A Publication of the San Lorenzo Japanese Christian Church “Growing together and reaching out in the love of Christ”

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Our Values Serve Adore Nurture Learn Outreach

“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him.” Col. 2:6a

Vol. 27, no. 6 June 2017

“June Swoon”

A media catch-phrase that describes a professional baseball team’s poor play, lost games,

and a slide into mediocrity as the season hits mid-season is known as the “June Swoon.”

There seems to be an accompanying expectation that one’s favorite team will endure such a

trying time each year, every year.

Sometimes I wonder if, in our lives of faith,

we may undergo a “June swoon” of sorts;

that we feel as if life is more struggle than

success, more vain than victorious, more

routine than righteous. It may occur at a

specific time of year or in a certain season

of life.

What can we do to overcome that swoon? Just as with baseball teams, we need to have a

dependence on one another; for support, for encouragement, for feedback. But it is in those

times and at those times that God may become more real to us; that there is dependence on

and with Him.

Teams will also re-focus on the fundamentals of the sport. In our spiritual lives, we often

forget or ignore those “faith fundamentals;” that it is in His Word that we hear Him; that it is

in our prayers that we share with Him; that it is in our serving that we love Him. Are we so

committed?

Teams avoid dwelling on the past but look to the future. As Christ followers, it is not about

what we have done but what we will do in the name of Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But

one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press

on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 3:13-14)

Will you join with one another and Him, will you commit, will you look forward?

-- Pastor Rod Yee

When I was three-years-old, I accepted Christ,

but as I got older I kinda felt the need to

rededicate my life to Christ, so I did so at a Mt.

Hermon conference two years ago with my cabin

leader. From that point, I just went with the flow

and never really felt the need to rely on God

much. When I would have problems, then I

would just rely on my own strength to get me

through. But then, at the beginning of this past

summer, I was going through a really hard time.

A lot of things were happening and I remember

feeling really down about life in general.

I remember one specific day I was in my room

just crying out to God like I never have before. I

asked Him to take away all these problems, and if

He couldn’t do that, then could He please just

give me some peace? Asking Him for peace was

kinda ironic because in my situation there wasn’t

much that could have granted me peace. But, as I

was sitting there, I felt so much comfort. And I

remember I almost laughed because it felt so real,

and I thought to myself, this could only be from

God! Since that day when I was at such a low

point, I carry that peace with me that only God

could give, and only those with faith can receive.

I found that faith without trials isn’t really faith,

and in my trials that’s when I found God.

I wanted to get baptized for about a year, but

never really felt that push to actually step up and

get baptized. Then I met Crystal Tran, who

became a very close friend, then she became a

Christian. We went on a mission trip together

and then randomly one day she asked, "Hey,

would you want to get baptized together?” I was

totally excited and said YES! I wanted to get

baptized so I could share my faith with others

and share how real God is to me and can be to

everyone else.

-- Dayla Shimada, 11th grade

Hi my name is Crystal. I’m 16 years old and I’m a

junior attending Arroyo High School. I was born and

raised into a Buddhist family and my whole life I

followed what my parents told me. I went to

temples, but I never really understood what

Buddhism is and deep down, I always knew I

wanted this relationship with God. I was just too

scared to say anything and I didn’t have anyone I felt

comfortable talking to.

Last year when I attended a Christian school

called California Crosspoint Academy, I noticed that

the people were very loving and inviting. At first, I

didn’t want to transfer there, but I am so thankful I

did. I know God put me there for a reason -- and it’s

truly the best reason. This place was where I met

some of the most important people in my life that

will be with me for a very long time and it led me to

know Jesus.

At that school, I met Dayla. She really helped and

invited me to this church. She was actually the

person I came to say I wanted to become a Christian.

And then we met up with Pastor Scott in his office

where I was saved. Another person that helped me

was my math teacher, Ms. Lin. She really made me

feel comfortable and talked to me about Christianity

and what baptism is all about. I took what she said

into consideration and knew I wanted to be baptized!

Ever since accepting Christ, I noticed a lot of

personal changes. I’ve become more thankful for

what I have. With any worries or problems I face, I

turn to Jesus and pray, which really gives me a

sense of peace and comfort. I know that He’s

always with me. I also changed the way I interpret

sin and life after death. I used to believe that the

more we sin, we are in no doubt going to Hell and

the more we do good deeds, we will go to Heaven.

But that isn’t the case. I know now the only way to

be with God is through Jesus and accepting Him in

our hearts. God still loves us even when we sin, but

we should still confess our sins, ask for forgiveness,

and learn something from it to prevent it from

happening again. My thinking has changed from,

“Oh I cannot sin because God will hate me or I’ll go

to Hell.” I know that God’s unconditional love is

greater than any sin I commit.

Getting baptized was an experience I did not

picture in my mind at all. I knew it was an

important decision to make in my relationship with

God, but with my inexperienced self, I didn’t expect

to feel so much love from people around me. I am

new to the church so I didn’t know a lot of people,

but on the day of my baptism, I received so many

gifts and people congratulating me left and right. I

also have never witnessed a baptism in my life so I

didn’t know how I’d feel or what exactly happens.

However, when I was getting baptized, I was very

comfortable because my best friend was by my side

and her father was baptizing me! At the end of it all,

I felt so genuinely happy and so thankful for what

God has done for me.

Middle School Promotion Kayla Kaneshiro - Iron Horse Middle School

Matthias Lo - Bethany Middle School

Zuri Lo - Bethany Middle School

Andie Oh - Hart Middle School

Kersten Plicner - Pine Valley Middle School

Zachary Sarena - Creekside Middle School

Layla Schweng - East Bay Innovation Academy

Hannah Takeda - Bret Harte Middle School

Nathaniel Yee - Wood Middle School

High School Johnny Chen - San Leandro High School

Apollo Chua - Kipp King Collegiate High School

Kendrick Lee - Dublin High School

Geneva Lum - Castro Valley High School

Alex Oh - Foothill High School

Callyn Oshita - Dougherty Valley High School

Laurie Takeda - Hayward High School

College Randee Lee, Sacramento State University; Bachelor of

Science in Kinesiology

Kimberly Low, San Francisco State University;

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with

a concentration in Marketing

Rebecca Lum, U.C. Davis, Bachelor of Science in

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Holly Yamagata, San Francisco State University;

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a

Complementary Studies in Sociology.

Jonathan Yoshihara, San Jose State University;

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with

concentration in Accounting and a minor in

Communication

Please let us know if there is anyone we’ve missed!

Journeys of Faith

Crystal Tran and Dayla Shimada were baptized this past January. They see God’s hand and leading, as they’ve supported one another in their journeys of faith.

Celebrate our Grads! Come to a potluck Graduation Party

Friday, June 9, 6 p.m.

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Celebrate our Dads!

Come for a potluck lunch

on Father’s Day,

Sunday, June 18, 12:15 p.m.

Thank you to all our fathers!

When I was three-years-old, I accepted Christ,

but as I got older I kinda felt the need to

rededicate my life to Christ, so I did so at a Mt.

Hermon conference two years ago with my cabin

leader. From that point, I just went with the flow

and never really felt the need to rely on God

much. When I would have problems, then I

would just rely on my own strength to get me

through. But then, at the beginning of this past

summer, I was going through a really hard time.

A lot of things were happening and I remember

feeling really down about life in general.

I remember one specific day I was in my room

just crying out to God like I never have before. I

asked Him to take away all these problems, and if

He couldn’t do that, then could He please just

give me some peace? Asking Him for peace was

kinda ironic because in my situation there wasn’t

much that could have granted me peace. But, as I

was sitting there, I felt so much comfort. And I

remember I almost laughed because it felt so real,

and I thought to myself, this could only be from

God! Since that day when I was at such a low

point, I carry that peace with me that only God

could give, and only those with faith can receive.

I found that faith without trials isn’t really faith,

and in my trials that’s when I found God.

I wanted to get baptized for about a year, but

never really felt that push to actually step up and

get baptized. Then I met Crystal Tran, who

became a very close friend, then she became a

Christian. We went on a mission trip together

and then randomly one day she asked, "Hey,

would you want to get baptized together?” I was

totally excited and said YES! I wanted to get

baptized so I could share my faith with others

and share how real God is to me and can be to

everyone else.

-- Dayla Shimada, 11th grade

Hi my name is Crystal. I’m 16 years old and I’m a

junior attending Arroyo High School. I was born and

raised into a Buddhist family and my whole life I

followed what my parents told me. I went to

temples, but I never really understood what

Buddhism is and deep down, I always knew I

wanted this relationship with God. I was just too

scared to say anything and I didn’t have anyone I felt

comfortable talking to.

Last year when I attended a Christian school

called California Crosspoint Academy, I noticed that

the people were very loving and inviting. At first, I

didn’t want to transfer there, but I am so thankful I

did. I know God put me there for a reason -- and it’s

truly the best reason. This place was where I met

some of the most important people in my life that

will be with me for a very long time and it led me to

know Jesus.

At that school, I met Dayla. She really helped and

invited me to this church. She was actually the

person I came to say I wanted to become a Christian.

And then we met up with Pastor Scott in his office

where I was saved. Another person that helped me

was my math teacher, Ms. Lin. She really made me

feel comfortable and talked to me about Christianity

and what baptism is all about. I took what she said

into consideration and knew I wanted to be baptized!

Ever since accepting Christ, I noticed a lot of

personal changes. I’ve become more thankful for

what I have. With any worries or problems I face, I

turn to Jesus and pray, which really gives me a

sense of peace and comfort. I know that He’s

always with me. I also changed the way I interpret

sin and life after death. I used to believe that the

more we sin, we are in no doubt going to Hell and

the more we do good deeds, we will go to Heaven.

But that isn’t the case. I know now the only way to

be with God is through Jesus and accepting Him in

our hearts. God still loves us even when we sin, but

we should still confess our sins, ask for forgiveness,

and learn something from it to prevent it from

happening again. My thinking has changed from,

“Oh I cannot sin because God will hate me or I’ll go

to Hell.” I know that God’s unconditional love is

greater than any sin I commit.

Getting baptized was an experience I did not

picture in my mind at all. I knew it was an

important decision to make in my relationship with

God, but with my inexperienced self, I didn’t expect

to feel so much love from people around me. I am

new to the church so I didn’t know a lot of people,

but on the day of my baptism, I received so many

gifts and people congratulating me left and right. I

also have never witnessed a baptism in my life so I

didn’t know how I’d feel or what exactly happens.

However, when I was getting baptized, I was very

comfortable because my best friend was by my side

and her father was baptizing me! At the end of it all,

I felt so genuinely happy and so thankful for what

God has done for me.

Middle School Promotion Kayla Kaneshiro - Iron Horse Middle School

Matthias Lo - Bethany Middle School

Zuri Lo - Bethany Middle School

Andie Oh - Hart Middle School

Kersten Plicner - Pine Valley Middle School

Zachary Sarena - Creekside Middle School

Layla Schweng - East Bay Innovation Academy

Hannah Takeda - Bret Harte Middle School

Nathaniel Yee - Wood Middle School

High School Johnny Chen - San Leandro High School

Apollo Chua - Kipp King Collegiate High School

Kendrick Lee - Dublin High School

Geneva Lum - Castro Valley High School

Alex Oh - Foothill High School

Callyn Oshita - Dougherty Valley High School

Laurie Takeda - Hayward High School

College Randee Lee, Sacramento State University; Bachelor of

Science in Kinesiology

Kimberly Low, San Francisco State University;

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with

a concentration in Marketing

Rebecca Lum, U.C. Davis, Bachelor of Science in

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Holly Yamagata, San Francisco State University;

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a

Complementary Studies in Sociology.

Jonathan Yoshihara, San Jose State University;

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with

concentration in Accounting and a minor in

Communication

Please let us know if there is anyone we’ve missed!

Journeys of Faith

Crystal Tran and Dayla Shimada were baptized this past January. They see God’s hand and leading, as they’ve supported one another in their journeys of faith.

Celebrate our Grads! Come to a potluck Graduation Party

Friday, June 9, 6 p.m.

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Celebrate our Dads!

Come for a potluck lunch

on Father’s Day,

Sunday, June 18, 12:15 p.m.

Thank you to all our fathers!

San Lorenzo Japanese Christian Church – June 2017

5/23/17 Serve Adore Nurture Learn Outreach

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Sunday Evening Praise & Worship! Every week 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

For Nichigo and English

1

7:30pm

Praise Team

2

7:11pm B.A.M.

7:30am MIP/WIP 3 8:30am Missions Prayer

10am-12pm Special Camp Meeting

4 8:45am Worship Service 10:45am Worship Service – MM Jondy Natividad

Pastor Brian speaking 12:30pm Craft Day planning mtg. (rm. 0) 12:30pm NAOMI Team meeting (rms. 6-7; 8-9-10)

5

6

7 9:30am

Women’sStudy

Praise Brunch

8

7:30pm

Praise Team

9

5:30pm Little House

6:00pm Graduation Party!

7:30am MIP/WIP 10

Giving Back to God – Exodus 35-36

11 8:45am Worship Service 10:45am Worship Service – MM Holly Yamagata

Pastor Scott speaking

12

13

14

15

7:30pm

Praise Team

16

7:00pm Baby Shower for Jennifer & Brian Yun

7:00pm Youth Fellowship

7:30am MIP/WIP 17

Finding God in All Things – Exodus 37:1-39:31

Father’s Day 18

9:00am Mission Team meeting (rm. 8-9)

8:45am Worship Service 10:45am Worship Service – MM Tokudomes

Pastor Rod speaking Joint Father’s Day Potluck

19

20

21

22

7:30pm

Praise Team

23 7:00pm

Youth Fellowship

7:30am MIP/WIP 24 9:00am Fong Family Ministry Breakfast

Praise & Reflection – Exodus 39:32-40:38

25 10:45am One Worship Service – communion

Children’s Message by Forrest Yee Pastor Eric speaking

12:30pm Craft Day planning mtg. (rm. 8)

26

27

28

29

7:00pm

Benjamin and Lea’s

Wedding Shower

30

7:00pm Youth Fellowship

Sunday School is on Summer break:

June, July and August

The God who Satisfies – Psalm 104