By Megan McDermott, Latino Children's Ministry Director
At Mission
Adelante, the summer is always an invitation and an exciting opportunity for
our community to invest deeply in our children. This week, a group of about
twenty volunteers from Shoal Creek Community Church came to invest in the
Bhutanese, Latino, and Chin children's ministries. At Mission Adelante, our
mission is to make disciples by serving, sharing life, and sharing Jesus with
people from other places. Because of
this, we were excited to
begin the summer with our first Kid’s Camp with such a diverse mix of
kids! Between games, Bible study, and some awesome crafts, an incredible
change began to happen.
Many
of the kids attend the same local schools and know each other. However,
cultural differences can sometimes hinder friendship. Many of our kids
struggle to find their niche between their native
cultures and the American culture. The first night of the camp, amongst seventy
exuberant children, we noticed that the kids were shy around each other. They
didn't know what to make of each other and were hesitant to interact. As the camp proceeded, though, we noticed
that through games, dance parties, charades, a fun skit about King Nebuchadnezzar (pictured right) and incredible teaching by the
Shoal Creek group, the kids began to play and laugh together. The shyness
evaporated as the kids began to see that they weren't so different from each
other and that maybe, just maybe, this new friend that they had made might be
able to understand them in a really deep way.
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At Mission
Adelante, the summer is always an invitation and an exciting opportunity for
our community to invest deeply in our children. This week, a group of about
twenty volunteers from Shoal Creek Community Church came to invest in the
Bhutanese, Latino, and Chin children's ministries. At Mission Adelante, our
mission is to make disciples by serving, sharing life, and sharing Jesus with
people from other places. Because of
this, we were excited to
begin the summer with our first Kid’s Camp with such a diverse mix of
kids! Between games, Bible study, and some awesome crafts, an incredible
change began to happen.
As the summer goes on and the kids
continue to engage in various activities, we are excited to see how God moves.
His heart for these children is amplified when they are in a mixed context
because, though these kids seem to be so different, they are all children of
our Most High God. What a blessing to
see the many faces of our Father reflected in the sweetness of these precious kids!
In other news:
- We were privileged to host the wedding last Saturday of a young Bhutanese couple that we became acquainted with through our Teens ministry. It was a wonderful ceremony! We celebrated aspects of Nepali culture, Narbu Tamang and Anjana (Monger) Tamang’s love for one another, and the Lord Jesus’ love for all of us! Please pray for this young couple as they begin the exciting and difficult journey of married life.
- Celebrating culture is one of our core values and a local community partner, Catholic Charities, is hosting World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 14 from 2:00pm-6:00pm. This is a great way to celebrate the cultures, histories, and community contributions of our Bhutanese friends and other refugee groups in KCK. Join the fun at 2220 Central Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102.
- One of our men’s discipling groups is moving beyond just studying together and we’re beginning to serve together too, by visiting community members in their homes.
Prayer needs:
- The buildout of Chin Hills Restaurant continues. Please pray that construction can stay on time and our friends from the Chin community can soon realize their dream of using their grocery store and restaurant to fund programs for the youth in their community.
- Please pray for unity and spiritual hunger for our interns.
- Please pray for some special members of our Latino community who are moving to Texas in the next couple of weeks. We will miss them!
- Continue to pray for our kid’s camp during the month of June! It is a great opportunity to reach out and share Jesús with kids in our own backyard.
Current needs:
- Leaders in Training, our after-school leadership development and tutoring program, is getting excited about technology! We are currently looking for tablets that are in new, or very good condition to be used for learning activities during the 2014-2015 school year. If you have one you would like to donate please contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org or Megan McDermott at meganm@missionadelante.org.
- Summer break: July 1-5 No programs.