Written by Kristen Maxwell, Bhutanese Children and Youth Director
Most people involved with our youth and kids ministry programs would agree that one of our favorite nights of the year is backpack night! It seems that as soon as school's out for the summer, the kids start asking when it will be backpack night. Some of them are so anxious to see what kind of bag they will get this year, and see what supplies will be in it!
Here is what some of our students had to say about backpack night:
“I like seeing what kind of backpack they picked out for me, next year I want a blue one!!!” P, Kindergarten
“My favorite part is seeing all of the new supplies, and knowing I am ready for school.” A, Grade 6
“They are really helpful for families who are new to the United States, they don’t always understand what supplies to buy and getting backpacks takes care of that for them.” P, Grade 7
“Everyone loves backpack night, but not everyone is lucky enough to have a backpack night. We are thankful that we get new backpacks every year, they make us excited for school.” K, Grade 6
I know you are thinking that it is way too early to be thinking about back-to-school, but this year Mission Adelante anticipates the need for 320 backpacks, our largest number yet! We are so grateful for our growing kids and youth ministries, and are excited for what the Lord is doing! So, we are getting a bit of a head start on lining up donations.
We need your help! We are currently looking for churches, businesses, small groups and individuals to commit to providing backpacks for our distribution in August of 2016. These filled backpacks are an amazing ministry not only to the kids in our programs, but their parents and their schools. In meeting this practical need, we get to be Jesus to these kids and their families. Backpacks are accepted year round, so it is never too early to fill one up! The deadline for our August 2016 distribution is July 31st.
If you are interested in learning more about providing backpacks, please contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org for more information.
UPCOMING DATES:
- Observation Nights: Each trimester we invite potential volunteers to come observe our ministry programs to get a better idea of what serving in our context looks like. Come on up to 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102 at 6:30 on any of the following evenings:
- Tuesdays, March 1 and 8: Bhutanese ministry observations nights (Adult ESL, Kids Club, Middle School Club)
- Thursdays, March 3 and 10: Latino ministry observation nights (Adult ESL, Kids Club)