by Jarrett Meek, Pastor/Executive Director, Mission Adelante, Inc.
As we sprint toward a March 14th opening day for Adelante Thrift, we are excited to introduce you to the two men who are on the front lines of this effort and will be leading the charge at the store going forward: Matt Totsch, Executive Director, and Antoine Dunn, Store Manager.
Matt, husband to Kathleen and father of two, has been a volunteer member of Mission Adelante's Bhutanese community since 2010, when our ministry with the Bhutanese began. The Totsch family moved to the Mission Adelante neighborhood in June of 2013. He is a leader whose hard work, high sense of responsibility, and stick-to-it mentality have moved Adelante Thrift forward in times when it seemed like the project might not ever become a reality. Matt has been working with the Adelante Thrift board since we began planning for the store in 2012 and this quote from the movie, "Pearl Harbor" describes him well, "Victory belongs to those who believe in it the longest!"
Antoine is the husband of Floricela, a soon-to-be naturalized citizen of the U.S., and the father of four beautiful children. The Dunn family has been involved in Mission Adelante's Latino ministry for about six years, and Antoine co-leads one of our Latino house churches as well as an English class. He is a faithful and consistent leader in our ministry and the marketplace with 20 years of experience managing and opening McDonald's restaurants in the Kansas City area. His love for Jesus, his people skills, and his hard work ethic combine with his extensive experience and insider knowledge of our community to make him a high impact leader for the staff of Adelante Thrift.
In addition to Matt and Antoine, we are excited for everyone to meet the entire Adelante Thrift staff team, which includes a diverse group of people from different places including the U.S., Bhutan, and Latin America. They will work alongside volunteers from across the city to provide the best thrift experience by caring at every opportunity, and build a store that puts into action the command to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In other news:
- Are you ready to support sustainable community development by volunteering at Adelante Thrift? We have two upcoming Adelante Thrift volunteer orientations. Join us either Saturday, February 28th, or Saturday, March 7th from 9:00 am-10:00 am, to get involved and be one of many who open our doors and welcome the community to the best thrift experience possible. To sign-up for a volunteer orientation, please fill out our volunteer interest form and our volunteer coordinator will connect with you to confirm your space in one of our orientations.
- There are now four deaf adults from the Bhutanese community meeting to learn American sign language on Tuesday nights. We’re thankful for volunteer tutors from Deaf International to help us serve them with Jesus’ love.
prayer needs:
- Please pray for our Adelante Thrift Launch Team and Staff. We have a lot of exciting things happening to prepare our store for our March 14th opening in just over two weeks! We need energy, stamina, productive work days, and a spirit of collaboration as we finish out these final weeks and prepare to open our doors.
Upcoming dates:
- Spring Break: March 16-21. No programs. The Mission Adelante office will be closed March 18-21.