WE'VE MOVED! - NEW Blog Site...

We've moved! All of the Koinonia homegroup blogs are joining forces on the main Koinonia website. It makes total sense, right? You can find Homegroup 4 + 7 (as well as all the other homegroups) at the all-new, still-in-the-works Koinonia website.

So, bookmark the new page, change your subscription/RSS reader thing to the new page, folks!

See you there!

New Gracepoint Devotions Site

For your one-stop shop for all things DT, go to the all-new Gracepoint Devotions site. You can find the reflection questions and commentaries, as well as devotional sharing from various church members. Subscribe to the page, bookmark it, visit it often so you can be blessed and maybe you can bless others (if you submit any insights).

The kick-off sharing is from Ahmi Kim, one of the directors of our SF Campus.

Gracepoint College Fellowship @ Magic Mountain!?!

No, it's not the location of our next Gracepoint Fellowship Church plant! It's the first ever Gracepoint Fellowship Church College Summer Kick-Off at Six Flags Magic Mountain on Monday, 6/8. That's right - all Koinonia Berkeley, acts2fellowship, Kairos, and SFSU & USF Koinonia groups will all be heading down (or up, depending on where you'll be) to my all-time favorite theme park (O Viper, I've missed thee!).

[Can you find me in the above picture?]

You'll most definitely get the maximum roller-coaster bang-for-the-buck since we've got a super secret deal brought to you by FUN #1 himself - only about $23 for all the rides, a special picnic area and there might be those character people leading us in games?!

Even if you're not sure you can go for sure, if you're interested, be sure to click the link above and sign up by THIS FRIDAY, MAY 22 so we have a realistic estimate. Join us for a thrilling day of fellowship and fun!

Graduations @ Gracepoint: Truly MMM

Finals can be stressful, but official Gracepoint polls reveal the best study breaks at UC Berkeley are graduation ceremonies! Good thing Cal has about a zillion of 'em. There's nothing like running up to Greek Theater from Main Stacks to cheer on our seniors (running down to Zellerbach is easier though). And after your finals are done, you can participate in the Graduation Relay Marathons - those are ALWAYS fun!

This is a tradition we've had at GFC since BEFORE I graduated. I know what you're thinking: "Greek Theater was around when you were an undergrad?" The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind. (If you didn't get that, just move on to the next paragraph.)

It's an opportunity to show solidarity and encouragement for the older brothers and sisters in our church from whom so many of us have received love and care. We show up in great numbers and cheer so loudly some people have offered to pay us to cheer for their loved ones - definitely a memorable time. It's even a great time to catch up with people, and on your Vitamin D deficiency, since you've been holed up in your room/cubicle/under a table cramming for ____ days straight!

As you read a couple of the staff's reflections on their own graduations, you'll see just how special a time in the seniors' lives this is, and I hope that we can all go out there and share in this rite of passage with them!

From Steven, Class of 2008:

One of the best parts of graduation was that my parents got to see firsthand how my life is so rich and full of love and people because of this church. Of course they caught little glimpses of it here and there when we talked on the phone, or when friends would come and visit during the breaks. But I sometimes experienced a tinge of sadness that they couldn't really understand the community I have here because it was several dimensions beyond what they could contemplate based on their personal experience of church.

But my graduation banquet was the first time they saw with their own eyes what our church community is like, and I think they were left with a lasting impression. They already knew I had many peers, but now they knew about my younger brothers and sisters and my leaders who were all so involved in my life. I remember my dad asking me in bewilderment whether all the staff were paid by the church. I explained to him that no, they were not paid, they were just lawyers, programmers and nurses, people with day jobs, moms and dads with their own families. They were just regular people who devoted themselves to ministry out of their personal convictions. I think that kind of blew his mind. It was through this time that my parents were able to get a clearer picture of the kind of community God has blessed me with.

And here's a short reflection from Joe, Class of 2006:

Graduation. Or as the ceremony is often called: Commencement. People told me that graduation would be one of the most important ceremonies of my life. These huge ceremonies (eg, baptism, marriage) are important because they signify a border of sorts - from one phase of life to another. For baptism, going from death to life as a Christian; for marriage, two becoming one; for graduation, adolescence to adulthood. These transitions are simultaneously exciting and filled with trepidation - it is completely new after all!

Graduation for me was a huge mix of emotions. I loved school and the whole experience, and yet understood that I needed to begin the journey of making my own significant life decisions. But the thing I will remember most about graduation is the incredible warmth of community around me. Many friends and leaders who have gone before me cheering me on. Many younger ones whom I was blessed to know and to have in my life cheering me on. Many peers with whom I had spent the past four years with cheering me on. During such a significant and uncertain point in my life, I had so many people who loved me and cared about me. It was a blessing that I did not deserve, and a blessing that I will never forget. In this very concrete way, I experienced one body in Christ!

Do you have a special note of encouragement for the
Senior Class of 2009? Leave a comment!

Plan of Action for Summer Break

Summer break is upon us, and we all know that any kind of break can go in two different directions. How many of you relate to something like this?

Every break I'd draw up a plan: wake up early, cook breakfast for my parents to show them how I've matured, help out around the house without being asked, serve my siblings, have quality DT every single day, read all the Christian books I'd been wanting to read during the semester, review the classes I just finished so I'd be fresh for the next class in the sequence, meet up with old friends and have DEEP conversations about the meaning of life, exercise every day and enjoy the outdoors, learn how to cook new dishes from my mom, maybe throw in a couple of community service projects that I would do on my own and not because someone was making me.

I'd start out strong, but after the first few days (sometimes I'd make it through a week), my plan would become more like an impossible mission. Pretty soon I regressed to the kind of bleary-eyed summer daze I vowed to renounce forever!

Here's a practical resource from Boundless.org on how to have an intentional summer break. Let's all help one another stay spiritually fresh and have summer breaks we won't regret!

What are your plans for tackling the summer?
Share with us in the comments!

Wrapping up another FULL year in Koinonia Berkeley!

Can you believe another year has almost come to a close? Rather than write up a post about the great end-of-the-year stuff that happened this past weekend, I thought I'd just link y'all to a wonderful post recapping yet another FULL weekend at Gracepoint that my HD pal Daniel wrote up.

Things you'll find there, in addition to the Koinonia Year-End Video I've included below: pictures from SK1 and from Graduation Sunday!




Praise God for His faithfulness this past year - in the lives of all our seniors, and especially for the 44 salvations!

Gracepoint Live: "Redo"

The seniors made a video (several videos, actually) reflecting on their experience of Gracepoint Live 2009. As a sort of video response to the original G-Live: Undo Intro video, they made "G-Live: Redo." It's funny and touching at the same time, the best kind!

Man, we'll never have to worry about G-Live withdrawal, because the videos just keep coming!

Redo Intro Video from GFC Seniors 09 on Vimeo.

Dis-Grace(ful) Balla Skillz On Display

Thanks to Pastor Jonathan of Waypoint, I have for you some exclusive footage of Daniel "Dis-Gracepoint" Kim's basketball skills. You will either be inspired or encouraged...or...something!

This is from a game played at the Gracepoint Berkeley and Waypoint directors' retreat last week.

Gracepoint Forum is Back! Woot!

Last summer, Gracepoint Berkeley's resident Master of Apologetics (he really does have a master's degree, it's not one of my nicknames that are added for effect!) started an apologetics blog called Gracepoint Forum. You can send in your apologetics questions via comments, and he will answer them in his posts. I've found it a useful resource; in fact, one of the questions a friend of mine asked me was the topic of a post. Even if no one has asked you a "tough question" lately, you can definitely learn things that can strengthen the intellectual grounding of your faith through reading any of the posts.

The latest post on string theory has a punny title, which I like and understand, but that's about as far as my understanding of it all goes. I'm going to read the article again and get me some smart!

On a related note, remember to sign up for Gracepoint 2009 Worldview Camp! Woooot!

A Special Sunday Worship Service @ Glen Brook Terrace

This past Sunday, after our regular Gracepoint Berkeley worship service at Willard, a group of 15 RED-HDers piled into cars and headed out for Glen Brook Terrace, a Senior Apartment Complex in the nearby Piedmont/Oakland area. After a hearty meal at Boston Market (great idea, guys!), we arrived at Glen Brook, where our Praxis Elderly Care Ministry members were already setting up for the recently started bimonthly worship service. Grandma Jaqi, Gracepoint's oldest member and faithful prayer warrior (her memory is AMAZING!) lives there, and she has been bringing her neighbors and friends!

Steven Choi brought a message on John 4, Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan Woman, and several of the grandmas were nodding their heads in agreement when he talked about the different ways we try to satisfy the thirst of our souls only to be left thirstier and more disappointed. He gave a clear message about how God's love is the thing that will truly satisfy our souls.

We also prepared some songs to sing (featuring Sheri on the violin!) and the highlight was the special music with motions, "I Will Worship You." Ray taught the seniors the motions and it was a precious sight to see them doing the motions along with us as we sang about how our God is so worthy of our worship and praise. A couple of grandmas were moved to tears by the whole service.

Afterwards we had a wonderful time of mingling with the residents, getting to know one another and sharing our different life experiences. One woman I had a chance to talk with (though I didn't say much since she had so much to share!) said she is going to tell her friends to come next time because what we're doing is good. She said that there are a lot of stereotypes about seniors, that they just sit in front of the TV, and so on, but it was really touching that all these young people considered them important enough to bring church services to them.

We were sad to leave, because the time seemed so short, but we look forward to the next time we can worship together with the precious friends we made!

Here is a short sharing on the experience by Tracy:

The visit was so amazing yesterday. I really enjoyed and was blessed by the worship time we were able to put on for the elderly there, and I was so glad that so many of them really expressed how much they enjoyed the service in general. I got to talk to two of the elderly women there. Both of them were so full of life, even though both were around their 80s already. One woman in particular looked like she was in her late 40s with her sunshine laughter and attentive mind. Hannah, Sam, and I had a great time just asking them about their lives. Our conversations went anywhere from talking about their families to food and cooking. They were so happy that we were there. One of the women even told us that she had decided not to go visit her daughter who lives an hour away so that she could attend our worship service! I found out later she was Christian and was actually born into a church background. I was just so encouraged by her faith, especially when she said, "I know who's been taking care of me, and I also know who's gonna keep taking care of me!" Such a simple statement really expressed how much she has placed her life in God's hands, and I was so inspired that after 70 or so years, her faith has prevailed.

I never really thought I could carry on a conversation and relate to older people in the way that we interacted with the elderly there yesterday, and it really showed me personally how much God intended for people to relate to one another, regardless of age, race, or ethnicity. We were able to use one little Sunday off of our time to really touch the hearts of these elderly people, and their beaming faces as we said goodbye to them really just made the small little sacrifice of our time seem so much worth it than what we contributed. Praise God for all the ways in which we could show His love to the precious people yesterday!

Reminder: This Sunday is Mother's Day!

Just a friendly reminder to you all that this Sunday is Mother's Day. So, if you're sending a card or gift, make sure you send it off in the mail with enough time to spare!

Of course, every day is mother's day, but I hope you guys will take some time out on this special day to thank your mothers, grandmas, or other mother figures for all the love and care they've shown you throughout your lives!

Gracepoint Summer Tradition #33 - MYT!

If you've been following the blog, you'll notice that there's no such thing as a lazy summer day at Gracepoint. We've got way too much good stuff going on! We like to maximize the summer days to equip ourselves in Christian Worldview, to serve the children in our community, bond with peers at discipleship retreats, and of course, MULTIPLY (Y)OUR TALENTS!

What is Multiply Your Talents, you ask? It's 8 weeks of training in various classes where you can learn things ranging from guitar to video editing. It's not only a great time of learning, but a time to bond with with Gracepoint members across departments. People have used the skills they've developed at MYT to serve as part of the worship ministry, make videos for New Student Welcome Night, set up and run the sound board at Bible Study, design flyers for various church events, design the stage and lights for worship service, and so on.

Find out more information and sign up for MYT - the deadline is 5/29, and classes start on FRIDAY, 6/5 @ 7pm.

Here's the promo video. Maybe you can learn to make a video like this (but better, of course).

Gracepoint MYT Promo 2009 Video from john ko on Vimeo.

Gracepoint Live Withdrawal Still? Fear not!

For those of you still going through G-Live withdrawal, here are a couple of videos! I think it's kind of clear that the Gracepoint Live "Behind the Scenes" Slideshow was made by a sophomore (shout out to David of a2f blue!)




And for those of you who haven't been watching this over and over already, here's the "G-Live: Frosh Experience" video. 'Nuff said!

Gracepoint Summer DT Journal - order today!

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline to pre-order your deluxe 3-month Summer DT journal is this Wednesday, May 6. Especially convenient for those of you who are going to be away for part of the summer, "DT Journal: don't leave home without it." (No one reading this is old enough to remember the American Express commercials, but that was their slogan.)

Summer Discipleship Retreats

The dates for Gracepoint's College Summer Discipleship Retreats have been set, so go ahead and sign up online.

Juniors: Fri, 7/17 - Sun, 7/19
Seniors: Fri, 7/24 - Sun, 7/26

I'm guessing you'll be leaving Friday morning or during the day, since most people don't have summer school classes on Fridays, but more definitive information is to follow.

For both the junior and senior discipleship retreats, the prerequisite is having completed SK1, and the deadline to sign up is Fri, 7/3.

Deadline to sign up for ImpACT!

Boring summers are a thing of the past...

Today is April 30, which means it's the deadline to sign up to volunteer in ImpACT! You can sign up for various positions for Summerfest (Sat 6/13, Mon 6/15, Tue 6/16) and/or for ImpACT during the 2009-2010 academic year.

While you're at the signup page, might as well sign up for Worldview Camp, since the early bird deadline is May 15th!

I'll be there, so...I'm not square!?

An IMPACTing Story

For those of you considering volunteering for Impact either for Summerfest or for the 2009-2010 school year, here is a short reflection Tim wrote about his experience serving in Impact this past year:

I didn't have an amazing reason for joining Impact. Actually, I'm not even sure if I had a reason. Basically, I liked kids and I wanted to get more involved at church. That's it. But just because I didn't have an amazing reason for joining did not mean I did not have have an amazing time serving.

One of the best things about being a part of Impact is that you get to see kids' lives change right before your eyes. I know this sounds cliche, but there is no other way of putting it. I'll give you an example: there is a 3rd grader in my group. He's been labeled by the teachers as "Mr. Impact" because he's the most regular (and I would say the most "Impacted") kid we have. When I first met him at Springfest 2008, he was a crazy kid. He simply had too much energy. But he was kind of split between being a fun loving second grader and being a hard faced cool kid that didn't care about anything (which was what his 5th grade older brother was trying to do). I remember how he would not dance or sing during the praise time at Springfest. And when Impact transitioned into the Sunday program, he hated Joyland worship service. Right before we would go in, he would ask me if he had to go in. And all throughout he would be telling me how much time there was until Impact was over and he can go home. But little by little, guards started to fall, and he realized that at Impact, the only expectations are for him to be a 3rd grader. I'm not saying the change was overnight, but seemingly out of nowhere, he started to love Impact. Now, when he keeps the time (which he always does), he would be like, "Oh no! I have to leave in 30 min!." And during Joyland worship, he doesn't want to sit with the rest of the 3rd graders because he wants to sit with the kindergardeners who are at the very front. He sings the praise songs as we walk from class to class, and he's always trying to get his peers to be quiet during small group so that everyone can pay attention. The change in his facial expression says everything. The once hard faced second grader is now a fun loving always smiling third grader.

Impact is all about watching the kids grow closer to God, watching yourself grow closer to God through watching your kids grow closer to God, and working together with your brothers and sisters in Christ (especially with Praxis people, who you yon't see too often). Impact is a blast. It wasn't easy. But it was a blast.

I remember this really nice picture of Tim with one of the kids from last year's Impact Springfest...but alas, I couldn't find that one. I could only find this one...enjoy!



Look at how much Tim is having! Doesn't this make you want to join the Impact team? Remember, the deadline to sign up for Impact is 4/30.

It's "Gospel Time" @ Joyland!

As most of you know, the children's ministry at Gracepoint is called Joyland. They have really awesome message series all the time, and the latest series is called "Gospel Time." The weekly lessons on various aspects of the gospel will be illustrated through the vignettes from the Sophomore Gospel Skit from G-Live!

You can see the entire lesson (with the Captain & Lars vignettes) as well as others in the Joyland archives. You can experience Joyland every week by volunteering to serve during 2009-2010. There are various volunteer positions as well as opportunities to serve as assistant teachers.

Check out the intro video for the "Gospel Time" series! Don't you wish you were a kid again?


Joyland - The Gospel Time Intro from Nelson Wong on Vimeo.

This is the intro video for our new message series: Gospel Time.

Elderly Home Visit on Sunday, 5/3

Our HG has the opportunity to go with our Elderly Care Ministry to Grandma Jaqi's senior apartment complex on Sunday, 5/3.

We'll have a chance to bring a message and songs, as well as mingle with the grandmas and grandpas who join us for Sunday Worship Service.

More information is forthcoming, but space is limited so email me (Emily: hemilykim@gmail.com) if you'd like to go. Especially email me if you'd like to give the message!

You can read Lauren's reflection on the first visit there on Life @ Gracepoint!

LIFE Groups & GTS this week

Hanging in there for the last few weeks of the semester?

This week we'll be having the following LIFE groups:

Soph guys - Wednesday, 8:30pm @ Dwight Apts
Senior guys - Thursday, 8pm @ Dwight Apts
Soph + Jr sisters - Thursday, 8pm @ Sproul Fountain. This week we'll be going on a little field trip, so bring ~$5 + a childhood picture of yourself (if you can)!

We'll have GTS as usual @ 7pm, and will meet @ 5:45pm in the upper courtyard for a BYOD together.

Afterwards, we'll be going on our first ever RED-HD night hike, so join us if you can! Be sure to wear sturdy shoes and bring a flashlight if you have one.

Exciting Summer Signups!

Since it already feels like the middle of summer (are y'all surviving?!), I have some exciting summer events you can sign up for now!

6/13-6/17: Impact SUMMERFEST! Impact is a non-profit organization that serves kids from nearby Oakland elementary schools. If you were involved in Springfest last year, it will be very similar, but this time it's going to be three fun-filled days in a row! There are plenty of ways to volunteer, so check out the Summerfest Signups page for more information! Deadline to sign up is 4/30.



6/17-6/20: Gracepoint 2009 Worldview Camp. If you've never been to one, you should sign up! Worldview Camp is a concentrated time of equipping ourselves in different areas (such as bioethics, moral relativism, media, etc.) so that we can engage the world through a Christian worldview. This year our special speaker is Sean McDowell, who many of us heard give a special talk during one of our GTS Fridays.

Sign up for Gracepoint '09 Worldview Camp (note the early bird deadline!) and read about last year's Worldview Camp.

Passion Week Bible Study

For those of you who were not able to make it to prayer meeting last night, the Passion Week Bible Study has been uploaded as a podcast on our website. I encourage everyone to listen to it if possible. I hope everyone can take some time to quiet our hearts and read from the Passion Week Reader as well, and that each of us can connect personally with God this Good Friday & Easter!

Goodbye Gracepoint Live...until 2011!

I might just be the flakiest blog updater, but I've turned over a new blog-leaf and am here to report the happenings in the lives of RED-HD (as you know, we've gone Hi-Def, as in Hannah & Daniel).

Can't believe it but Gracepoint Live has come and gone. Now what'll we do?
Over 1900 people came and experienced our best efforts to communicate the love of God and the truly good news of the gospel through skits, song, dance, and whatever other talents we could utilize (i.e. Chinese accent, yelling, moving props at lightning speed). I hope that the experience of participating in or attending G-Live was personally meaningful for each of you.

Here is the Gracepoint Live 2009: Undo Intro Video. If you're still struggling to understand the video, maybe the 3rd (or 30th) time is the charm!

Gracepoint Live: UNDO

Goodness gracious, only two weeks left until Gracepoint Live: UNDO! Get the word out, and remember, guests have to reserve seats here. Some promo videos ...

This weekend: Craig Hazen & Baptism!

Life itself has been so exciting that I haven't had time to update regularly. But alas, this weekend's events warrant a post!

Starting with tonight, we have the exciting opportunity to hear from Dr. Craig Hazen regarding pluralism, a most relevant topic especially on college campuses. It's a special opportunity to invite classmates and friends!


Saturday, there will be an Apologetics Training at Willard Middle School from 10am-4pm. Please sign up if you haven't done so already!

Lastly, but not at all leastly, this Sunday our very own Wynn will be getting baptized, along with several other brothers! Please come to prayer meeting at the new time (10am) and join us for our special Baptism and Worship service that now starts at 11:15am.

Plans for this Weekend: 1/16-18

Welcome back!

FRIDAY NIGHT: We'll be having dinner & Bible study at Chris Gilling's place (Steve & Suzanne's). We'll start at 7pm, so rides from Berkeley will be at 6:15pm from Anna Head Parking Lot.

Most of you can go straight from G-Live Tech & Arts Camp. Maybe we can walk!

SATURDAY: As you heard, the weather has been great...a little too great. So there's not much in the way of good snow. Therefore our Snow Day has turned into a Grass Day! We'll be having an all college BBQ/Sports day somewhere around here. So we can still throw things at each other and tackle one another. It'll just be on grass. :)

GFC's Key Verse for 2009

In case some of you were confused about my mention of our church's key verse for 2009 in my previous post, you can read part of Kelly Kang's New Year's greeting and reflection on 1 John 1:3-4.

1 John 1:3-4

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

2009 is in full swing!

Only five days into the new year, but at Gracepoint, it feels like so much has happened already! We had a memorable New Year's Eve Watchnight Service where we heart testimonies from Austin, Taiwan, as well as the personal Deuteronomy 8 reflections from several brothers and sisters (our own Ray included). We were able to spend the last hours of 2008 reflecting on the year, and as we prayed and repented, we received the new year with a clean slate, full of hope and newness through God's grace!

January 1st, we kicked off the year with Mandoo Making Madness (만두 is Korean for dumpling) and Yut Nori (윳노리) with all the folks here from Koinonia, Kairos and the Austin team.

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the year, and Pastor Ed gave a message based on our church's key verse for 2009 (1 John 1:3-4). 1 John 1 is like our key chapter for the year. I've committed to memorizing the chapter; anyone down (or up?) for the challenge with me? I encourage everyone to listen to the message via podcast, as it was the perfect message to start off the year.

We also started off our Advanced Course 101 camp, which people are finding...challenging...and exciting! :)

In the midst of the excitement of getting drilled and grilled on the course material, we also sent off our Cambodia Winter Mission Team - please remember to pray for them. Our very own Steven Chua and Wynn Susilo are on the trip.

That's it for the mini-recap of things happening around these parts.

I encourage everyone to start of the new year spiritually engaged. Try picking a key verse for 2009, or a key word you want to focus on, and write out your prayer request for upcoming retreats (class discipleship and church-wide). Read a good book. Call up an old friend. Call up a new friend!

See you guys soon!

Happy (Almost) New Year's!

Can you believe it's hours until 2009?! For those of you who are around, please join us for our annual tradition - our New Year's Eve Watchnight Service. It's always a wonderful time of sharing and hearing testimonies of God's faithfulness throughout this year, and a time to receive the new year from God prayerfully and full of hope. And of course, we have a countdown and then we say "Happy New Year's" and hug every single person, and then eat snacks together to ring in the new year.



And then for all of you locals, on New Year's Day we'll be having a combined Koinonia, Kairos, and Austin (yes, that means Baby Chloe, Sarah and Bryan Song will be there!) Mandoo Making, Mandoo Eating, and Game Playing night at 301 Holly Oak (where I live). Festivities will start at 4pm, so let one of the staff know if you need a ride!

Christmas in Taiwan!

Hi everyone, I know it's been awhile since I posted anything here, but I hope that everyone is hanging in there on your finals. Just a few more days!

This week, as most of you head out to your "home homes" for a few weeks, 46 (at last count) of us will be flying out to Taiwan for our Winter Mission Trip!!! We'll be meeting students on college campuses and inviting them to our Christmas Celebration. Please pray for our team, as there are many preparations left to be done. But please pray first and foremost that each of us going would experience the joy of our personal Christmases - how God became flesh to be with us and to save us from our sin. Pray that we'll get to share the true meaning of Christmas to many Taiwanese students.

From HG7 - Joe Hwang, Joy Tang, Tiffany Chan, and myself will be going. From Koinonia - Allen Chen, Steven Choi, Chris Cheng, Ruth Tang, Annie Chang, Elaine Kwan, and Angel Cheng will be going as well! Please pray for our entire team!

Gracepoint Austin's Newest Member!

Bryan and Sarah are now the proud parents of Chloe Song, who was safely delivered last night! She weighed in at a healthy 8 lb. 9 oz. and is 20 inches long. I heard that Sarah (and Bryan) are doing well - happy and thankful but tired!

Let's continue to pray for Bryan, Sarah, little Chloe, and all of our brothers and sisters out at Gracepoint Austin!



* how cute is her tongue?

A Few TC Highlights

Wow, Thanksgiving Celebration was pretty awesome - many memorable acts. It was really nice just spending time together, being silly together, and having that incredible feast at Emily's place. Unfortunately, it's back to school and work for us all - but here are some video highlights from TC to jog your memory!

• Vamos a la Gracepoint: Needs no introduction. Just read the disclaimer carefully.
  
• Praxis TC Act: Shocking ... to say the least.
• Homegroups 3, 4 and 6 TC Act: Based on the DT's this past year. Many highlights from this clip including: Mike in dreads, awesome transitions, and a very tasty scroll.

Enjoy! 

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is over. As always, it seems to pass by too quickly! Turkeys to prepare, friends to meet, families to just hang out with. And in the rush of things, we easily forget the very name of the holiday we are celebrating.

Thanksgiving. Giving thanks. Have you given thanks for the blessings in your life? Make sure to take some time out of your busy schedule, and just create space to sit down, and just give thanks. I'd recommend jotting it down because it makes it that much more concrete. As Pastor Ed Kang talked about regarding things to be thankful for last bible study, Notice it, feel it, express it.  Enumerate the things that you're thankful for. You'll be grateful you did!

Update: Thanksgiving Day @ Gracepoint

As it is raining, which is great for our drought situation but not for our intended plans to have BBQ & Sports, we'll be cancelling our Thanksgiving day time plans. But don't cry, because everyone will be getting together at 6pm @ Northloop for a Thanksgiving Dinner Potluck instead!

Please remember to let Joe know if you'll be around and want to join in the Gratitude Revelry!

Everyone else, I wish you safe travel, and a wonderful time with family and loved ones. I hope you'll all be grateful and therefore helpful presences wherever you'll be. Remember the three G's for Gratitude - Gotta Notice It, Gotta Feel It, and Gotta Express It!

See you all in DECEMBER! (Can you believe it?!)

Bringing Thanksgiving to You!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

If you're not going home for Thanksgiving, have Thanksgiving come to you, or at least pretty close (Alameda).

For those of you who will be here this Thanksgiving weekend, join us for a great time of fellowship and feasting in a cozier setting. Bond with others from different homegroups, college and Praxis groups!

Thursday @ 11:30am - Potluck Lunch & Sports at Tillman Park in Alameda. Sign up!

Afterwards - Thanksgiving dinner @ Steve & Suzanne's house.

Thanksgiving Celebration!

Thanksgiving at our church is rolling around again, and at Gracepoint Fellowship Church, that means Thanksgiving Celebration! It's this Sunday, starting at 1:30pm at Kofman Auditorium in Alameda, so you'll need a ride there (just ask one of the stafff). We'll start with the normal Sunday worship service, then go into the songs, dances, skits, and all around hilarity that each of the ministry groups have been working hard on. You won't want to miss it!

Fast, Not-nasty Turkey!

Yes, we've all had turkey for Thanksgiving. And yes, you've probably had some turkey that was dry and flavorless and redeemably only with a copious amount of gravy. And this Thanksgiving, if you're cooking a turkey, you're probably scared that yours might come out that way too.

But fear not! My good friends and housemates, Tim So and Tom Kim (staff inters of acts2fellowship) have posted a great recipe for making "FAST, not-nasty turkey". They did a trial run for our house dinner a couple days back, and I can attest that it was pretty awesome. Enjoy!

Correction to This Week's DT Journal

This week's DT text is 1 Peter 1. If you purchased a DT Journal for Oct-Nov, there is an error in this week's DT text. You will notice (hopefully) that the text pasted into the journal is actually 2 Timothy 4.

Not to worry - the DT Reflection Questions (which I highly recommend) and DT Commentary (also highly recommend) correctly reference 1 Peter 1.

Spread the word to your friends who might be thinking, "Wow, Peter & Paul said the exact same thing?! Crazy!!!"

1st EVER HG R.E.D. TC Practice!

Join us for our first practice for the Thanksgiving Celebration you guys have been hearing so much about. This year our Koinonia Thanksgiving Celebration will be Friday, 11/21, and our church-wide Thanksgiving Celebration will be the following Sunday, 11/23. It will be a memory-making time where our church gets together to celebrate God's faithfulness throughout this past year. We have a special Thanksgiving Worship Service, which is followed by a Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings, as well as a feast of song & dance!

On Friday (tomorrow), we'll be meeting at 6pm @ Anna Head West Parking Lot (on Channing, between Telegraph and Bowditch). We'll head over to In-N'-Out for a quick dinner, and then go to Sable Pointe for some singing, dancing, stomping, and so forth! Join us, even if you're thinking, "I hate dancing. I can't sing..." None of us can either - that's the fun of it!

Let any of the HG R.E.D. staff know if you have any questions.

Crabbing!

Ever been crabbing before? It's really an interesting experience. The main premise of crabbing is that crabs are really dumb. We have nets with some bait (we used squid), they climb in, grab on to something, and just don't let go. To see, after a seemingly interminable 10 minutes of waiting, crabs in your nets as you pull them up, is exhilarating. We went with Homegroups 6 and 8, and there's a nice post about it here.

Vincent, Cha and I formed one team, and in about 6 or 7 rounds, we got 10 or 11 crabs (half of which we had to throw back because they were too small). Next time you go, remember: the key is waiting for the full 10 minutes!

New Koinonia Sweatshirt - Pre-Order Today!

For this week only, you can pre-order your new Koinonia Sweatshirt, this time a "zippie" (a zip up hoodie).

Here's what the front design looks like:

Don't miss out, because the LAST DAY to order is THIS FRIDAY!

And then, they'll be...gone...like yesterday...like summer break...like Al Pacino's cash...

Yes. Order!

Reminder: Set Your Clocks Back An Hour!

Some good news! We gain an hour this weekend.

Remember to set your clock BACK an hour before you go to sleep on Saturday night. Or else you'll show up a whole hour early for church. :)

Don't Miss It Before It's...GONE...

On Thursday, 11/6, Koinonia, acts2fellowship, and Kairos will be joining forces to sponsor a special event entitled GONE. It will be a night of live music, personal stories/testimonies, and a thought-provoking and relevant talk. And yes, there shall be some food involved! Join us, and spread the word and invite your friends, because well, if you miss it...it'll be...yep, you guessed it. GONE!

Special Prayer Meeting 10.28.08

Join us for a special prayer meeting, where we'll get to hear from the Woods, who are missionaries with BMDMI, a medical and dental mission organization with which some of our church members went on summer missions to Honduras. I encourage everyone to come and hear their challenging and inspiring testimonies.

This will be preceded by a time of small group sharing and prayer @ 6:30pm.

Dave Off of the Computer for a While...

I don't post that much on our HG blog (I guess I should more), but I thought I'd post a prayer request and just give you some info on what's going on with me.
If you didn't know, I've had tendinitis (a form of RSI - repetitive stress injury) in my arms for over a year now I think, and it hasn't been getting any better. The pain is starting to increase a bit, and I really need to take seriously this situation and try and recover as soon as possible. I think it was originally caused by the amount of typing that I had to do at work combined with bad posture/ergonomics...
In any case, I will be trying to rest my arms for the next 3 weeks from using the computer, any typing, any lifting, or anything else that might strain or aggravate my arms, and hopefully that will give my arms some time to recover. Please pray for a quick recovery and that my arms would in fact be healed, and that I would be diligent about not using them or straining them, as you can imagine, it's very difficult for me to not be able to help people out by moving things, lifting things, cleaning things, or playing sports, etc. = )
So, if you see me around and I'm doing something with my arms that I probably shouldn't, please feel free to gently remind me!
And I hope all of you can be careful with how much time you spend on the computer, how much typing you do and if you are, that you are using good posture and have good ergonomics!

Good Reads (Life @ Gracepoint, Pastor Ed, & Kelly Kang's Blogs)

I was really blessed by reading Ashley's Life @ Gracepoint post about the about the Impact of Impact Drivers, entitled "Giving It All, One Ride at a Time." Life @ Gracepoint is a compilation of different stories our church members share. I encourage you to check out some of the other posts. You really get a window into life at our church, especially as the stories are grouped according to our 7 Core Values.

I also wanted to let some of you who might be new to Koinonia and Gracepoint that both Pastor Ed Kang and his wife, Kelly Kang have blogs. Pastor Ed's latest post is called "Sense of Place", and he reflects on the value of life-on-life community, especially in the midst of an increasingly online world.

Kelly's latest post, based on last week's Devotions in Titus 1, is called, "Truth Leads to Godliness" I was challenged once again to embrace the truth and engage in honest confession on a daily basis.

Pre- & Post- Bible Study Plans for 10.03.08

I know that there's a lot going on, and it might get confusing, so I will post our Pre- & Post- Bible Study plans for the month of October soon and very soon!

For now, I've got the plans for TONIGHT, 10.03:

Pre-Bible Study
Guys: 6pm - meeting @ Anna Head Parking Lot for rides to small group dinner
Girls: 6:30pm - Freshmen @ the YWCA & Juniors @ Ester's apartment for small group BYOF dinner.

Bible Study
7:45pm @ 1st Presbyterian Church

Post-Bible Study
Bowling w/ HG5 (John & Ellen's) & HG2 (Joe & Annie's)

Bring $10. Bowling ball and shoes will be provided, but socks will not so bring your own!

Sierra Barn Construction

I love the Sierra Lodge. More specifically - I love building the Sierra Lodge. My knowledge of 'building things' before Gracepoint started this house consisted of assembling IKEA desks and installing drywall anchors. But through the many trips to the Lodge, I got to see so much of the process: foundation, walls, floor joists, roof trusses, electrical, plumbing - and countless other steps in between. I learned what blocking was and why it's important, what insulation is made of, how to rack and square a wall, top-plating, how to toenail, and the list goes on.

Honestly, I don't know why I enjoy it so much. Maybe it's because of the tools (the air-pressured jolt of a nail gun is a distinct joy). Or maybe it's being able to take innocuous pieces of lumber, cut and nail them together to form a wall which will then connect with other walls to form a house. Or maybe it's just the simplicity of it all, and I can temporarily forget about work and all the other stresses, and just concentrate on driving that 16d nail into the wood with a few satisfying strikes of a framing hammer.

But this past year, the work on the house mostly finished. It felt weird to come to the house and not really have anything to work on. My tools lay unused in my garage. Until, that is, a couple weeks ago: work commenced on the new Sierra 'Barn'! This past weekend, I was able to take a couple days off and join other brothers from Gracepoint and Waypoint to complete the walls. The walls came pre-fabricated, so we would just need to get all the walls installed before the end of the weekend so that the roofing could continue as planned (but harder than it sounds!).

But it's not just labor for the sake of labor. We're a big believer in working hard together towards a common goal - the Sierra Lodge has already been used so much by so many groups (JOYLand, Element retreats, discipleship retreats, bible teacher's training, Waypoint...). This new structure will only increase the capacity of our land in the Sierras, allowing even more people to enjoy God's nature and enjoy good, clean, Christian fellowship.

Never been there? Don't worry - there will be chances this semester and throughout the year. Want to share in the joy of helping construct this wonderful place (or just want to use some power tools)? Let me know. Have some favorite moments from the Lodge? Leave a comment.

Now some pictures!

The first wall!

Raising the walls ...

Now that's a tool belt!

The innocuous pieces of lumber ...

End of second day.

I can't count the number of Gatorades we drank.

Installing the floor joists.

Almost done with the floor joists!

Middle of the third day, installing floors ...

Beautiful, beautiful tools.

The last wall!

Left to right: Andrew Park (HG8), Matt Lee and Ben Kim (Element), and me!

The walls are done!

Freshman & Senior BBQ & Sports Extravaganza!

This Saturday, the Freshmen and Seniors of Koinonia are invited to a relaxing yet exciting day of fun in the (hopefully) sun. Seriously, I know a lot of you are starting to feel the tightness in your chest as you got back your first midterm, but fear not. Some fresh air and fun ought to do the trick!

The BBQ & Sports Day will be from 10am-2pm so you can still make it back in time for the football game if you have tickets. (Go #84, Michael Calvin! Remember your 10th grade English teacher!)

The aroma of sizzling hamburgers and hot dogs wafting through the late September breeze as you and your friends run around on green grass trying to catch and throw projectiles of varying size - how awesome is that?!

Especially given that it's the first of its kind to ever happen (this year), I really don't think you'll want to miss out!

Sign up online if you'd like to go. And ask me if you have any questions!

Photo Re-Cap of the Year's First R.E.D. Activity

This past Friday was momentous indeed.  After Koinonia Bible Study, 50 of us packed into Sable Pointe in Alameda.  Here's a look back at the evening through photos - provided by Benjamin!

Packed though it was, it was still cozy...maybe because we all knew each other's names (and majors) through some name games led by Game Master Ray.

Andy temporarily forgot Tiffany's name...I mean, Jennifer's name...I mean...

The first "punishment" was a group speed recitation of the Preamble of the Constitution...one word per person.  [no picture necessary]  

The second "punishment" was to recreate the Iwo Jima flag picture.  You be the judge on how well they did.  Other than being backwards, I really think they did a good job capturing the emotions that must have filled those soldiers - especially Albert, don't you agree?

Then we introduced our new friends to a Gracepoint staple - King Kong Shower.  We sure had some interesting moves!

We had a couple of brave freshmen who made it to the championship round...

And one of them even prevailed to be one of the Final Four!  [Pictured below: Billy "Fry an Omelet" Tang, Christine "FOOOOOOB" Chen, Elijah "Butterfly" Lim, and Stuart "Headache" Wong.]

And to cap off the evening, we had warm cookies and cold milk!

It was a fun evening overall, and we look forward to many more memory making moments together!