Early Monday morning, March 8, our dear brother in Christ, William Fong, went home to be with our Lord. He passed very peacefully at home surrounded by various family members. During a visit with William last week, he told me he was ready to pass from this life to the next. He was clearly at peace in his faith in Jesus Christ and had no fear of death.

The funeral service will be held in our Fellowship Center of our church this coming Saturday, March 13 at 10am. There will be overflow set up in our sanctuary. We are anticipating a very large turn out so please plan to arrive as early as possible to have a seat in the Fellowship Center. The viewing will be this Thursday evening March 11 from 6-7:30pm at the George Klump - Chapel of Flowers (2691 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95818, 916.443-7917).

Over the past few months, William had been in and out of the hospital. It was a privilege for me to visit with him often both in the hospital as well as at his home. Only once did I visit with him at the hospital without at least one other family member present with him.

At his home, it was such a blessing for me to see so many of his loving family members present with him as well as the beautiful photos of their large family gatherings. What a blessing from God to have such a large and loving extended family!

Personally, I grew up in a very small family, just my parents and my one brother. All of our other relatives were back in China and I never met any of them. (I thank God I married into a very large extended family, my mother in law was one of 12 children!)

But all of us have the opportunity to become part of the largest and most loving of families, the family of God. When we trust Jesus Christ as God's Son, that he died for our sin and rose from the dead, we become a child of God. We become brothers and sisters with all Christians who have lived since the 1st Century.

What a joy and privilege to be a part of God's family at the Chinese Community Church. Its been difficult the past few months with the loss of loved ones and various challenges and trials some have faced. But praise the Lord for the support and encouragement we share at CCC. May we continue to trust our Lord as we pray and minister to one another.

Please remember to pray for Eddie Silva and all his extended family. His nephew was one of the three young men who died tragically in a horrible car accident that happened just a few days ago. We visited with the nephew's family last night (3/8) and they asked me to share a few words of comfort and encouragement at the wake this Thursday evening. May we minister God's love and comfort to those who are hurting.