The Gift of Friendship Across Cultures

The Gift of Friendship Across Cultures

by Laina Willoughby, Volunteer at Refugee Youth Club

Four years ago when I first googled “volunteer opportunities with refugees in Kansas City” I didn’t know I was about to discover one of the best ways anyone can spend Tuesday evenings in our city. Over my time here, I’ve gotten to watch the growth of a program. But it’s been more than that. I’ve been inspired by watching how the leaders around me invest in their own community.

People like Phul Maya, Laxmi, and Ranjana willingly, graciously, and humbly taken on responsibilities within their Nepali community. They have (probably unknowingly) challenged me to search out opportunities to help those around me to flourish. My fellow volunteers in the Refugee Youth Club have shown me the value of inserting oneself into the lives of teens. We strive to be a stable loving influence that models and speaks of the power of the Gospel.

My favorite thing though, has been watching the young women of the Refugee Youth Club grow in the wisdom and stature of God and of man (Luke 2:52). They juggle their teenage years with one foot in Nepali culture, and another in KCK High Schools. As each of them have learned how to dance in and out of two worlds, I have been impressed by their grace and stamina. 

Through my time serving first with Refugee Kids Club, and then with Refugee Youth Club I received the gift of friendship across cultures and ages.

Thank you for your investment in our community, Laina!

Children's Ministry Director Hired!

by Jarrett Meek, Founder/Pastor/Executive Director

We’re pleased to announce that our very own Carla Flores is returning to our staff as our new Children’s Ministry Director. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing young people from our neighborhood becoming leaders in our own community!

As many of you know, Megan (McDermott) Fountain will be transitioning from our staff in November, after 12 years serving the children of our neighborhood. What a legacy she is leaving! And, what an exciting opportunity to pass the baton to a well-equipped emerging leader in our community, who will carry it for the next leg of the journey! Carla brings with her rich experiences and a deep connection to the challenges and opportunities kids in our neighborhood face. Her own journey is a model for so many others to follow. Many of you may remember that Carla graduated from a two-year apprenticeship with Mission Adelante in 2020. Around the same time, she also graduated with her teaching degree and began teaching second grade at Silver City elementary school, in our own district. She is looking forward to using the gifts and skills she developed as a teacher, combined with her own personal experiences and the training she received at Mission Adelante to continue investing in kids from our community. We are so proud and excited to welcome Carla (back) to the team!

Carla is set to begin her new role with Mission Adelante on August 2nd. Because she is already so familiar with our ministry and community, we anticipate that she will be able to start leading after a few of weeks of specific training and orientation. With this new development, we will be able to reduce Megan's responsibilities over the fall trimester to give her a bit of a break and allow Carla to start the new trimester leading in her new area. Though Megan will continue her employment with Mission Adelante through Novemeber 13th, we've decided to move up her thank you celebration to August 14th, to give her a sense of closure, as her program leadership responsibilities wrap up before the fall trimester begins.

Megan’s thank you celebration will be held at Mission Adelante on Saturday, August 14th from 1pm-3pm in open house format. All are welcome to attend!

Megan (McDermott) Fountain to Transition in November

Megan with kids at Kids Adelante (fall 2007)

by Jarrett Meek, Pastor/Executive Director

It’s hard to find words to express the depth of impact Megan (McDermott) Fountain has had in the Mission Adelante community over the 14 years since she began serving as a volunteer. After volunteering for a year, Megan became part of our first class of Summer Interns in 2008, and then joined our staff full-time in 2009, eventually becoming our Children’s Ministry Director. Kids who first met Megan 14 years ago in Kids Adelante are now sending their own children to the program and seeking out Megan for trusted counsel and support in many life situations. Megan’s long-term, life-on-life investment in kids has always begun when they’re young, but continues on in new ways as they grow and mature. She now not only leads children’s programs, but mentors a generation of young mothers who have grown up in the loving care of a tenacious friend and advocate.

Recently, Megan has let us know that she will be leaving her role at Mission Adelante, in November. Life is that way- a season for everything, and Megan is in a new season of life, ready for a role that more easily synchronizes with her husband’s schedule. The years of faithful service and beautiful personal investment make it easy to celebrate Megan and cheer for her as she looks ahead to her next steps. Yet, we’re all wondering, “what will we do without Megan?”

November is five months away- a long time, and a short time! We’re already starting to talk about a send-off for Megan in conjunction with our Thanksgiving Open-house on November 20th. And, we’re hoping to hire an outstanding successor for Megan as soon as August 1st, so that he or she will have the opportunity to walk alongside Megan for a few months in the fall. You will hear more about both of these things in coming posts and announcements, but for now, please “save the date” for the afternoon of November 20th to celebrate Megan, and feel free to pass along this link to our Children’s Ministry Director job description to anyone you think might be a good fit for this very important role at Mission Adelante!

Calling All Volunteers! 📣

Few activities do more to fan the flame of compassion and promote mutual understanding than serving in a relational volunteer role at a ministry like Mission Adelante. There is just something about investing time in building relationships and serving with people from other backgrounds that causes us to grow. It’s faith in practice. It’s seeing the God-given dignity in people from all places. It’s making a difference! The Mission Adelante community invites YOU to serve with us this summer!

Julie Strohmeier has been serving with Mission Adelante since 2007! It’s hard to measure the impact someone makes when they invest so many years in children from our community. Hear about Julie’s experience in her own words in this brief video above!

If you’re interested in jumping in with us for the summer, we’d love to have you join us for our Volunteer Orientation Seminar on Saturday, May 22nd from 9:00am to 12:30pm. Here you’ll get a deep dive into our mission, get to know our staff members and their stories, and be equipped to serve in one of our ministry programs for the summer. You can let us know you’re coming and indicate your area of interest by clicking the button below. We’re especially needing volunteers to help with our kids outreach program on Thursday afternoons and our Arts program on Monday evenings.

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