Sunday, August 9: Trimester-end Party

The Role of Prayer in Language Learning

Prayer plays a crucial role in our adult English classes. How, you may wonder? Have you ever tried to learn another language? It is a humbling experience as you bumble through strange phrases and create faux-pas simply by transposing letters in words. We let our ESL students know right out of the gate that prayer will be a part of our class. “How can we pray for you?” is a question that no student is prepared to answer the first class session. But we remind students weekly that God is interested in helping them learn English and can give them confidence and help them remember vocabulary. This becomes an ongoing request, but students soon begin to also share their personal situations and specific needs for prayer.

Developing deep relationships lies at the heart of Mission Adelante. Every time a student shares a prayer need, we become better able to understand them and deepen our friendship with them. The habit of praying together creates a unique bond. It allows us to support Hispanics in dark times, encourage them in dreary seasons, and celebrate with them God’s faithfulness. When our students see God at work in answering their prayers and they view volunteers and staff as caring friends, they move closer to seeking God with all their heart.

Last year Maria began coming to English classes. Her level was very low. She aspired to take the US citizenship test, though, which is conducted entirely in English and sought extra tutoring to prepare for it. After the first session she remarked, “we haven’t prayed together.” Maria came to believe in the importance of prayer and her need for God’s intervention. We spend many days working with her and praying together. Although she has yet to attend a bible study or worship celebration, we still connect with her and her husband, José. And she passed her test two weeks ago and gives thanks to God! This is just one example of how learning English and seeking God go hand in hand with Mission Adelante. Please pray for students to draw closer to the Lord as we pray together.

In other news:

• Megan McDermott is continuing a Bible study on the topic of purity for the second summer with a group of pre-teen and early teen girls, which they kicked-off with a slumber party last Friday night. Karlie Mann, Kids Adelante volunteer, is also leading a group of girls in a special weekly Bible study over the course of the summer. We are so excited about these kids' enthusiasm to use their free time this summer to learn about the Lord!
• We continue to enjoy watching the transformation of our facility as we near the completion of sheetrocking and look forward to all our new walls being taped and mudded during the next few weeks.

Prayer needs:

• Two families in our faith community are presently suffering geographical separation from the husband/father. Please pray for God to strengthen their faith in his goodness and sovereignty.
• Pray for God to protect from harm the family of an English student that is threatened by domestic violence.
• As Jarrett and Megan plan for the second year of Leaders In Training, our intensive tutoring and character development program, please pray that God will grant them discernment in selecting the individual kids that will be invited to participate.
• Pray for our staff members to get the much-needed rest and recharge during our Mid-trimester Break tomorrow through Saturday.

Current needs:

• We're already collecting school supplies to distribute to about 60 community kids in August. It would be most helpful for backpacks to come already stocked with all the supplies an elementary school student will need. Those items are listed below. Could you organize a "Backpack Drive" for your church or group?

BACKPACK
500 sheets wide lined notebook paper
5 wide lined spiral notebooks
4 glue sticks (keep in package)
1 - 8 oz. bottle Elmer's glue (no blue glue)
1 small zippered bag for pencils
1 pkg. erasable pens (blue or black)
5 pocket folders
1 box colored pencils
1 ruler
2 "Sharpie" markers
2 pkgs. 3 x 5 index cards
1 red felt tip pen
1 pkg. #2 pencils
2 boxes crayons (24)
1 pair small scissors

• Box fans or oscillating fans for use in our facility and for distribution through our resource center.
• A widow air conditioner

Important upcoming dates:

• July 1-4: Midterm break. The Mission Adelante office will be closed and there will be no activities on Thursday. **There will be English tutoring this evening.**

Welcome Aboard, Megan!

I learned a ministry principle years ago from very wise people: "Invest in what God is doing." Often times we simply see a need and try to direct resources to meet it. But, this principle suggests that there should be more to it than that. We should look for areas of need, but also places where there are signs of fruit or God's handy work.

Over the past two years Kids Adelante has met both of those criteria. Immigrant kids in KCK certainly have needs on every level. At the same time, God has been moving in our Kids Adelante program and bearing fruit. Attendance at our outreach Bible study has increased from an average of around 20 kids to nearly 60 without a staff person directly responsible for it. Volunteers have taught, mentored, and loved on kids. Kids have received Christ, been baptized, earned awards for improvement at school, and experienced genuine community. Of all ministry areas within our ministry, Kids Adelante has seen the most significant growth over this two year period.

So, following the principle above we're excited to announce that we've hired Megan McDermott, a long-time volunteer and former Spanish teacher in the Blue Valley district, to oversee Kids Adelante. We learned a lot about Megan last year through her summer internship with us and are excited about her love for kids, her leadership and organizational ability, her love for Christ, and her strong Spanish language skills. She is a great addition to our staff and to our neighborhood! Welcome aboard Megan! You may contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.

In other news:

• Becky Masters, our sole summer intern this year, has arrived! She moved to the neighborhood today and will spend the upcoming weeks working primarily with the English program, teaching ESL classes and doing relational contact work. Please pray that she will quickly and effectively connect with people in our community.
• A group of 16 high school youth, interns, and leaders from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Overland Park are here for several days this week. They kicked off a four-evening VBS with an outdoor movie in our new soccer field on Sunday evening. They're spending the days working on projects in our building.
• We had record attendance at the Kids Adelante outreach Bible study last Thursday night: 62 kids! WOW!

Prayer needs:

• Please pray that Tacho and Mari will understand the gospel clearly despite confusion caused by conversations they've had with Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
• A family that we've known for several years but that has repeatedly come and gone in our community has been back in Bible study and Worship for several weeks in a row. They requested prayer for God to supply the strength they need to persevere through difficult circumstances.
• Please ask that new kids that have been attracted by the VBS programs last week and this week would become consistent attendees of Kids Adelante.

Current needs:

• We're already collecting school supplies to distribute to about 60 community kids in August. It would be most helpful for backpacks to come already stocked with all the supplies an elementary school student will need. Those items are listed below. Could you organize a "Backpack Drive" for your church or group?

BACKPACK
500 sheets wide lined notebook paper
5 wide lined spiral notebooks
4 glue sticks (keep in package)
1 - 8 oz. bottle Elmer's glue (no blue glue)
1 small zippered bag for pencils
1 pkg. erasable pens (blue or black)
5 pocket folders
1 box colored pencils
1 ruler
2 "Sharpie Markers"
2 pkgs. 3 x 5 index cards
1 red felt tip pen
1 pkg. #2 pencils
2 boxes crayons (24)
1 pair small scissors

• Box fans or oscillating fans for use in our facility and for distribution through our resource center.

Important upcoming dates:

• June 29: Spanish class cancelled.
• July 1-4: Midterm break. The Mission Adelante office will be closed and there will be no activities on Thursday. **Monday morning English class and Tuesday evening English tutoring will continue uninterrupted.**