In Community:

June 2019 Newsletter

The Daily Grind

by Pastor Dave Bauson

“Oh, man, things just keep heaping up!” gushes forth from somewhere deep inside. “Someone hear my complaint!” I recite to myself, as I’m washing dishes at about 1pm on Saturday. My litany of internal grumbling grows louder with each plate I scrub.

Let me give you some context. First thing when I got up, I started – but didn’t finish – washing the pile of dishes left over from Friday. After breakfast I resumed working on “all my ministry stuff.” Church stuff, Thailand missionary stuff, service-for-the-Lord stuff, leaving-Seattle stuff… The list grows each day, so each day I say to myself “That’s way too much stuff!”

While I’m working on all my stuff, my nine-year-old son interrupts and interrogates me “How many minutes until we eat lunch?” Testily I reply, “Considering that we ate breakfast about an hour ago, I’d say that we’ll eat after at least another 120 minutes.”

Akiko has to work today so I’m playing Mr. Mom. The prospect of having to make lunch and supper, then wash dishes again after each meal makes me about as happy as a lawyer who’s just flunked his third try at the Bar Exam. Wash the clothes, mow the lawn, change the car oil… Reading my “honey do” list makes me feel like I’ve been sentenced to 30 years of hard labor. “How are we ever going to be ready to leave for Thailand?” joins the chorus of complaint!

Almost lost in the cacophony of complaint comes this tiny voice. “Life would have been just as mundane waiting in the wilderness for God. But then you’d habitually turn your head and mark the Cloud’s place. When it moved you’d pack up and follow — ‘It’s Now or Never!’” The voice gets stronger as my focus sharpens. A chorus soon starts and another voice rises: “Didn’t Solomon say something like ‘Fear and worship God, enjoy what He has given you, and call your labors good’?”

Now I have to reconsider my litany. I had to wash dishes in the morning because our family stayed up late watching Japanese TV. The pot I’m scrubbing is where I popped homemade kettle corn for our snack. The bowls held a great-tasting curry that Hikari cooked for supper. The plates carried Akiko’s breakfast to the table. I love my family life!

What about all the time needed for the “ministry stuff?” I won’t be able to do a good work unless it’s by His power and I can’t force His hand. So fretting over not having enough time is more “Martha-ish” than it is “Mary-ish” if you remember your book of Luke. Not that I should shirk my duties, but I should work at the time and pace that God gives me. I still have to do it all, but I can enjoy my relationship with God and others through it all.
It’s evening now; God opened up some time to finish this article. I feel much better about how the day He has given me has gone. I see more clearly that God is using everything to prepare us for work in Thailand. He’s preparing everything for the work He’ll use us for over there. When it’s time to move on, He’ll let us know, we’ll obey, and we’ll get under way.

There goes the buzzer on the clothes dryer. And I have to get supper ready! But we have a great evening coming up. Because each and every day is God’s gift to us.

ROCK (High School) Clam Digging

By Stacie Lee

Clams, clams, clams! So many clams! The ROCK Ocean Shores event from May 17th to the 19th was a blast and the Lord provided His safety, protection, and joyful fellowship for the group! Nine ROCKers and three ROCK leaders traveled out to the Washington coast on Friday night. The three hour drive gave the students plenty of time to goof off and have their own lip-sync battles. After some confusion over which house was ours, everyone got settled into our three story home for the weekend. Yes, one car’s group may have walked into the wrong (luckily, unoccupied) house, but it was so nice of them to help clean another home! The correct house was already opened and set up by the friendly faces of Roney, Sharen Rustia, and Jana Kumasaka. Later in the night, the students had one last lip sync battle between the boys and girls, which they recorded and provided lots of entertainment for the leaders. (They might be embarrassed that this is being mentioned in here, but we love how silly and comfortable they are with one another).

Due to an early low tide, there was a 6:30 am wake up call. NO sleeping in on this trip! Luckily, the rain held off in the morning. However, the clams were not as cooperative as the weather. 42 clams were caught between the 12 clam diggers, with lots of help from Jana and Sharon spotting dimples in the sand where the clams were hiding. It was a bit of a struggle but thankfully, we caught just enough for dinner. It was the first time clamming for a few of the ROCKers and it was awesome to see all of them work together, tag-teaming, and doing whatever it took to get those clams. Isamu and Nathan F. were the power team and probably caught the most clams. Also, Chris Jo caught three times as many clams as last year, so three clams. Good job, Chris!

Despite the early and rough clam digging morning, we had time to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. The weather was perfect in the quaint town of Seabrook, so we were able to play outdoor volleyball, kickball, take a special guided tour of the town by Chris Jo and walk on the beach, all before it was time for dinner. While the ROCKers were playing, relaxing, and even doing some homework, Jana, Sharon, and Roney were preparing the food for dinner. Tempura clams, katsu clams, and clam chowder. Who knew that razor clams could be cooked in so many different and delicious ways? Thanks to Jana for all her hard work in cleaning out the clams and cooking them too! We had even more food, like salad and kalbi beef, prepared by the Kumais. The night ended with snacks, games, a birthday video production for our other ROCK leader Ellison, and even completing a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle.

Sunday was another early morning, leaving the house around 6:30 am. All the students got up, some feeling sore from Saturday, but ready for a second chance. And we were rewarded with great clamming conditions!! Even though it was raining, no one wanted to leave because of the great success we were having and knowing the clams we caught would be given to those who graciously lent us equipment. We caught a total of 84 clams and a handful of sand dollars between the 8 remaining clam diggers. It was awesome! Roney pointed out that in the craziness of Saturday, they had forgotten to pray, but Sunday morning, we prayed and God supplied like in John 21! For the rest of the day, Roney cleaned the clams and we cleaned the house, ate all our leftovers, and headed back home to Seattle.

Overall, this trip was exactly what we prayed for, to grow this community closer in fellowship. Our ROCK group has such great energy and they all have so much to offer as individuals to the collective group. The Lord truly watched over the group, providing safety on our drives and clams to catch. Again, a BIG thank you to our outdoor specialists, Roney and Sharon Rustia, our professional level chef, Jana Kumasaka, and for all of those who let us borrow waders, clam guns, and other supplies.

Senior Spring Social

by Kevin Chan

The May 18th, Saturday morning started off perfectly, as it was warm and mild to match our luncheon’s tropical theme!  By 9:30am, our committee was busy in the FBC kitchen prepping and cooking away, while Nancy Fujimoto was busy putting the finishing touches on the table decorations with fresh cut flowers from her garden.

Gloria Nakamura must have heard all the laughter and chit-chat going on, so she left her greeter’s post and ran into the kitchen to help toss the salad and joined in the fun!  Steve and Sue were seasoning the colorful yams for roasting, while Matthew and Kulani were seasoning and mixing the cabbage in with the smoked pork.  Diane and Marguerite were dicing up the chicken meat for Sheila to mix into the noodles.  Can you believe it?  Eddie even snuck in a hug with his wife to show his support.  Alright, let’s get back to work Eddie and start brewing that coffee for our guests, as they’ll start arriving soon!

Hey, why was Kevin on his hands and knees on the kitchen floor?  He had fallen and he can’t get up!  Nah, just kidding!  We have a great feast to cook up and we needed all the ovens going, so he was manually lighting the conventional ovens.  Keoki then got all the chilled ingredients out to start making the tasty punch for our guests.  It’s been five months since our last Seniors social, so many of our guests were excited and started arriving early.  Our greeters were all busy helping our guests to their tables and seats.

Ken Tanase, our resident photographer, started off the festivities by giving a very warm welcome to everyone present.  As he was doing so, he took the liberty of snapping a few selfies with all the guests seated around the room.

Once again, Watson introduced everyone to another challenging game for the ice-breaker activity.  This one was called “Game Show Trivia.”  So, let’s see how much everyone really knows with a few of the questions…

Q: Which game show has the largest viewership?  A: Wheel of Fortune
Q: What is the longest running game show?  A: Price is Right
Q: Who is the longest serving game show host?  A: Pat Sajak, since 1981
Q: What is Jeopardy’s average viewer age?  A: It’s 65 in 2019, but it was 70 back in the year 2000
Q: What is the first letter ever turned on Wheel of Fortune?  A: The letter “T”
Q: What is the most correct answer given on Jeopardy?  A: “What is China”
Q: Has Vanna White ever worn the same outfit twice?  A: Nope, as she has over 6,000 outfits!
Q: Who is the largest monetary winner on Jeopardy?  A: Brad Rudder with over $4 million
Q: What was the first game show ever televised on TV?  A: Spelling Bee, way back in 1938
Q: What is the largest amount of money won on Wheel of Fortune?  A: Over $1 million

Wow, nobody got them all right!  Pastor Mike came up to pray for our time together and for our food.  So, the table that came up with the most names of different game shows from around the world (for the bonus round of the icebreaker) got to go to the buffet line first…and there was a table that came up with 16 names!  Our menu included: kalua pork, kalbi beef, sesame chicken noodles, roasted yams, rice, cabbage salad, sweet rolls, fruit platter and guava cake for dessert.

After lunch, Dr. Gary Kato shared some more good medical advice with us.  Ever noticed how expensive your prescription medicine is?  Well, Dr. Gary spoke of an example, where he was comparing prices between several local pharmacies.  Finally, he found the Costco pharmacy to be the least expensive option for that particular prescription.  Dr. Gary normally chooses non-profit options, such as “NeedyMeds.”  He had handouts for everyone, teaching us how to keep out-of-pocket prescription cost low by doing some research beforehand and by shopping around a bit.

Jim Spray came up afterwards and he did it again!  He is what the people in show biz calls a triple threat, because he tells jokes, sings and dances.  Pastor Mike was the first in the audience to point it out!  Jim told a good joke to loosen everyone up, so they’d feel more relaxed and comfortable to join in.  Accompanied by the Kolohe Wahines, he then sang and taught everyone how to do the “Hukilau.”  Wow, what an amazing fella he is!!!

The Kolohe Wahines (in their beautiful purple and white dresses) introduced themselves and again entertained everyone, with three of their favorite songs: (1) ‘E No No’I Ka Haku/Kanaka Waiwai, (2) Hilo My Hometown, and (3) ‘O Kaleo Nanokuli.  Then they introduced two of the youngest and cutest entertainers we’ve had in many years: Amana (5) and Emma (4), daughters of Steve and Miku Inouye, as they danced the hula from the very popular “Lilo and Stitch” movie.  What a blessing and a great treat for everyone!  Amana and Emma had also made origami party favors for everyone!  The Kolohe Wahines then continued and led the sing-along with the audience, with these songs: (1) What A Friend We have In Jesus/Will the Circle Be Unbroken, (2) Pearly Shells, and (3) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.

It’s been over 17 years since Joy and her family has been home in the U.S. for a prolong stay.  So, it was really great to have her share with us today!  Joy is the daughter of Dr. Jack and Helen Akamine and she’s been serving overseas for over 25 years.  As Joy came up, she jokingly said that she hasn’t seen a yeti yet (as someone must have asked), and that’s actually a great reason to go back to the Himalayan Mountains again (where they’ve served for years)!  Joy pointed out that some of our seniors have known her since she was a youngster.  Over the years, they’ve helped her and served as role models, so Joy has a deep admiration for them all.

Joy said, “According to the Bible: Even to the very end of life, even if age and illness and loss may strip you of everything, you are still precious, dearly loved by God!”  Referencing Isaiah 46:4…Joy started with:

Point 1: Come to our loving God through Jesus – In John 3:17, Jesus said He came to give full, abundant life to everyone.  God loves you!  In God’s eyes, you are precious, beautiful, worth giving up His own life to rescue you.  Joy showed a necklace that she purchased from a thrift store and had cleaned up before wearing.  God cleans us up.  When we give our lives to Him, He washes us clean of all our mistakes and wrongdoing.  Because of Jesus taking the consequences of our wrongdoing, we instantly become perfectly clean and fresh again.  We can’t earn this new, clean, full quality of life.  New life is a free gift from God through Jesus.

God makes us whole and healed.  Sometimes our lives are badly broken with such gigantic problems that there’s no way to fix them – but God can, and He does, rebuild and restore!  Joy showed us a Chinese art frame that she had acquired overseas.  It was broken and useless, and nobody wanted it, but in the hands of a master carpenter and with some finishing oil, it became beautiful once again.  That’s the kind of work God does: He takes our broken lives and makes them whole and beautiful again.  And the Holy Spirit is like the oil, transforming us from the inside out.

Point 2: Root out sin to be free – Even when we follow Jesus, it’s very easy to ignore God and to go our own way.  That’s called sin.  Sin can creep in little by little until we’re trapped, ashamed to meet God and afraid to let others see our true selves.  Sin is like English ivy.  In Washington State, ivy has become such invasive species that has taken over forests.  And to get rid of it, we’d have to get to the roots!

Maybe you already trust God, but you’ve let something wrong or broken stay in your heart that keeps you from God or hurts your relationships with others.  Don’t let that bitter root of sin keep hiding, as it can destroy you or steal your joy in life!  Cut and rip it out, so you can throw it away – tell God all about it.  Do whatever it takes and be free!  God promises to forgive us when we confess, in 1 John 1:9 it says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Point 3: Share life with others – When you have this great love and freedom in your heart, share it with others!  It doesn’t take much – sometimes it’s just a smile or listening to someone and encouraging them.  And sometimes we simply share in others’ pain.  Jesus said that we’re guaranteed to face trouble when we take a stand with Him.  But He’s worth living for and He’s worth dying for.  Jesus gives such overflowing joy and peace that it’s truly worth sharing, as we know it’s God’s work that He’s allowing us to do with Him.  God’s grace blossoms beautifully!

In conclusion, Joy asked everyone to always remember: “Even to the very end of life, even if age and illness and loss strip you of everything, you are precious, you are dearly loved by God!”  So come to our loving God through Jesus, let him make you healed and whole.  Root out sin, confess and be free.  And share hope with others.  As Paul said in Romans 15:13: “Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy; fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!”

In closing, Pastor Mike told Joy what a great example she’s serving for all of us to see.  Joy’s message and illustrations were right on!  We need to really give ourselves to the Lord, in order to be the way, He wants us to be…to be perfect and made whole, to be free, and be filled with the abundance of joy and spirit that only He can give!