Written by Brooke Coon, Latino Teens Ministry CoordinatorIn mid July 15 teens and 6 adults from Teens Adelante spent a week at Point 11 Camp on Table Rock Lake. It was our first trip as a group out of Kansas City and for some, the longest they had been away from their family! We did lots of fun and challenging activities that pushed our faith in God and our trust in each other. Overcoming a fear of swimming was enough to humble some of the teens before God. For others, the challenge was in the high ropes team-building course or in the inner struggle of letting God and new people into their hearts. Whatever the fears and struggles, Jesus was there to ask us to lay them down. I think many of the teens returned to Kansas City with a new found courage to face their struggles in areas where they have given up hope. Here are some different teens' perspectives:
"I have had a lot of fun this year. Our group, Teens Adelante, went to camp for a week. Best experience ever. I will never forget those days when we gathered around and just worshiped." -Johnny
What kind of stuff did you do at camp?
"We did some pretty cool, fun stuff like swim in the lake, have pool parties at night, go tubing in the lake, and a lot more activities." -Alejandra
What was your favorite thing?
"One of my fav things was tubing when it would go fast ^.^" -Alejandra
What did you learn about yourself?
"I learned that I could do things that I used to say I couldn't do." -Alejandra
What did you learn about God during small group times (when we went to the beach to do Bible studies)?
"I learned about God que El perdona a todos (that He forgives everyone.)" -Alejandra
Why did you decide to go to camp?
"Because my friend said to go with her and because Sam said camp helps a lot with life." -Alejandra
Have you changed since you came home?
"Yeah I think I changed a lot like I don't be going out, party anymore like back then, and now my mom and me we have a great relationship." -Alejandra
When did you say "I can't do this" and realize fear?
"When we went tubing and also talking to a girl that I heard stories about." -Salma
What did you decide to give to God at the end of the week when we said, " I can't ______, but I trust you with this."?
"I decided to give him my fears of going back home and dealing with many things. I also trust Him with the things He wants to send me." -Salma
View more photos from the teens' trip to summer camp at http://www.immigrantheart.org/.
In other news:
- We are excited to announce that Yanelis López, the leader of RAICES, our partner ministry in Cuba, was approved and has received a visa to come visit Mission Adelante next month! We’re excited to host her and see how God uses this opportunity to further deepen our partnership!
- Our partnerships with local schools are going deeper and wider! Staff and volunteers working with our Leaders In Training programs are having more and more opportunities to work with teachers and principals in KCK schools. This year we have connections in 10 local schools!
- The Bhutanese refugee community held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday morning in partnership with New Roots for Refugees to celebrate a successful harvest of the first season in their new community garden on 14th street.
Prayer needs:
- Ask the Lord to increase the faith of our staff as we trust Him to provide more donors to come alongside us with financial support.
- One teen boy in our community has partial face paralysis right now from an unknown cause. Please pray for healing and protection against permanent damage.
- Please pray that God would continue to reproduce healthy leaders in our house churches, and that He would raise up leaders who are passionate for Him from within the immigrant community to lock arms with us in impacting the community at large.
- Please continue to ask the Lord to supply wisdom as we allow Him to possibly reshape the Bhutanese Teens Club.
Current needs:
- A folding card table and 4 folding chairs for use by the Bhutanese Leaders in Training. Contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org if you can provide one.
- Sixteen-ounce packages of pasta, pinto beans, and bottles of oil, which we include in food staple bags that are distributed through our Resource Center. Please contact Molly at mollym@missonadelante.org if you can provide any.
- Christ-following men and women to volunteer as mentors in Leaders In Training, our after-school tutoring program. Four females and seven males are still needed. Contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org or Megan McDermott at meganm@missionadelante.org to find out more!
Important dates:
- Volunteer Orientation & Training--Saturday, September 8 @ 9:00 a.m. 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. 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 10 @ 6:30 p.m. We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our summer trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch.
- Fall trimester program launches--Week of September 10