Reaching. out. Dear Friends in Christ,

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1 Reaching out FIRST CHINESE BAPTIST CHURCH, FRESNO Dear Friends in Christ, I wanted to take this opportunity to say "thank you" for the 20 year celebration the church hosted for me and Arlean in May. The food, the fellowship and the time together was really appreciated. The years have truly passed quickly and a lot has happened in the past two decades. During these twenty years Arlean and I have celebrated 41 years of marriage and welcomed four grandbabies into our lives. With the newest arriving on July 12th 2016, little Nathaniel Oldham! We want to say thank you for all the prayers and examples of support through the years you have demonstrated to the couples and us the grandparents. Plus in our time together as a church family we have grown in numbers, we have shrunk in numbers. Our youth, doctors and volunteers have went on mission journeys to Thailand, Mexico, Laos, Kansas City, Kansas, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Burma. We have built a beautiful courtyard, played bells, baptized, preached, taught and served together. We have married, dedicated, and watched all the children grow to maturity and start their own families. I have served on our executive committee of our denomination as well as Church World Service (an honor and call that I never expected). We have also prayed over the passing of many of our committed elders that made sure this ministry continued. They are greatly missed but we know that one day we will all gather together in that New Jerusalem. Of course in our time together there have also been rough spots. There has been joy, celebration, tears, frustrations, doubt, good sermons, and some really poor sermons. Thing is...we have done it all together. Like it or not we are called to be co-creators of holy chaos. A people that do not accept the world as it is but insist on it becoming what our Savior desires for this world. That as we labor, pray, sing, cry, and contemplate we also groan with anticipation for the Kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, what I'm trying to say is this: What a journey! Thank you for allowing Arlean and I the opportunity to serve and be served here at FCBC for the last twenty years. Cont. on page 4

2 Ruby Gee Ruby is a graduate of Buchanan High School. She will be attending Clovis Community College to study general education with a focus in Psychology. Ruby then plans to transfer to Fresno State or San Francisco State to further her studies in Psychology. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer Class of 2016 Karissa is a graduate of Clovis West High School. While there she was a member of the tennis team and the National Assisteens Auxiliary of Fresno. Karissa also belonged to Fresno Christian Athletes and Junior Larcs organizations. Karissa s academic honors are the California Scholarship Federation Lifetime Member and Principal s Honor Roll. She received scholarships from Golden 1 Credit Union, CSLEA and ASA-DOJ Scholarship. Karissa will be attending CSU Long Beach where she plans to study Film Arts/Cinema. Karissa Win

3 2016 Cross Culture VBS We had an amazing week ( July 11 th -15 th ) at CCVBS. With the use of Group s VBS program, this year s theme was about Caves. There is so much to discover in caves, so we adopted the idea of exploration and excavation. We dug into five daily points and Bible verses and responded Follow Him as we learned that Jesus is the light of the world. Sometimes the world can be filled with darkness. Now that doesn t mean its s actually dark, like at night. It means the world is filled with sadness and unhappiness. Jesus love brings light, or hope, to that darkness. For our cultural section, we visited Xian, China due to the discovery and site of the tomb of the Terracotta Warriors. Just like cavers who explore and find artifacts in caves, in 1974, some peasants made an amazing discovery, which led to unearthing of more than 8,000 terracotta warriors. In our Made in China station, students made a decorated terracotta pot with a succulent plant and warrior figure to grace their home. In the Ho Tom Kitchen, the children had the opportunity to make 5 unique dishes and taste the different seasonings offered by the Xian, China region. On Friday, we concluded the program with a skit call Never Alone and the children praised God with the songs they learned throughout the week. A heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers for their time and love for the children, this program would not be possible without your willingness to serve.

4 Buildings & Grounds Buildings and Grounds has been busy with the following: installed childproof latches and locks in the Nursery room; installed a baby changing table in the Christian Education Wing women s restroom handicap stall; Steve Lee and Boon Tee changed the 18 parking lot lights to LED with motion sensors; worked with Ken Lai and Sylvia Chinn on the sanctuary carpet replacement that will happen at the end of July; Howard Togo is requesting bids for resealing the parking lot surface; bids also received for installing wrought iron spikes to the north facing playground fence and sliding gate; retrofitting planned for the 24 multipurpose room lights with LED fixtures; installed locking covers on the outdoor electrical outlets; spray painted over graffiti on the playground equipment; Norman Lee keeps the garden and courtyard area clean and changing out the older water sprinklers; certain trees trimmed during the annual city trash cleanup; trash bins have been chained together to prevent rolling up the gate; and other normal maintenance issues. If you see a problem, let someone know! Naomi Ruth Circle This Spring we have continued our ministry, Love Connection by sending Easter cards to those members who are unable to attend church or have moved away and provided Easter lilies for our Easter service. We also supported the Lauren Bethel Ministry with a monetary donation. On Sunday, May 1 Naomi Ruth celebrated its 30th year anniversary with our church family serving cake to all and wearing our new shirts. Thank you Sylvia, our president and Elizabeth for their meticulous efforts in the design of the shirts. As we take leave for the Summer we helped in honoring our graduates Karissa Win & Ruby Gee, June 5th, by serving cake. Have a wonderful Summer and we pray for everyone to have a safe and happy one. Dear Friends cont. Okay enough sermons let's move on...in September I will be taking a time of spiritual retreat and vacation. I applied to Center Quest in Pasadena for the opportunity to participate in a year-long cohort in Spiritual Discipline. I was accepted which means in September I will go on a retreat and will be meeting the other members of the group in a time of prayer, contemplation, relaxation and commitment. Then throughout the year I will be taking part in mentoring and being mentored. I will be learning some new things in regards to myself, my spiritual walk and where I feel God is leading Arlean and I in this the next phase of our lives as a ministering couple. The year ends in August 2017 with another retreat. None of that time will interfere with my shepherding duties in fact will probably enhance our service and worship time together. Keep me and Arlean in prayer. So, are you ready for another year of service? I hope so 2017 is coming fast. The old is gone time to rejoice with the new as we are being called into community. In fact, the peace of Christ for our neighborhood, our families, this very city are held in the hands of this His family both here at FCBC and around the world wherever believers gather. Let's get to work! In His Service, Danny and Arlean Jack

5 First Chinese Baptist Church Presents: October 8, 2016 Saturday 4:00 8:00 pm 6080 N. Angus St. Fresno, CA (Between First & Fresno off Bullard) Come for: Food A La Carte Booths Fun Games for the Kids Hand Made Boutique Items Silent Auction Entertainment on the Hour Contact Information Phone: Funds will support our Congregation s Mission Teams around the world Thank you for your support & we look forward to seeing you there!

6 FCBC Fresno 6080 N. Angus Fresno, CA Youth Summer Camp July 31 to August 5, 2016 Last year our youth went on a missions trip to "Gleanings for the Hungary" in Dinuba. So this year is a camp year. Our High Schoolers are gearing up for the Sugar Pine Christian Camp, which is just past Bass Lake. We'll have 7 BYF students attending. And for the first time, we will also have 4 SIP Junior High students attending the camp. They will be enjoying the beautiful outdoors participating in group competitions like mud volleyball, tug-owar, capture the flag, and a host of water sports and relays. They will also be hearing motivational talks to follow Jesus with all their hearts, and memorizing a number of Bible verses. And of course, there will be cabin times when the campers will be able to share what's on their hearts. And there will be plenty of time for archery, paint balling, ropes course, basketball, ping pong, foosball, and just hanging out together. The campers raised enough funds to pay their share of the camp registration through their Spaghetti Luncheon last month. Thank you to all who attended or bought a ticket. We appreciate your help, especially those who bought tickets knowing you weren't able to attend or simply gave a cash donation. Those who'll be attending the camp are Simon Chow, Vanessa Chow, Vivian Chow, Cooper Cook, Weston Cook, Kimberlee Gong, Tiffany Gong, Gaby Ramirez, Cori Tee, Jason Win, Hannah Wong. The adult camp sponsors are Ethan and Rachel De Jongh.