In Community:

June 2020 Newsletter

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詩篇147篇

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What God Delights In

By Pastor Mike Kurtz

Need a break? Need a break from all the Covid conversations? Need a break from the chaos or aloneness? I was reading Ps. 147 this morning and thought it might be nice to focus purely on God for this month’s Grapevine. So take a minute and rest your mind on the reading of Psalm 147 >>

The writer begins with a call to praise God. And for good reason. Verse after verse he notes the things God has done and continues to do. Take special note of this:  He does these without our help.

He builds…He gathers…He heals…He binds up…He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name…

Think about that for a moment. God has a name for every star in the universe. There aren’t enough words in the human language to even come close to that feat. God cares for everything, and if He cares enough to name every single star in the universe, then He must really care for us who were made in His image and will be given a uniquely special name one day (Rev. 2:17).

He is great… He is powerful… His understanding has no limits. And in that limitless power and understanding, He sustains us.

He has unlimited power to sustain us. There is nothing in our lives too big for Him. And if we ever questioned why He sustains us the way He does, know that He sustains us with complete understanding of who we are and what is best for us and what lies ahead.

And what have we done or what can we do to contribute to all this goodness in our lives?

Nothing.

He does it all. All we can do is respond with grateful hearts and praise to Him.

The writer continues:

He brings the clouds…He supplies the rain…He makes the grass grow…He provides food for the animals. None of these things is brought about through human effort. And another thing: He doesn’t like it when we strive as if it all depended on us. According to this psalm, God doesn’t delight in our human efforts or our brute force methods even if it’s for a good cause. No, He delights in those who put their hope in His unfailing love, which means He loves us so much that He will do what is best if we will just get out of the way.

Look around you. Look outside. How much of all you can see was done through human effort? Yes, there are the houses and cars, but look beyond those things. The trees, the grass, the flowers, the sky, the rain, the people walking by, the breeze, the warm sunshine, the birds. These are reminders that God doesn’t need our help, and that there is no need to strive so hard in this life. His unfailing love is always there for us.  Take heart and praise God because that is what He truly delights in.

When you have a spare moment (and who doesn’t have some spare time these days?) think about the things God is doing right before your eyes that are not of your own doing. Make a list. Make a long list. And then praise Him for all the blessings that are out of your control because always remember: His love is unfailing and His control is better than ours!

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Psalm 147

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¹ Praise the Lord.

    How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

² The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the exiles of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars
    and calls them each by name.
⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
    his understanding has no limit.
⁶ The Lord sustains the humble
    but casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷ Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
    make music to our God on the harp.

⁸ He covers the sky with clouds;
    he supplies the earth with rain
    and makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹ He provides food for the cattle
    and for the young ravens when they call.

¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
¹¹ the Lord delights in those who fear him,
    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

(Psalm 147:1-11)

ROCK (High School) Update: Home Quarantine Edition

By Chris Jo

Hello readers. I imagine by the time this article reaches you, much has changed since our last ROCK Grapevine article. No longer do you wake up to the sunrise for breakfast but instead wake up at sunset for dinner. Getting dressed up means putting on the pair of sweat pants that don’t have the jelly stains on them. Grooming… an ancient art long forgotten. Despite these changes I’m happy to report that one thing that hasn’t changed is the Rock group continuing to meet together for Sunday School every week.

When we were required to home quarantine and not able to meet together at church I assumed Sunday School would be cancelled. Attendance all year for Sunday School was strong and the group had gotten close through fellowship events and most recently our trip to Lazy F. In Romans 12:4-5 it says: “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” It was sad to think the community we built all year would not be able to get together each Sunday. Also in times of such uncertainty and chaos there was a natural desire to want to stay connected to the kids to make sure they were doing okay. But realistically if the parents didn’t drive the kids to church to make them attend how many would voluntarily attend a virtual Sunday School with choppy video and audio? Without the lure of doughnuts would anybody show up? Would continuing Sunday School be comprised of the ROCK Leaders Amy Li, El and myself, with tears streaming down our faces as no kids showed up for an hour every week? God must have sensed my doubts and had the Holy Spirit move in one of the students who reached out to me and asked if we were going to have Sunday School. What an encouragement that was and the only nudge I needed to start up a weekly Sunday School class from 10:00am – 11:00am.

Structuring a class to be held over video conference has had its challenges but the students have shown up each week and shown plenty of grace for the teachers’ attempts to teach a lesson in unusual circumstances. I think I speak for all the teachers and the students in saying that what we appreciate most is just being able to get together on Sunday morning, seeing each other’s faces and catching up on how we are doing. If you are a parent, you may be wondering what virtual Sunday School has been like. Most classes begin with many of us waking up right before class. We start off by sharing what we did during the week and sharing how we are doing. Next, I’ll typically follow up with a question of the week such as what they miss during home quarantine that they thought they wouldn’t miss and something they don’t miss they thought they would miss. Then we might play a game and then have a lesson. I have been going through the book of Ephesians and more specifically the book “Sit, Walk, Stand” by Watchman Nee. Ellison and Amy Li have guest taught on subjects such as spiritual discipline, reaching out to others, and introduced some fun games we can play over video conference. I can honestly say I look forward to each Sunday morning and being able to get together with all the students to see how God continues to work in their lives and learning more about Him together.

Another exciting journey we embarked on was a devotional challenge I presented to the kids. Realizing that we are all stuck at home and for once have free time I asked the Rock students if they wanted to do a daily devotional as a group. To my surprise we had students that voluntarily joined! The goal was to be consistent in our devotions and to stay connected to God during these difficult times. I was extremely impressed with the commitment the students show and it was a huge success as we managed to get through the Purpose Driven Life 42-day devotional in 44 days! We took turns leading the devotional summarizing the chapter, sharing our thoughts and how it might apply and answering the chapter’s “question to ponder.” I can’t express adequately in words how blessed I felt to be able to hear the students share their thoughts on the devotional and to see them be challenged to deepen their faith in Christ. I hope to do this again in the near future.

God is doing exciting things with the Rock Ministry and continues to show that no matter the circumstance He is ever present and continues to do His good work. All that said, although I’m thankful for technology and being able to stay connected that way, I really look forward to the day we get can get together for class or fellowship in person and see each other face to face.

Beacon Hill International School
The Challenges During the Pandemic

By Sheila Matsuda-Chan

As Beacon Hill International school heads into its tenth week of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is still hard to believe that we will not be teaching our students face-to-face for the remainder of the school year. None of us imagined we would be experiencing and living through an event that would so greatly affect our school community, not to mention the entire world. Our new norm has changed not only the way we think and behave, but also how we make minute-to-minute decisions from this point forward. 

One and a half weeks before our initial school closure, teachers were asked to prepare homework “in the event that” schools closed down for a two-week period.  We quickly prepared packets of work, sent them home with students, and explained to students the circumstances for this supplemental work. 

Soon after, Governor Inslee called for a two-week closure of all schools in Washington. Teachers rushed to pack up teaching materials and only what was necessary to plan for the weeks upon our return. Little did we know that the following day, an order was passed to close all schools in Washington state for a minimum of six weeks! 

In addition to not knowing when we would be able to return to school, or how we would teach, many more pressing issues came into the forefront. How would our students who normally receive free meals get breakfast and lunch each day? How would our 25 families continue to receive weekly food bags delivered to our school from the food bank? How would parents be able to go to work if their children were now at home and needed supervision? 

As uncertainty after uncertainty continued to accumulate, we were soon notified that Washington schools would remain closed until the end of the school year. A reality which once (although extremely difficult and unpredictable) seemed manageable, became bleaker and riddled with despair.  

As days turned to weeks, it seemed that our school community was encountering more challenges than we could have ever imagined. In addition to the existing needs of our families, more and more parents began losing their jobs, which meant more families needed food and were now unable to pay rent. For students to partake in online learning, they needed laptops. But even when they were provided with laptops, many families didn’t have access to internet, and parents were unable to assist their children with homework or navigate the technology. On top of this, several of our BHIS families had become infected by the coronavirus.  

Our number of families in need of food more than tripled from 25 to 80 families. Parent volunteers, staff and PTA members responded quickly, arranging on-site food bank preparations at the school because of the rapid increase in need.   

Fast forward 10 weeks. Providing food bags, grocery store gift cards, school supplies/materials, work packets and technology assistance have become a weekly, on-site service for families to get assistance and to communicate with available staff. Food and school material deliveries are made to families affected by the virus with additional supports such as grocery shopping, providing cleaning supplies and food preparation. 

Yet into our tenth week of online learning, teachers are still experiencing limited student engagement. Even after assisting students and parents one-on-one in accessing learning materials, we are realizing how much stress this has brought onto our families. For many parents, having to take on the role of being their child’s co-teacher, compounded with the additional impacts of the pandemic have proven to be emotionally demanding, and for some, even an impossible feat.   

The ways the coronavirus has shaken our school community continue to test our limits. Nevertheless, through all of the chaos, frustrations, and what sometimes feels like a never-ending cycle of hopelessness, I have been amazed seeing and experiencing firsthand how our church family and school community have come together to support both students and families so desperately in need and school staff who have been wrestling with countless obstacles. FBC’s acts of love for the Beacon Hill International School community such as mask making, Amazon gift cards for Teacher Appreciation Week, financial donations, continuous prayer, and thoughtful words of encouragement have given us all hope and the strength necessary to continue pressing on. 

With the end of the school year drawing near, we are all anxiously looking ahead to summer and wondering what the new school year in the fall will look like. We cannot provide any concrete answers or reassurances to families of when school will return to normal. However, I do know that families and staff have come to feel more connected, supported and encouraged by our church and school community more than ever. It is my hope and prayer that families and staff see that God has been working and caring for them during the entirety of these unprecedented times. 

Small Group Initiatives
Japanese Language Ministries

By Pastor Kohei Takeda

We know that many people are suffering from COVID-19. Everyone is affected – physically, emotionally, financially, and relationally. We hear their cry. “Working on the front line as a medical professional, I am stressed out treating patients with coronavirus each day.” “I cannot sleep well. I think I am depressed by hearing a lot of negative news.” “I cannot help myself from feeling a deep loneliness.” “There is a risk that I might be laid off.” “I am having so many quarrels with my spouse lately. I’m just tired.”  

When we hear their voices, what can we do for them when we are required to stay at home? How can we love and serve them if we cannot meet with them in person? How can we share the Good News with them? Yes, we pray. That’s the way God works most powerfully. But, can’t we also do more for them? Being aware that many people are suffering, we feel pain and powerless to love our neighbors though we are called to do so as a church.  

That was when God called the people at FBC to start 7 online small groups. We also launched a new small group ministry in March with 3 small groups, which we call “house churches.” We realized spiritual needs in our neighbors. They seem to be left lonely without a reliable hope. We also realized our identity as a church. The primary mission of the church toward the world is to love our neighbors by reaching out to them as the salt and light of the world. It is not only to meet their physical/worldly needs but also spiritual needs, which can be accomplished by building a relationship and community in Christ. The identity of the church becomes more significant in a time of crisis. Hospitals are called to offer treatment. Restaurants are to offer food. But, as the body of Christ, the church is called to offer a spiritual community in Christ with love and hospitality. With this calling, God encouraged us to gather and share life in online small groups by using technology.   

As I shared, God led us to start 3 “house church” small groups, and we have been tremendously blessed. We invite both believers and unbelievers for fellowship. For over two months, we have been closely sharing life with one another each week and now we feel like family. In the group, we spend most of the time sharing life stories (also sharing a meal at home, when we meet in person). Typically, we share stories about what we are thankful for in our daily life so that both unbelievers and believers can share and relate to. One day, an unbeliever mother shared in tears, realizing how much she was self-centered in parenting. We all shared her feelings so we prayed for her, and praised God for His love and forgiveness toward us. The other day, another unbeliever shared that she was so happy to see her daughter joyfully praying to God throughout the day after attending the small group.  

A house church small group is a place where you intentionally make Jesus’ disciples (Matt 28:19-20, the Great Commission) in a relational way, which is derived from the early church in the Book of Acts (Acts 2:42-47). While we tend to separate unbelievers and believers (evangelism and discipleship) in ministry “programs,” a house church is a safe community to invite both of them to have fellowship and share life as a “lifestyle.” Akiko and I have been engaged in this ministry for over 10 years in different churches, different countries (Boston and Tokyo) and languages (English and Japanese). Praise the Lord, God has led us to witness hundreds of people begin to follow Christ. And, we are always praying and hoping to become His witnesses as a church in Seattle, too.  

Since March, people have been meeting online on a weekly basis to share life. The fellowship is always casual and fun, but is also getting deeper and deeper, filled with laughter and tears. Each week God is adding new people, especially unbelievers, to the sharing community. Even though we are physically isolated, we see that God is powerfully at work in people’s lives. Over time we see people discovering joy and hope in their life. We see unbelievers hearing the Gospel. God is actually expanding His kingdom even in this difficult time of suffering and isolation. Maybe it is a little bit like when God strengthened Paul in prison, made him rejoice in sufferings, and even powerfully spread the Gospel to the world, as written in the prison epistles. Or, maybe it is like when God spread the Good News in the age of the early church when the followers of Christ were persecuted and forced to worship the Lord in private homes, as described in the Book of Acts. At any rate, we can only give thanks to the Lord, who is a living God and loving us unfailingly. We praise the Lord and rejoice in Him for all He has been doing among us even in the midst of suffering.  

Senior Speech at Northwest University

By Ayako Kasai

Ayako was chosen as one of the senior speakers representing the class of 2020 Bachelor of Science in Nursing.  She shared the script of her speech with us below. Her speech is on YouTube as well.  It is a very encouraging message not only for the graduates but also for all of us.   

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INTRO  

Hello everyone! My name is Ayako and I have been studying nursing for three years at NU. I just want to thank YOU and thank GOD for this opportunity to share what God has been teaching me in my life.  

My Testimony  

NY Camp: 

Let me start off by sharing my testimony of how I met Christ. I was born in a non-Christian family in Japan. When I was 16, because I wanted to learn English and experience a different culture, I joined a youth summer camp which was held at a small Christian college in New York State. Since I was NOT interested in Christianity or any other religion, I wasn’t paying attention to what the pastor was talking about during the camp and almost fell asleep.  

However, one day, he shared about his wife who passed away due to breast cancer. He said that he was very sad that she was not next to him anymore, but he was HAPPY because he knew that she is in the BETTER place, the place where she was supposed to go. The 16-year-old me was surprised how he could say that he was HAPPY even though his loved one had passed away.  

Let me share why I was so surprised by that. In March 2011, Japan was hit by a big earthquake and tsunami. About 16,000 people passed away, and 2,500 people are still missing. I am from one of the prefectures that was most affected. Although none of my family members or friends passed away from that disaster, seeing people mourning and crying because they had unexpectedly lost people who were precious to them made me think, “If there is nothing after death, then what’s the purpose of living in this world?” Though I had never read the Bible until attending this camp and did not know anything about God or Jesus Christ, there was definitely something that was drawing me to it.  

I wanted to have the peace that that pastor had. I wanted to know about God and Jesus Christ. And I wanted to grasp the purpose of living in this world which seemed unfair and hopeless. So I decided to believe in Christ, who was just one of the historical characters to me until that night. The moment I said Yes to Him, my journey with the living God began.  

After graduating from high school in Japan, I came to Washington to continue my education. God prepared people whom I needed to meet in order to grow spiritually at community college and at my church. He also led me to a Japanese outreach group in Seattle.  

Through these events in my life, I experienced the joy of getting to know Jesus Christ, the spiritual battles which grew me in my faith, the peace that I have in God through times of anxiousness that strengthened my trust in Him, and the love of Christ that motivates me to love others more and more. He also taught me the indescribable joy of sharing the Gospel with people in my life.  

Northwest University: 

While I was at community college, I was praying to know what God really wanted me to do with my life. The more I learned about Jesus, the more He taught me to be a servant like Him.  

I’ve never thought about being a nurse, but God is so funny and created in me the desire to become one. Through my actions and words as a nurse, I can share the love of Christ with people who are vulnerable, need support in many areas, and may just need someone to be with. They might just need to know the simple truth that they are seen by others and are loved by God.  

Through this new passion, I was led on a path to attend and study at NU in order to become a nurse. By God’s grace and the people who have supported me and believed in me, I am almost there!  

Among many things that I am thankful about my time at NU, one is the possibility of meeting different people who are very unique and talented, who are also people with whom I can worship God. The professors and staff remember us by name and pray for us, being there for us and teaching us how to follow Christ in our profession.  

When I think back to how far God has carried me, I am overwhelmed and am very thankful.  

 

Transition to come…  

As I reflect on graduation and the transition to come, I TRULY believe that my time at NU has helped me build my foundation as a follower of Jesus Christ, a foundation which I want to hold on to in my profession and in my life after graduating from NU.  

Transition gives me such a mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety.  

Excitement: starting a job, meeting new people, having new experiences, and just discovering what He has in store for me.  

Anxiety: Life does not always go the way that I want it to.  

During my time at NU, God reminded me to “Be satisfied in Him” and to “Know everything is in His hands.”  

MAIN  

Now you know a little bit about me. And TODAY, I’m here to share a simple message with you. 

As many of us are preparing to enter a new profession or a new season in life, I want to encourage us to be satisfied in God, not with what we have or what we accomplish.  

Be satisfied in God by  

1) seeking His kingdom and righteousness 

2) trusting Him in every situation, and  

3) giving thanks to God.  

 

1. SeekingHis Kingdom and Righteousness  

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

We, as human beings, are quick to worry about our future, to worry about things that have not happened yet.  

When you worry about something, it is difficult to think about anything else. 

While I was at NU, I struggled with worrying about many things. For example, worrying about my grades, relationships with people, finances, my performance at hospitals, looking for jobs, and the future. My insecurity comes from seeking my desired goals or my ideal situation but not being able to reach them. Thinking back, I think I just focused on myself. I focused on the things that directly matter to me only in my situation. My heart was filled with things that worry me.  

When you worry about something, you may feel that your heart is torn into pieces. These things make you feel like you are separated from God, and I guarantee that nobody is alone in these feelings.  

In Matthew 6:33, the Almighty calls us to seek first the kingdom of God instead of worrying about what we’ll eat, how we’ll dress – those temporal, superficial, and earthly concerns. Our loving Father encourages us to keep an eternal perspective every day.  

God remains available and ready for us to find Him, to look for and worship Him in those anxiety-riddled situations. To seek God’s kingdom means we make a conscious decision to turn toward God instead, and ultimately look beyond the anxiety or worry.  

2. Trusting Godin Every Situation  

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  

God encourages us to trust and follow Him in every situation. Literally in EVERY situation.  

Yes, I admit that there are many times when I don’t even know why something happened to me, my friends, my family, or the world. It is true that there is a time when we should ask God, ”why?”  

I went on a mission trip through nursing school in February. I was supposed to stay in Kazakhstan for a month and I was soooooooo ready to experience what He had in store for me and my team. BUT, I had an allergic reaction to something unknown and I had to relocate to another country. At the moment, I really didn’t know why God led me to leave the country that I really, really, really wanted to be in. Leaving Kazakhstan was super difficult for me to accept because I was looking forward to being in Kazakhstan, experiencing their culture, interacting with local people, and building relationships with them. I was thinking over and over if there was anything that I could’ve done differently.  

Do you have these experiences where you thought it was God’s will, but He led you to a place beyond what you could expect? Do you have any experiences of when something good or bad happened beyond what you could even imagine??  

Everything is in His control. Part of trusting is letting go of control and letting go of expectations. There is nothing that He didn’t allow that happens. He allows things to happen for a reason, and a lot of times we don’t know the reason at that moment.  

God trains us to have patience and to trust Him even more through challenges. It is such an adventure to discover what He has prepared for us by trusting God with all our heart.  

For anyone who is curious about how I did after leaving Kazakhstan, I had a wonderful time in the Republic of Georgia with awesome people.   

3. GivingThanks to God  

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

It is very easy to focus on what we don’t have, what we can’t do, and things that did not go how we wanted them to go. It’s easy to complain about those things instead of seeing what we have already been given.  

I think there are three reasons that stop us from being thankful: ego, jealousy, and pride.  

To be honest, and I’m sure many of you can relate, I have compared myself so many times with my classmates in regard to school. I have compared myself with other close sisters and brothers in Christ in regard to gifts, talents, and even spiritual maturity. I have a good, good sister in Christ. We have become very good friends, however when we first became friends I was comparing myself to her a LOT. I felt like I was pretending to be a purely good friend to her but inside of me was a mess of bitterness, jealousy, and pride. I was super miserable.   

One day when I prayed, God asked me “Am I not enough for you?” I was shocked by the words and I repented to God that I wasn’t humble and didn’t treat myself, other people, and things that He has given to us with respect.  

Now, I can be thankful for the experience with my best friend because I realized that I have the tendency to compare myself to others, and I can and want to work on changing that. I now know that in the moments I compared myself to others, it was hard to see what I was already given rather than what I didn’t have. During those times I could not give thanks to God.  

Have you felt that you are not good enough because you are not perfect from your perspective? We can’t earn perfection. And it’s okay not to be perfect. God said, we are God’s handiwork and we are precious in His sight. When we humble ourselves before God, we are able to receive His love in a greater way.   

We give thanks, not only because of what we have or because we are in good circumstances, but because we have God who knows us more than we know ourselves. We give thanks because we have received the love of Christ and forgiveness. We give thanks because we believe that He will walk with us.  

The more we give thanks, the more we can find things to be thankful for. The more we can find things to be thankful for, the more we experience God’s love and presence.  

 

CONCLUSION 

Things in the world change easily, but God does not change. He is always faithful, caring, loving, and greater than what we can imagine. We are loved by God and we have the love of Christ that motivates us to love God, people, and things around us more and more.  

To be honest, I am a little bit nervous about what my life will be like after I graduate from school. I love school because I know what I am supposed to do…study, right?  

Graduating from NU feels like I will stand in front of the starting line of uncertainty. But knowing “God is CERTAIN in my uncertainty” gives me hope and excitement. 

God has a special plan for each of us.  

As I mentioned in the beginning, I will enter the nursing profession after I graduate from NU.  

Nurses can be there to walk through life together with patients and their families, even if it’s only for a short time in their vulnerable situation. Nurses can have positive impact on their life as they go through the transitions of healing, recovery, and even pain. That’s why I want to be a nurse.   

But my identity is not only as a nurse, but as an eternal child of God.  

As a follower of Christ, I want to hold on to this truth– “Everything is in His control” – and I hope I will be satisfied with God no matter where He leads me and no matter what circumstances I will face.  

And as a nurse who knows Christ and experiences His love, I hope to share that love with people whom I encounter. I would like to be a nurse who intentionally reaches out to get to know patients and their family, is humble before them, and seeks to understand from their perspective.  

I hope I can deepen my relationship with Jesus continuously and I would like to devote my life as His servant by helping people physically and spiritually.  

As we graduate from NU and go to the next thing God is leading us to, I pray that each of us knows that our lives are taken care of by God. I pray that each of us will be satisfied with God and share the love of God with those around us.  

PRAY  

Dear Lord, thank you for NU and the class of 2020. May our hearts hear You. May our hands be open to all you have in store for us in the next season ahead. Let us seek You and be like you day by day. Let us trust You without any doubt. Let us be humble. Thank You for who You are, all that You do, and all that You’ve given us. We thank You, and we love You. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.  

Mission Highlight

by Jeremy and Maria Chase

Dear Faith Bible Church Family, 

It’s one thing to miss you all from across the ocean.  It’s quite another to miss you from Bothell!  We trust you’re all well and that the Lord is providing everything you need for each day. 

By now, we hope you’re all aware of our plans to remain in Seattle, for a season, in order to help care for my (Maria’s) parents.  In our recent newsletter, we referenced our last term in Cambodia (2016-2019) as one of our favorites.  It is for that reason that we’re writing here.  To testify to some of what the Lord accomplished. 

You may remember our last home assignment started with a time of counseling in Fresno at a place called Link Care and ended with some prayer training at a church in Tacoma called City Central.  These two experiences and training changed us.  We returned to Cambodia a different family – healed and equipped with new understanding and some ancient tools.  And the Lord wasted no time in connecting us with others who needed the same kind of healing and equipping.  We basically went from one invitation to another, for three years straight. 

Ly and Navy

During the fall of 2016, Jeremy re-entered ministry by trying to attend as many gatherings as possible to see how the Khmer church was doing.  He noticed a particular couple at the same meetings.  They had lunch together and shared their stories.  Ly remembers, as a teen in the 70s, his escape from the Khmer Rouge through dense jungle.  After several days without food, he would fall down, unconscious, every 15-20 steps.  He finally made it to Thailand and then on to Canada.  At the end of the meeting, with 10 minutes to go, they asked Jeremy why he was in Cambodia.  After telling them a bit of our more recent story, they responded with, “We need that!  Our pastors need that!  Will you come and share with us?”  Ly and Navy, lead a discipleship program called Training of Timothies, to build up churches outside the city.  They also have a Phnom Penh based ministry called Genesis Community Transformation that works with churches in the city to reach their communities.  That invitation led to Jeremy teaching and training all of their pastors at their annual conference, and later leading a retreat where Ly and Navy’s daughter, who happens to be married to one of the princes of the Cambodian royal family, rededicated her life to Jesus.  Jeremy has also had the joy of joining Ly in sharing the gospel and seeing people come to faith in Jesus multiple times!  We love this couple dearly. 

Alli and The Hard Places Community

We knew Alli through swim and soccer lessons.  We had connected over our children in the past, but we had no idea what a woman of faith she was until we moved into a house across the street from her soon after arriving in Phnom Penh in August, 2016.  As a single mom of four adopted children, she hosted our family for dinner one night to hear our story and get to know us better.  Again, we told her a little about our most recent home assignment and admitted to her, “Alli, we feel like babies at this healing and prayer and discipleship thing, but we’re excited about what the Lord has already done!”  Her response was, “I don’t care that you’re newbies at this, my Khmer staff needs this.  Can you come and train them up?”  That invitation led to Maria teaching the female staff at their annual retreat which then grew into a weekly discipleship group that met throughout the three years. 

It also opened the door for Jeremy to not only minister to the male staff, but also a group of guys coming out of harmful labor that The Hard Places works with.  We saw healing, a new love for God’s Word, forgiveness, reconciliation, new fruitfulness and joy in these young leaders, their families and in the families they ministered to on the streets.  They are our heroes! 

Alice and Bethany

Alice and Bethany are my (Maria’s) closest girlfriends in Phnom Penh.  They and their families both arrived a few years after we did in 2005.  We had done a lot of family life together over the years.  After landing in August of 2016, we went out to dinner and caught up.  The Lord had done a similar thing in their families/marriages during their home assignments and we were all eager to pray and continue to learn together.  Our small group grew into 12 groups, some just recently started before Covid-19 hit.  About 50 women total! 

One of those women was Mandy.  Mandy and I didn’t know each other too well, but we shared a mutual friend who served in China.  That friend was in town and we all had ice cream together one evening to catch up.  Again, I told our story and at the end of our time together, Mandy asked if we could meet.  She said, “There’s something I have struggled with for a really long time, but I’m afraid to deal with it.  I think you have what I need.”  Within days she had gotten a small group of girlfriends together to study and pray.  And when the thing she had struggled with for so long was finally confessed, it was immediately echoed by the other two friends with a, “Me, too.”  All three repented and received forgiveness and freedom that day.  They all still talk about that day as a turning point in their lives.  

Friends, there are so many other stories like this.  Our last term in Cambodia was SO FUN!  And so fruitful and so full of joy.   

Thank you for praying for us.  For sending us.  For praying for Cambodia and her people.  For praying and supporting the bride of Christ in Cambodia and their desire to see all their countrymen come home to Jesus.  What a privilege to be a part of something like that!  We’re so glad and so thankful to have been able to do it with you, our Faith Bible Church Family. 

With regards to our move to Seattle, we’re approaching it like a relocation, not a redirection.  We feel like we’re entering a time of language and culture learning, like we did back in 2005 and 2006 in Cambodia.  Today’s America is a different place from the one we left 15 years ago.  Jeremy just got a job at Home Depot and is beginning to learn a new trade, a new language, the values and worldview of Americans in the work force.  It’s fascinating!  We’ll be moving into a new house with my parents, hopefully soon.  That will bring its own set of language and culture learning.  We would so appreciate your prayers throughout this relocation! 

Thank God with us… 

• The 15 years we were able to serve the Lord in Cambodia.
• Clear direction and peace regarding our relocation to Seattle. 
• Jeremy’s new job at Home Depot.
• We have a place to stay until we can find a new home for all seven of us. 

 Pray with us… 

• We’re all quite disappointed that we cannot return to Cambodia this summer. 
• Timing.  We haven’t felt released to list the Whalens’ home yet, therefore can’t look for a new house yet. 
• For our kids as they embark on language and culture learning for the first time, in their passport country. 
• This next season of serving the Lord in the States! 

With much love and so much gratitude, 

Maria and Jeremy
Owen, Lucia and Jonas  

Family Resource Ministry

by Mike Kurtz

As I announced a few Sundays ago, we are looking at ways to minister to families particularly during this crisis. We know that the changes in the home affect parents and children in ways that can be both challenging yet also a blessing. We think now is a great time to build a routine of practices with a lifestyle that promotes discipleship in the home. To that end, we are providing resources to help families in the form of weekly family support tools including:

• Weekly Family Discipleship Lessons developed for the entire family. We believe discipleship takes place best when whole families are involved.
• Bi-weekly parent support workshops on relevant topics
• Bi-weekly parent support open group meetings
• Weekly parent support articles, book recommendations, videos, etc.

As this ministry grows, we anticipate resources will expand into other areas. For now, though, let’s see where this goes!

As we launch this new ministry, here is some important information and event dates to be aware of:

Family Discipleship Lessons

Beginning the week of May 31, family discipleship lesson plans will be sent out by email. These lessons will incorporate a fun activity, a lesson, and good discussion starters. With this being something new for most of us, Dave and Laurie Fukuda have provided orientation information for parents through a recorded Zoom meeting from earlier this week. We will post a link to that orientation on our website.

Bi-Weekly Parent Support Workshops

There are some things that nearly all parents face when raising kids. We would like to provide a place to present some helps in areas where we are able. For example, the challenges of remote learning faced by public/private school students has been difficult for many families. Last week, our first support workshop was aired on the subject. Laurie Fukuda brought her homeschooling experience to the discussion with tips on helping your child grow in independent learning. Lyanne Kurtz brought her perspective as a teacher in the Bellevue School District as she is intimately involved with the remote learning experience. Again, this workshop was recorded and should be available on our website by the time this is published.

Looking ahead, we have another very relevant topic for our pre-teens and teens:

Screen and Media Issues Facing Youth Today
Hosted by Vickie Jo, MA, LMHCA
Wednesday, June 3, 7pm

With some much time available for our youth at home, many resort to videos and social media for entertainment. In this presentation, Vickie will share some of the dangers associated with these kinds of activities. Vickie is a counselor in this area. We are blessed to have her share her experiences with us. Access to this workshop will sent via email.

Parent Support Group

This is an important piece for many parents. We know that there are specific areas or issues you may be facing with your child(ren). This is a place to express your challenges and hopefully find some helpful, biblical advice. We also know that in some cases there may be areas that are difficult to discuss in a group setting, so we will try to provide a space for that somehow (tbd).

Weekly Parent Support Resources

Rieko Kato is leading this area, scouring the internet for resources and sifting through her personal resources to provide us with encouragement and tips each week. She already has many things to share with us and is chomping at the bit to send them out! Please take the time to enrich your parenting heart and skills with these good reads.

Discipleship in the home is a high calling, but it comes with a lifetime of rewards from one generation to another. Please be in prayer for our parents and children as we seek to carry out this biblical mandate.