Mission Adelante

Introducing Kristen Maxwell: Director of Bhutanese Kids Outreach!

Written by David Stetler

With the overwhelming growth of the Bhutanese Outreach, ending the experimental season for this ministry came much earlier than we had planned. With this new and exciting development I am thrilled to share with you the recent acceptance of a new appointee here at Mission Adelante, Kristen Maxwell.

Kristen started as a volunteer in our Bhutanese Kids Program at the launch of this ministry and since then has proven that her heart for kids and people of other cultures, as well as her love for the Lord, runs very deep. In the past, she has consistently pursued opportunities to demonstrate the compassion and hospitality of Christ to those who feel like outsiders in our city.

Kristen has a unique set of gifts, skills, and experiences that make her an exceptional candidate for this new role as the Director of the Bhutanese Kids Outreach. People who know Kristen well talk about her love for kids, her whole-hearted investment in what she’s called to, her creativity as a teacher, and her skill as an administrator. Kristen’s commitment to serving Christ, her passion for sharing her life with the “stranger in our midst”, and her strong competencies as a teacher will make, and have already made, a significant impact on the families we serve. We are very excited about what the Lord will do in Kristen as well as what He will do through her in the Mission Adelante community.

Kristen's involvement is already wide spread with continued administration and organization of Kids Club, as well as deepening friendships with the kids - sharing the love of Christ to these wonderful boys and girls through both word and deed. I am so excited about this growing ministry, this new role and the passionate, servant-minded, competent leader that the Lord has called to guide and expand the Bhutanese Kids Outreach.

In other news:
  • Mission Adelante is celebrating five years of ministry in Kansas City, Kansas! You're invited to join us for an open house at 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS from 2:00 until 5:30 on Saturday, September 25, with a special program beginning at 3:30.
  • Daylin Rodriguez and some folks from Emmanuel Baptist Church presented a bilingual parenting workshop last weekend. Two Mission Adelante participants who were in attendance received Christ during the seminar!
  • Enjoy the Kansas City Wizards soccer game on September 11th and support Mission Adelante! Purchase your tickets online using the following link, type in the special offer code, "mission," and a portion of the proceeds from every ticket will go to Mission Adelante. Buy tickets!
  • Our Resource Center has been teeming with people coming to receive food, clothing, and other necessities on Saturday mornings.
Prayer needs:
  • God has answered our prayers for two families that have spent more than the past month dealing with crises. We're so thankful that God has delivered them from a major problem, and they've been reunited with one another.
  • Please continue to pray with us for two families in our church community that are still facing separation and crisis situations.
  • Praise God! Alberto, a member of our church community for whom we had asked for prayer, passed his United States Citizenship interview and is awaiting his swearing-in ceremony!
Current needs:
  • Paper grocery sacks for resource distribution in our Resource Center.
  • Cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, and dry pasta for distribution through our Resource Center.
Upcoming dates:
  • Volunteer Orientation- Saturday, September 11, 9:00-12:30 at Mission Adelante
  • Volunteer Team Meeting- Monday, September 13, 6:30-8:30 at Mission Adelante
  • Bhutanese Fall Trimester Launch- Tuesday, September 14, 6:30
  • Latino Fall Trimester Launch- Thursday, September 16, 6:30
  • Mission Adelante Five-Year Anniversary Open House- Saturday, September 25, 2:00-5:30 at Mission Adelante

The Adventure of the Bhutanese Outreach

Written by David Stetler

The Bhutanese Outreach Pilot Project's first trimester culminated on Saturday with the Spring Party as we celebrated the last 12 weeks. We shared a meal, sang and danced Nepali style, honored the community and lastly, we shared the transforming reality of the life and teachings of Jesus through the parable of the Good Samaritan.

In January the project was launched and since then, it has been such an adventure. Our Kids' Club has proven to be a place of belonging for the Bhutanese 5 to 12 year-olds. They have grown in their respect for others and their knowledge of God. The students in our adult English class have deepened their sense of confidence in their ability to speak and understand English. And lastly, the friendships that have developed through the outreach go beyond our programs and into the lives and homes of the Bhutanese where we get to share the love of Jesus in relationship through both word and deed.

We look forward to the Summer session as we continue to serve, share life and encourage the Bhutanese community here in KCK. Check out the video below...

In other news:
  • We're looking for more volunteers for adults and kids programs in both the Hispanic and Bhutanese outreaches. There are opportunities on weekday mornings, afternoons, and evenings, and you can come on board in early June or mid September. If you want to find out how you could make an eternal impact through Mission Adelante, please e-mail Morgan and let her know your area of interest and availability!
Prayer needs:
  • Many of you know Seth & Andrea Sears and family, who've just completed their first year of missionary life in Costa Rica. Andrea is traveling back to Kansas City today for about a week and a half, following the passing of her grandmother. Please pray for Andrea, for safe travels, and her time with her family, that she'd be comforted and a comfort to her family. Also, pray for Seth and the children during the absence of their wife/mother.
  • The team of twelve will depart a week from Friday for the short-term Missions Trip to Costa Rica. Please pray for the logistics of their travels, for their safety and health, and for their effectiveness in ministry while there.
Current needs:
  • Dining room chairs to help furnish the homes of newly-arrived Bhutanese families. Any quantities of chairs, matching or not, would be appreciated.
  • Toothpaste, dishes, and cooking pans for distribution through the Resource Center.

Partnership in the City and the Suburbs




Partnership in the City and the Suburbs

Partnership means a lot of things to different people. For Mission Adelante it means finding ways to create Kingdom-win relationships with other organizations whose purposes find alignment with ours in one or more areas. As an urban ministry reaching out to people who have very few physical resources, we have recognized from the beginning that we would need a lot of help from suburban partners. Excitingly, we have something to offer them as well; an opportunity to serve in a cross-cultural mission field right here in their own city!

We have felt from very early on that the suburban church in America has scores of people who are longing to find ways to invest personally and relationally in "the least of these". Too often though, meaningful ongoing opportunities for this are limited or out of reach the average person. Through Mission Adelante we have set out to create as many hands-on, relational opportunities to serve as possible so that we can help mobilize Christians in suburban churches to fulfill the calling God has placed on their hearts in a way that becomes a part of their ongoing lifestyle, and not just a one-time or occasional experience.

As an urban ministry, partnership for us has other applications as well that we are still exploring. What does it look like for us to partner with other urban ministries? The Hope Center in KCMO, for example, has been extremely helpful in giving us ideas for our Kids Adelante programs. And, Mercy and Truth Medical Missions has provided housing in our neighborhood for our summer interns.

Last Sunday night we experienced our deepest urban partnership opportunity yet as we came together with the Servant Community Church, another small church in our neighborhood, to do a joint baptism, baby dedication service and potluck dinner. The bilingual worship event had songs in English and Spanish, included nine baptisms and two dedications, and involved Hispanic, African American, Caucasian, and South-Asian participants. The ethnic diversity was an exciting glimpse of what Revelation 5:9 says when it declares that Jesus has purchased for God with his blood, people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. We are excited to continue pressing into the idea of partnership, both with our urban and our suburban ministry partners!

In Other News
  • Our Spring Party will held at Bethany Community Center on Saturday, April 18th at 5:30 p.m. We would love for you to come and bring your family!
  • On April 25th Molly Merrick and Megan McDermott will be holding a silent auction to raise funds for their staff roles with Mission Adelante. Everyone is invited! Click here to download Megan's invitation. Or... Click here to download Molly's invitation.
  • Buy Royal’s tickets to the May 16th game or the June 30th game and support Mission Adelante! When you purchase through the "buy tickets" link below, a portion of the proceeds will go to help us hire Megan McDermott as our Kids Adelante Director!
Prayer Requests
  • Praise God for answering our prayers for the Baptism Service last Sunday!
  • Please pray for a strong finish for our participants in our ESL, LIT, and Kids Adelante Programs
  • Please pray that God would use the celebration of His resurrection this weekend to draw people to Himself.
  • Please pray for God to raise up new volunteers for our ESL Level 1 and for the formation of a team of upper-level volunteers.
Resource Center Needs
  • Diapers, wipes and baby items
  • Staple Food items like rice, beans, sugar and cooking oil

Celebrating Nayeli's Baptism


Celebrating Nayeli's Baptism
I've known that Nayeli Leyva was a special kid since early on in her first trimester in Kids Adelante. She and her brothers began coming to Kids Adelante in the summer of 2007 after a group from Emmanuel Baptist church came to our neighborhood for a week to do a VBS-like program for kids in our neighborhood. The group of mostly high school and college kids went door-to-door handing out flyers to kids in a six-block radius around our home. Nayeli and her brothers came as a result of that invitation and have been coming ever since.

Nayeli had an early impact on the other kids in Kids Adelante. She was the first in her small group (10-12 year olds) to begin coming with her Bible verse memorized each week. By the end of the trimester others in the group had begun to follow her lead. It was because of this leadership and influence among her peers, as well as her consistency and positive attitude, that Nayeli was selected to participate in our pilot Leaders-In-Training (LIT) this year.

This Sunday, after nearly two years of involvement with Kids Adelante, a whole school year of participation in "LIT", and a number of ups and downs, Nayeli, along with five others, will be baptized. Nayeli's story is exciting for a number of reasons beyond the obvious celebration of a new life in Christ. Her journey includes investments made by many people, beginning with her mother and grandmother, who will be baptized this Sunday as well. The Emmanuel Baptist group made the first invitation. Several Kids Adelante volunteers have poured into her life. Our summer interns last year spent a lot of time with her. And more recently LIT volunteers have given her guidance and tutoring. Each one has played an important role in Nayeli's decision to follow Christ and her growth as a new believer.

Nayeli has a lot of hurdles to overcome in life, but I believe that God is constructing a foundation in her life that will be solid enough to build the kind of life on that will glorify Jesus. Please pray with us for the baptism event this weekend and for Nayeli as she continues to learn how to follow Jesus.

In Other News
  • Our Volunteer Team meeting will be held this Monday night, April 6 at 6:30 P.M. Volunteers in ESL, Kids Adelante and LIT are encouraged to attend.
  • Our Spring Party will held at Bethany Community Center on Saturday, April 18th at 5:30 p.m. We would love for you to come and bring your family!

Prayer Requests
Please pray for our Baptism Event this Sunday night. Pray that God would use it to draw people to Himself and to create a new of passion and purpose in the lives of those being baptized.

Resource Center Needs
  • Diapers, wipes and baby items
  • Staple Food items like rice, beans, sugar and cooking oil
  • Praise God for a donation of 300 lbs. of rice, beans, sugar and flour

The Power of a Praying Wife

The Power of a Praying Wife

Elaine Flores, the co-owner of the famous Paletería Michoacana (the ice cream shop where we first began to build relationships in the neighborhood), received Christ about a year ago through her involvement in one of Mission Adelante’s Bible studies. We had known Elaine and befriended her from early on in our time in this neighborhood. In fact, at the close of 2005, I had the privilege of performing Elaine and Juan’s wedding…in their ice cream shop. It was a unique experience to say the least, but from that time I have seen how the Lord has been at work in their lives.

Initially, Juan and Elaine were both open to talking about spiritual things, but had reservations about following Jesus. Through family members who had begun seeking the Lord, God brought Elaine to the place where she was ready to receive the gift and begin living her life as a child a God. Kristen had the opportunity to disciple Elaine as she began to grow, but her husband Juan kept his distance. Kristen and Elaine met nearly weekly for several months and Elaine often prayed for Juan.

Last week, after over a year of being prayed for by his wife, Juan finally took the big step of coming to our Bible study because HE wanted to. Please pray with us for Juan as he begins investigating what it means to be a follower of Christ. And all of you wives out there whose husbands haven’t yet decided to follow the Lord, remember; your changed life and your prayers may be what God uses to draw your husband into a relationship with Jesus! We all celebrated inside with Elaine and sat in amazement as Juan shared that his wife’s faith and life-change had caused him to consider the claims of Christ.

In Other News:
  • Buy Royal’s tickets to the May 16th game or the June 30th game and support Mission Adelante! When you purchase through the "buy tickets" link below, a portion of the proceeds will go to help us hire Megan McDermott as our Kids Adelante Director!

Prayer Requests
  • Please pray for Mission Adelante’s first baptism service scheduled for April 5th. Pray for those who have decided to be baptized as well as for those who are still considering it. Pray that the Lord will give us a real sense of celebration as a community and will galvanize the heart commitments of those new believers taking this important step.
  • Please pray for our Leaders in training program as we enter the final month of our pilot year. Pray that the kids and volunteers would finish strong. Pray that the Lord would solidify permanent life change in the kids.
Current Needs
  • Diapers, wipes and baby items
  • Staple Food items like rice, beans, sugar and cooking oil
  • Praise God for a donation of 300 lbs. of rice, beans, sugar and flour

Go to the Royals Game and Support Mission Adelante!


When you buy tickets through the link below, for either the May 16th game or the June 30th game, a portion of the ticket price will go to help Mission Adelante hire a director (Megan McDermott) for our Kids Adelante and LIT programs!

May 16 vs. Baltimore Orioles @ 6:10 p.m.
June 30 vs. Minnesota Twins @ 7:10 p.m.

Field Plaza: $22 Hy-Vee Box: $11 .

For more information on this event contact Tyler Riordan at (816)504-4475 or tyler.riordan@royals.com

Surprised by Compassion

Surprised by Compassion

When people asked Jesus what the greatest commandment in scripture was he replied, “To love the Lord your God…and to love your neighbor as yourself”. Of course, one listener needed to know exactly who Jesus meant by “your neighbor”. Jesus responded by telling the story of the Good Samaritan. To the Jews, the Samaritans were despised and rejected for racial, cultural and religious reasons. By putting the Samaritan in the role “the neighbor”, Jesus demonstrated that our compassion should extend to those who are typically rejected and despised. For Mission Adelante, this puts a compassion bulls-eye on the backs of Latino immigrants. Leviticus 19:34 connects the dots even more clearly. “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

Just as Jesus’ hearers must have been perplexed by the idea of a Samaritan showing compassion to a Jew, we have found that immigrants are as surprised as they are grateful to be the recipients of compassion from native born Americans. One of our core values says, “We believe that God calls Christians to demonstrate special compassion to “strangers”, going out of their way to show them compassion.” This kind of compassion surprises and disarms a people who have learned to be guarded, making them open to considering the claims of Jesus.

If you are interested in helping Mission Adelante reach this mission field in our own city, we would love to get you connected. We are now recruiting for our summer trimester. Please go to our website www.missionadelante.org to see more volunteer opportunities.

In Other News
  • Next week (March 15-21) Mission Adelante will be on Spring Break. ESL, Kids Adelante, LIT, and Spanish Classes will not meet.
  • Summer Internship Applications Due Soon! If you know someone who is interested in a summer internship in cross-cultural ministry, please have them email jarrettm@missionadelante.org for more information.
  • Pastors and community group leaders met at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church to discuss a cooperative effort at gang prevention in KCK.
  • Each week the number of families who are seeking help through our resource center increases. Last Saturday over 10 families came through and received basic food items, clothing, furniture and other essential items.

Prayer Requests

  • Please pray for the kids who participate in our LIT program to finish strong both in LIT and in school. The last few weeks have been challenging with attitudes, and problems for a few of the kids at school and at home.
  • Please continue to pray for the families in our community who are unemployed. Pray that God would provide for their needs.

Resource Center Needs

  • Food staples for what we call "Canasta Basica" or basic basket also go fast. One "Canasta Basica" contains: 2 bags of rice, 3 bags of beans, 1 box of Maizena, one bag of sugar, one bottle of cooking oil, 2 bags of pasta, 1 bag of flour. We love it when friends can bring a complete "Canasta Basica" already assembled!