The Gift Goes On

By Pastor Latt

First Burmese Baptist Church of San Francisco celebrated annual Christmas Candlelight Worship service on Christmas Day, December 25th. God has blessed us with His blessing of guidance throughout the ceremony. Members of our church, friends and visitors around San Francisco Bay Area were gathered together to celebrate a joyful Christmas for this year. Candlelight Christmas is one of a blessed tradition of our church and it has been blessed to many people for many years.

Children and Junior Fellowship gathered at 3 pm for their Christmas activities led by Sunday School teachers. Everyone was filled with joy and fun for their favorite exchanged gifts from their friends. Smiles, laughter, praising, and joyful voices of kids have filled the halls to give us significances of the birth of Jesus Christ. Truly, the Baby Jesus has blessed us with His love, peace, and joy to the hearts of everyone.


Christmas dinner was like “Agape Feast” with full of delicious food, soup, desserts, sweets, drinks, and traditional delicacies. Christmas means Christ + mass, “a mass gathering around the baby Jesus.” I have that sense of feeling when people enjoying dinner at our fellowship hall as one large family. We need larger dinning room in future. May God bless to food committee members and generous donors for this special dinner. As usual, many families got opportunity to take family portraits by our photographer, Richard Khoo and James Wong.

Our grand celebration of Candlelight Christmas took three hours with varieties of items to worship our new born King, Jesus Christ. Each and every items including, Christmas carols, Children’s songs, praise dances, Musical Nativity, solos, instrumental, ethnic Karen and Kachin group songs, Young Adult songs, men’s quartet, adult choir, and telling Christmas stories have provided rich blessings of Christmas to our worshippers. Pastor Latt has delivered challenging message, “The Wonders of Christmas” to make worshippers to give individual responses to Jesus.

The climax of the service was a non-stop twenty five minutes powerful praising of thirty five FBBC Choir members under the title of “The Gift Goes On Medley.” I felt the power of the Holy Spirit when they praising God with these choirs. They were like multitude of angels of the Lord bringing good news of great joy to the audience. Thanks to Musicians and directors Johnson Paw and Naw Bawk Lazum. Under the dimming light, the invitation of Pastor, the soft and tender singing of “Room in My Heart,” sharing of Christmas light among the worshippers by choir members, a dedication prayer, and a vigorous shouting of everyone “Go Tell It On The Mountain” make this year Christmas a joyous and meaningful one. Praise be to the Lord, Hallelujah!

Videos and photos will be available soon from our AV crews. Thanks to Ko Peter Lau for providing me some photos.

Tips for this Christmas

By Pastor Latt

Reading scripture texts, quotes, prayers, and words of wisdom on seasonal greeting cards are so meaningful when you read them prayerfully. They were carefully chosen by card givers especially for the receivers. Some people take hours of time to pick just one card for someone special. Sometime a small card with meaningful words can change lives. Sending cards to families and friends on Christmas season is one of a significance of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I have treasured some of the cards I received which inspired me in many ways. Members of YAF used to gave me cards with their short notes, photos, and signatures on pastor’s appreciation Sundays and my birthdays. This year, Junior fellowship also created their own card for me with their thank-you notes on thanksgiving Sunday. They encouraged me to be a better shepherd or a better spiritual leader. At this Christmas season I would like to share with you some meaningful tips from a card that I have received last Christmas. It was gift from Ma Elizabeth Makha and published by Harvest Ministry:

Seven Tips For This Christmas Season

(1) Read the word. Nothing will remind you of the Christmas story like the Christmas story itself.
(2) Remember to pray! Pray for Godly priorities, for unsaved family members, and for those in need.
(3) Don’t replace worship with holiday work. Don’t get so busy that you forget to worship God. Don’t lose sight of your first love (see Revelation 2:4).
(4) Meet with God’s people. Make time for you and your family to go to church.
(5) Be about your Father’s businesses. Make sure that you’re not getting caught up in the world’s view of Christmas rather than the Word’s view of Christmas.
(6) Remember who the celebration is for. As you decorate, shop, and plan, remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for it all.
(7) Repent and repeat. If you find yourself losing sight of Jesus this Christmas, change your direction. Chances are you need to get back into prayer, the Word, fellowship, and sharing the gospel with others.

It reminds me to be a spiritual leader to lead a true and meaningful Christmas for our congregations so that the good news of the birth of Jesus will give impact to our society. We have carefully and prayerfully prepared our Annual Christmas Celebration with Candlelight Worship service on December 25th (Christmas Day). I do not want you to miss this meaningful event. Bring entire family and friends to our church and join with us to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Visit our website http://www.fbbcsf.org/announcement.htm for more detail.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Pastor Latt

Christmas in San Francisco

Every year at this time, you can hear these songs “Christmas in San Francisco” “Christmas by the Bay” and “Christmas Again in San Francisco” among many beautiful Christmas songs on the radio. When I listen these songs, I feel so thankful to God that we are celebrating Christmas in San Francisco which is the closet thing to heaven, according to the song. Read the lyric of “Christmas in San Francisco” below and if you are in San Francisco Bay Area, give thanks to God for this beautiful place with Christmas celebrations, but if you are not, this song is an invitation to you to visit here to celebrate Christmas, it says, “How I wish that you were here.”

Christmas in San Francisco
Written by: Tony Romano – April 1988

Christmas in San Francisco
What a lovely place to be
Seeing the hills being all it up
Like a diamond Christmas tree
Hearing children singing carols
People come from everywhere
To sing along with the Children

Standing all around Union Square
Christmas in San Francisco
Looking like some fairy land
People with gifts in the crispy air
Giving old Saint Nick a hand

Let’s take a peek in Chinatown
Eating lychee nuts and barbecued boar
What can we say about the Golden Gate
That hasn’t been said before

Christmas in San Francisco

There is no place quite dear
It’s the closet thing to heaven
How I wish that you were here

What can we say about the Golden Gate
That hasn’t been said before
Christmas in San Francisco
There is no place quite so dear
It’s the closet thing to heaven
How I wish that you were here

When I was young, one of my favorite songs was “If You’re Going to San Francisco.” Even I like to sing that song, I had never intended to go to San Francisco at that time but God has pre-arranged my life and brought me here to be a shepherd at First Burmese Baptist Church of San Francisco. With attitude of gratitude to God, my family and I have celebrated Christmas in San Francisco for over a decade with wonderful friends and families in San Francisco.

The beautiful San Francisco is not the main focus of our Christmas, the only and one main focus of us is to worship and celebrate the new born King and Savior Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. We are the ACCESS point for everyone who would like to meet with Jesus Christ and to accept Him as Savior and Lord. We warmly invite you to celebrate Christmas with us on December 23, 2007 (Sunday) and December 25th (Christmas Day), Christmas in First Burmese Baptist Church of San Francisco, how I wish that you were here.

Check our website http://www.fbbcsf.org/ for detail.

Pastor Latt Yishey

FBBC Christmas Funfair and Concert

"Little Theatre" of Serramonte High School at Daly City was packed with friends and families from San Francisco Bay Area on December 1st 2007 to celebrate 10th Anniversary Christmas Celebration, funfair, and musical concert of First Burmese Baptist Church of San Francisco. Visitors enjoyed delicious Burmese traditional food which FBBC talented volunteers had prepared. It was so good to see smiling faces of old and new friends under one roof as one big family. Non-Burmese visitors were also enjoyed Burmese food and our way of Christmas celebration.

Christmas Funfair and Concert had been started since 1997 when Saya Latt entered as a minister at FBBC San Francisco. We celebrate each year on the first week of December to be an ACCESS GATE for Burmese people to meet each other, to enjoy Burmese traditional food, to enjoy traditional dances, songs, and dramas, and to prepare for the Christmas season.

Thanks be to God that He has blessed us with successful celebration over ten years. Thanks also to food committee leader and volunteers those who put all their energies, time, and treasurers for this event. You can visit to our website to see more information and photos: http://www.fbbcsf.org/

The musical concert this year was the best concert we have ever done. From the youngest kids to the oldest members of performing team had done great job this year. You may obtain a copy of dvd from our audio team. Saw Bwe Lay, son of the late famous musician Saw Bwe Hmoo, help us play lead guitar together with our music master Naw Bawk Lazum.

The most famous item that night was "Christmas Musical Drama" performed by Junior Fellowship of our church, written and directed by Nathan Choo and Frank La. Rev. Latt shared the "Christmas Good News" to make ACCESS GATE for the audience to the King od king, the new born Jesus Christ.

Many people went home that night with peace, joy, and happiness. Some went home also with to-go-food and raffle winning prizes. Thank God again for this opportunity to spread the spirit of Christmas to the community. We will have special Christmas celebration on December 25th at our church. Come and join with us for "Christmas again in San Francisco."