by Pastor Bob Asercion

On April 4, when the clock struck 6:00 a.m., the doors of Faith Bible Church of Vallejo opened to commence the Easter Sunrise Service. Around 80 individuals attended the early morning service. As people gathered to enter the sanctuary, Tom Payne played the piano as Dr. Eli Sarmiento led the congregation in praise and worship singing traditional Christian hymns.

During the service, Pastor Reuel Calica preached on “Thomas and the Risen Christ.” A strong message on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. After the service, many headed towards Fellowship Hall to have breakfast together prepared by the church.  The 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Easter Service was packed to full capacity as individuals and families celebrated “Resurrection Day.”   Praise God for a blessed Easter Sunday celebration.

FBCV presented it’s Easter Cantata twice this year, Saturday, April 3rd and Sunday, April 4th.  The cantata “Savior” a modern worship musical and drama presentation featured a 33 member cast under the direction of Kristine Legaspi, choir/drama director.  This year’s choir and cast truly made our Easter Celebration relevant and life-changing to those who witnessed and experienced it.  Special thanks to Patrick Lew who installed our new stage lights, Jhenn De Rosas who assisted Kristine in many areas and to those behind the scenes who made this year’s Easter Cantata production a blessing to all.  All the Glory to God!

by Maybelle Concepcion

Have you ever taken time to sit down and talk to your grandparents? Have you ever taken the chance to get to know about their past? Well, at the Golden Banquet the Youth had the opportunity to hang out, entertain, share testimonies, as well as serve food to the elder people of our church. The Golden Banquet brought joy to the elders and was a blessing to all.

The Golden Banquet is where the Youth show their appreciation to the elderly of the church. We tend to forget where our roots come from and show our gratitude; therefore we did so through this event. First we greeted all our visitors and guided them to take their picture, either as a solo picture, with their significant others, or even a picture with their barkadas. Next up, the Youth served delicious Filipino restaurant-style food, starting off with soup, a main course, and desert. While everyone was eating I was blessed to see the Youth have the courage to sit down, eat, and fellowship with the elderly. We all generally got to know how the elderly started to attend FBC Vallejo, and how they came to know the Lord. After eating we were all blessed to hear Tim Almeda, Mark Casupanan, and Kevin Vitug share a quick testimony about how they appreciated their grandparents for what they have done, sharing their wisdom and taking care of them.

Another entertaining part of the event was the Careñosa, a traditional Filipino folk dance, performed by Tim Almeda, Ashley Pagmanua, Michelle Silva- Netto, and Kevin Vitug. With such a short amount of time to practice, the four did a tremendous job of performing the traditional dance. We were all able to share lots of laughs while playing a guessing game, allowing us to get to know fun facts about the elderly. Finally, Lolo Francisco Bongco blessed us with a short devotion. I was blessed to hear how at such a young age he is still able to fully praise God for everything… from praising God for his life down to praising God for every breath he breathes. The Golden Banquet was a total success and I pray and encourage for others to come and help, celebarate, and fellowship with our lolos and lolas next year!