Children Gospel Song Concert 08

Annually, all the children from various churches in bay area come together and sing & dance gospel songs. This year again, a group of children from OBMBC participated in this event. Our Sunday School director, Cynthia coached the children for the dance with their traditional dresses. Please enjoy the clip and pray for the children ministries in Bay area.

OBMBC's dance group (Kathy, Naomi, Lillian & Rosey) presents.....

New Comers Workshop at OBMBC

Many New Comers who recently arrived in U.S. were gathered for the one day workshop at OBMBC. Dinning Hall was filled with enthusiasm and smile faces through out the day. Many San Jose and Santa Clara group arrived with a loaded Bus.



Questions from youth group about the education issue were being asked. Sanda Shwe and Zarni did the slide presentation on the topic of the education opportunity at U.S..



Bryan Gracia who is professionally working as crisis counselor educates the new comers with the topic on 'How to manage and prevent the personal or family crisis.'





IRC and Catholic Charity groups joined us in our discussions. They presented their roles of helping the new comers and took some questions from the crowd.



Our Moderator, Lawrence Chow also guided the new comers with their personal income tax and insurance related issues.



I heard feedback from the attendees saying that they would come again for another round of this kind of workshop to learn 'what need to know' in order to live a new life in this country.

Fresh Fire!

Youth Fellowship, Young Adult Fellowship and College Student Fellowship groups are joining together and begin a 'Fresh Fire' worship service last Sunday.

This service will be held at 4:00 PM in the Sanctuary every Sunday. Please join us for the Spirit-filled and inspirational worship. We see you there this Sunday!

Youth at the Family Camp!

It's a great blessing for me and all of us to attend the Family camp on Labor day weekend. The most enjoyable time was sharing God's word with youth. We have the theme "Here I am: Enabling Grace within You" based on three sections of biblical discussion and application.





First section the letter "D" represents, 'Discovering your spiritual growth,' which we discover our position of growth in relationship with God. Second letter "E" represents 'Engaging in Ministry' which we must engage ourselves in God's ministry where by we must involve and serve in local churches. Third letter "A"represents, 'Amplify in the world' which means our Christian living should be amplifying or radical living in the world.





The exciting part for me was that youth never stop talking about the Bible and Faith even after the class hours over. They go beyond 2 to 3 AM in the morning. I admire their enthusiasm for God and love for His truth.

More to share about Buffalo NY

Our group photo was taken on this Saturday, all those who come from far far away were here in the picture.



A School bus ride was fun for all of us as we went to see Niagara falls. As you know OBMBC youth and young adults joined this fun filled trip along with other Burmese youth.

World's amazing fall, Niagara fall, was right in front of our eyes. I couldn't believe that I was there, yet, just like a dream to see the wonderful creation of God.

We are back!

After 10 hours long flight, finally we are back home. We have a good time together among pastors and spouses as well as youth and young adults. Here is a group of young people who attend this youth conference.



We studied on the theme "I will Follow" from the Gospel of Luke 14:26-35 and had fellowship among youth from local and far away churches of U.S.. The local Karen, Chin, and others ethnic groups, most of them are just arrived from Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, etc., welcome us with their open arms. We are so grateful for their hospitality. We are also thankful for the host church, Kenmore Baptist Church for letting us use their facility.



Pastor and spouses shared their experiences of ministry, life, and family matters on a round table with openness. It was a good time for me to learn the life stories from them.





I thank God for those ministers for their lives and sacrifices that they made for the glory of God. Let us continue to remember the ministers families in our prayer.

We Hit the Bench Mark!

We have raised, over all relief funds for the cyclone Nargis victims of Myanmar (Burma), well over our bench mark of $50,000 US dollars. Our gross amount of $51,504 was the last count on last Sunday. It is still growing. Praise the Lord! Today we have sent out total amount of $46,000 to the cyclone victims in Burma. The rest will be sent out along with additional donations that are coming in from the individuals.

Out of those relief funds we spread out into the following designated groups;

Pwo Karen groups who are working on the ground zero locations, received ($15,000) US dollars for helping out the victims in food, shelter, and clothing.

Another group is Sagaw Karen. We sent out also ($15,000) US dollars. This group is working with the leaders of local churches where the victims are taking shelter. They will rebuild bigger church buildings to accommodate more victims, especially foster children for shutter and food.

The third group is working at Labutta, Pyapon, and Bogalay districts where they rebuild the villages and farms. The first thing the victims need on those location is fresh water. Thus, this group will provide Artesian wells for each location that needed. The cost for building one artesian well is about US. $1,000 dollars. So we sent out ($10,000) dollars to this group to build estimate artesian well of ten.

The fourth group is to the leaders of cyclone affected Theological Colleges and Seminaries. We sent out for $6,000 dollars. There are three theological schools that received for $2,000 each to repair and rebuilt the school buildings, library and dormitories.

Thank you to every one of you who give lavishly to help the cyclone victims of Burma. May our Lord Jesus Christ richly bless you. Definitely, God’s love is shine upon to those who give cheerfully. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor.9:7)

Church Cleaning Day is Fruitful

Thank you so much to those individuals come and participate in our church cleaning day. It was moved with joy and laughter among us.

We thank God for quick and organized fashion job done on that day. There were dusty and painted walls surrounded us. We were moving with momentum of love for our Lord in our services.

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you all for your hard works for His worship sanctuary.

Bay Area Revival 2008

It is great to come together all the Bay area Burmese Christians families in Christ's name. Let's bring out unity, love and truth among us continuously. It has been a week since the revival meeting was done. As we all get back to our churches, still those images are vividly seeing in our memory. Let's continue to pray for one another.

Please view the photos at the bottom of this page

Earth quake Awareness Training

April is the month for "Earth quake Awareness Month"



Sunday, right after the Karen Fellowship worship service, the Red Cross personal Niki came to give us a training on Earthquake awareness.

We are thankful for this opportunity to learn about earthquake and how to prepare ourselves when it strike. It is a helpful and educational for us especially to our new arrivals in this bay area.

Final Touch on Dance Studio Construction

We thank God for our dedicated and talented personals, Jerry Hui and the team, for this construction of dance studio in OBMBC ministry. Our young generations are excited to give their time and talents in dance ministry. Our traditions are filled with variety of dances and customs. Let's bring out these God-given gifts to praise His name and glorify His greatness in our midst.




Our next project is also on its way; that is Music Recording Studio. Our Musicians are more than ready to pour out their gifts in music to bring life into our ministry. We are ambitious for this Recording Studio project and heavily invested. Knowing that God can use us through this music ministry to reach out the world.




May the Lord use us and grant us wisdom in these area of ministries to advance His kingdom.

Daw Own Shwe is leaving for Study

Aunty Daw Own Shwe is leaving us this Friday to Washington State by train. She will be there for at lease two years to study Bible. She has been a good member and out spoken person in our midst. Her testimonies that she shared every week in our worship services have been encouragements to us. We miss her very much. May God guide her and continue to bless her way as she seeks His will.

Sayama Aye Thaw is joining our team!

Our worship service with testimonies and more...each week. In addition we have contemporary worship at every last Sunday of a month. You are invited for each week to come and worship with us.

Our OBMBC Family Members News in Oakland Tribune

Burmese resettle in the East Bay, adjust to urban living

By Momo Chang, Staff Writer
Article Created: 04/04/2008 05:54:14 PM PDT




Thweh Wah sits in the waiting area of the Oakland International Airport's Terminal

OAKLAND -- On a windy afternoon in January, Eh Kaw Heh anxiously stood with his mother, Thweh Wah, at the Terminal 1 waiting area at Oakland International Airport.
They were there to greet Thweh Wah's nephew, Eh Kaw Mu, 19, who is about to start a new life in Oakland after living in refugee camps for years.

Mu is part of a recent wave of Burmese refugees who have arrived in the Bay Area since summer. He is also Karen _ an ethnic minority from Southeast Burma that makes up the majority of Burmese refugees.
Burmese are the fastest growing refugee population in the United States. In 2007, the United States accepted about 15,000 Burmese refugees, more than any other refugee group, according to data from the U.S. State Department. Officials expect another 15,000 by the end of the fiscal year in September.
Nearly 300 Burmese refugees have resettled in the Bay Area, mostly in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties, according to resettlement agencies. Many of them now call Oakland home _ about 120 since last summer, according to the International Rescue Committee, an international organization with which the U.S. government contracts to help refugees resettle. An additional 120 have resettled in the San Jose area, according to Catholic Charities.

For more than 60 years, the Karen (pronounced kah-REN) have been embroiled in conflict with Burma military regime in their fight for independence. Many Karen were driven violently from their homes, their villages burned, during the '80s. Several hundred thousand Karen have fled across the border to Thailand, where many then lived _ for an entire generation _ in prison-like refugee camps. These Karen and other ethnic minorities lived in limbo, unable to return home to Burma _ now called Myanmar _ and denied citizenship in the Thai refugee camps. For years, refugee rights groups have pushed for acceptance of more Burmese refugees, in part because of the long time they've lived in refugee camps.

One of the reasons Burmese have been barred from entering the U.S. is because of anti-terrorism acts like the USA PATRIOT Act. Many Karen and other ethnic minorities from Burma have been a part of or associated with militias that fought against the Burmese military regime, which puts them in the broad category of ``terrorist group.''

The United States has been accepting more Burmese refugees since 2006, when waivers were granted to some groups previously barred from entry because of the USA Patriot Act.
Now, halfway across the world, toting their only belongings in a single large bag, they arrive to start a new life. Refugee generation Eh Kaw Heh, 24, spent nearly 23 years in various Thai refugee camps, fleeing Burma with his family when he was 1. ``We want our own independent state, but Burma would not allow us,'' Heh said about the Karen peoples' situation. For more than 20 years, his family stayed in three different refugee camps in Thailand. Several times, Burmese military regime or other militias burned down the camp where his family lived, forcing them to flee yet again to another camp. Heh, who arrived in June, lives in a modest apartment in Oakland's Eastlake district with his two younger brothers (who were born and raised in refugee camps), his mother, and, now, his mother's nephew.

This same neighborhood just east of Lake Merritt served as a hub for Southeast Asian refugees in the '80s, after the war in Vietnam. The ethnically mixed neighborhood now also includes many new Burmese refugees.
Heh said when officials in Mae La refugee camp _ the largest one in Thailand with about 45,000 people _ announced that the United States was accepting refugees, they, like thousands of other Karen families, applied. ``When you live in the camps, if you compare, it's like you live in prison,'' he said. If refugees leave the camps, they could be caught by Thai police, he said.

There was little work, little education and myriad health problems plagued the overcrowded refugee camps. In the refugee camps, students can only get up to a 10th-grade equivalent education at best, and the majority of recent refugees do not speak English, though Heh does.

The younger generation, which spent years _ many their whole life _ in refugee camps, have little or no work experience when they arrive in the United States. Most of the elders were farmers in Burma before they were left their country. For Heh, his first job was packing clothes in a warehouse in San Francisco.
Settling in Staff at the International Rescue Committee, a refugee resettlement agency, said they have been very busy since last summer. In the committee's downtown Oakland office, case manager Owen Williams and case worker Janet Zan have helped about 120 mostly Karen refugees resettle in Oakland.

After a year, refugees can apply for a green card, and five years after they arrive, citizenship. Zan, 24, is a Karen refugee who arrived in 2003. She lives in Antioch, which she says is home to several dozen Karen families. She said new refugees need a lot of help in the beginning _ from housing to jobs, health care to education. They are given food stamps, about $120 a month per person. The IRC receives information from the U.S. State Department about each refugee before they even arrive, to ensure an apartment is rented for them. The resettlement agency also helps them find jobs _ most of them are in entry-level positions, such as factory, restaurant or warehouse work.

Refugees also are enrolled in English classes, though some interviewed said the classes were full or they dropped out when their job schedules conflicted. Besides stitching together a brand new life, many are experiencing things for the first time, such as taking public transit. ``When we lived in the camp we had to walk 40 minutes to go to school,'' Heh said. ``There is no bus, no motorcycle, only walking.'' A better future
Heh's prospects are bright _ his main advantage being that he speaks English pretty well, unlike most of the recent Burmese refugees. He would like to get a college degree, something unthinkable in the camps, where many struggle to even receive up to a 10th-grade equivalent.

For now, Heh spends much of his time looking for another job. After he left his warehouse job in San Francisco, he worked at a small Hayward factory, operating a machine that makes parts for computers and airplanes at a company owned by a Karen couple. But the factory unexpectedly closed in February.
Heh found a new job in March, one that he said he enjoys. He is learning book keeping and office management at an auto parts company in Oakland.

Most recent refugees live in studios or one bedroom apartments, sharing space with their kids or two to three other refugees or family members, often using the living room as a bedroom. The IRC pays for most or all of their rent for about the first three months. In Oakland, that means from $700 to $925 a month.
Despite early struggles of resettling _ worrying about learning a new language and finding a sustainable job _ many of the refugees interviewed say they are happy to be here.

A Burmese church in Oakland, headed by the Rev. Lone Wah Lazum, provides Saturday English classes and a haven for the new population. Most Karen are Christian, though some are Buddhist or Muslim. Because of the recent influx of Karen people, Oakland Burmese Mission Baptist Church started offering services once a month in Karen. Some Karen refugees are not fluent in Burmese, the language regular services are in. During one of the services, hundreds of Karen dressed in their traditional colorful weaved clothing sang Christian songs in Karen and ate a buffet lunch of Burmese food prepared by church members.

While life here is vastly different from Burma and the refugee camps, many said they are glad to start a new beginning. ``Life there (in the refugee camps) is very hard and there is no hope, no future, at all,'' Pa Eh Ko, who arrived with his wife and two kids, said through a translator. ``Here, we have challenges, but we have a future here if we work hard.''

Contact Momo Chang
at momo.y.chang@gmail.com. Nyunt Than, a local Burmese resident, volunteered to help with translation.

Only Reason to Buy Oakland Tribune this Sunday

An article about our church OBMBC and Karen people has been scheduled to publish this Sunday April 6th, 2008 on Oakland Tribune News paper. The article includes interview notes and stories about newly arrivals of Karen families who settle around Oakland area from Burma and Thai Land borders in recent year. Our church has been given opportunity to involve some parts in their lives. We are thankful for that. This article must read, if you and I were concerned for these people and the church.

Easter Combine Worship Service

Easter Sunday worship service was combined with OFBC at 11:00 AM. Varity of worship style were found in our midst that morning. Young and Elders join in unison; praising the Risen Savior with Scripture, songs, dances, etc…Traditional Pipe Organ was awesome in accompanying our hymnal “Christ the Lord is Risen” and “Because He lives.”

Pastor Nancy delivered a message called “One Voice.” A voice proclaimed about the Lamb of God. A voice was silenced for a moment and revived later. A voice can start a revival in our midst. Will that voice be you or me?

Easter Sunrise Service was A Great Turn Out

Easter Sunrise Service was a great turn out. We enjoyed the Burmese traditional breakfast “Kwk Nyin Bawng” with dry fish and sweet milk tea. The sweetest of all was the beautiful Sun rise in the East to ward the Bay Bridge and San Francisco sky line with the reflection of Sun ray into our eyes. Imagine that with the Word of God saying “He has risen!” beautifully rang in our ears on that wonderful glorious morning. Indeed, we are blessed one more time. Come and join us once again next year about this time for that Easter Sun rise service.

Good Friday Night Worship

Good Friday night, we worship the Sacrificial Lamb of God in memory of Him, combined with Communion. Our worship was filled with emotional testimonies and songs of adoration. Above all added up with the spices of worship dance and drama, they lifted up our spirits in awe. The message was based on the question by Pilate to Jesus, “Are you a king?” Jesus responded that for this cause, being a king, He came to this world and for this cause He was born.
So He is the King, who will come one day with authority. But for now Jesus was a king without a kingdom on that day. He said that His kingdom was not of this world. He was a king without subjects for everyone rejected Him on that day. He was a king without authority and power but submitted to the sinners. The King was willingly gave His life for all. The King was hanging on the cross with the sign “King of the Jews.”

I too have a question to the King; “Will you come and die for me even if I were alone in this world?” I know for sure the King would answer me, “Yes, I would come and die for you just the same, even if you were alone in this world.” Indeed, He is my King. Jesus Christ is my King today the wooden cross proves it.