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Toys Needed
Hope International Church in Hollywood, in cooperation with Hope Again, is collecting toys for Christmas to benefit the underprivileged children of East Hollywood. New, unwrapped toys, books and school supplies are needed for ages 0 - 16 years. Call Vicki Lokken at Hope Again for more information and for directions on where to deliver the toys: (323) 661-4004. Financial gifts for this outreach would also be appreciated. Send to: Hope International Bible Fellowship (put toy drive in the memo), 4903 Fountain Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90029. Toys are needed by December 20. This would be a great Christmas project for your church or youth program. |
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Dobson Recovering
Dr. James Dobson is recovering well from his September 10th fall from a horse. He has been riding horses since he was 4 years old, but fell off while reaching back to get his hat, which blew off. He broke several bones. While in the hospital, he received so much oxygen his larynx was affected and now, along with physical therapy he will need some voice therapy.
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The Importance of
Dinner Times For Teens
Having the whole family share a meal together at least five nights per week helps build values and helps teens handle the stresses of life better. As Chuck Colson writes in his October 2011 newsletter, "These findings mirror the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health, which is the largest longitudinal study ever done on adolescents. This study has some amazing statistics. Of twelve to fourteen year olds who don't experience family dinners at least five days a week, 14 percent report drinking more than once a month. That's kids twelve to fourteen. But for those who have family dinners, it's cut to 7 percent!
Also, 27 percent of twelve to fourteen year olds who don't have regular family dinners say they think about suicide, compared with only 8 percent of those who do eat with their families. Among seventeen to nineteen year olds, 68 percent without the influence of family dinners have had sex, versus 49 percent of those who have had family dinners.
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Family dinners are vital - not just for food but for bonding and learning."
read Chuck Colson's whole article |
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Good Works in Japan
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Jim and Vicki Smith cleaning |
Recently, CB Southern California took three teams to Japan to help with the relief work among our CB church communities in Japan. The verses from Matthew 5:14-16 kept coming to my mind: 'You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Although most of us could not speak the language, our good deeds in the name of Christ shone brightly through all sixteen members of our team. Throughout the newsletter, we will have a few stories of what we experienced in our 10 days on the ground in Japan. We cleaned homes of the mildew and dirt, distributed heaters and blankets, landscaped destroyed property, and at times, just sat, and through an interpreter, listened to their stories and answered their questions. Yes, the devastation in certain areas is sad to see. The stories of those who survived are sobering. And yet, through the good deeds of Christians around the world, the Japanese get to see the hope that came on Christmas in the midst of it all. We saw volunteers come in from all around the world to help, mission agencies working together to clean up and restore the homes left standing. Local Japanese citizens have called all these volunteers "Jesus People!" They saw the compassion and love through the good works of those who have come. We worked with CB churches, WorldVenture, Samaritan's Purse and Converge International and saw mission agencies such as Lutheran Brethren, Team, and Send come and help during our short time there. There is still much to do. Groups who can come to build, clean, quilt, mime, sing or dance during the long winter are appreciated. Missionaries pray that through it all, more churches will be planted and more Japanese will declare Jesus as the one and only Lord and Savior. Right now, Japan is .05% Christian. Pray this number increases soon.
We have learned that we have so much to be thankful for. During this Christmas season, keep praying for the work going on in Japan.
 Have a good month and Merry Christmas to all!
Jim Smith Executive Director
CB Southern California |
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No Fright Scare Night in Hawaii
 Jim and Vicki Smith are pictured with Pastor Stan Ponz and his wife, Carol. International Baptist hosted a 'No Fright Scare Night' and saw hundreds of kids and families attend this Monday night Halloween Special Event. Pastor Stan has been at this church just over 5 years and has seen significant health and grow come to the church, which was founded by James Cook, and at one time, was home to the International Baptist Seminary. Stan will be our main speaker at our Annual Meeting on March 4 at the Calvary Baptist Church in Huntington Beach. While in Hawaii, Jim and Vicki had the opportunity to lead a Marriage Seminar at the International Baptist Church in Honolulu and Jim preached on Sunday, November 6. |
Free Money Seminar in January
 CB Southern California is hosting a Saturday morning informative seminar for all CB church leaders, pastors, members and friends on Saturday, January 28 from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon at San Antonio Heights Community Church, 2520 N. Euclid Avenue, Upland, CA. Matt Uyboco, a financial analyst with ING and one of the investors CB uses will be leading this seminar. You will learn about Living Trusts, getting out of debt, planning for retirement, saving more money and more. Please RSVP to cbministries@cbasc.com. Questions? Call the CBSC Office at 909-944-5900. |
Huntington Beach Church Planting in Indonesia
 Sambut Yermianto is a pastor in Bali, Indonesia, who recently attended the CB Global meetings in Macua, China. Although Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, the Christian Church, under much persecution, is now 10 percent of the population. Calvary Baptist Church in Huntington Beach has assisted in the planting of over 20 churches in the Bali and East Java areas of Indonesia. Pastor Sambut and his church have benefitted from Calvary Baptist's involvement in these areas and is thankful for their work in Indonesia. |
New Pastor in Riverside
 Fellowship Baptist is excited to welcome Pastor Keith Crosby as their new Pastor. Pastor Keith had previously served as the senior Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin (he must be a Packer Fan). Although he grew up in Savanna, GA, Keith is familiar with Southern California, since he is a graduate of Master's Seminary. Previously, Keith was involved in the business world with a resort and hotel management firm. Keith is married to Terri and has two daughters, Grace (18) and Anna (15). Congratulations to Doug Hall and the entire search team as they spent the last 15 months looking for their next Pastor. Pastor Keith will start preaching on December 4. Welcome! KeithCrosby@yahoo.com. |
Pastor Phil Waters revisits Japan on Relief Team
 Pastor Phil is a WorldVenture missionary to the Japanese congregation in Oceanside, CA which meets at the First Baptist Church. Previously, Phil and his wife Sharon had been missionaries in Japan. Last month, Phil joined the CB relief team to Japan and led one of our teams tremendously with his ability to speak the language and drive a vehicle on the left side with no problems. Phil also had the chance to speak at two different churches as well as assist the team in relief work in the Moricko area of Japan. |
Pastor Dave Romero Landscaping in Japan
Assistant Pastor Dave Romero of South Bay Community Church in Gardena (left side of the picture) was the leader of one of the three teams CB sent over last month to Japan. In the midst of delivering relief supplies, they also spent days cleaning up and relandscaping many properties. The salt water had either washed away or killed most of the vegetation in the surrounding neighborhood. Pictured also is Janet Brown (second from the right) WorldVenture Missionary in Japan who helped coordinate all three teams we sent into Japan.
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Vicki Smith withThree Sisters in Japan
 These three sisters in Ishinomaki, Japan smile with Vicki Smith after watching our CB team, along with others from Samaritan's Purse and Converge International, clean their home. Vicki also helped them say the saying, "Happy Wife, Happy Life." These women opened up to Vicki and shared some of their stories. After the earthquake, the power went out and they had no warning of the oncoming tsunami. As they were cleaning up from the earthquake, they looked down the street and saw a huge wall of water racing towards their home. They had only seconds to rush upstairs before the tsunami crashed through their home. They have been living in their upstairs bedroom for seven months. One sister's husband died of an heart attack one week after the tsunami. |
Saving Lives During the Tsunami
 One of our teams visited a neighborhood in Ishinomaki, Japan, where the tsunami waters flooded homes up to the second floor or rooftops. WorldVenture missionary John Houlette and Vicki Smith are pictured here with Mrs. Matsukawa, who fortunately escaped the rushing waters and managed to save three people as they swam near her second floor windows. One lady was rescued, but her two children and parents were swept away from her while they all struggled to find safety. Another women clung to a tree for hours before Mrs. Matsukawa managed to throw her a lifeline, but unfortunately, after this lady was pulled to safety, within the next hour, she died. Out of respect, those who survived in that small upstairs room, kept the body with them for five days before being rescued themselves. Mrs Matsukawa joined us for prayer each morning and evening while her first floor was being cleaned. |
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Affects Chaplains
 Al Russell is the Director of CBAmerica Chaplaincy (top left). Under his leadership, CBAmerica Chaplaincy has joined with seven other faith group chaplain leaders and legal counsel to establish an organization comprised of veteran service members, primarily chaplains. Their purpose is to defend and maintain religious liberty, and freedom of expression and conscience that the Constitution guarantees our chaplains and those whom they serve.
The recent repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," coupled with the lack of clearly established boundaries regarding religious liberty protections, are leading to confusion and forced censorship. In fact, some chaplains have already personally experienced the punitive atmosphere this repeal has generated.
Pray for them as they now represent some 2,000 military chaplains as other faith groups join forces with them. This ministry will cover all chaplains not just those in the military. We have partnered with the Alliance Defense Fund for legal protection for our chaplains.
Once this repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is able to succeed in the military and government setting it could even affect our churches and pastors.
If you want to check out the web site go to www.chaplainalliance.org and look under 'Partners' to see those standing with us and what we have already done. Under 'Speak Up,' go to the bottom of the page and click on 'More Info.' Pray for us as we move ahead to provide religious liberty for our chaplains and eventually our pastors and churches.
If you have questions about this or any other issue about chaplaincy, please feel free to contact Al Russell at 218-776-2813 or by e-mail at chapruss@cbamerica.org. Thanks for your prayers. |
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