Why I Love Kansas City

Of all the places in the world, why Kansas City? This is the question that I’ve heard the most these past 5 months after moving here from Puerto Rico. I would love to say it was the BBQ, but the real reason: community.

Four summers ago I was placed at the KCK site as a Site Director to lead mission trips for YouthWorks. Back then, I did not know a lot about Kansas other than the story of the Wizard of Oz. But it didn’t take me long to fall in love with this community. First, it was the cultural diversity: Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Africans, Indians and Caucasians.

Then, I met people like Pastor Rick, who was born and raised in here and who, despite all the social and economical challenges, decided to stay and invest in this community. With love, he welcomed Hispanic people into his church, and decided to serve them and help them fight for their rights.

I met people like Lee, who saw the needs of the youth in this community and decided to move into the neighborhood and open a ministry to help keep them off the streets and in a loving, safe place.

I met people like Greg, who decided to quit his job to serve full-time the families in this community by improving their homes.

So many people here are committed to working together, despite their differences, to show the love of God with perseverance and a servant’s heart. The best part: They welcomed me, my staff and many other churches with open hearts. They let us serve this community alongside them. This showed me the true meaning of community service, and demonstrated what the book of Acts says about God’s plan for this world since the beginning: for people to be saved through reconciliation with God and each other, and for us to share in service together. Today, four years later, I have the privilege of being a part of that community service.

Naomi Tolentino grew up in a missionary family, enjoying meeting new people and learning about new cultures. She loves working with youth, which led her to be a high school teacher and work in the Youth Specialties office near her home in Puerto Rico. Her obsession with coffee kept her energized to serve five summers with YouthWorks, including three in the Kansas City area, were she currently lives and teaches.