In Community: January 2016 Newsletter
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Photos by Dave Bauson & Lois Swanson
It was a beautiful evening of worship and sharing the Christmas story together. A time to slow down and reflect on the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of New Things
By Pastor Craig
Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was writing an article for the New Year edition of the Grapevine. Now 2015, which seemed so new just a bit ago has now given way to another new year. What was once new becomes old and is replaced by something else new.
This cycle of new becoming old and being exchanged for something else new is a good lesson for us. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.” Unfortunately, it’s easy to become so comfortable with the things that became new in our lives long ago, that we cease to pursue new things anymore. We say “Well, that’s just the way I am” instead of seeking God’s help to grow in patience and grace. We say, “I’ve never done that before” instead of accepting new challenges and trying new things. We say “I’ve never met that person” instead of reaching out and expanding our circle of friends.
God is the God of new things. He gives us a new heart and a new life, He provides us with a new covenant, we sing to Him a new song and one day He will create a new heaven and a new earth. May 2016 be for us not only a new year on the calendar but a year filled with many new things as we are renewed day by day.
Howard Inouye: A Life Well-Lived
A Life History
Howard Fujio Inouye was born on July 5, 1930 in Seattle, WA to Tsuyoshi and Yayoi Inouye. He was the fifth of six children and the first of two sons. They were a close-knit, loving family. Howard’s education began as a kindergartner at the Japanese Baptist Church and later he attended Bailey Gatzert Elementary School until the outbreak of World War II.
In February of 1942, Executive Order 9066 was issued by President Roosevelt authorizing the forced relocation of all Japanese, whether citizens or not from areas deemed to be military zones. The Inouye family was ordered to leave their home and were moved to makeshift housing on the Puyallup fairgrounds and then subsequently to Minidoka, Idaho.
Howard continued to attend middle school at Minidoka until the war came to an end. His family returned to Seattle where Howard graduated from Garfield High School in 1948. He went on to pursue a degree in Mechanical engineering at UW and upon completion began work at the Boeing Company.
It was during his senior year of college that Howard was reading the Bible and seeking the answer to the question, “What happens to a person after he dies?”
In questioning death, Howard found the meaning of life which was so logically explained in the book of Romans. Prompted by examples of faith, like George Uomoto, and good friend Art Nagai, Howard committed his life to Jesus Christ—what he would say was the most important decision of his life.
He attended Faith Bible Church where he met Betty, his wife and partner in ministry for 55 years. They were blessed with four children and their spouses: Craig (Lisa), Jeanne (Kenji), Janice (Kimo) and Steve (Miku); and seven grand-children: Daniel, Jessica, Rachel, Jonathan, Kayci, Amana, and Emma.
Howard worked two stints at Boeing (for a total of 11 years). After his first five years at Boeing, God led Howard into teaching where he joined the staff of King’s school, first teaching all subjects to 7th graders, and then as a math teacher. His forty-plus year career in education included teaching math at King’s and Christian Academy in Japan. He officially retired from King’s in 2001, but continued to tutor students needing help in math.
At Faith Bible he served as pastor, teacher, Bible study leader, and long-time Executive and Elder board member. He was looked to for guidance, leadership, and wisdom. He was a faithful servant who, along with Betty, regularly visited those in need of comfort and encouragement.
Whatever his role, he always gave thanks to God and was diligent in studying His Word. He prayed without ceasing for his family and friends—indeed, everyone in attendance today. God has led his life step-by-step and on November 13, 2015, God chose to take Howard home to be with Him. He died quickly of a stroke as he looked forward to attending one of his grandchildren’s sporting events.
His life is best summed up, “To God be the Glory! Great things He has done!”
A Friend to All
By John Nakamura
How has Howard impacted your life? What made him a good friend? What was there about you for him to want you as a friend? The Scriptures tell us that a man who has friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Howard was my best man at our wedding, and he has been standing by my side the past 60+ years. He was always there for me, during good times and bad. He was always encouraging, never was he critical nor judgmental. He always saw the good in me. I enjoyed his company and trusted him completely. It is written that a friend loves at all times, and that was Howard to his family, to you, and to me.
He showed friendliness through his caring and thoughtful ways.
Every Sunday morning after prayer time he would go to Keiro Nursing Home to visit a high school friend who happened to live across the street from me when I was in junior high. This friend is legally blind and though admittedly not a religious person, he always looked forward to Howie’s visits. They talked about the good old days, and Howie would read scripture and pray with him.
In high school and after Howard was friends of a group known as the Monarchs under the mentorship of Dr. Terrance Toda, founder of Seattle Vision Clinic. They met together to socialize with each other, but primarily they were part of a team playing baseball and basketball sponsored by Dr. Toda. They became lifetime friends along with their wives. A couple of others from Faith were part of this group: Art Nagai and Doc Hoshiwara. Art was my brother-in-law and a close friend of Howard. They were like Abbot and Costello, two famous comedians from days past. Whenever they were together, there would be laughter. They passed away in a similar way: excessive bleeding of the brain, both in ICU at Harborview, both taken by the Lord at the hospital and now both at Washelli only 120 paces from each other. A member who was not Christian said that he deeply respected Howie for his dedication to Jesus Christ and that he was never pushy in his faith. He was a friend to all, no matter the color of your skin, your beliefs, your lot in life. He was a friend for life.
Some people knew him as a terrific teacher. They knew him either as a colleague, a student in his class, or a parent who had a student in his class. Besides being a great, caring, loving teacher, his teaching went beyond the classroom. Case in point, there was a student who came from China whose mother was here to attend classes at UW. The student didn’t know much English but understood math. She did not have many friends if any at all, so Mr. Inouye would have lunch with her on a daily basis. Shortly thereafter, her father passed away unexpectedly. Later she told Howard that when she got married she wanted him to escort her down the aisle. This past summer in Hawaii, Mr. Inouye and her mother proudly walked her down the aisle.
After retirement Howard started a Bible Study at FBC. (He was still teaching!) He taught us books of the Bible that would prepare us for when God would take us from this earth or when Jesus would return to set up His earthly kingdom. Our group has become a tight knit group because of him and would like to continue, but no one could ever fill his shoes or would even try to attempt to take over the class.
Howard was probably the most dedicated Christian I ever knew. He was a true follower of Jesus, just like the disciples who walked with Jesus. He faithfully taught God’s Word and preached it. He faithfully visited the sick, the lonely, those in nursing homes on a regular basis. He loved singing. Whenever there was a group of people no matter what the occasion, there would be singing. He enjoyed the songs of the forties, especially those of the days of World War II. Do you remember songs like White Christmas, In the Mood, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Don’t Fence Me In, Sentimental Journey, Swinging on a Star? A time of singing was one of the highlights of our Senior Socials. He led singing every month at Nikkei Manor and more recently a group of seniors in Bellevue. Howard has served the Lord with gladness and has come into His presence with singing, and I could picture him leading the angels in heaven.
There need not be too much sorrow because Howard was ready to complete his journey on this earth, but most of us were not ready to let him go. A month ago he wrote the following: One reason why we should study God’s Word is that I do realize that my days are numbered. I truly am grateful for each day the Lord graciously gives for me to hopefully grow spiritually and to be used by Him. Howard lives through each of us today. He wants us to be friends to each person who God puts in our lives. He wants us to love and care for them for he knows that a friend loveth at all times.
The last chapter that Howie was preparing for Bible Study was Acts 7 where Stephen was stoned, and the chapter ended by saying he fell asleep. Howie was weak and bruised, and he fell asleep getting the rest he richly deserved. Betty, his soulmate and helpmate who forever stood by his side was holding his hand and with her face close to his chest started singing the doxology: Praise God from Whom all blessings flow and all those in the room began to sing with her, and we were ready to let him go realizing that God needed him more than we did and thanking God for the time that Howard was in our lives. To God be the glory great things He hath done.
ROCK Christmas
By Melissa Yutuc
Mid-day on December 21st, a group of 7 high-schoolers and the leaders (Kenji, Jeanne, Vernon, Melissa, and Alisa) had the opportunity to spend some time in Downtown Seattle, taking in the Christmas lights and the chaos of shoppers. We began our afternoon with a trip to Westlake Mall where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch together. Once we were all well fed, we headed to, where else, Nike for a bit of shopping where Jeanne and the girls even got a picture with some Seahawks players (well, mannequins in Sea-hawks gear)! From there, we patiently waited to view the expertly crafted gingerbread houses displayed in the Sheraton Hotel. We all had a fun, enjoyable day out, just spending time together and enjoying each other’s company.
Merry Christmas from all the ROCK leaders!
Seniors Ministry Christmas
By Kevin Chan
When Howard Inouye sent out the Christmas luncheon invita-tion back on November 3rd, he must have fully anticipated being here to greet everyone on the morning of December 5th. He was often known as the life of the party. He would traverse the room chatting it up with everyone. All he had to do was smile and everyone knew that the Lord’s love was shining through him.
Uncle Howie, as we loved calling him, was the true corner-stone of our Seniors Ministry. He always served and led by example. From the early days of our ministry, he would be among the first ones here to set up the tables and chairs until being one of the last ones sweeping the floor when it was all done.
Uncle Howie truly loved all our seniors. Even though he was suddenly called home to be with our Heavenly Father, in true Howard Inouye fashion (as he was such a perfectionist), he set it all into motion months ago and left us the blueprint to fol-low for this celebration. Uncle Howie would have been here cheering everyone on to sing and have a blessed time as we rejoiced in the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our festivities again started off with an ice-breaker game. Watson Louie and our young helpers introduced our 100+ guests to a game called “Heads Up.” One person at each table placed a card to his/her fore-head that showed the answer, while the rest of the people at their table gave him/her clues to guess what that answer was. There were five rounds to the game and our guests took turns guessing after each round. The five categories included: the Nativity theme, local personalities, food theme, winter theme and simple winter theme. It was hilarious hearing people laugh and shout: Baby Jesus, Bruce Lee, Peking Duck, fruit cakes, apple cider, Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty, mittens, snow angels and more.
Pastor Mike led us in prayer, thanking the Lord for our time together and asked for His blessing upon our food. Our menu included: marinated flank steak, rotisserie chicken, sushi, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and beans, Mandarin orange salad, sweet rolls, fruit platter, homemade apple and pumpkin pies with ice cream!
As usual, Uncle Jim Spray had a couple of jokes for us after lunch, right be-fore his aerobics routine. “Where does a snow man keep his money? In a snow bank of course! And what is Frosty the Snow-man in the month of May? Yes, a puddle!” Uncle Jim then led everyone through some boxing moves along with some dance moves, cross punches, quick jabs and blocks.
Pastor Mike playing the ukulele with Kerry Watanabe on piano led all of us in singing some Christmas carols that included: Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, and White Christmas.
Sheila Matsuda-Chan and Marguerite Sandico escorted their aunt, Mary Matsuda Gruenewald, up to begin the sharing time. Auntie Mary (now in her 90’s) grew up on her family’s farm on Vashon Island during the 1920’s and 30’s. She told us how her older brother, Yoneichi (Sheila and Mar-guerite’s dad) was such a great role model, as he showed her that it was really okay to excel and to lead, even if you looked so very different from everyone else.
While growing up, Mary’s past time primarily included working in the fields and helping Mama-san in the kitchen. “It was a good life,” Mary pro-claimed. Respectful parents stood out to Isseis for us/the Niseis, because of their numerous and different challenges. She fondly remembered that whenever the pastor of the Seattle Japanese Methodist Church came over to hold services at their home, all the other Japanese families on Vashon joyfully came over to attend. Mary especially remembered singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, as she sang in English while everyone else sang in Japanese.
Mary (at age 17) with her family was forcibly relocated into internment camps during WWII. She remembered how difficult and sad it was for them to leave Frisky and Kitty (their dog and cat) behind, as the U.S. soldiers came to escort them away and gave them their family number, #19788. While in camp, Yoneichi enlisted in the U.S. Army (he was a member of the 442nd), Mary enlisted in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps as an opportunity to leave camp, to complete her formal education and to serve her country.
As WWII concluded, Mary went on to work for Group Health Co-Op and became a head nurse and then a nurse manager for many years. During her career, she founded the 24/7 Consulting Nurse Services, which became a national model for many hospital systems. Only after retirement did she take up a writing course and begin putting her memoirs on paper for her children. With encouragement from family and friends, she published her first book at age 80 entitled “Looking Like The Enemy.” Her latest book is titled, “Becoming Mama San.”
Mary closed by stating that God gave them challenges to strengthen them, so that they would place their faith firmly in the Lord and that all will be okay. To her, Christmas means the birthday of our Lord Jesus, who paid the ultimate price for all of us.
Pastor Craig then introduced Rod Kobayashi to everyone. Most of us wouldn’t know it by seeing this quiet and unassuming gentleman sitting in Sunday service with his lovely wife, Verna, but Rod is a retired Major General of the United States Army. But hold on, as we also learned that Verna is a Senior Attorney for King County. They are a super neat couple. Rod and Verna actually met while doing charity work at a church in Hollywood, California. And they’ve been married for 34 years now.
Rod grew up on his family’s ranch on the Big Island of Hawaii. He’s one of five children. He recalled having really fun times growing up, from playing with B-B guns on the ranch to surfing the big waves with the rest of the kids. Rod especially remembered how excited he was when he got a chemistry kit for a Christmas present one year.
Rod originally majored in Math and Chemistry at the University of Hawaii. He joined the U.S. Army/Hawaii National Guards in 1966. He clearly remembered that day he went surfing in 1968 and all of a sudden he heard that his brigade got called up. Pastor Craig lightheartedly said that must have been when the U.S. government gave those all expenses paid visits to Vietnam. Rod felt so very fortunate that he was in a special unit, as his group got to fly back to the U.S. from Vietnam one Christmas, they got a nice hot shower, a turkey dinner, and a very precious phone call home to their family.
Subsequently, Rod was sent to officer candidate school, which gave him additional training. But more importantly, it kept him alive, which Rod proclaimed as truly a God thing. As Rod continued in his military career, he was called to be a Ranger Instructor. He later joined the Special Forces and learned to fight in the jungles along with mercenaries, as he became an Exploitation and Reconnaissance Leader. Each and every step of the way, God faithfully brought Rod home safely.
Over the years, Rod rose progressively up the ranks and received his first star as a Brigadier General in 1999. And then he received his second star that promoted him to Major General in 2001. Rod spent a tour in Iraq after the 9/11 attacks. Rod stated that generals who lead from the front are the very best officers. Rod praises the Lord and proclaims that it’s truly a God thing, as God supported him every step of the way and provided him with great mentorship. Rod finally retired from the U.S. Army in 2006, after a very distinguished 40 years career. Rod is now retired from his position as an executive with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Auntie Betty Inouye then came up and took a moment to thank everyone for their prayers and support of the Inouye family in recent days. She said, “This is just the beginning of God’s amazing plan, as Howard must have been shocked to be in the presence of the Lord so quickly and rejoicing with Him this Christmas. Jesus Christ is to be praised!” She also said that she can’t sing like Howard, but she sang beautifully, as she led in our closing song, “Amazing Grace.”
Pastor Craig summed it all up by confirming what Rod had clearly pointed out earlier: A great general leads from the front, as did Howard Inouye, because our Almighty God goes before us and leads us! Amen!
College/Young Career Christmas
By Danny Cohen
“I’m thankful.” (x100) -Marshawn Lynch
While Marshawn might have been saying this over and over again in response to the media badgering him, I’ve found my-self saying this same thing over and over again in the last few months in response to the ways God has been truly working through our college/young career fellowship group.
I’m thankful… because of the way God has clearly been working to expand the number of students within the college group. Not only have the number of students increased, but it’s amazing to see the diverse collection of students and recent grads that God brought from different campuses (UW Seattle, UW Bothell, Seattle U, Edmonds Community College, and Seattle Pacific University to name a few). Our group has grown so much that we have been meeting in the larger fellowship space downstairs and even got some fancy, folding partitions to make the space more intimate.
I’m thankful… because to be honest, I didn’t think anyone was anticipating this exponential growth of college students within the last couple of years at Faith Bible. God showed His provision, but the growth challenged us in new ways as we strived to maintain an intentional, tight-knit group of brothers and sisters in Christ. The Sunday School teachers have started to break up our large group into small group discussions so that we could have more intimate conversations. While this was extremely effective, there were still Sundays where I felt like I wasn’t able to connect with everyone within our group. And this is why I am so so so thankful for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Fellowship meetings because they filled that gap and really brought our very large group closer to one another.
I’m thankful… for the Thanksgiving party that was held at the Tsuji household in Lynnwood (as usual)! The place was packed and in a heartbeat, all of our stomachs were packed with the most delicious food from the best cooks at Faith Bible. It was so easy to just mingle around the packed house and talk to some of the students that I usually don’t get to talk to during school or even at church. John Tsuji led the fellowship in group games and talented Justin Kumai & company led musical worship afterward. Even though I can still remember how good the food was that night, the thing that I will re-member most about that fellowship night was the open time of sharing of thanks after the musical worship. There was laughter, tears, and warm hearts in the contagious chain of sharing that night. God moved so greatly and I saw our whole fellowship leave with huge hearts of thanks…. and big boxes of leftovers too 🙂
I’m thankful… that even amidst finals week and dead week we had our Christmas fellowship meeting. (Mostly) everyone showed up in festive attire and the ambiance was full of joy and happiness as everyone sampled all of the yummy appetizers and holiday sweets that were lovingly prepared by so many, including the Senior Ministry Committee. After the Christmas dinner, we then grouped together to play a holiday version of “Family Feud” where our very own Faith Bible kids provided the most … unique answers to the questions. Joy and laughter filled the room. We began to focus in on the true meaning of Christmas by reading scripture and had another great musical worship time led by Justin Kumai & company. We wrapped up the night by unwrapping gifts in our annual fellowship-wide gift exchange. Many students received gift cards to Starbucks and Chipotle, a few received hand written encouragement cards and candy, and one person even received pairs of emergency underwear. But at the end of the night, we were able to recognize that everyone received the best gift of all: Jesus, our Savior.
I’m thankful.
Career Christmas
By Hannah Esposito
The Career Ministry Christmas party was held on December 6th at the Esposito’s home. The group had a potluck dinner and then played a number of card and party games. Career Ministry gatherings tend to be a good place for new people to connect and learn a bit about the Faith Bible Church community, and this party was no exception. Laughter and getting to know new friends took precedent over real competitiveness in the games. In fact, we were having such a good time that we forgot to take any pictures, and one had to be created after the fact in true silly Career Ministry style.
Sacred Road Christmas
By Rieko Kato
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7)
Thank you for bringing Christmas gifts for the Sacred Road Christmas ministries. The youth Christmas party had over 100 teens and everyone received a gift. Santa Claus Joshua and two elves made the evening extra bright and fun. The children and youth may not know who or which church donated the gifts, and we will not be receiving a thank you note from individuals in Yakama, but it may be a greater blessing to us for it could be more precious in God’s sight to give without recognition. Thank you for being a part of the FBC family who shares His love and prays for the poor and for neighbors who are not like us. Your feet are beautiful in His sight. Thank you for being His tool.
– Rieko Kato
A Christmas Letter
From Veronica, an administrator of The Sacred Road Ministries:
What happens when you ask the kids on the church bus if they want to take a group picture? A lot of excitement and a lot of “did you take the picture yet?” and “can I see?”
Driving the church bus has been one of my tremendous joys. I’m the first one to see them on Sunday mornings with bed heads and groggy grins. They especially love it when I bring mini donuts. I always get asked if we can play the “Quiet Game.” That’s right – it’s exactly what the title implies. A bus driver’s dream come true! But I act disinterested in playing and try to put it off which only increases the children’s appetite to play. “All right, all right, we can play” I say, which gets them excited. The Quiet Game doesn’t last long, but I will tell you there are some serious players. Once, I had to back track to take a kid home because I forgot he was on the bus. When I asked why he didn’t say anything when I passed his house, he said, “I was playing the Quiet Game.” The little ones are trying to understand the rules of the Quiet Game. One little boy thought it meant holding your breath, so I had to tell him it was ok to breathe.
I know for most of them, this is their time to get away from a chaotic house and onto a bus that they know will take them to a loving church family. John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” There is a lot of darkness on the Reservation. It’s literally dark because of the rural setting, but also there is spiritual oppression and darkness. The work of Sacred Road is shining a light to an unreached people by sharing the hope of the Gospel. The light of Jesus is shining here on this Reservation and the promise we hold on to is that the darkness will not overcome it. Let’s celebrate the Light of the world for what he had done in our lives and what He is doing now!
Thank you for your continued prayers and support through the years.
Merry Christmas,
-Veronica
Bill’s Book Blurbs
By Bill Hamasaki
Delighting in God, by A.W. Tozer
This author’s last written book was entitled The Knowledge of the Holy and it is considered a devotional classic. It has influenced the lives of many to think deeply about the attributes of God. He believed that “what we think about God infiltrates every aspect of our lives.” It is one of those books that after reading a chapter or so, one has to put it down to contemplate his profound thinking about God.
In this never before published follow-up to The Knowledge of the Holy, “based upon sermons Dr. Tozer preached in a variety of places, we see the burden of his heart. Most of the sermons associated with this book were preached after the publication of The Knowledge of the Holy. Even though he wrote the book, he could not exhaust the theme of that book.”
In this book (compiled and edited by James L. Snyder), the author “demonstrates how the attributes of God-those things God has revealed about himself-are a way to understand the Christian life of worship and service. Because we were created in the image of God, to understand who we are, we need to understand who God is and allow His character and nature to be reflected through us. We are here to serve and adore Him, and we can only fulfill that role by acknowledging who He is. This is the essence of the Christian life and the source of all our fulfillment, joy, and comfort.”
As we begin a new year, these two books will provide much needed perspective and conviction to live lives that are pleasing to God. They will also help to clarify any misunderstandings we may have about God and who He really is.
