In Community:

November 2022 Newsletter

Journeying with the Lord

by Pastor Kohei Takeda

I am writing this letter on my journey in Asia. And, when you are traveling, unexpecting things are sure to happen. If you are a frequent traveler, you probably know what I am talking about. On the one hand, God gave me so many unexpected blessings during the trip. I was able to encounter a lot of old and new friends from all over the world. They were such humble and influential Christ-followers, and it was encouraging and eye-opening to hear their testimonies of how God is working in their country. God also led us to put together some amazing mission projects, and we were so excited to see them happen in the next few years by God’s grace. 

On the other hand, there were also some unexpected challenges in the trip. In Thailand, the bus that we were going to take departed half an hour earlier (not later) than scheduled, and we had to wait for another 4 hours. This happened TWICE in a short trip – one time at the airport, the other time in the middle of the jungle. But, the challenges did not end there. When I was traveling Japan, my bag with the car key in it got lost (or stolen), and this made me stuck for hours and messed up my schedule. Phew. 

With all that, what can I learn from this trip? Is it the nature of a journey that is always an emotional rollercoaster? Or, is it the lesson “All’s well that ends well”? Actually, what God taught me was different. He reminded me of a lesson that every blessing comes from the Lord, and in every challenge the Lord is with me even in the middle of nowhere in a foreign land. This is not only true to this particular trip, but also to my journey of life. God is the Lord of my life, who guides me and walks alongside me, and controls everything, in both good and bad times.

“To know that He is the Lord my God” – this is the overarching message of Exodus that we are learning in our sermon series. We don’t want to miss this critical point by the lengthy book of 40 chapters. “To know” here in Hebrew means to know relationally, intimately, experientially, not merely intellectually. So, it means that we know that God is the Lord only in our obedience and response to God. It took 40 years for the Israelites to learn this lesson through the wilderness journey. It took 120 years for Moses through his whole life, first as a prince of Egypt, then as an unknown shepherd in the wilderness, and finally as a servant of God. 

In a spiritual sense, I realize that as a church we are walking in the wilderness. We are still walking a journey of uncertainty especially with covid and pastoral search. In this journey, we are experiencing both unexpected blessings and challenges. On the one hand, God gave us amazing blessings on the way – like the Fall Ohana Retreat, dozens of unbelievers gathering in house churches every week, and many new young professionals coming to our Sunday worship. On the other hand, we also have some challenges that we need to pray for. We are still looking for candidates for the pastoral search. The demographic of the church is rapidly changing and we still cannot see many people in-person on Sundays, especially the seniors, the families, and the children. We definitely need to pray for these situations, yet we don’t know how long this journey of church life would last.

But, we always need to keep this in mind. God has a purpose for our journey. It is to teach us the simplest yet the most profound lesson – He is the Lord our God. He is drawing us closer in every step of the journey. Not only does God know everything and have the power to do anything, He is the Lord who guides us, walks alongside us, and controls everything. And, He is perfectly good all the time. Also, God is inviting us not to passively wait until the journey ends, but to actively follow him, taking him as the Lord, to love him and his people in the journey. After praying for a couple months in the summer, this was what God showed the pastors of FBC to share with the church in the fall sermon series through the book of Exodus, which we believe is part of God’s plan. 

We always want to be hopeful and actively obedient to God. We are even excited during this uncertain time because the Lord our God is drawing us closer not to blame, but to bless us in the wilderness journey. Most importantly, we are hopeful because it is by Jesus Christ’s completed work, not by our work, that God made it all possible for us to follow the Lord willingly and faithfully – which is the essence of the Gospel. He already accomplished his work on the cross, breaking the power of sin that we walk our journey self-centered. 

So, friends. Let’s enjoy God’s presence and actively follow him right now, even in the midst of uncertainty and our frailty. Rather than taking things lightly or waiting passively until the journey ends, let’s take courage and choose to love God and our neighbors at all cost, which is Jesus’ greatest command at all times. It is the Lord our God who is inviting us to bless us by following him at this very moment, even in the midst of the wilderness. 

Blessings,

Pastor Kohei

FBC Fall Ohana Retreat Recap Video

by Daniel Mayeda

FBC Fall Ohana Retreat 2022

by Kenji Kumai

Isaiah 6:1-4
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;  the whole earth is full of his glory.” ⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

After 2 years of not having an all-church Fall Conference due to Covid, it was so wonderful to be able to come together as our FBC Ohana and spend a whole weekend together at Black Diamond Camp (Auburn, WA).  We even changed the name this year to “Fall Ohana Retreat” to give it a warmer “family” (“Ohana”) feel, and a more relaxing and restful “retreat” feel from what we used to call our annual Fall Conference.

This year, we were blessed to have Pastor Kurt Jun as our main speaker.  After all that we have gone through in the past  2-1/2 years, it was such an encouragement to be reminded of the Holiness and Glory of our heavenly Father.  We were encouraged as Pastor Kurt shared in more depth, through His word, about having a high, grand and awesome view of God, His glory, for His glory.

Kenji Kumai, Junji Kumai, Betty Inouye, Kurt Jun, Jerry Shin

Pastor Kurt recommitted his life to God when attending Faith Bible Church in his college days.  In lieu of having small group discussion time after session II, we had Pastor Kurt share about his life journey from the time he finished college (while attending FBC) until now.  Pastor Kurt shared – “the legacy of FBC has long been imprinted and engraved on my heart with fond memories of vital members that had shaped and profoundly influenced my love for the Lord Jesus and joy over His matchless Word.”  He shared some fond memories of many of the saints who had gone before us at FBC who had a profound influence in his spiritual development during that time.  He mentioned people like Miss Gladys Kaizer (one of the founders of FBC), Dennis Hurt, Richard and Sheila Tsuji, Howard and Betty Inouye, Bob and Noby Kennell, his 4 housemates (the “FUB boys” – “FUB” stood for “Fellowship Union Building” – which eventually became “five ugly boys”…Kurt Jun, Kenji & Junji Kumai, Jerry Shin and Daniel Kunihiro)  and many others.  God led him to Multnomah Seminary which led him to missions and eventually went into full time ministry as a Pastor.  Pastor Kurt is now the head Pastor at Antioch Christian Fellowship in Portland, Oregon.  What a blessing it was to be able to fellowship with his whole family.  His wife Kristen and three sons were all there! :  Troy (26) who is married to Mckenzie, Jordan (22) who is engaged to be married and Luke (19) who currently attends Biola.  It was also special to fellowship with Jerry Shin (one of the “FUB boys”) who flew down from Anchorage, Alaska to join us.

God blessed our weekend with an unexpected turn out.  We had 160 registered and 150 plus who attended.  It was hard to estimate how many would attend after not having a retreat for 2 years and as we are coming out of Covid.  After checking with various ministries, we had estimated about 80 and signed a contract for that.  In the last two weeks of registration as the numbers kept increasing, we were praying that Black Diamond Camp would have enough rooms in the facility since there were two other groups that weekend.  God is so good, He provided and we were so encouraged to have so many who were there to connect and grow together as the FBC Ohana.

Besides the main adult program, we also had a Children’s program and a Youth program who met separately in different facilities.  The children were blessed to have Dawn, Bill and Meghan Hamasaki plan and run the program all weekend.  They had crafts, gym time/ games and video teaching times.  It was like a mini VBS!  And thank you to Patty Mayeda who recruited and coordinated all of the helpers for both the older kids and the toddlers/ Infant care group.   We appreciate all the helpers for the children’s program.

The Youth Group (Wasabi – Middle School kids and ROCK – High School kids) was led by the ROCK leadership team.  A big thank you to Amy Li, Kelsey Huang and Sam He for planning, leading, speaking and hanging out with the Youth all weekend!!  They had a blast and even did the zip line!

We had a free time on Saturday afternoon, and many enjoyed the time in the gym.  We had volley games, basketball games, spike ball, wall climbing and a group watching the Mariner’s vs. Blue Jays game (the M’s were way behind the entire free time but came back to win – after we started session II!).  Thank you, Dan Matsumoto for overseeing free time to provide a place for people to go and hang out.  And thank you to Pastor Mike for setting up and making it possible for us to watch the game in the gym!

Danny Cohen

On Saturday evening, we had an All-Church Fun Night.  This is where all the groups and all ages got together to play games and fellowship together.  Jordan Coquinco, Watson Louie and Danny Cohen did an awesome job planning and executing the fun games!  We all had a blast!

Bob, Noby Kennell

Our Sunday morning session III was an awesome way to end the retreat.  As all of our other sessions, we had an amazing time of praise and worship.  Thank you to Justin Kumai for planning out the teams for each session and picking out the appropriate songs.  We first had Bob and Noby Kennell (our veteran missionaries with New Tribes Missions/ Ethnos360) share an update as they were on their way to Papua New Guinea to continue to encourage the leaders and believers of the church they planted and to complete the Bible translation that they are working hard on.  It was such a blessing to spend the weekend with them.  Pastor Kurt Jun shared his third message, and we ended our retreat with a great time of fellowship over lunch.

Dawn Mar, Jeanne Kumai, Alane Louie

Marty, Sammy, Lynn Dong

This retreat would not have been possible without the hard work and efforts of so many.  In addition to all of the others whom I mentioned, thank you to Alane Louie and Jeanne Kumai for all of the registration work and Dawn Mar who helped with checking everyone in on Saturday morning.  Throughout the retreat at every session and free times, we had an amazing spread of snacks, yummy treats and drinks.  Thank you to Marty Dong and his entourage!  The Dong and Ishimitsu families! And thank you to Daniel Mayeda who took care of the group photo, the videos and pics throughout the weekend for the awesome slide show that he put together for us to enjoy!  And a big thank you to Pastor Mike Kurtz who took care of all of the technical issues, setting up sound system on Friday night, name tags, maps, schedules, waiver forms, on-line registration forms, hauling toys for the kids and overseeing so many things for the retreat all while going through his trial and traveling to California to care for his mother in the hospital and his dad at home.  We are so blessed to see so many who made sacrifices to serve Him for His Glory!  All Glory to our Father who blessed our time together at the Fall Ohana Retreat.

FBC Fall Ohana Retreat – Youth

by Sam He

The day before the retreat, Amy, Kelsey, and I kinda-slept three hours and then we hiked twenty miles. We ended up getting back to Seattle pretty late and then we slept for not-that-long again. I think we were all a little tired going into the retreat, but by the grace of God (more on this later) and also a couple Pumpkin Cream Cold Brews from Starbucks, I feel like we all had pretty good energy!

I liked that our group (ROCK + Wasabi) had a whole building to ourselves; our meeting room was in the middle and the boys’ and girls’ rooms were on opposite sides of the meeting room, all connected. It was our own space, somewhere away from the adults where we could let loose a little, share with one another, and eat all the snacks to our heart’s desire. I thought our meeting room was a very cozy size – the only thing is, we just had to watch out for a couple of poles in the middle of our room during games, but I think nobody ran into them so it’s okay.

Zipline

It was encouraging to see our group grow more comfortable with each other as the retreat went on. I think this was especially apparent during free time when some young adults and college students from CYC joined us to play Two Rooms and a Boom. It was cool that even with all the new faces and “older” people there, the instructions were told and the game was run by Trevor and Maili, our two youngest players from Wasabi (middle school). The highlight of free time was the last hour when we went ziplininggg! Although it was pretty scary and even a few tears were shed, it was awesome to see everyone (with the exception of one person) climb the 30-40 foot tree and literally take a leap of faith to zip 300 feet across the woods. (I’m not gonna name names on who that person was but I maybe mentioned her earlier in this paragraph)

Okay, Chris Jo (an OG ROCK leader) gave me a great idea. If you’re a ROCK or Wasabi kid reading this, mention it to me and you win a prize!

My personal favorite part of the retreat was our three sessions. Each one followed a similar format: games, worship (led by Kelsey who is absolutely amazing), sharing from a ROCK leader, and finally, small group time.

Kelsey

The amazing Kelsey started us off super strong in the 1st session with her testimony. From a cheerful childhood in a cul de sac in Carmel, Indiana to going through a roller-coaster job search process her senior year at the University of Illinois, it was clear how she had experienced God’s grace in her life, and how everything she had was from God.

Sam

I followed Kelsey up in the 2nd session with my own testimony. Although maybe not as well-spoken, I also talked of God’s truly-Amazing grace in my life. I talked about how God showed me that nothing but Himself could ultimately satisfy me. I talked about my unknowing transformation from a whiny, selfish kid to a somewhat less whiny, selfish kid today lol.

Amy

Amy finished us out in the 3rd and final session with her sharing about her post-grad journey and eventual call to live and serve on the Yakima reservation with Sacred Road Ministries next year! (We’re gonna miss you). You can read all about it in this edition of Grapevine—she’s writing a whole separate article about it!

To close, I’m going to drop a quote from Amy’s Grapevine article from FBC’s last retreat:

“I am praying that this new group of students can develop strong bonds of friendship and to know the true blessing it is, to walk through this life with one another [and with God].”

FBC Fall Ohana Retreat – Children

by Dawn Hamasaki, Patty Mayeda

Children (K-5^th Grade)

While their parents were meeting, the children had their own activities.  In their sessions, the children (K-5th grade) worked on building, staining, and decorating a treasure box, and we talked about God’s Word being one of our greatest treasures.  They also designed a bookmark.  Then there was gym time, led by parents and volunteers, a favorite part of their session.  We also had snacks, and watched a dvd, The Last Chance Detectives.

A big thank you to all the parents and volunteers who pitched in to help with these sessions for the children!

Children (PreK & Under)

The toddlers and preschool children enjoyed making a craft at each session and having snacks, but their favorite activity was playing outside and blowing bubbles. It was a blessing to have great weather for the retreat, and we’re thankful for the parents and helpers who lovingly cared for and played with the kids.

SoulFood Ministry

by Akiko Takeda

After Easter, God gave us desire to serve in all-church lunch and fellowship. We are thankful that we were able to prepare lunch once every two weeks. At first, we had some difficult times recruiting volunteers, but at the end, we had total of more than 70 volunteers during the 4 months from April to July. After that, through prayers and discussions with Pastor Kohei, God gave us desire to make this lunch and fellowship as an official ministry, where we can have deeper fellowship and make disciples of the Lord Jesus. This is how “SoulFood Ministry” started. At first, we did not know how many volunteers would be able to commit and serve. However, God gave us over 40 committed volunteers. Since September, we have been able to provide meals twice a month, the first and third Sunday.

We are thankful that we have many volunteers and as well as people participating in the SoulFood Ministry.  We now have four teams of committed helpers, and over 120 people participate in the lunch and fellowship each time. In spring, when we first started serving lunch, we had leftovers when we prepared lunch for 100 people, but gradually more and more people joined us for lunch, and recently, all the food for 120 people is gone each time. We are happy that many people understand and participate in this ministry and it has become a place for the church to fellowship and serve.

This fellowship time has become a place where we can talk to first-time church visitors, follow up with new-comers, and enjoy fellowship across various age groups. The lunch and fellowship time has become an opportunity for the church to unite and come together as a real family. We were looking for volunteers in August and many people had signed up, so we were able to create four teams. Junior high and high school students are also actively serving. We are truly thankful that the Lord gives each person a purpose and understanding of the lunch ministry.

In the book of Acts, it says,
2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
2:47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

In the early church, we read about the importance of eating, praying, and praising God together. It also shows that the Lord adds people who are being saved to the fellowship. We hope that this SoulFood ministry will be used greatly both as a place to invite new people and as a place to deepen relationships.

We still have to be careful about covid, but fortunately, the Lord has been protecting both our volunteers and lunch participants from outbreak at the lunch and fellowship. We pray that SoulFood will be used for the unity of the church, evangelism, discipleship and training.

イースターの後から教会全体の食事の交わりに奉仕する思いが与られ、2週に一回、食事を準備できたことを感謝しています。最初は奉仕者を募るのが難しいときもありましたが、それでも4月から7月までに70名以上の奉仕者を与えて下さいました。その後、祈ったり、武田牧師と相談しながら、教会の交わりが深められ、また主イエスの弟子が作られるためにも、この働きをミニストリーとして行いたい思いが与えられ、「ソウルフード・ミニストリー」が始まりました。初めはどれくらいの奉仕者がコミットして奉仕をしてくれるか分かりませんでした。しかし、神様は40名以上のコミットしたミニストリー奉仕者を与えて下さり、九月からは第一週と第三週の月二回食事を提供できました。

ソウルフード・ミニストリーにはたくさんの奉仕者と参加者が与えられていること感謝します。今ではコミットした奉仕者が4チーム与えられ、毎回120名以上の方がランチフェローシップに参加してくれています。ランチを提供し始めた春は100人分のランチを用意しても最初は少し余ることもありましたが、徐々にランチに参加してくださる方も増え、最近は毎回１２０名分の食事がすべてなくなっています。多くの方が、このミニストリーを理解し、参加することで、教会の交わりの場や仕える場となっていることを嬉しく思います。

交わりの場では、初めて教会を訪れた方に声をかけてくださったり、フォローしたり、様々な年代を超えて交わりを楽しむ場になっています。教会が本当の家族のように一致していくためにランチの時が用いられています。奉仕者は、八月より募ってきてたくさんの方がサインアップしてくださり、４チーム作ることができました。中学生や高校生も積極的に奉仕しています。主が一人一人に目的を与え、ランチミニストリーを理解し、仕えてくださることに心から感謝いたします。

使徒の働きにはこう書かれています。

2:46そして毎日、心を一つにして宮に集まり、家でパンを裂き、喜びと真心をもって食事をともにし、 2:47神を賛美し、すべての民に好意を持たれた。主も毎日救われる人々を仲間に加えてくださった。

初代教会では、ともに食事をすること、祈ること、神を賛美することが大切にされていることが書かれています。そして、救われる方を仲間に加えてくださるということが示されています。新しい方を誘う場としても、親交を深める場としてもこのソウルフードが多いに用いられると期待しています。

コロナはまだ気を付けなければいけない状況ですが、幸いなことに奉仕者もランチに参加してくださっている方も、ランチや交わりから、感染することがなく過ごせていることに主の守りを感じています。これから、インフルエンザや風邪など気を付ける感染症も増えますが、奉仕者も参加者も配慮し合い、体調に気を付けつつ、ソウルフードが教会の一致、そして伝道と弟子訓練のために用いられていくことを祈ります。

Japanese Ministry Updates – Special Outdoor Worship Services in August

By Pastor Kohei Takeda

We praise God that during the summer He led us to gather twice for a special outdoor worship service with many believer and unbeliever friends. One time we gathered at Takeda’s house in Bellevue, the other time at Otsu’s house in Federal Way. The purpose for these gatherings is to intentionally invite and welcome believers and unbelievers to the in-person Sunday worship, and also to build relationship and unity by having a lunch fellowship. 

During this year, we have seen that some believers were still not able to come and meet inside the church on Sundays due to the risk of infection. We have also seen that some unbelievers, who are active members of house churches, were not able to come to the church because it feels too foreign. We totally understand those reasons, so God called us to take actions – rather than inviting them and waiting at the church, but going out and doing a church in a way that many people feel comfortable.   

One of the highlights was that one non-Christian family came to the worship for the first time in life and were immensely touched by God’s Word. After I shared a message from the Scripture on the purpose of life, the husband suddenly came to me, asking many questions about the Bible which he never heard about. Even though we have never met before, he honestly shared with me his ongoing struggles of not being able to find his purpose in life. As we took a walk on the beach after lunch, we deeply talked about life and purpose for about an hour. It was obviously the work of the Holy Spirit who touched his heart to seek the truth.  

This is part of the blessings, we had a wonderful time meeting together in-person with so many people. For some people, we met them for the first time in the last three years. We praised God for his faithfulness, who physically convened people to worship His name even in the midst of covid. We praised God for his goodness, who allowed us to gather together outdoors for fellowship with many friends, both old and new. So, we continue to worship God as one church, inviting many people to worship God and to have fellowship with them in the community of God, whether believers or unbelievers. 

– Pastor Kohei

Launching FBC Kids at 9:30 (Bilingual)

By Pastor Kohei Takeda

We always wanted to love and serve our children in the church. Yet, due to covid, for the past three years it has been always a challenge to provide meaningful Christian education to the children especially on Sundays during the 9:30am Japanese worship service. The kids are growing fast and Christian education led by the church was increasingly urgent, which was already overdue. In such a turmoil, what can we do? Yes, we pray. Pray, pray, and pray. 

Praise God, hearing the cry, He responded to our imperfect prayers by calling us to take actions. In 2020 & 2021, whether believers or unbelievers, God called us to intentionally connect with the parents and invite them to our weekly small groups (house churches) and to the monthly Mom’s group. We encouraged them to pursue Christian parenting in a community, not individually, because raising children during covid is particularly lonely and exhausting. The parents needed to learn biblical principles in parenting as well as to connect, encourage, and pray with other parents. Over time, God blessed the community by adding many parents, who were both believers and unbelievers. 

Then, in the summer of 2022, God gave us a new challenge to launch an in-person Sunday School for both Japanese & English speaking children during the 9:30am service. To pursue one body in one church, God called us to lead the class bilingually and welcome ANYONE under the 5th grade to connect and learn God’s Word together. So, whether English or Japanese speakers, believers or unbelievers, God invited us to create a safe & welcoming culture and to seek unity across the differences among our children. 

As God promised us in Matthew 6:33, He provided everything we needed to start up a new Sunday school class in the fall – actually, it was two new classes for different age groups. God provided children. God provided parents to actively get involved in Christian education by serving as teachers themselves, sharing the ownership of discipleship mandate as a church. God provided diverse volunteers, both Japanese and English speakers, the young and the seniors. God provided an opportunity to train the volunteers on a monthly basis, where we share how and what to teach the kids in the class. We also take it seriously to give support and guidance to each parent to educate their kids at home since 99% of Christian education actually takes place at home, not at church. Last but not least, God provided the leader (Akiko Takeda) to take initiatives in all this. 

It is a beginning and there may be many areas that we need to grow and structure things better as a ministry. However, we still praise God’s love and faithfulness for our children, using our small faith. And, by God’s grace we are sure that He continues to grow both the children and those who serve the children as we love them.

– Pastor Kohei   

CYC (College/Young Career) Ministry Update

by Jennifer Tsuji

Hello FBC Fam! It may be Q4 for a lot of us in the working world, but for our College/Young Career group, Q1 of the new school year has just begun! Here’s a recap on what’s going on with our fellowship:

Sunday School:

This year, CYC started off a new Sunday School series on the book of….Revelation! This is a book that has been requested by members in the past, as it’s infrequently talked about and hard to study on your own. It was a daunting task for our SS teachers (Brian/Ryan/Danny) but they very diligently met all summer and did their own studies of the book and have prepared a really great series for our class, along with some supplemental study books. Shout-out to Preston Mar for also joining & supporting the Sunday School teachers with their lesson plans! The first 2 Sundays of the school year were spent learning about the context/writing style of Revelation and dispelling any rumors/misconceived notions that we were coming into this book with. Then, after Fall Conference we officially began scripture study and so far it’s been very fruitful and eye-opening.

Monthly Fellowship:

Our first fellowship of this new year was a twist on an old classic. In the past, we’ve generally liked to start off the year with some iteration of a game night, but this year it was such a treat to have a Trivia Night hosted by our very own Tony Encarnacion! He had prepared a really great trivia slidedeck for the Navigators Conference he was at this summer and graciously offered to let CYC try it out, too! We started off the night with an icebreaker – the classic nametag-on-your -back game where you go around asking people questions to find out who you are. From there, folks were split up into the 4 trivia teams depending on who they were according to their nametag: Athletes, Actors/Actresses, Marvel Characters, or Bible Characters.  The trivia itself was a ton of fun and there were various categories of trivia to always keep us on our toes and ensure that everyone got to contribute. (Friendly tip if you ever participate in it: study the colors on the country flags, memorize the most amount of countries in Asia as you can, pay attention to the Spotify #1 artists and/or the most popular fast food chains around the world!). Congratulations to the “Athletes” who ended up being our Trivia champions!

Looking ahead, we are preparing for our annual Thanksgiving Fellowship + Sacred Road shopping in November – please pray that God would use that time for His glory.

Connect w/us!:

We had a great turnout of CYC members at this years Ohana Retreat and it was wonderful to be able to integrate & fellowship with the entire church! One goal that we have for our group this year is to ensure we are getting to know the entire church and not just stay within our CYC bubble. Our group also has a wonderful heart to serve others, so if your ministry is in need of some help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the CYC core team and we can hopefully find some people in our group to volunteer! Finally, if you ever see a young person around, please don’t be afraid to say hi – we won’t bite and we would love to get to know you! 🙂

Our story is only a small part of His story
(Sacred Road Ministries)

by Rieko Kato

Could you imagine with me that we are all part of God’s design of an intricate tapestry.

Day by day, what we do in the name of the Lord and for His people and Kingdom is being woven together with other thread to make a beautiful design. At FBC, our Ohana may be a part of the thread God is using to show His glory and tell His story in Yakama and beyond.

Fifteen years ago, in 2007, FBC sent a summer mission team to Yakama with Sacred Road Ministries for the first time.

It was an answer to 2 years of prayer and waiting on the Lord for direction.

In 2004, our family was a part of a FBC summer mission team to rural Trinidad. Our team witnessed homes built on garbage dumps. We learned to serve and reach out to the Muslim and Hindu communities. Our teammates were extraordinary in many ways, adapting to various situations.  Our God provided increasingly complex challenges each day for our team. The number of the VBS participants grew every day, and each day there were just enough craft materials for the growing group. Every day there were different activities ranging from door to door evangelism to a Gospel street drama performance in front of a small Hindu temple. We were stretched well beyond our comfort zones.

But Trinidad was too far away.

We prayed for a place where we could send families, young people and adults to experience a culture like that of Trinidad.  God pointed us to the Yakama Reservation with Sacred Road Ministries. Yakama was an ideal place for FBC. Yakama was our Samaria, a sovereign nation with a different culture and people group. Our goals were woven together like a tapestry: to love the people, to bring hope to the hopeless, and to preach the good news to the poor.

Since the reservation was just a few hours away, we hoped many in the congregation, including children, would have an opportunity to experience missions on a personal level. And through this exposure, they would grow in their love for a different people group and desire to see God’s glory spread to all nations. We hoped that the children in particular could learn to give from their hearts. As they gave Christmas gifts and school supplies, they would receive nothing in return: no thank you cards or acknowledgement from the Yakama children. Only the knowledge that they were part of a bigger story of blessing and hope.

The Christmas Shoebox collection is just one part of our long term relationship with Sacred Road Ministries.

After our first mission trip to Yakima, we asked the staff at Sacred Road Ministries how we can help them minister around the Christmas season.  One of the requests was for collecting Christmas gifts for Yakama people.

Ten years ago, Sacred Road missionaries, Mary Granberry  and Joshua Tsavatewa, asked their supporting churches around US to send shoeboxes full of small gifts for Yakama children at Christmas time. These gifts grew to become 400 to 600 shoeboxes from around the country. Because the number of shoeboxes exceeded the number of children at Hope Fellowship, it allowed Sacred Road Ministries to reach out to many neighborhoods on the Yakama reservation that they normally could not reach. It expanded their reach to the Georgeville Yakama community on Satus Pass, the Celilo Native Village on the Columbia River, and areas of the Warm Springs reservation in Oregon.  Along with the shoebox deliveries, came the Christmas Kids clubs in those areas, so with the shoeboxes, they also brought the Gospel message of Christ’s birth.  Mary Granberry’s prayer was that these shoeboxes would be a tremendous method of spreading seeds of the Gospel in order for the Kingdom to grow among our Native neighbors.

Why is the Christmas gift collection a special event for me?

Have you heard the song called “Happy Birthday Jesus.”?

Many years ago our Junior Church performed this musical and this song sang by Maddie brought tears to my eyes. The lyrics tell the story:

“Happy Birthday Jesus. I’m so glad it’s Christmas. All the tinsel and lights and the presents are nice. But the real gift is you. Happy Birthday, Jesus. I’m, so glad it’s Christmas. All the carols and bells make the holiday swell. And It’s all about you. Happy Birthday, Jesus. Jesus, I love you.”

Christmas can be the loneliest or happiest time of the year for different individuals…

When I was a child growing up in Japan, I never received a Christmas gift from my family. Christmas did not have any special meaning to our families and friends. Many children around the world do not receive a gift on Christmas.  But the majority of children here receive Christmas presents.  For children on the Yakama reservation, there is often no money at Christmas for presents. Many of the children are homeless or have no one who care for them or protect them.  Sacred Road Ministries has been providing a “home” for children and youth, bringing hope to a community that previously was in a season that was “always winter but never Christmas.” The Shoe Box gifts represents love to these children, letting them know that in the midst of a long winter there is hope, the hope of Christ’s birth.  It shows they are loved and cared for. The Christmas party they celebrate to wish happy birthday to Jesus echoes the lyrics of the song, “Happy Birthday Jesus. I’m so glad it’s Christmas. All the tinsel and lights and the presents are nice. But the real gift is you. Happy Birthday, Jesus. I’m, so glad it’s Christmas. All the carols and bells make the holiday swell. And It’s all about you. Happy Birthday, Jesus. Jesus, I love you.”

Thank you for your generous support and love over the years 🙂

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40 ESV)

Will you be part of the tapestry, and bring hope this Christmas?

Thank you,
Rieko

Sacred Road Christmas Gift List (Link)

Sacred Road Ministries – Summer Mission Trip

by Amy Li

Though three months have already passed since our team of three (Brian Watanabe, Nathan Fukuda, and myself) returned from White Swan, WA, my heart is still overflowing with gratitude for our week “on the rez” with Sacred Road Ministries and the people of Yakama. From that single week, there are countless stories, memories, and reflections tucked away in our hearts, and I feel thankful for the chance to share a small glimpse of what we experienced through God’s grace while we were there.

All three members of our team this year had been to Sacred Road at least once before, with Brian being our leader as the most seasoned veteran. I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say that our past and present experiences at Sacred Road have personally impacted and changed our lives, and each of us has a story of why we decided to go again this year (feel free to ask them ;). My first time on the one-week missions trip was back in the summer of 2019, which happened to be the last summer before Sacred Road put a pause on short-term teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the virus spread through their community, putting a strain on their already limited resources. As things started to look better on the COVID-19 front, and I heard that FBC would be sending another team again this year, I knew that I wanted to return. Anticipation had built up over the past three years, and I still held with me a lasting impression from my first trip, that the people and places “on the rez” were special. Certainly, places with a lot of darkness and death (both in their history and in the present), endless cycles of poverty, addiction, and abuse, but also places where you can see the light of God and the hope of Jesus breaking through in new ways. At Sacred Road, you get to witness God working through being one small part of their day-to-day, year-round operations, that includes children’s, youth, after-school, and young adult’s ministry, as well as mercy ministry (ie. food, firewood, and transportation).

As July finally rolled around, and our team embarked from the Akamine’s house (they so graciously sent us off with prayer and then warmly welcomed us home with a surprise lunch a week later), I remember feeling nervous but excited about the week ahead. But after a two hour drive and one gigantic burger later, from Miner’s Drive-In (it’s a tradition!), we turned the corner onto Pumphouse Road to see the teepees, the basketball courts, the dining deck with all of its picnic tables and umbrellas, and it all felt so familiar and surreal to be back, even though (or maybe even more so, because) I had only been there once, three years ago. My heart leapt for joy.

Throughout the week, our weekdays were split pretty evenly between manual labor on a work site and children’s ministry (Kid’s Club) in one of two nearby neighborhoods. For our work site, our team was paired with the team from Alabama, tasked with re-painting the house of a woman named Gloria. It was not easy stuff… relentless work that required standing in the heat of the day with no shade, painting carefully by brush and roller, and getting up into the rafters near nests of hornets, the metal of the tin roof burning our feet. But at the end of the week, to see the house with a fresh coat of paint, made it all worth it. During our four days of work, we worked together as a team and got to know the people from Alabama and our site leader, a young Native American youth, who was overseeing a work project for the first time.

When I think back on the week, I can point out many wonderful, albeit maybe superficial, things there that I love:

• the beauty of the landscape that can’t be captured in a picture, no matter how hard we try
• pastel painted skies during sunset and brilliant fuchsias splashed across the horizon as the sun rises over the hills
• the view of the towering and majestic Mount Adams, or as they call it, Pahto
• the best tasting tap water I’ve ever tasted!
• homecooked meals that nourish the soul and taste even better after a hard day’s work, made with love and care from everyone’s Southern mama, Mary Granberry
• the leisure with which each day came to an end, reminiscent of my childhood, playing outside until the sun set, usually practicing basketball for at least 10 minutes each day (but sadly, I did not see much improvement in my skills)
• beautiful stars that light up the dark sky, and even glimpses of the Milky Way
• though you wouldn’t think it possible, sleeping on an air mattress, in a sleeping bag, in the church basement or in a teepee, with people who snore… you get some of the best sleep of your life

But really, as great as any of those things sound, they really pale in comparison to the joy and wonder of seeing God work each and every day we were there, through both the hard/difficult things and the beautiful/joyous things:

• witnessing the joy of kids just being kids, with their childlike faith and trust, even with all that they have experienced in their early years. It goes to show how God is making a way for His gospel to reach every person.
• the staff and workers at Sacred Road Ministries who serve sacrificially, not in a begrudging way, but a joyous, life-giving sacrifice. What they do and how they act looks a lot like what I would imagine Christ would do and how He would act, and it makes me all the more want to imitate them. Through word and deed, they are bringing hope to those on the reservation.
• how God worked in bringing our team together, even my friend Jayke, who was a last-minute, unofficial addition to our group. I already shared the story of how within five minutes of his arrival, he was recruited to play guitar for Sunday worship. And I’m thankful for how Nathan and Brian befriended him (Nathan being 10 years younger and Brian being… older than him!) and encouraged him in his faith.
• the Kato’s joining us on the Wednesday for Kid’s Club, and seeing their heart for this ministry through their heartfelt interactions with old friends at Sacred Road, relationships that have clearly been built over a long time and through many seasons of life.
• the hard realization that all we can do are little things, ie. playing with one kid for one week, painting the house of one widow, cutting firewood for one family for one winter season. But then, realizing that the only reason any of the little things can mean anything at all is because of God. God brings meaning to the work that we do.

When you’re there, you can’t help but feel like you’re in the center of God’s will, doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing, what he’s called each of us to do, to love people and to point them towards Him. After the week, I certainly felt challenged to take a hard look at the way I was living in Seattle, and God pointed out areas of callousness in my heart, where I lacked compassion and empathy, and areas where I could embrace a simpler life, that is more focused, with less distractions.

Anyways, this is all really just a glimpse of our week from this past July at Sacred Road. There’s simply not enough time or space here to write about everything we saw and experienced, and even as much as I try to do it justice, it doesn’t even come close to experiencing it yourself. So, I’ll end by encouraging you to think about where God might be calling you, to experience the real thing at Sacred Road, and to see for yourself what God is doing over there “on the rez”.

Endless thanks to those of our church family who supported our team financially. Your donations went above and beyond our need and covered all of our costs, and was given as donation to Sacred Road Ministries. Your prayers for us throughout the week helped to sustain us, and we saw firsthand the fruit of your prayers. Please continue to keep Sacred Road Ministries, Hope Fellowship Church, and the Yakama people in your prayers. Pray that these children would come to know the love of God, and then, their families, and then, a whole community, won over to Christ. And please consider donating to the Christmas gift donations, which will be collected in the foyer until November 27th.

Small Group Highlight

by Jon & Trisha Vlach

We are Jon and Trisha Vlach and we lead a small group here at FBC.

Our group was originally started by the Espositos and eventually we were asked to step up in leadership. But not long after we started leading, the pandemic hit. Not only were we learning how to lead a group, we had the added challenge of not being able to meet in person. Pre-pandemic, we would meet two Fridays a month for dinner, fellowship, and study. When the pandemic hit, we learned to use zoom to continue to connect through study and prayer time. As restrictions eased, we were able to start meeting in person again and we all felt immensely blessed to see people face to face. Thankfully God saw our group through to the other side, through zoom calls, to masked meetings, and now we are planning to reincorporate dinners again! God is so faithful and we praise Him for it.

Being able to come through the pandemic is a real answer to prayer. It has been so encouraging to walk with the members of the group. We get to see how God is working in their lives and answering prayers in relationships, meeting physical needs, and granting peace in the waiting. Each answer to prayer, no matter how it comes, is an encouragement and we are thankful to be a part of it.

We are continuously grateful for the members of the group. Their willingness to share their own testimonies while lifting up others in prayer. They are a wonderful source of encouragement, and we often feel as though we should not be called the leaders as we end up learning more from them.

Our small group has been going through the Gospel Journey and we are currently studying Hebrews. It has been encouraging to be reminded how Jesus is greater than all. Greater than humans, angels, and all of creation. He is our great high priest and our sacrificial lamb.

We recently took a look at Hebrews chapter 6 and while there are some really challenging concepts in this chapter the discussion was wonderful. One of the things that came out of this discussion was in verse 19. There it has the phrase “it is impossible for God to lie”. What an encouragement! We then talked some about the example of this found in Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham and even though Abraham and Sarah decided to try and take maters into their own hands, God still followed through on all of His promises. If God said it then He is good for it, in spite of all that we might do thinking we messed it up. Yet with that comes the sobering reminder that if God said that there will be a consequence for your actions, you can be sure that He is good for that too. However, this is often where we can see his great mercy and grace towards us. The ultimate example is in Christ’s death on the cross. God said that sin cannot go unpunished, but in His great love He sent his only son to take that punishment. This grants us access to a God we shouldn’t have access to, while proving that God keeps his word. How amazing!

Discussions like this are why we love this group so much. If you are interested in joining us, we meet the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month at our place in Northgate. We meet at 6:30pm for dinner and have study and prayer after. Please feel free to reach out to us if you would like to get connected. All are welcome.

Small Group Highlight

by Lisa Coquinco

I am Lisa Coquinco, one of the shepherds of the “Joshikai (Girls’ Group) with Guys”. “Joshikai with Guys” is a house church group led by Ben and Junko Fisher, Jordan and myself. Our group members are mainly non-believers, and since our house church started during the pandemic, we have people from as far north as Mill Creek, as far south as Bonney Lake, and from as far away as Poulsbo, Arizona and Japan. We are now trying to have zoom meetings at least twice a month and in-person meeting once a month. During the summer, we were able to go to water parks, playgrounds, and lakes, and both adults and children had a great time of fellowship. However, it is difficult to have frequent in-person gatherings because the members live far from each other.

House church is basically a time to share what we are thankful for in our daily lives, and the non-believers have gradually opened their hearts and trusted us, sharing not only what they are thankful for, but also many other things such as hardships and difficulties they have faced. Also, since our children are close in age, we share our parenting struggles and we can relate to each other’s struggles and give advice. People who attend the house church say, “Thanks to the house church, I am able to look for things to be thankful for even when I am going through tough time.”  We are more thankful to them for participating every time, trusting us, and sharing many things with us. We are also thankful that a couple who returned to Japan continues to attend our house church.

It has been more than two years since we started our house church, and each time we see God’s work and have a blessed time. When we first started our house church, when we asked them about their prayer requests, they would say, “I’m fine.”  But now, they are sharing their prayer requests with us every time. Whenever there are prayer requests that cannot be shared in the house church, they send a private message to us, the shepherds. What is especially encouraging about the house church is that the prayer requests are always answered. I believe that the non-believers also share their prayer requests with us because they realize that their prayers are being answered. I am so thankful and blessed that all the members of the house church are able to rejoice together when our prayers are answered. We feel that God is with us every time and pours out His love to us. I am encouraged by God’s presence every time prayer requests are answered. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” The house church has helped me to be thankful for the small things in my daily life. I have also learned not to take for granted the things that are given to me, but to be thankful for what God has given to me.

I hope that by sharing about God and the Bible at the house church, people will be saved. I also hope that new people will be connected to the house church. Of course, there are still some problems, such as the members are not connected to Sunday services even though they are coming to the house church, and as mentioned earlier, it is difficult to have in-person gatherings due to distance. However, as it is stated in 2 Timothy 4:2 says “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction,” we will never give up, but will share the Word and pray at any time. Even for the struggle of meeting in-person due to distance, we believe that God will give us the best solution. I would appreciate it if you would also pray for our house church so that the non-believers, who are currently participating, will be saved, and new people will be added to our house church.

女子会with guysの牧者の1人のコクインコ梨茶です。女子会with guysはフィッシャー(ベン、順子)夫妻とジョーダン、私がリードしているハウスチャーチグループです。主なメンバーはnon believerの方達で、パンデミックの頃に私たちのハウスチャーチグループは始まったことから、北はMill Creek、南はBonney Lake、またPoulsboやアリゾナ州、日本からと様々なところから参加してくれています。今は月に最低2回zoom、月1回in personを目指しています。夏はウォーターパークやプレイグラウンド、レイクに行ったり、大人も子どもたちもフェローシップを楽しむことができました。しかし、メンバー同士が距離的にとても離れていることもあり頻繁にin personでの集まりを行うことが難しい状態です。

ハウスチャーチは基本、日々の生活のなかで感謝なことをシェアするという時間なのですが、non believerの方たちもだんだん心を開いて私たちを信頼し、感謝なことだけでなく、辛かったこと、困難があったことなど、いろんなことをシェアしてくれるようになりました。また、子どもたちの年齢も近いので、育児で悩んだことなどもシェアし、共感してみんなが親身になってアドバイスをし合ったりしています。参加している方たちは「いつもありがとう、ハウスチャーチのおかげで大変な時も感謝なことを探し、感謝できるようになった。」とおっしゃってくださいますが、毎回参加し、私たちを信頼して、いろんなことをシェアしてくれることに私たちの方が感謝する日々です。駐在期間が終わり、日本に帰国したご夫婦も続けてハウスチャーチに参加してくださっていることも感謝です。

ハウスチャーチを始めて、2年以上経ちますが、毎回神様の働きを感じ、恵まれた時間を過ごすことができています。ハウスチャーチを開始したばかりの時はお祈り課題を聞くと、「私は大丈夫です。」と言っておられた方たちも、今では「お祈りお願いします。」と毎回お祈り課題をシェアしてくださり、ハウスチャーチのなかでシェアできないお祈り課題の時は、個人的なメッセージを牧者にくださいます。ハウスチャーチをしていて特に励まされることは、必ずお祈り課題はきかれているということです。お祈りがきかれていることをそれぞれが実感しているからこそ、non believerの方たちもこうやってお祈り課題をシェアしてくれるんだと思います。お祈りが聞かれた時には、ハウスチャーチのメンバー全員で共に喜べていることが本当に感謝であり、恵みです。神様が毎回のハウスチャーチに共にいてくださり、私たちに愛を注いでくださっていることを感じます。みんなのお祈り課題がきかれているたびに神様がいてくださっていると励まされます。テサロニケの信徒への手紙一 5:18“どんなことにも感謝しなさい。これこそ、キリスト・イエスにおいて、神があなたがたに望んでおられることです。” とあります。ハウスチャーチのおかげで、私自身も日々の小さなことに感謝できるようになりました。また、当たり前に与えられてるものを当たり前だと思わず、神様が与えてくださっているものだと感謝できるようになりました。

ハウスチャーチで、神様のこと、聖書のことなどを伝えていくことで少しでも救われる人たちがいればと願っています。また新しい方たちがハウスチャーチに繋がることができたらなと思っています。当然、ハウスチャーチをしていてもなかなかメンバーが教会の礼拝に繋がらない、先ほど述べたように、距離的にin personで行うことが難しいなどの悩みもあります。しかし、テモテへの手紙二 4:2“御言葉を宣べ伝えなさい。折が良くても悪くても励みなさい。とがめ、戒め、励ましなさい。忍耐強く、十分に教えるのです。” にあるように決して諦めずどんな時でも御言をシェアして祈っていきたいと思っています。また、距離的な問題も引き続きお祈りし、神様が最善策を見つけ、解決してくれると信じています。皆さんも今参加しているnon believerの方たちが救われるよう、新しい人たちがハウスチャーチに繋がれるよう、ハウスチャーチのためにお祈りいただけたら感謝です。

FBC Calendar (link)

9:30am

Japanese Service/ FBC Kids at 9:30 (November 13, 20, December 4, 11, 18)

English Sunday School (Youth – Adult)

11:00am

English or Joint Worship Service/ FBC Kids

* Joint Service (November 6, 27, December 25)

12:15pm

SoulFood (November 6, 20, December 4, 18)