In Community:

April 2020 Newsletter

The Word Became Flesh

By Pastor Craig Swanson

In these days of social distancing, stay-at-home orders and the possibility of future lockdowns, many of us are experiencing isolation in ways we never have before. We miss seeing other people, face-to-face conversations, human interaction and hugs. No matter how much we try to compensate with texts and emails, livestreaming and phone calls, it’s just not the same as “being together”.

We are blessed, though, to experience this social anomaly in the current age of technology. Imagine the loneliness and despair we would experience if there were no telephones, no email, no internet. Isolation has always been used as a form of punishment. Prisons use solitary confinement as a threat against undesirable behavior among inmates. The Apostle John was exiled to the Island of Patmos, separated and isolated from everyone else. Inhabited islands and mainland population centers were visible on the horizon further compounding the sense of aloneness. Written communication was occasionally allowed but it lacked the potency, intimacy and immediacy of personal, face-to-face conversations. Nothing can take the place of “being there”.

I have often thought of the incarnation over the past few weeks. As Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe.” God used written communication in the past but ultimately resorted to face-to-face through His Son. As John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

But you might say, Isn’t the Bible written communication?” Of course, the answer is yes but we also have the presence of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. So, the Word of God today, to God’s people, has now moved into the face-to-face category. We are not alone even when socially distant. Immanuel still means “God with us”. We may FEEL lonely, but we are never alone. May the presence of God sustain us until we are once again able to freely gather together.

A Different Kind of Community

By Pastor Mike Kurtz

It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few weeks since our lives took a sharp turn. The Covid-19 pandemic has touched everyone individually as well as our church community. Although I believe community is best created in person, I cannot deny the fact that the virtual community that we have moved into has opened up connections in some great ways.

The obvious example is our worship services on Sunday. We have learned a lot in the past few weeks. Ultimately, our desire is to make watching as easy as possible using YouTube as of late to help cast our services directly to many TVs. We ran into some technical difficulties over that time, but I think we have resolved those issues and hopefully the experience will have improved by the time you read this.

Another way that has been effective in connecting with others is through virtual small group meetings using services like Zoom or Teams. The JLM hosted a Sunday School class last Sunday with people joining in from home. There were literally tears during that virtual gathering, which is a testament to the value of connecting regardless of methods during these difficult times. Many Community Small Groups are meeting online for mutual encouragement and prayer.

We are considering other ways to continue life as nearly as normal. We are looking at possibly creating virtual classrooms for Sunday school and online chatting following our worship services. Live chatting during our worship services is also being explored. Even though in-person community is not possible at the moment, we think technology can close the gap when implemented well.

I am reminded, though, that not everyone has access to these kinds of online resources. Technology may be a friend to many, but not to everyone. Phone calls – actually hearing someone’s voice and having conversation – are still one of the best ways to contact people. I encourage all of us to not let technical hurdles prevent us from making a simple phone call. We need each other. We were made for community. Let’s do what we can to love our neighbor and encourage one another.

ROCK High School Winter Retreat

By Amy Li

Right now, it’s hard to even think back to a time before our lives were consumed with the coronavirus crisis but honestly, writing this article gave me some much-needed respite from the constant flow of alarming news we’re barraged with these days. Even more so, it gave me the chance to give thanks to God for the great time the ROCKers spent together before the craziness of the year ensued and also, cling on to the hope that this too shall pass, and we will be meeting together again in no time. With that being said, from February 28th to March 1st, the ROCK high school ministry had its annual, long-awaited winter retreat at Lazy F (short for laissez-faire translated to “let do” in French) Conference Center. We were excited to have a pretty full roster of people joining us this weekend, but we obviously missed all those who could not make it.

As is the tradition, we met up at McDonald’s in Factoria, because there is nothing quite like a French fry energy boost to power through a two hour drive, including a brief but blustery snowstorm on Snoqualmie Pass where the view through the front windshield looked like we were jumping to hyperspace in Star Wars (credit to Jim Lee for the imagery and ask for the video if you get a chance). We drove carefully, determined to not let the snow stop us from getting to our beloved retreat destination, but much to our surprise, when we finally arrived in Ellensburg, there was barely any snow on the ground! It made for a different setting than previous years, but it’s obviously not the winter wonderland that makes the retreat what it is, but the people who are gathered together. We were blessed with cold but sunny days to enjoy the still peaceful and quiet outdoors.

This year, we had the privilege of inviting Jim Lee as our speaker for the weekend and Pastor Mike as another (or maybe, the only) responsible adult. Three younger ones also joined us – Emi, Mia, and Maili – who were busy with film production throughout the weekend and helped many of us make our acting debut. Having Jim around felt natural, like he had always been a part of our group, but maybe that’s because he’s basically another Chris Jo, except with better rock-paper-scissors skills. All jokes aside, many of us have seen the comedic side of Jim, but I know I am speaking for everyone in the group when I say it was such an immense blessing to hear him share openly about his faith journey and how – without giving any spoilers – even when he least expected or deserved it, God pursued him and showed His great love for him. We worshipped together, listened and reflected on Jim’s testimony, and discussed in small groups about the ways we see God working in our lives at the moment. With that being said, our vision for ROCK fellowship events this year is to focus on the power of testimony and how God has been faithful and true in the lives of our friends and family. Thank you to Laurie and Dave Fukuda for kicking it off by hosting our group and sharing in February! Our hope is that the students would desire to live lives devoted to Christ and know what that looks like from beginning to end, through every twist and turn, and all the ups and downs – stories that are perfectly imperfect, much like the stories of people we read about in the Bible.

In terms of other activities, we certainly kept busy and even tried our hand at ice skating outdoors. Although many were nervous about the absence of handrails and some even sat this one out, we were skating along in no time, laughing, falling, and breaking out some new moves coached by Maili, the professional. A few brave souls tried inner tubing down half of an icy slope, but we quickly gave that up and headed back inside to play games in the warmth of the cabin. I will never understand the love that this group has for the game of Mafia and I could not tell you how many rounds were played over the three days, even while eating in the dining hall. There’s honestly too much from the weekend to share in one page – we took a walk outside, heard prom stories from all of the leaders, ate snacks until our stomachs hurt, smacked some people with whipped cream (Pie Face), celebrated Isamu’s birthday on Sunday, and stayed up late both nights to induce deep, sleep-deprived conversations.

And just like that, one of the best weekends was over and with our cars all packed up, we said goodbye to Lazy F until next year. On the quiet drive back, as the three high school girls slept soundly in my car, I reflected on how this group has grown in the past year and it made me so thankful that they have God and each other as they navigate through what can often be some tough seasons of high school. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for these precious students, especially during this difficult and confusing time when they have lost a sense of routine normalcy and try to continue their studies from home.

Baptism Testimony -3.8.2020

By Junsei Nagao

I came to believe in God because I wanted to receive His love. Before I met God, I couldn’t accept myself. I was not able to build self-affirmation as a child. With no experience of being unconditionally loved by my mother, I didn’t know where to look for my worth in existing. I always felt like I wasn’t needed by the world, and I was constantly struggling with loneliness and anxiety in my daily life. I wanted to change my being filled with loneliness, and thought that in order for that to change, my heart had to be always filled with love. So I started going to church thinking that if I could feel God’s love, it would solve my troubles.

Last summer, I first came to Faith Bible Church by Hiroo Kuge’s invitation. I learned about the Bible through worship and Hiroo’s Bible study, but at that time I couldn’t experience the love of God because I was blinded by my sin. However, God used the Holy Spirit to show me His love in a way that is easy to understand for me. I met two Christian friends (they’re not from Faith Bible Church) of the same age in Seattle. One of them is a boy. When I had lots of uneasy and sleepless nights during the summer, he was always with me whenever I asked him to help.  For me it was the first time I felt unconditional love in my life. His way of life embodies the verse, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), and he became a good model of a Christian for me and my desire to learn about God grew.

The other friend was a girl, who participated in a conference called JxJ Camp. When I wasn’t comfortable with my surroundings during the camp, there was a time when my heart was dominated by loneliness. When I went to her, she said, “Even if everyone in the world looks like an enemy, I’ll always be your friend,” and accepted me. The experience of being accepted twice taught me about God’s love very clearly. At that time, I thought, I should stop denying myself. I will believe in God and receive God’s love from the bottom of my heart. That day, I prayed my first prayer to God.

In these ways, although my heart was hardened and it was difficult for me to feel love, God has shown me His love in natural ways that is easy for me to understand. He guided me to feel His love and believe in God.

After believing in God, I was able to accept myself because of my confidence that I was always loved by God, and made many trusted friends. I am less susceptible to lonely emotions. Romans 5: 5 says, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us.” I realized that I can always live with hope and His love.

I want to love everyone with the love that God has given me. My personality is one that likes to serve and see people happy through it. I think that telling people about the love and goodness of God is the way to serve God.

Thank you for listening to my testimony.

Mission Trip – Kazakhstan and ROG

By Ayako Kasai

Thank you for allowing me to share God’s grace with our FBC Ohana! I went on this mission trip through my school from February 6th to March 5th in Ust-Kamenogorsk and Tbilisi, the Republic of Georgia. (I moved to ROG due to my health condition.) Through the mission trip, God taught me the power of loving others through actions, the importance of getting to know people intentionally and strengthened me to trust Him in every situation.

Among all the experiences, there were two impactful experiences that showed me the power of love in action. In Kazakhstan, I had a conversation with a gentleman. He shared with me that he was in the hospital for more than 10 days and did not have any family members to visit him due to the distance from his home to the hospital. Thus, I decided to take time for to have a conversation with him. At the end of our conversation, he told me that he just needed someone to listen to him and have a conversation like we had. In ROG, I went to a pediatric hospital and was taking care of a girl with a deep wound. She was crying while she went through the dressing change due to the pain and did not have any family members in the room. At first, I was just observing what the doctor and nurse were doing, but God led me and one other teammate to hold her hands and calm her down without using words. After the procedure, she told us, “I love you.” When we visited her room in the afternoon, she was excited to see us and just to have us sitting next to her. We did not speak the same language as her but she surely was grateful for us being next to her. In both situations, I did not expect them to say that, but God reminded me of the power of love in action and taught me the importance of being sensitive to God’s leading.

Through all the experiences that I had, God taught me the importance of intentionally getting to know people. For example, when I went to hospitals in both countries, I needed to know the background of patients to take care of them. To provide personalized care, I needed to know their personality, their preference, and their culture. Also, when I interacted with students, I tried to reach out to them and talk with them to get to know each other and to be comfortable to talk about more topics. God reminded me that whether it is nursing or outreach, getting to know people and their needs is an important step to provide compassionate care and empathize with them.

In addition to that, God strengthened me to trust Him more when I am uncertain. Leaving Kazakhstan and going to ROG was not an easy transition for me. He taught me to seek Him more diligently because I did not have any control during the situation. I am not 100% sure of the purpose of leaving Kazakhstan and joining the new team yet. However, I am sure that God will reveal the reason to me one day.

Although there were unexpected things that happened, God reminded me that He is the King and has control all the time. I appreciate the opportunity to experience different cultures, meet people with different backgrounds, and serve them. Again, thank you so much for your prayers and various ways of support before, during, and after the mission trip. I am grateful to serve in His ministry with you.

Mission Highlight

by Dave Bauson

If you were to ask me “Why are you missionaries?” I could reply “Because God’s love for the world constrained us to move from America to Thailand to serve Him at the School of Promise.” I guess that would be the most proper response! But in our case, being missionaries was a result of God’s inescapable will to move us out of our comfort zone!

On returning from the leadership vision trip to Thailand in 2016, I found myself deeply stirred, but not fully committed because I wasn’t sure if the Lord was calling us to move and serve in Thailand. Ultimately, after a year, He suddenly made His move! He didn’t begin by opening doors, but by closing them! Scant months after the passing of my father, the Lord brought my Information Tech career to a close. After that, no matter how hard I tried to restart my own career, He closed all the doors while He started opening the door for missions. Only after recognizing our total dependence on God, did He open the door for us to minister in Thailand.

We’ve been in Thailand now for about seven months. Despite the limitations imposed on us because of the COVID-19 scare, we’re enjoying our time here. But living here and getting here have involved some pretty big changes. Daily life has become more difficult. Everything from putting gas into our car, to finding and shopping for necessities, has changed. Not only is there a language barrier, we must also discover what exactly it is we’re buying! One time we thought we were buying ketchup for a School of Promise cookout, but instead we showed up with several bottles of hot chili sauce!

On the other hand, we’ve found some new enjoyable things. For instance, our new church has a big meal together every Sunday. The food is delicious! We eat outside under a large awning, and ice cream vendors come with their carts. We have a new Sunday afternoon tradition with friends: Thai food and handmade ice cream!

Another big change for our lives is in our daily ministry. Akiko handles communications for the School of Promise. She sends student reports to sponsors, e-newsletters, printed newsletters, makes FaceBook posts, etc. Her goal is to increase prayer and financial support — which God uses to empower and equip the school to spread the gospel. This year, Akiko will also begin work on a study abroad scholarship for SoP students.

My ministry is to deepen and broaden the teachers’ understanding of the Bible, so that they can integrate it into their classes. I’m concerned with their spiritual development and ability to share their faith with others. My objective is to start a Bible college to train more Christian teachers for Thailand. Ultimately my role is to train those who will reach out with the Gospel to children and their families.

We are incredibly thankful for the enormous support we get from you FBC Ohana! God is fulfilling His desire to reach Thailand through you to us, and by way of us to the School of Promise.

Prayer requests:

• We all are praying together for the Lord to bring the COVID-19 incident to an end
• That the Lord would raise up more teaching staff for the School of Promise
• That He would empower our reach into the lives of children and their families

John 20:21. “Again Jesus said, ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’”

Sacred Road Ministires

by Mary Granberry

Dear Friends, Family, Prayer Warriors, & Financial Supporters!

March 27, 2020

When Chris first came to the Yakama reservation in the summer of 2000, he was struck with many emotions. He was so overwhelmed with the needs, he cried out, “Lord, I know you are the answer, but I don’t even know what the question is!”

Not too much time passed before the Lord led the Granberrys to move full time to Indian country. It was clear that God had a plan and we were to be there. We did not know what the plan would entail at that time, but we obeyed and decided to do our best to just “be” God’s children in this place.

We are at a similar season again, a crossroads of overwhelming emotion and few answers. The impact of the covid 19 virus has hit and created more questions than answers. Here again Jesus is the answer; but how do we ask the right questions in times like these? We want to ask, “How long, Oh Lord?” We want to know how we will live in these changing circumstances. Can we direct these questions to our Lord? Can we look and see where God is working and ask to join Him in building the Kingdom, even in these “quarantined” circumstances?

Here on the Yakama reservation, all of our spring teams were cancelled; but we did as much outreach with children as we could before the quarantine orders began. We are now having cancellations of our summer teams as well, and of course our Sunday services. We are prepared to help meet the immediate needs in our community, while we are all staying in our own homes. There is an isolation and a strange sort of bonding taking place. I pray that in this time, if “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” the Lord will soften hearts and draw many towards His love and their need for fellowship with believers.

We do not know what ministry on the rez will look like in our immediate future, but there will be plenty to do. We do not know how everyone in our little church plant is doing, but as we live stream a service on Sunday mornings we are being joined by some we haven’t seen in quite some time. Current communication is stretching beyond the congregation we have been in the past. May it move us towards the Gospel community we will be. Please feel free to join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30 PST on the Sacred Road Facebook page as we live stream our services.

Thanks for joining with us,  Mary

This is our quarantine crew. I was once asked if our place was a half-way house. I laughed then and smiled this week as I thought about that again. We are all more aware of our personal journeys during this time. We are all in transition – towards holiness and the selves we were created to be. We are blessed to have each other on the journey.

Rita’s Life History

Rita Mae Milligan was born in Seattle October 1^st, 1935, joining her brother Larry.  She had a passion for God’s creation and at the age of six vowed “I’m gonna be a missionary when I grow up because the whole wide world has to know about this wonderful God who made all this beauty!”

She was active at Calvary Baptist Church in the youth group and choir, attended Roosevelt High School followed by Seattle Pacific University where she majored in Education and Psychology, and graduated in 1959. She had various employment experiences during summer times, the longest being Seattle City light, after which she was a City Comptroller secretary and worked various sales clerk jobs. She entered Prairie Bible Institute in 1960, followed by teaching literature at Prairie High School in 1961.  Her hobbies were piano, flute, art, writing, hiking and camping with her family.

In 1962, she went to Japan under Overseas Missionary Fellowship where she served as a church planter in eight different cities and towns. Thirty three years later, she had to return permanently to Seattle because of a health breakdown, and from 1966 to 2012 she worked with Faith Bible Church reaching countless Japanese students through conversation, Talk Time, sight-seeing trips and friendship.  And she enjoyed ministry at Seattle Keiro Nursing Home each week. Health again intervened and October 19, 2012, she moved to Warm Beach Senior Community where she likewise enjoyed spending time with the residents in the Nursing ward.

People often asked Rita if she weren’t lonely as a single. Her answer was “Well, I had five proposals but I just wasn’t interested. I only want to walk with Jesus all my life.”

Rita went to be with the Lord on February 18th.  the memorial service for Rita has been postponed indefinitely.

Rita has written a book and it is available in the FBC library. The review by Bill Hamasaki is on September ’18 issue of Grapevine. https://fbcseattle.org/in-community-september-2018-newsletter/