In Community:

Spring 2024 Newsletter

Reading through the articles in this issue of the Grapevine, I am moved to thankfulness. Throughout you are going to see so many things to be thankful for: from the first Senior gathering in years, to the Easter weekend events, to the CYC and youth group activities, to the School of Promise and Sacred Road outreach ministries, to a baptism and Easter weekend activities. There is just so much to be thankful for! Thank you to all of you who lead these ministries and those who participate. We are truly blessed.

Speaking of thankfulness, have you made plans for the summer? It’s right around the corner and often a time when people take time out from their normal routines to relax, head out of town, and just do something different. For us Seattleites, the weather has a lot to do with it. The sunny, warmer weather just calls us outside, doesn’t it? It’s not hot and humid – it’s practically perfect.

It is interesting that every summer our family almost always goes out of town. Sometimes it’s to California to visit my family, where the average temperature in July is 99 F. Sometimes we head over to eastern Washington, sometimes to central Washington. All this has led me to ask: have you ever wondered why we leave the area at the peak of its comfort? We live in one of the most beautiful regions in the world and somehow when it’s at its best, we leave.

Why is that? Do we tire so easily of seeing the same things day in and day out? Perhaps.

So this summer, in the spirit of thankfulness, I encourage you to enjoy what you already have. Find contentment in the ways and things God has already blessed you with. Look around. There is so much to do and see locally. There are so many people we know that we can share an experience with. We live in a great place, especially in summer, where we can cultivate friendships in new experiences.

Conversely, this summer, several teams will be leaving the area (Thailand, White Swan) to serve those who don’t have the comforts and the luxuries that most of us have right now. Any time people serve in an area of great need, they sometimes suffer what is called “reverse culture shock” when they return home. The needs are so great where they served that they sometimes have to come to grips with their own lifestyles and possessions. It can be hard not to feel overwhelming guilt. I mention this because we really do have so much to be thankful for. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, in fact, it’s probably greener on our side!

So as you make plans for the summer, consider how good we really have it in this corner of the world. But if you must go somewhere, consider going somewhere that might challenge your attitude and cause you to be more thankful. And that doesn’t mean necessarily having to vacation in a hard place. You can vacation luxuriously, too, if it makes you thankful to God. That’s the goal after all, to cause us to be more grateful to God for his blessings in our lives.

A grateful heart is fundamental to our walks with God. But it’s so hard to maintain that attitude, isn’t it? We are prone to complain and grumble. In our fallenness, we continually battle those urges. But we are God’s children with the power of the Spirit in us.

As we continue further into 2024, let’s learn to be thankful for what we already have. In Christ, there is always something to be thankful for. This newsletter is a great starting point. Enjoy the encouraging words ahead!

Easter 2024

Baptism – March 31, 2024

Tyler Omoto

Testimony at the Baptism on March 31st

– Tyler Omoto –

Even though I grew up in a Christian household, I wouldn’t say that I grew up as a Christian. I was the kid that was forced to go to church and almost never read the Bible or prayed on my own. So, when I went to college, I pretty much stopped going to church all together.

Thanks to the graciousness of God, I stayed in contact with my old friends from FBC and found myself going back to church. During COVID, I happened to join my first study group that my friend, Justin, was leading. God had blessed me with role models that guided me in my walk in faith.

In said study group, we have been going through the Old Testament, and for the most part it can be summarized as “God provides for Israel, and Israel refuses to remain faithful”. This pretty much this mirrors my own walk in faith. So, for Christ to die on the cross so I can be saved, speaks to his unwavering love.

Even though I still have a lot more growing to do, I could feel that God had softened my heart and I am ready to dedicate my life to him.

Seniors and CYC Spring Social 2024

by Kevin Chan

Wow, it’s been 4-1/2 years since we had our last Seniors social in November of 2019 with Jo Valberg sharing about The Lord’s Table Ministry (feeding the homeless). In January 2020, we shared with the congregation about the Seniors Ministry that has been at FBC for the past 20 years. We were planning for a ‘Seniors Spring Celebration’ that would also commemorate FBC’s 70th anniversary. The detailed planning started in February and with Pastor Mike’s help, we had lined up a small panel of speakers that would share about FBC’s humble beginnings and its 70 years history. Theone Tollefson graciously agreed to lead in the singing of hymns with Yumi Griffin playing the piano. But by March 2020, Kirkland and Redmond were the hottest spots for COVID on the whole west coast and the state was forced to close with us shutting down and canceling everything.

Since then, some of us in the Seniors Ministry joined the SoulFood Ministry (which serves lunch/fellowship hour twice a month after Sunday service) for the last couple years. And as we serve in SoulFood, we’ve been carefully observing how many of our seniors were coming back and the frequency. We wanted to ensure that it’s as safe as possible for all our seniors and that they felt safe/comfortable enough to participate before we’d try to hold a Seniors social again. So, when Lulu Kao, who is a nurse and a CYC Ministry member gave us a tap on the shoulder around New Years to ask if we can do a Seniors and CYC game day, it felt like a perfectly timed cue to reboot the Seniors Ministry. It was truly God’s perfect timing! So, we started planning right away and decided to make it a more casual gathering, allowing our seniors to reconnect as well as make new friends.

On the morning of Saturday, April 6^th, the FBC fellowship hall was all set up with tables and seating readied for 90+ guests (around 60 seniors and 30 CYCers RSVP’d as coming). We were so excited to hear that it’d be such a big turnout! Lisa and Meghan Tsuji, Marguerite Sandico, Carrie and Abby Ishimitsu were all busy decorating the tables and throughout the fellowship hall. While in the kitchen, the Seniors Ministry team was cooking rice, preparing the fresh fruit platters and setting up dessert. Eddie Sandico was making fresh coffee as usual and our young helpers started making a tasty punch. Thanks to Watson and Alane Louie, who coordinated to bring hot food in from Tai Tung Restaurant, we didn’t have to do much cooking in the kitchen this time. Hope everyone likes Chinese food!

As our guests arrived, they were greeted at the door by many CYC members, who also assisted with their name tags, seating, parking of walkers/wheelchairs and refreshments. Wow, our seniors were so excited and grateful to see our young people serve in this way, as the CYCers were just as excited and surprised to see so many of our seniors altogether in this one setting because many of them are ‘stay-at-home seniors’ now. The room was filled with lots of conversations and laughter, as everyone went around catching up with each other. Pastor Mike smiled and commented that this was a blessed reunion for all our seniors. Everyone was definitely ready to jump right into the festivities!

As usual, we opened up with a fun ice breaker game. Watson is always very thoughtful in making the game challenging for all ages. How many of us can get these trivia questions right? Did you know: The World’s Fair was held in Seattle in 1962. The Space Needle is 604 feet tall. The UW Husky Football team was the National Champions in 1991. These companies were all started in the Seattle area: Boeing 1916, Starbuck 1971, Microsoft 1975, Costco 1983, and Amazon 1994. These are local musical artists: Quincy Jones, Curt Cobain, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Hendrix, Kenny G, Sir-Mix-A-Lot, and Macklemore. List some of Washington State Governors: Jay Inslee, Christine Gregoire, Gary Locke, Mike Lowry, Booth Gardner, John Spellman, Dixy Lee Ray, Dan Evans, Albert Rosellini, and Art Langile. Or can you list a variety of apples? One guest was able to name off 19 different varieties of apples! Wow!

Pastor Marty prayed for us and asked the Lord’s blessing upon our food and time together. Normally, we’d let the winning table of the ice breaker game go first to the buffet line. This time, we thought it would be most appropriate/honoring to let all our guests who are 80 years old and up go first. Our lunch menu included: broccoli with beef, crispy fried chicken wings, sweet and sour pork, chicken chow mein, rice, fresh fruit platter, guava cake for dessert, punch, coffee and tea. And as our guests were waiting for their turns to go up to the buffet line, Lulu announced/brought out ‘pen pal sign-up sheets’, so that any of the seniors can connect with the CYC members going forward. What a great idea! Way to go CYC!

By the smiles on their faces and with their plates filled as they went through the buffet line, our guests really liked the luncheon spread! There was plenty of food as usual and our guests were encouraged to go for seconds. It was such a blessing for everyone, as the CYCers helped refill the refreshments for our seniors, helped bus the tables as people finished eating, and then helped pass out dessert. The many helpful hands sure expedited everything and kept the program rolling!

After lunch, Dr. Gary Kato again had more health tips and advice to share with everyone. He distributed handout sheets to everyone, as he was very passionate about getting the information out on cancer prevention. There are five top cancer-causing chemicals to avoid and they can be found in everyday products within our households. (1) Toxic “Forever Chemicals” (aka PFAS) in consumer products. Solution: Avoid anything stain-, wrinkle- or water-resistant, such as: Teflon coated nonstick pans, Glide dental floss, Scotchguard rainproofing for clothing, waterproof cosmetics, etc. (2) Contaminants (such as nitrate, arsenic, PFAS and uranium) in your tap water. Solution: Buy a home water filter system to improve the water quality at home. (3) Artificial food colors. Solution: Study labels and stay away from ingredients with names like Red 3 and Blue 1 (which can be found in children’s candies, snack mixes, microwave popcorn, etc.). (4) Pesticides in produce. Solution: Choose organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. (5) Hair colorants and relaxers. Solution: Avoid any commercially sold/used hair dyes and relaxers. This information was truly an eye-opener for everyone!

Finally, the long-awaited game time! Lulu was very thoughtful in choosing a game that’s not only engaging for everyone, but also allowed everyone to get to know each other more so! She had the CYCers help hand out game sheets for Human BINGO to everyone in the room. She encouraged people to partner up with another person or two to expedite the win and to fill up all the squares on the BINGO game sheet. Everyone was so excited to play that they’ve started even before Lulu gave the “Go”. Everyone went around the room looking for/asking people if he/she: have at least one sibling, been to Hawaii at least twice, traveled outside of the US, have attended FBC for 10+ years, work at Amazon or Microsoft, born and raised outside of Washington, have 3 or more children, etc. What was really neat was that lots of people paused and got into conversations during the game because they wanted to know about the other person more! In the end, Lulu had prizes and treats for the game winners and all the participants! Thanks Lulu and all the CYCers!

Pastor Mike shared some closing remarks and prayed for us as we wrapped up! Seeing that everyone had such a great time, he encouraged all the guests to stay and chat longer, because it’s been such a long-awaited reunion for our seniors. It has been a blessed day for everyone! May our Lord be blessed and glorified!

CYC (College & Young Career)

by Lulu Kao

Hi FBC family from CYC (College & Young Career)!

There’s been a whirlwind of events and fellowships these past couple months! Here’s the 411:

Sunday School has been going strong. The Old Testament has been quite a rollercoaster. Learning themes like God fulfilling His promise by delivering his people out of Egypt through the story of Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites, and trusting in God’s faithfulness and provision seen through the story of King David and King Solomon.
Occasionally, the adults from SSBTK (Sunday school by the Kitchen) have been joining in on the fun and sharing their wise thoughts and experiences with us.

CYC small groups have meetings weekly/bi-weekly. Some groups are combing through the sermon series of John and trying to understand more of Jesus’s ministry and how we can live out how to better witness, love, and serve others. Others are going through the epistles and having fellowship nights to further connect and share life with one another. The women’s small group gathered and had a cute little “galentines” night during Valentine’s. And the co-ed group with couples and families threw a fun baby shower for our newest additions to the church family. Other co-ed small groups went bowling, snowboarding, and broke fast together after Good Friday service.

Core Team has been meeting monthly to plan, evaluate, and pray seeking the Lord’s guidance for CYC. The CYC group is blossoming and summer is on its way. We are trying to figure out the upcoming year that will allow more ways to serve, love, and build up the community like Jesus did in his ministry.

Bunco night was a time for WOK, WASABI, and CYC to come together, share delicious potluck food, and roll dice! It was such a blessing to see the younger generation bring such amazing and tasty food for the event. And the game got really heated at some moments but a little competition never hurt!

The young adults gathered together and helped serve a beautiful spread for Easter Breakfast with homemade waffles, roasted potatoes, sausage/bacon, and a yogurt bar full of delectable fruits.

We had our second in person prayer night with worship led by the CYC prayer team. It was a time to get deeper with one another, pray through Psalms 16, and worship our Lord and Savior. The team has also, in the last couple months, been meeting monthly on zoom to pray for CYC, the church, missionaries, and the world.

The CYC support team has been finding ways to serve the different populations of the church, including: painting for the nursery project, volunteering for homeless ministry, preparing food at SoulFood, and writing appreciation cards for the church staff and elders. We also had the opportunity to do a boba run for the college students during finals at Macu Tea to help them get through their finals week! It was a good time hanging out and giving them a break from being studious students.

And our most recent event was the Senior x CYC Spring Social which was the first event of its kind. After 4 years for the seniors of not meeting, we were able to have a multigeneration luncheon with the young, the young at heart, and the in-betweens. It was such a beautiful and blessing sight of intermingling with playing human bingo, all ages socializing, and getting a much needed cancer prevention talk from Gary Kato. Anyways, it was also a very cool opportunity for the CYCers to come alongside the adults and serve the seniors together!

Overall, CYC has gone through a lot of change and is continuing to grow spiritually and physically. We have been very blessed! There have been many newcomers checking out the church and many are stepping up to serve. We are hoping that summer as well as this next year will be a continuation of: deepening faiths, serving together, building the community, and witnessing in our school/work places.

Thanks for reading!

WOK (WASABI + ROCK)

by Amy Li & Joshua Huang

Youth Winter Retreat

by Amy Li

As I started to write up this Grapevine article, I couldn’t help but think about how our youth winter retreat this year almost didn’t happen. Long story short, I thought that I had reserved the weekend in question [Feb 2nd – 4th] sometime last year, but in the weeks leading up to the event, I realized… I had never gotten a confirmation email from the camp director. This whole time, we had been planning our retreat for that specific weekend, but in actuality, we didn’t have any place booked! Big blunder on my part. Well, thanks to a couple of calm and quick-thinking leaders (not me), some faith, and a few frantic emails later, we found out that there was a group cancellation for the exact weekend I thought I had reserved, opening up a spot at our usual Lazy F Retreat Center. Praise be to our good and gracious God! We even got to stay at a bigger lodge than we usually do for a group of our size. If this isn’t a prime example of running a ministry by the skin of our teeth and the seat of our pants, I don’t know what is [phew!].

Well, that’s the story before the retreat weekend. Already, God was at work – making up for the shortcomings of flawed leaders (me)! Here’s the recap of the actual retreat weekend:

Back in February, our WOK [Worshipping Our King] middle-school and high-school youth group spent a weekend in Ellensburg, WA, for our annual winter retreat. This year, the theme was “To Know and Be Known,” and we wanted to focus on what it means to truly know God (not just about Him) and the gift it is to be fully known by Him. The memory verse for the weekend was John 10:27-28: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” [Personal highlight: One of the students, Naomi Do, and I came up with an interpretive dance of sorts to help with memorization, and it’s really stuck with me!]. This year, the leaders even designed our first retreat t-shirts (see the photos), after many, many… many design iterations.

While the WOK leaders came up with the theme, we were incredibly blessed to have Pastor Bob Do (pastor of The Table church in Seattle) as our retreat speaker this year, who took this vision and brought it to life. Actually, even more than we could have imagined or hoped. It was incredible to see how quickly he connected with each and every one of the students – he was previously a youth pastor, after all – and that energy and connection also translated into his messages. Across three sessions, Pastor Bob presented three stories from the gospels, about three different people who had their own experiences with Jesus: Nicodemus, the religious leader who had a lot of knowledge about God; the Samaritan woman at the well, who didn’t know Jesus but Jesus knew everything about her; and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who encountered the risen Christ Jesus. Pastor Bob did a fantastic job breaking down each story in such an engaging manner and helped the students draw deeper meaning from the Scriptures at hand. Even the small group discussions afterward showed that the students were thinking deeply and the gears were turning! We love to see it!

We were also blessed by our very own worship leader, Kelsey Huang leading us in some of our favorite worship songs. Outside of this dedicated time for sessions, we let the students run wild! Just kidding. We spent all our time together, except for the occasional sneaking away to take a nap. Thanks to a very dry winter this year, the snow was lacking (really, it was all ice), but the fun still abounded! At least ice makes for very smooth and fast inner tubing slopes. We tubed down icy slopes at top speeds; ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, along with copious amounts of snacks (like a gigantic share-able ramen straight from Korea that one of the students, Hamin, had been holding onto for just the right occasion); and played lots of late-night games, even American history trivia, in sleep-deprived delirium, which made for some very funny moments. For the second year in a row, we got to celebrate the birthday of one of our high schoolers, Yukimi, by staying up until midnight to sing “Happy Birthday” and eating cake together. We also played a photo scavenger hunt, where teams were given disposable film cameras to capture photos from a list of different prompts. We also played “Assassins”… [I know, I know… it sounds bad. Let it be known that I tried to change the name of the game to “Evangelists” or something more appropriate for, you know, a Christian retreat, but no other leaders backed me up here]. Basically, students had to sneak around and “assassinate” their peers by attaching a clothespin somewhere on their person, without them knowing. I’m actually not sure who won, since I was assassinated very early on and stopped paying attention.

While the FBC youth have been going to Lazy F Retreat Center for many years, it’s fun to see new traditions being forged, with the new leaders. All in all, we had a grand ‘ol time hanging out with our buds, spending time in nature, connecting with each other, making new friendships, feasting, playing hard, reflecting, growing, and recentering ourselves in Jesus. We know these are all true blessings from God.

**We still have one XL t-shirt available. First person to ask me can have it!
– Amy Li

WOK’s April Hangout

by Joshua Huang

For WOK’s April hangout, we had a potluck dinner at the Kumai’s. As usual, there was a great feast, from lasagna and breadsticks to fresh fruit and cucumber salad.  There was a great turnout of around 16 people in total. Our guest speaker was Chris Jo, and our theme was how to find Joy in suffering. After finishing off the dinner with some great desserts, such as blueberry pie, Chris led us in an icebreaker game as there were some new faces in the group.

We went around a circle sharing what our “GOAT” memories of the past school year have been. (GOAT is an acronym standing for Greatest of All Time. Essentially, asking us what our best/happiest recent memory was). There were stories of traveling and reaching different life goals. Chris then went on to talk about how we, as Christians, should approach difficulties in our life. He interwove stories of his own life from his upbringing to his relationship with his parents, to updates and conversations on his own family. I was very touched by how open he was to us about the difficulties in his life, how he has relied on God and leaned on Him during the storms of his life, and how God has carried him through it all. It reminded me of the verse in James 1:2-3, in which James says that we should “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” We have some students in WOK who are about to transition to a different stage of their academic life. Eight graders are heading off to high school, and seniors heading to college. As leaders, we wanted to choose this topic because we know that these times of transition can be exciting, but also can create unexpected difficulties. From adapting to a different curriculum and environment to homework load and new challenges, we wanted the WOK kids to listen first-hand to someone who can be a testament that God works all things to our benefit and His Glory.

It’s been a blessing getting to know the WOK kids this year, and I hope they continue to grow in their love for each other and God.

– Joshua Huang

Senior Living Ministry (Nikkei Manor & Merrill Gardens)

by Tom Gerety, Nancy Mayeno, Phyllis Solem

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was… sick and you looked after me… and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you… sick… and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:34-40

A team from Faith Bible Church leads worship services at the Merrill Gardens assisted living facility in downtown Renton, and the Nikkei Manor assisted living facility near Uwajimaya in the International District in Seattle, on Sunday afternoons twice a month.

This ministry grew out of the long-running services we provided at the former Keiro nursing home (on Yesler Way near FBC), which closed not long before the pandemic.

The Nikkei Manor facility was originally established to meet the needs of the Japanese-American community starting in the 1970s as many residents were aging and in need of care. This focus has broadened since then, so many residents are no longer of Japanese descent. The Merrill Gardens facility is newer, and includes a wide range of services for the elderly. Several of the residents there are members at FBC or relatives of members.

The residents who currently attend our services are mostly Christian or seekers, and at Nikkei Manor they are mostly Japanese or Japanese-American. Several of the current attendees at Merrill Gardens also have some relation to Japan, either as Japanese/Japanese-Americans or as Americans who have lived in Japan.

The service and message we bring to the residents of these facilities focuses on clarifying their knowledge and edifying their growth in the Lord, and especially strengthening their faith and their boldness to bear witness to Jesus where they live. Again, though, spending time with the residents, bringing a smile, a shake of the hand, and an open ear, is nearly as important as bringing the Word. Many of the residents are not able to come to church, so while they can watch services online, they miss having the fellowship that comes from physically being with other believers.

The ministry was disrupted by the pandemic starting in 2020, with visitor groups not allowed for a year-and-a-half. Since late 2021 the team has been able to return nearly monthly, first with a requirement to wear masks, but more recently with that requirement lifted most of the time. Our visits to Merrill Gardens just started this year in February, opening up a new focus for the ministry.

Our team in the recent past has included Nancy Mayeno, Phyllis Solem, Betty Inouye, Marty and Lynn Dong, Ichiro and Lynne Otsu, and Tom and Hiromi Gerety. Other team members have included Yasuko Aoyagi, Kerry Watanabe, and Mihoko Chueng.

Since February we have been meeting at Merrill Gardens every 1st Sunday after church at 2pm, and at Nikkei Manor on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 1:30pm.

We arrive in time to greet each resident, sharing a smile, a warm hand, and a word of encouragement, before we begin the service with prayer. After singing hymns (accompanied by Phyllis on guitar (or sometimes ukulele), or Kerry or Mihoko on piano), giving a message, and closing in prayer, we again reach out to talk with and touch each resident and staff member attending, and to be available to pray with them.

Please continue to pray for the Merrill Gardens and Nikkei Manor ministry. Specifically, please pray for the Gospel to be proclaimed to and received by the residents and staff. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to use His people to deliver the saving Good News of Jesus Christ to all those who are shut-in and in need of His grace.

The team is always looking for additional volunteers to come to Merrill Gardens and Nikkei Manor and participate in this ministry. Everyone is invited, of all ages (yes, kids too). If you are musically inclined and play either the piano or a more mobile instrument, there is always a need for people to accompany us in singing hymns with the residents. If you are inclined toward the teaching or preaching of the Word, there is also room for volunteers to give a message. However, if you are willing to just sing and pray, and more importantly to fellowship with believers and seekers at Merrill Gardens and Nikkei Manor, there is room for you too. If you are studying, or are considering a career in health care, this might be a good opportunity to become familiar with senior facilities and the care of their residents. We could use more volunteers who can speak and sing in Japanese, too, as our services at Nikkei Manor usually include some Japanese hymns and prayers. With more volunteers we can do more – more frequent visits at both facilities, or even growing to visit additional places.

Is God calling you to be a part of this team in expanding His Kingdom? Come join us and see if this is where you might be used of God. Thank you for all your prayers.

School of Promise Support Raising Dinner

by Dawn Hogan

The SoP Support Raising Dinner was an excellent opportunity to use our talents, time, and resources to help our brothers and sisters in Thailand in their efforts to educate and love children at risk of human trafficking. And we have a treasure trove of talents here at FBC! We We were so very blessed to have the capable Lucky Shay take on the monumental task of creating and preparing a Thai menu and ingredients to feed a hungry crowd of 70. She even researched the most popular Thai dishes so her selections would be crowd-pleasers. And she hit the mark! She and a team of volunteers got together at the FBC kitchen to start washing, chopping, stirring and wrapping at 11AM. What a joy to work together under Lucky’s cheerful direction! While the cooking was going on, several gifted women created welcoming, decorative, and instructive signs for use at the event. In the afternoon, a group headed out to meet other volunteers at the site of the event, Lighthouse Christian Church office in Bellevue. Workers
were busy setting up tables, spreading tablecloths, arranging centerpieces, boiling water for the chafing dishes, setting up tech, and making a display of children in need of sponsorship. Thanks to God’s grace and many helpful volunteers, we were able to meet the challenge in getting the prepared food from FBC to the event site, even though I-90 was unexpectedly closed that weekend. Many stepped in to help get the food prepared and served as quickly as possible. Guests enjoyed the additional time to mingle, meet new people and connect with old friends while sipping on Thai iced tea!

Mike took on the dual tasks of tech and emcee. The first order of business was FOOD! Guests enjoyed the creations prepared by our FBC army, while chatting with their table neighbors. We were very fortunate that Joel and Marvel Vanderkoi were able to join us live from Thailand to share their vision. Lyanne shared about one of the teachers at the school, and Kevin described his experience as a sponsor. Guests were then given the opportunity to choose a child to sponsor or to make a donation to the school. Plenty of leftovers were divided up for guests to take home as they mulled over their decisions.
We are so thankful for the generosity of many! And, thankful to God, who enables us to walk in the way that is pleasing to Him: “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6

I will try to list all of the people who helped with the event, but I am sure to forget someone. I ask for your forgiveness for my poor memory ahead of time!

• Reiko Aramaki for planning, inviting guests, and helping set up/clean up
• Christine Castillo for help in decorating and welcoming us to the Lighthouse facility
• Kaleo and Sheila Chan for cheerfully and expertly making the meal and getting it to the venue!
• Kevin Chan for sharing about their experience as a family in their sponsorship of several children
• Marty Dong for help planning the event and making an amazing fruit cup
• Tim Dong for serving said fruit cups!
• Gary & Rieko Kato for coordinating, inviting, decorating, and cooking (pretty much doing anything needed behind the scenes!)
• Lyanne Kurtz for sharing her experiences and connections with teachers at the school
• Mike Kurtz for planning, making some sponsorship cards, being emcee and other assorted tasks!
• Lauren & Patty Mayeda for their calligraphy skills, help in the kitchen and transportation, and serving of food
• Paul Mayeda for boiling A LOT of water and setting up
• Lucky Shay for planning and making the awesome food!
• Linda Takano for helping her mom with getting the supplies, prepping the food, and writing a welcome sign in Thai!
• Theone Tollefson for organizing the volunteers, cooking, transporting, and overseeing food and kitchen service
• Sam Tollefson for cooking and keeping the kitchen tidy
• Eunice Wu for helping us make preparations at Lighthouse
• And thanks to God for working in our midst!

School of Promise Mission Trip Team Support Letter

July 10-20, 2024

by Lauren Mayeda

“Marnie was enrolled at the School of Promise by her foster parents. As a second grader, she is happy and excited to be in school, telling her foster mom that school is fun. Unfortunately, Marnie’s life has been challenging. Her birth mother tried selling her, which led to Marnie being placed in foster care. At her foster home, Marnie was enrolled in a nearby government school, but she was moved to School of Promise this month after it was discovered that her birth mom is trying to find her. The fear is that her birth mom will sell her if Marnie is found. Marnie’s foster mom is confident about the procedures and policies in place at School of Promise to keep students safe. It is a sad reality that children must sometimes be protected from their birth parents and dangers that seem unthinkable.”

The life of Marnie is one reason why the School of Promise (SOP) was started by Joel & Marvel Vander Kooi in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2010. Due to the challenges of poverty faced by many families, stories like this are all too common in Thailand and can lead to disturbing and desperate situations where young children are forced into sex trafficking. Currently, about half of the students at SOP are at risk of child trafficking or abuse, so by providing those students with free tuition, SOP gives them an excellent education that includes instruction in English as well as integrating the Bible into their curriculum.

In July, a group of 19 people from FBC will be flying to Chiang Mai to work with SOP to run a Vacation Bible School (VBS) camp for a week for approximately 100 elementary students from grades 1-6. The main objective of the camp is to share the Gospel with the kids in a fun way in English. While we are there, we will also be able to get to know some of the middle and high school age students at SOP, as they will be assisting and translating for us during VBS.

We had our first team meeting in the beginning of April, and we will continue to meet monthly until July. During these meetings, we will be planning and preparing for VBS, as well as learning more about the country of Thailand and studying effective ways to address poverty. Through this mission trip, we hope to experience firsthand how God is powerfully working through SOP in the Chiang Mai community.

As we prepare for our trip, we would really appreciate your prayers! Here are our prayer requests at this time:

• Pray for team unity and humble hearts as we serve together to run VBS
• Pray for physical and spiritual protection over our team, as well as for strength and endurance as it will be very hot!
• Pray for good planning and coordination of VBS for kids whose primary language is not English and where there will be cultural differences
• Pray for all of the students who will be involved – that they will learn more about God and that He will speak to their hearts and their minds

In addition to prayer, if you feel led to make a monetary donation to support our team financially, you can donate to Faith Bible Church with a note stating that it is for the SOP Summer Mission Trip. The funds will be used to cover expenses for our team’s trip (airfare, hotel, VBS supplies).

Thank you so much!

In Him,

Hailey Crawford
Sammy Dong
Rieko Kato
Bob & Noby Kennell
Rachel & Jonathan Kumai
Mike, Lyanne & Maili Kurtz
Maddie & Sydney Louie
Sue & Laurie Machida
Paul & Lauren Mayeda
Lauren Oda
Will Tong

Sacred Road Summer Mission Trip

June 29 – July 6, 2024

by Amy Li

If you’ve been around FBC for some time, you’ve probably heard about Sacred Road to some extent. But in case you live under a rock and have missed the memo [just kidding], it is my privilege to provide some extra context for Sacred Road Ministries and the summer mission trip.

The Yakama Nation is a federally recognized tribe in Central Washington, just around three hours southeast of Seattle. Just a quick drive through the pass, and it feels like you’re transported to a different world. Not quite the same luscious, green foliage we’re used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest, but its own sort of beauty. Vast landscapes with rolling hills and farmlands under an endless and expansive sky that goes on and on, unobstructed except for the occasional mountain [Mount Adams, Rainier, and Saint Helens] in the far distance.

But the history of indigenous peoples in America, including the Yakama tribe, is a broken one. You don’t have to search far to come across some very harrowing statistics on what life on the reservation is like. For example, in some of the rural communities of Yakama, around half of the population lives in poverty. In 2018, the Yakama Nation declared a public safety crisis due to the increasing levels of crime. There are staggeringly high rates of unemployment, homelessness, alcoholism/substance abuse, suicide, school dropouts, and mental and physical health issues, with the youth especially at risk.

It’s a dark reality to face… and one that hits close to home, literally… only three hours away from us here in Seattle. Now, I won’t be so naive as to say, “this is where we [our summer missions team] come in,” because let’s face it, we are only there for a week. And these problems won’t be solved in a matter of a week or two. But I will say, “here is where Sacred Road Ministries and Hope Fellowship Church, who are all-in and deeply committed to the work of bringing hope to this community and sharing the good news of Jesus with these people, come in” and we get to partner with them (and FBC has partnered with them for over 15 years)! If you would like to know more about the history and mission of Sacred Road Ministries, I would encourage you to check out their website: https://sacredroadministries.org/history-of-sacred-road.

The spring and summer are especially busy seasons for Sacred Road, as they host teams from around the country, mostly churches, youth groups, and college campus organizations, to experience a week in the life of their ministry and learn a lot from them. During the week, we get to serve the Yakama community through a combination of manual labor on various worksites (painting, roofing, yard work, chopping wood, and building tiny homes) and doing children’s ministry at two local housing projects (crafts, park activities, sports, bible lessons, and singing).

Our team this year is made up of nine people… and it is a very young team – so, *drumroll please*, from youngest to oldest (lol), our official team is Yukimi Kuge, Sammy Dong, Buddy Kumai, Josh Huang, Kelsey Huang, Jess Hung, Ryan Tsuji, myself (Amy Li) and Rachel Shin. I found it slightly disconcerting that Rachel and I are the oldest of the group, but I guess this is what happens when you get older. Thankfully, there are some real adults who are on staff at Sacred Road Ministries, and if we’re lucky, the most responsible adults – Auntie Rieko and Uncle Gary Kato – will come and visit us in the middle of the week, haha! We have a mix of returners and first-timers, so it’s always exciting to be able to share this experience with new people. While we start our preparations and team-building soon, for what will certainly be a tough and challenging week, at least physically (but also spiritually and emotionally) – my heart is filled with anticipation for what God can do in that one week because I have seen it time and time again. 

If you could be praying for:

• the people of Yakama: many who are enduring extremely tough life circumstances, and that they would know and receive Christ as their Savior
• individual preparation: spiritual protection, learning, abiding in God
• team preparation: unity, organization, logistics
• our time there: energy, empathy, humility, safety, joyful hearts
• coming back: reflection, sharing, application

Thank you, Faith Bible Church, for supporting us and sending us! If you would like to help support us financially as a team, you can make a donation to the church either by venmo @faith-bible-church-seattle, check, or cash, with a note designating “Sacred Road”. We hope to come back with many stories and changed hearts, and we can’t wait to see what God will do. Enjoy some photos of Sacred Road teams from over the years #throwback!

FBC Calendar (link)