In Community:

December 2018 Newsletter

Holidays or Holy Days?

by Pastor Craig Swanson

It is so easy for us human beings to get distracted, to lose focus, to drift off course.  That is especially true in our celebrations of holidays.  For example, Memorial Day was established to stop our normal routine and reflect on those who have made the greatest sacrifice to protect us and preserve the freedoms we enjoy in this country, but it has become a day for picnics, barbeques and auto races.  Independence Day is now typically referred to as 4th of July and instead of celebrating our nation’s independence the emphasis is on fireworks.  Thanksgiving is routinely called Turkey Day with a feast at the center of our festivities and the day now also marks the kickoff of shopping season with Black Friday, Small-business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.

And then there’s Christmas, the holiday associated with presents and parties, trees and tinsel, cards and cakes (at least in Japan).  But at the center of Christmas is the birth of Jesus; the culmination of God’s plan of redemption for His fallen creatures and broken creation.  Eons of planning, generations of prophecies and decades of preparations all came together in the birth of Jesus who would grow up to give His life as our Savior, rise from the dead as the first-fruits of our resurrection and ascend to heaven as our Intercessor.  Jesus gives us hope – for today, tomorrow and forever.  If ever there was a time to celebrate, Christmas is that time.

There’s nothing wrong with all the secondary things that accompany our celebration of the holidays.  The problems come when we carve out the center and are left with simply the shell.  When the center is removed, what’s left is hollow.  And for many, that describes their holiday experiences – hollow.  To avoid that this Christmas let’s regularly take time to reflect on why we celebrate.  Try reading a daily Advent devotional, sing along with the Christmas Carols (the sacred ones), give to those in need, bless those around you.  As we do these things the holidays truly become Holy Days.

School of Promise Missions Trip

In mid-October, a group of 20 of us from Faith Bible Church went on a missions trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand for a week to run a VBS camp at the School of Promise (SOP). The team also included a couple (the Rasks) that are friends of the Kurtzes. Nine of us on the team stayed for another week to help at an English camp for the older students at the school. All in all, it was an amazing trip! Here are some highlights from some of the team members:

Spending time with the Kennells –Laurie Fukuda

How wonderful it was to spend time with the Kennells! From the time we arrived to the time we took off to return to the States, we were greatly blessed by their warm hospitality, guidance, and care. It was so helpful to have our accommodations, transportation, and itinerary planned out in advance by Bob and Noby. They had even arranged for us to worship and have lunch with their church family on Sunday. It was a joy to be able to worship with our Thai brothers and sisters in Christ.

Along with being the ideal hosts, the Kennells also partnered with the team during the week of VBS Camp. Each day, they came up with an engaging skit to introduce that day’s Bible lesson. Bob also teamed up with Kelly Aramaki to make the perfect teaching team, and Noby served as a counselor. Perhaps my favorite part of the trip was listening to Bob share the Gospel with my young group of students in Thai. What a delight for the children to hear the Gospel in their native language! Although I could not understand one word, I was touched to see the children completely engaged, many hearing the Good News for the first time. Seeing the Kennells’ faith in action, their giftedness for ministry, and their authentic love for people has truly inspired me and expanded my vision for my own personal walk with the Lord. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to minister together and share life with the Kennells. All of us felt so loved and cared for by this dear couple!

VBS Camp -Lauren Mayeda

The majority of our trip was focused on VBS for 1st-3rd grade children. Only about half of the kids that attended were students from the School of Promise; the other half were just from the surrounding neighborhood, which meant that many of them knew little to no English. In my group, there was one child in particular that we constantly had to ask to sit and listen – he was always getting distracted by the decorations in the classrooms or by his friends. Maybe it was just his personality or maybe it was because he couldn’t understand much of what was being taught. However, on the fourth day of VBS, Bob Kennell shared the Gospel story in Thai with all the kids. That day, our usually distracted child was sitting in the front row, listening quietly and even asking questions. It was so heartwarming to know that he was finally able to understand what was going on and that he was curious to hear what Bob had to say. I noticed that he wasn’t the only one who was listening intently, and I hope that along with the crafts, games, songs, and memories from our weeklong VBS, that every child was able to learn something new about God.

Home Visits & VBS -Tom & Hiromi Gerety

We feel blessed and thankful for the short mission trip that God helped us to participate in. We are especially thankful for the opportunity we had to visit the homes of some of the students, both as a large group in the afternoon, and in smaller groups in the evening. It was great to see the families of the students, and to see how they lived. It was eye-opening to compare our experience with the other team members who visited different homes. We also very much enjoyed meeting “Peggy,” who we have been helping to support by assisting in her school expenses, and to see how she was growing in the SoP environment. Finally, we enjoyed the energy – and the opportunity to burn it off – from working with the kids during the first-week VBS. Their enthusiasm, especially during the Daniel story-telling and the singing times, was infectious.

God’s Love and Education -Lauren Oda

As someone who is working to become a teacher, it was beyond beautiful to see education and God’s love combine in such a wonderful way. With teachers and staff all Christian, I could feel God using education to reach the margins. During our trip, I found out that there was even a time when the teachers knowingly stayed on despite uncertain paydays- and even now, funding is not stable. The FBC team got to sing worship songs and visit student households with the dedicated School of Promise teachers- they all go above and beyond their job titles in order to show these families the love of God. As for the students, only some of their families are able to afford the School of Promise’s fees while a vast majority are on partial or full scholarships. God is using private school level education to open up possibilities and literally keep children off the streets. I don’t know exactly what God has planned for me, but my desire to share God’s love through education is stronger than ever thanks to my time in Thailand.

VBS Camp Highlights -Alisa Williamson

God had a purpose for each person called to serve and that was especially evident during VBS. During the week we could see God working in or through each member of our team, the Kennells, the youth counselors, the teachers and the children. We debriefed every day and every day, people shared how they saw God working. One of the highlights for me was Bob’s riveting telling of the gospel story in Thai. Even the unruliest children were enthralled! A second highlight was to see the youth counselors who were timid or reluctant at first have so much confidence in serving by the end of the week! Several of them even expressed interest in Christ or getting baptized! Thirdly was the testimony sharing of the teachers. Seeing and hearing the children ask questions after the sharing was an assurance of the seeds that were planted.

Saga & Piper -Rieko Kato

I met two sisters, “Saga” and “Piper” when Gary and I visited Chiang Mai in February this year. We met them in their English class at the School of Promise. Saga was a fifteen-year-old girl who asked me, “Do you have a boyfriend?” I answered, “Yes, my husband over there is my boyfriend.” Piper, Saga and another girl at my table giggled and wanted to know how we met. I shared my story of asking God for a wonderful husband and how I met him at our church. Saga was cheerful and bubbly. Piper seemed more shy but sweet. By the end of class, I felt comfortable enough to give them hugs. The girls were hugging, giggling and waving their arms big to say good-bye. At VBS this fall, I discovered that Saga and Piper were junior counselors in our group. I said to them “I remember you.” Saga looked despondent, but still gave me a half smile and said she remembered me too. I kept talking to them each time I saw them. I noticed Saga’s face changed over the week from sad and sullen to happy and cheerful the more we talked. I often asked Saga to help translate and work with the children. Saga and Piper and the other junior helpers all loved doing crafts.  I had the privilege to give them crafts to finish at home. These teens and children were like the ones I met in Yakama and Trinidad. They appreciated the small and simple things. The simple little things made them happy.

On the first day of VBS, I found out that Saga and Piper were staying with the Vander Kooi family. The home where the girls came from was too dangerous for them to stay.  SOP convinced their mom to let them stay at home of one of the staff. At our SOP Shabu Shabu appreciation dinner, the two sisters came with the Vander Koois. I hugged them and prayed for them.  I told them I wish that one day, they would be able to get Thai citizenship and passports. Please pray for the 2 teen sisters to be safe and to have real hope in Christ, and that one day, they will find complete healing from their troubled past.

The Rich Young Ruler & the Body of Christ – Kelly Aramaki

Of the entire trip, one of the most impactful moments for me was during a home visit of one of the students. It was a small, two-room home with very little lighting and open to the outside. The four walls didn’t completely connect with the roof in order to allow airflow. The only furniture was a small water dispenser near the front door. The mother was still at work, so we sat and talked with the father and his two small kids. We discovered that the man was a Christian; he grew up going to a Christian school and lived in a Christian dormitory. He expressed how thankful he was for sponsorship for his daughter so that she could go to school. When asked, his prayer request was to get a job that would allow him to continue to drop off and pick up his daughter at school and that would help pay for food for his family. For the briefest moment, I found myself feeling so sorry for the man and his circumstance. But just as that thought entered my mind, I felt God whisper to me, “Rich Young Ruler”. Right after, I felt the Holy Spirit asking me, “Who should feel sorry for whom?” Was it right for me to feel sorry for this man who was materially poor but who prayed each day in faith that God would provide for him and his family their “daily bread”? Or, should this father feel sorry for me, someone who has relative material wealth and comfort and who doesn’t feel the need to always pray for daily bread?

The other significant takeaway for me from this mission trip to Thailand was God’s illustration of our team as the “body of Christ” as written in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. God brought together in remarkable unity a team of 20 people who had such beautiful diversity of skill and talent and passion – all of which was needed in order to serve the kids, families and staff at the School of Promise. Rieko, who coordinated all art projects, brought her gifts and passion for arts and crafts and connecting with children (kids swarmed her in the craft room after scarfing down their lunches). Laurie, who coordinated the VBS counselors, brought her skills and gifting in coordinating, teaching and her deep understanding of the Scripture. Tom brought his understated, yet tremendous acting skills, which thrilled the kids, while Hiromi brought her kindness and patience in her work with even the most challenging students. Alisa brought her amazing gift of drawing, which helped us make the story of Daniel visual and understandable beyond language. Loda brought her kid-magnet energy, positivity and musical gifting. Dawn brought her deep commitment to the power of prayer and her willingness to trust in God. Lauren Hwang brought her passion for addressing sex trafficking and her youthful, yet powerful leadership skills. Lyanne, who coordinated VBS, brought her teaching expertise and her faithfulness in God through any trial. Jeremy Chase, an FBC missionary in Cambodia, joined the team for the second week and brought his love for the people of Southeast Asia and his gifts and passion for prayer and teaching of the Bible. And on and on and on. Every person was chosen by God to go on this trip, whether they knew it at the beginning or not. And as the trip unfolded, God blessed us by making it more and more evident exactly why He wanted each person to be there. We are the body of Christ – united in mission yet diverse and interdependent in the unique gifts and talents and interests God has equipped each with.

English Camp Highlights –Reiko Aramaki

During the second week, nine of us from the team stayed on to run some fun activities for the two-day overnight camp for the 4^th-8^th grade SOP students. The camp was at a campsite near the school and about 65 students attended the camp. The goal of the camp was to provide opportunities for the students to practice speaking their English and to also have a lot of fun and deepen their relationships with one another. On both days, our team split up and offered activities for the students to make crafts and play games. The 4^th-8^th grade SOP staff were also at the camp and ran some other fun games like Capture the Flag (in 90+F heat!) and where students were split into teams and had to compete to be the fastest team to complete tasks like drinking Coke and feeding yogurt to one another while blind-folded! On the evening of the first night, members from a local Thai church came and led the students through an activity that taught them that worldly success is not as important as finding worth in Christ alone. We were able to pray with the students during this time and then have a reflective time of singing around a “campfire” led by Mike Kurtz.

Since a lot of the students at the camp were junior counselors at the VBS camp the week before, it was a blessing to see them again and to also see them interacting with their peers. English camp also provided some of us an opportunity to have some good conversations with some of the SOP staff. I was able to catch up with a teacher from the States whose class I observed when I visited SOP two years ago. Back then, I had heard that she was leaving the school and I could sense that she was going through a difficult time. It was really nice to see that she was back at the school again and to also hear that she was in a much better place now after going through some personal trials over the last few years. Talking to her and hearing other staff’s stories have made me appreciate the SOP staff even more. Many have gone through a lot of personal hardships and sacrifices while committing to giving the SOP students hope and a better life. I am so encouraged by their faith and pray that God will continue to give them His strength to continue to do His good work there.

Zoe Ministries -Mike Kurtz

There really were so many things that we experienced, it is difficult to narrow it down to a few paragraphs! Let me, however, touch upon one area that we didn’t share much about at the worship service a few Sundays ago.

One afternoon, our smaller team from the second week visited a ministry called Zoe. The ministry’s purpose is to provide a safe place for at-risk children and youth. In many respects, it is like an orphanage with an emphasis on “family”. Every child that comes through their ministry is a part of the Zoe family for life. They find protection, shelter, comfort, food, clothing, spiritual nourishment, and most of all, love. And it is this love that comes from Christ that brings healing for these kids. Time and time again, we heard stories about government officials mystified by the success Zoe was having at rehabilitating the children. No other children’s homes were seeing the kind of success these kids were having at Zoe. The reason for their success: the unconditional love the Zoe staff has for the kids. There is no greater healing power than the love of Christ experienced in community (i.e. family). There is so much Zoe has planned for the future, but I wanted to emphasize that while they have big dreams – God-sized dreams – it is their love that comes from Christ that is the most important thing.

Zoe has a dream to help end child-trafficking around the world. According to recent reports, human trafficking is a $32 billion a year industry. That’s $10 billion more than McDonald’s total revenue last year.  For more information on this problem and ways to help, please visit: gozoe.org.

Thank you to our church family and church leaders for all of your prayers and financial support for our team as well as for the School of Promise! Some new students are enrolling at SOP and discipleship groups are starting with the older students as a result of VBS camp! God is so good! We also got to interact with many of the 32 students that are currently being sponsored by those attending FBC –thank you for your love, prayers and support for them. We thank the Lord for this opportunity to serve at SOP and praise Him for all that He is doing in Thailand.

-Kelly, Reiko & Hannah Aramaki, Laurie & Nathan Fukuda, Tom & Hiromi Gerety, Dawn Hogan, Rieko Kato, Mike, Lyanne & Maili Kurtz, Grace Lee & Lauren Hwang, Stacie Lee, Lauren Mayeda, Lauren Oda, Alisa Williamson, Mike Rask  & Jackie Thomas-Rask

Party Sweater Weather! (CYC Update)

by Danny Cohen

It’s almost the end of November and God has been doing amazing things within the College and Young Career (CYC) Ministry at Faith Bible. We are so excited to share about the people in our family and how this ministry is spreading God’s love.

Over the years we liked to describe our CYC family as what we like to call a “party sweater” – a fun, warm, and welcoming community. This was one of the leader’s prayer requests this year. We wanted to make sure that every Sunday and every fellowship event would be a warm, welcoming space for newcomers and returners alike. Just like Joseph’s colorful coat, this year God has woven together a diverse group of young adults from different cultures, hometowns, and faith journeys. We have a delightful range of first year students to post grads in their beginning years of work. It’s been such a blessing to see this sweater come together to form a one-of-a-kind article that can’t be found anywhere else.

Our kickoff fellowship event was pivotal in breaking the ice and giving some newer members a chance to get to know others. The CYC leaders ordered a crowd favorite, Costco pizza, and prepared FBC-themed gameshow classics like Family Feud and Jeopardy. It was a very low key but fruitful night where members put their brains together and dished out encouragement to one another all night. Turns out everyone in the group is pretty gracious when people are stumped and encouraging when the pressure is on. It was even humbling to know that most people have a hard time naming all twelve disciples (looks like we need to brush up on our biblical studies). At the end of the night there was only one group who came up on top – but it was a win for everyone that night!

A couple weeks later we had our annual Thanksgiving fellowship. Every year, our CYC Thanksgiving gathering is always known for the delicious food and the warm house-setting provided by the Tsuji’s in Lynnwood. But in these past couple of years, we’ve added another great tradition: our CYC family comes together to help with the Yakama Tribe Missions toy drive. Not only were we able to offer our thanks through worship and meaningful sharing, we were able to get supplies and assemble a total of 23 shoeboxes for the girls and boys on the reservation. We’re so thankful to God for the generosity of everyone within our group and for the love that was shared by all this November.

So far, we are all in awe of the way that God has carefully knitted this special family together. We continue to ask for prayer for the members and leaders for CYC. We are so thankful for how comfortable we’ve grown, and we are now hoping to transition into challenging one another to go deeper in our relationship with Christ and within our family. Praise God for our warm party sweater this fall and winter!

ROCK (High School) Update

by Amy Li

As the holidays roll around, we ROCKers have three mighty traditions to uphold: the corn maze, pumpkin pie baking, and our Christmas party. First off, on October 27th we headed to Bob’s Corn Maze in Snohomish, WA. When we arrived, we caught a glimpse of the massive corn field and we dropped off our boxes of food, to be transported to the fire pit at the end of the maze. We waited for the hayride tractor, our spirits high as the rain only drizzled down on us.

Soon after we started the corn maze, things took a turn for the worse as it began pouring rain, turning an already muddy maze into an endless swamp, and temperatures dropped. Many of us were clearly unprepared for these conditions, with non-waterproof jackets, non-waterproof shoes, and boots without traction. Even so, I can proudly say that I barely heard a word of whining from the ROCKers. They never complained, although some “observed” that it was cold, wet, and muddy… But for the most part, we all joked around, trying to make the most out of this situation. Nathan C. was our master navigator and he got us through the maze in record time. We found our way to Large Fire Pit #4 where there was a large canopy, picnic table, campfire, and our long-awaited food. We rewarded ourselves with hotdogs, s’mores, and spam musubi, taking sweet refuge from the rain. After our bellies were full, we opted to go around the corn maze to get back to our cars and as we warmed up with the heaters, we chuckled to ourselves about this crazy day. All in all, it was a great bonding experience to grow us closer together and to learn about endurance and patience but next time, I will definitely keep a closer eye on the weather forecast.

Next, on November 21st, ROCKers gathered at FBC to bake pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving at the Union Gospel Mission, joined by some College and Young Career (CYC) folk. With the expertise of Lauren M., this group was able to make 34 beautiful pumpkin pies. We had students make the pie crust from scratch, mixing and rolling out the dough, cutting it to fit into the pie tin, and even etching in decorative details for the crust. Lauren and I prepared the filling and we topped off each pie crust with creamy, pumpkin-y batter. The pies were sent off to bake in the oven for an hour, filling the kitchen with a delicious aroma. We ended our night by tasting the fruit of our labor, sharing one of the pumpkin pies among us, and it was delectable!

The people at UGM, the next day, were so grateful for all the hard work that went into making the pies (although they themselves were hard at work from 7 AM on Thanksgiving morning preparing the rest of the food). It was truly a great time, not only being amongst friends, as the kitchen echoed with laughter and smelled of yummy spices, but an opportunity to be a blessing to others, by reaching out into our communities to serve those in need… one pumpkin pie blessing at a time.

Aisankai (JLM Lunch)

Japanese Language Ministries held Aisankai (lunch and fellowship) four times this year. Each time, we enjoyed delicious homemade curry and rice with various spicy levels. At the last Aisankai, we shared what we were thankful for and had a blessed time giving thanks to God together.  The next JLM event will be a potluck fellowship at the Otsu’s on December 8th. Please  come and fellowship with us!