Written by David Stetler, Bhutanese Outreach Director
A week ago Saturday the cross-cultural, western-eastern fusion rock band Aradhna led by the sitar-playing Chris Hale came to visit Kansas City and played a special concert at our end-of-year party to help us finish the year with a huge celebration.
The songs that Chris and the band performed for us were all sung in Nepali or Hindi which are both languages that our Bhutanese friends understand very well. Nepali is their first language and Hindi is usually their second. Aradhna has a four man band playing the sitar, the bass, the guitar and a really cool hand drum called the tabla. They sing songs called Yeshu Bhajans which are Jesus worship songs and are all about Jesus, who he is, and what he has done for us.
We gave out awards to our program participants and our faithful volunteers during dinner and celebrated the year together. We also had a wonderful time singing and dancing to the Yeshu Bhajans celebrating Prameshwar Yeshu, Jesus as Lord, and all that he brings us. It's amazing how much the joy of music brings when we can sing about Jesus and the peace and joy that he brings us.
During the Aradhna concert intermission my good friend Janga played a few songs in Nepali about Yeshu (Jesus) that he has recently written. The first song was about why Jesus came to the earth and the other was a beautiful song to the tune of The Benediction. Janga has been leading worship for our Teens Club, Leaders in Training and our house church for several months. We love watching him grow as a leader and as a musician and it was great to be present while he shared some of his new songs with the broader Bhutanese community.
All in all, it was a great night of incredible music, wonderful food and amazing friends as we reflected on a remarkable year. And at the same time, just down the street, our Latino friends were having a huge party celebrating too. We are looking forward to celebrating together the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve!
In other news:
- Jason Schoff taught an adult ESL class at a local public school this fall that included one Bhurmese student. She was the only Bhurmese amidst Latinos. We were excited to have this opportunity with a new immigrant group.
Prayer needs:
- Praise God with us! The first of the teens in our community brought to the States as a child that applied for the right to work through the federal Deferred Action program introduced last summer has received his documents, and the chance for a better future.
- Please pray for the continuing development of the leaders of our house churches--Bhutanese and Latino--as we continue to spend time intentionally discipling them.
- Please pray that the Mission Adelante staff would enjoy a restful break and return in January ready to jump back into ministry.
- Pray for our tri-cultural (Bhutanese, Latino, and North American) Christmas Eve service to minister to all present.
Current needs:
- Volunteers to join us in all our outreach programs for our next trimester, mid-January to mid-April. Check out www.missionadelante.org/volunteerto see all our volunteer opportunities!
- GPS units for our Transportation Team. If you are able to provide one, please contact Drew Hammond at drewh@missionadelante.org
- Mattresses for newly arrived Bhutanese refugee families. If you are able to provide one please contact Drew Hammond at drewh@missionadelante.org.
- Volunteers to help sort clothes the resource center. If you are interested in helping, please contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org to arrange a time to come up.
- A Conference Table: 6’ long, dark brown, and in good condition. Please contact Morgan Ham at morganh@missionadelante.orgif you can point us towards one.
- The Bhutanese and Latino LIT programs need a small group (or groups) to purchase pre-packaged, healthy, after-school snacks for the kids. We would be blessed to receive a couple months worth of snacks. Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.
- Fifteen to twenty 8 GB flash drives for the Latino LIT students to use, preferably with a ring or another way to attach them to lanyards. Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.
Important dates:
- Christmas Eve Service: Monday, December 24 @ 6:00 at Mission Adelante. This will be our first combined worship service with both our Latino and Bhutanese communities! Multi-ethnic refreshments will follow.
- The Mission Adelante office will be closed for Christmas December 25-January 1.