post-Finals snow trip to Tahoe

So after the craziness of finals was over a few guys (Jimmy, Justin, Steven, John Kwon, Stephan, John Cai, and a few friends from K2: Steven Chang and Andrew Park) went to go snowboarding. The night before, we drove to Sacramento and met up with Kevan & Jenny and some other Gracepoint members to attend Bayside Church Christmas Service. Afterwards, we got In-n-Out and we all crashed at my place in Davis. The next morning we woke up at 4:30 AM (yes, we are hardcore) and left for Tahoe. Conditions were perfect as we hit the slopes. It was a good time together. After we boarded, we ate lunch back at the cars. The menu was meatball sandwiches provided by my mom. After some more boarding (and falling) we called it a day and went back to Davis for some beef noodle soup. Ah, the joy of winter break...

Taiwan Mission Team is Gone!

Today, we sent off the last of the Taiwan mission team members. Our team is comprised of some 70 people, led by Pastor Ed & Kelly Kang (Gracepoint Berkeley), William and Esther (directors of acts2fellowship), our own Manny & Sunny, and a whole host of other people, including Kairos folks, Praxis, and our very own Ben, Helen, Jenny (not my wife), Cece, and Justin T. (who's only 1 of 2 college students on the team).

While there, our team will reach out to Taiwanese college students by playing basketball and various other sports, eating at the dining commons, and going to club activities (e.g. English Corner and English Clubs). They'll be inviting the people they meet to the weekly Friday Night Plus! (think: weekly Koinonia Bible Study), and also to the Christmas Celebration, which is a performance (like a mini-GLive) our team is putting on to present the true meaning of Christmas. Over in Taiwan, Christmas is simply a western commercial holiday and there's no sense of the Christmas story, baby Jesus, or the Nativity.

Also, they'll celebrate this Sunday the Taiwan Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Hsinchu inaugural! That's going to be so exciting! In between, you can rest assured there'll be plenty of eating, hanging out, boba drinks, night markets, and learning the heart of God for that nation.

Please pray for our team:

• Inaugural Service and the Christmas Celebration
• that our Taiwan church plant team will be greatly encouraged and strengthened by the presence of so many from Gracepoint Berkeley, San Francisco, Waypoint Davis, and Bridgeway San Jose brothers and sisters.
• for many Taiwanese college students to come and experience our community, and learn about the true meaning of Christmas.

Angel Tree Update

Hi gang,

Here's an update on Angel Tree:

- Miraculously we got in touch with one of the Angel Tree children's mom, we'll be delivering gifts for the girl in Sacramento on Wed. afternoon/evening. I'd like to leave Oakland around 4pm; if you can join please email me. We'll be back probably around 9.

- On Saturday we (Wenj, Hugo, Daniel Song, me) shopped for the gifts and had a little wrapping session (no not that kind of rapping) at Dana house.:

We got a glow-in-the-dark Carebear and a nice 2-layer jacket for the girl, and a blingy electronic truck and black jacket for the boy. Hugo kept saying how 'cool' that jacket was.

- Unfortunately we still haven't been able to contact the boy's mother, but we still bought presents in faith =) Please pray that we'd be able to get in touch with them somehow.

- Saturday night was the Angel Tree party. Since our children weren't coming our group wasn't officially invited. However (and I had a sinking feeling this might happen) I was officially invited as the guest magician, and I think God wanted me to be able to commiserate with you finals-takers because the ensuing stress was something I hadn't felt since Chem 1A days.

The rest of the night was spectacular, children and families from all over Oakland and Alameda of many different stripes and backgrounds, hanging out with our youth students (dressed as elves, I don't know how the teachers convinced them to do so), eating a fabulous roast and turkey dinner, playing games, singing Joyland songs - and of course being visited by Santa himself, a.k.a Jim Kwak-Klause. As I sat down after my show and looked out over that motley but joyful crowd, I gave thanks to God for giving our church this chance to minister to them, and for this building which we could use for that.

Studying @ the Office

If you want to study after service on Sunday (12/16), I have to go to the office to do some work. There's a nice conference room, drinks, and a quiet place to study if you need it. I work a stone's throw away from Willard, where we meet for Sunday Service, and you can join me.

On another note: Early Bird registration for the winter retreat ends 12/20. Checks can be brought to the Willard courtyard after Sunday Service. There'll be a table to receive Early Bird registration checks.

Finals Study Break

Finals doesn't have to be all stress. In fact, for some people, it's not stressful at all. Sure, they may be in denial. But you can say one thing: they're not stressed. Ironically, finals also turns out to be the time when most guys get the most sleep, play the most basketball, and still find time to study. Isn't that great?

Thursday night, the staff set up the Fireside room at the YWCA so you guys could drop by, hang out, and recharge for a while. We brought chili dogs & cheese, chips, some fruit, and early-Christmas gifts! Steve came and gave us the biggest shocker, as you can see. Good thing Abigail wasn't there--she might have started crying. Nonetheless, kudos to Steve, Chih-Ming, Jimmy, and Alan for taking bold steps during a time when bold steps are needed.

We sort of just hung out, listened to some Charlie Brown Christmas music, laughed, and even played a game of Bang at the end. It was Curtiss' first time... and as the lone deputy, he and the sheriff were wiped out pretty fast by the outlaws. Muahaha.

J-Term & other news

Some of you guys (Sophs) are thinking about signing up for J-Term (Jan. 13-16) and wondering what class to take. If it helps at all, the plan for the spring semester for sophomore smallgroup is to go ahead w/ the Bible survey we wanted to do first semester but didn't get a chance to do. You can take that into consideration as you're thinking about what J-Term class to take. Of course, a study through the NT Survey or OT Survey class at J-Term will probably be more in-depth than what we'll do, but wanted to give you guys proper notice.

In other news:

• Winter Retreat early bird signup is $20 cheaper if you sign up online and turn in your check (payable to GFC) by Dec. 20. You can hand the check to your smallgroup leader or mail it to NorthLoop. Early Bird signup is $90; afterwards, it's $110. A table will be available next to the Book Table on Sunday at Willard if you want to drop off the check.
• If you want to be an Impact Volunteer next semester and participate in 1-on-1 tutoring, let me know at kevanDOThoATgpmailDOTorg. An email was sent earlier to one of the aliases and I can forward it to you.
• If you didn't get your two part gift from us (H.1 staff), hunt us down. It's our Christmas gift to you!

Need a "Break"?

Sick of finals and studying? Well, it's only been two days! But nonetheless, if you're looking for a break, drop by for some laughs, some recharge food, and a special gift (in the spirit of Christmas) tonight at the YWCA, Fireside room some time between 9-10:30 PM. See you there!

The Christmas party and gift exchange tomorrow night begins officially at 7:30 PM @ First Pres., Mears room A & B. We rented a classroom in there. No dinner, but there'll be some hot food and other refreshments. Remember to bring your $5 wrapped gift for the gift exchange.

And... if you're around Berkeley until the night of the 20th, Jenny & I are going to check out Christmas service at Bayside Community Church, which begins at 7:30 PM. For those of you who know, it's Lincoln Brewster's church, and there's a rock awesome pastor and ministry there so we're going to check it out. If you're looking for a Christmas service in LA, Jenny and I are going to Saddleback on Sunday morning, the 11:15 AM service.

Study hard. Hang in there. It's almost over.

Bible Study & Study Break

Joyland Christmas Celebration was so fun! Cheers to all you who made it and saw all the kids on stage. It was like a miniature version of GLive (the DVDs are coming the 14th!).

Anyway, photos from the different events are filtering through iPhoto and then to Flickr, and they'll get posted when they're good and ready. But for now, here's the 411 on this upcoming week's events:

• Combined bible study is on Tuesday night, 7 PM @ First Pres., on the corner of Dana & Channing.
• H.1 study break on Thursday night. Drop in for food and to decompress from all the stress. Drop by sometime between 9:00-10:30 PM @ the YWCA on Bancroft, in the Fireside room. We'll be handing out something special.
  
• K1 Christmas Party and gift exchange is this Friday, 12/14, beginning at 8:30 PM. Bring a $5 WRAPPED gift. Location coming so stay tuned.
• J-Term for sophs and juniors is happening the week prior to the retreat, so sign up if you're interested. Seminary style classes will include New Testament Survey, Old Testament Survey, Advanced Course 101, and Church History. You can find more info and sign up online.
• Also, if you haven't already, you need to sign up for the winter retreat online, Jan. 18-21. We'll have a Koinonia snow trip on Thursday, Jan. 17, so try and get back in time.
• For seniors, you need fill out the senior discipleship retreat online signup to reserve a spot. Make sure you do it.
  

By the way, better sign up for that winter retreat as there's an early bird and late registration. Early bird registration is about $20 cheaper... Study hard.

The Ending is in Sight for the Frosh

The last frosh smallgroup of the semester is at Dana House (2440 Dana St., corner of Dwight & Dana). We're meeting at 6:30 PM, and the staff and seniors are grilling. We'll watch Manny's hammer-dance across the stage as part of our closing semester festivities. See you guys there!

Taco Truck Wednesday

Last week, because we moved smallgroup to Thursday night, a bunch of guys came over on Wednesday. Since Jenny was already gone to the retreat, it was just Abigail and I, and a whole bunch of barbarians: a couple frosh, sophomores, and even a senior and staff. We decided against cooking, and sent a scout team to the taco truck in downtown Oakland, which turned out fantastic.

Afterwards, we played Bang. Wenjie the sheriff thought he'd introduce some fear into the game and put out a dynamite, only to have it explode on himself at the first draw. From there, it was pretty much downhill as the outlaws (myself included), decimated the rest of the field: renegades, deputies, and sheriff. They didn't stand a chance. It helped to stifle everyone's restlessness and get people serious about studying.

In addition to the drama of studying, doing problem sets, and writing papers, the other drama of the night was taking care of Abigail. It turned out alright.

Also, thank you for praying for those of us who went on the staff retreat this past weekend. We had a wonderful time with Pastor Ed and Kelly and the rest of the staff at our new Sierra Lodge (I'm trying to figure out how we can get a slot and head up there as a homegroup in the new year!). I was really encouraged and strengthened by the time together, and renewed my own commitment to honor God with my life.