Dear FBC Families and Friends,
We had a very special day yesterday as we watched six of our brothers and sisters in Christ got baptized. Some of you may know some of their stories of how they came to make this decision of baptism. I can assured you that each one is a miracle of God’s grace and their cooperation with that grace. Maybe one day some of them will share their stories with you in Sunday School or in the worship service. Meanwhile, please continue to pray for God’s protection on them because Satan tend to attack the hardest after these victories. They will not only need our prayer support but also words of encouragement in the future days as they strive to grow spiritually. Let us also strive to be there for them!
Many of you have gone the extra miles to make the baptism ceremony successful and I will not be able to name all of you. But I would like to especially mention some special efforts that I could remember:
1. Great big thanks to Bill Burns and Don Alcorn of Carrow to turn the boiler on and got us the warm water that we needed. I still have the image of Don sitting on the steps waiting for the pool to fill. I said “Hi Don” to him in front of the pool out of sight and he quickly looked upstair to see who it was. I should have said, “Thou good and faithful servant!”
2. Appreciate J bringing us the message, Loreyna and singspiration team, Amanda reading the Scripture, Chad presiding, etc during the service. Well done!
3. I put three people on the spot last minute to help me out : Bennet with the translation, J and Pam with passing out the flowers and gifts. Thank you for your understanding of how unprepared your pastor is sometime and ready to jump in and help even at the last minute.
4. We cannot thank Jerry Ng enough to spear head the video and photography of the ceremony. After the service, he informed me that for an unknown reason his big expensive camera died and he needed it for the wedding ceremony by next weekend. I felt so bad that I pray for God’s healing of the camera during Sunday school time. Well, Jerry was able to reset the camera and got it working again; but I still believe God answered my prayers to give Jerry that wisdom.
5. I can continue to mention other people such as Park and Fong helping up stair with the cleanup of the baptismal area, Martin with photography and fixing our sound system, Audrey with washing all the wet towels and baptismal gown, cooking team of Ms Yee, Fong, and Ms Sun-Tat Wong for the fellowship meal, Vicky with the cake(s), May Lee with the almond cookie, etc etc etc.
6. Last but not least, I want to thank my dear wife, Tse-ying, for her patience with me and reminded me many things I have forgotten. She keeps me in line and I really think she learned that from keeping her fourth graders in line at school. Well done, Mrs. Wong!
Please forgive me if I left some people out but I just want to thank God for each one of you especially those who are not seeking to be recognized. God will reward you for your labor of love in secret!
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.” Heb. 6:10-11
Thanking God for you,
Pastor Bon