Our Summer Travelers

We have a whole bunch of folks away from Berkeley this summer... some people even across international waters! Some of them have blogs where you can read their stunning (mostly about food) adventures. Please pray for our brothers who are away... and give them a holler over Skype if you have a chance. Jenny and I (and Abigail) had a chance to talk w/ John C. a couple days ago. It was really wonderful seeing both him and Jasper as they sat in an internet cafe over in Shanghai.

• John C. is in Shanghai, participating in the PESI program. Jasper is there too (did you know Jasper's a part of A2F3?)
• Daniel S. was in Beijing for PESI, and then helped out at an orphanage. He should be back in the States soon, but will be leaving for GLDI very soon.
• Steve C. is in Taiwan. He was there w/ Taiwan team 1, is staying there for Chinese school at Tsinghua University, and then participating as a teacher in the English Camp starting in mid-July. He and a bunch of people from Koinonia, acts2fellowship, Kairos, and Gracepoint Berkeley are teaching English to incoming Tsinghua and Chiao-Tung University freshmen for 2 weeks. (did ya'll know that Steve's in H.4 w/ Daniel and Hannah?)
• Jay K. is in Korea now, but Jay's heading to China to study abroad for a whole year. By the time he gets back, he'll be fluent in Chinese and a senior! Please keep him in your prayers, and let him know once in a while over Skype that we miss him over here!
• Khanh is heading tot he Netherlands soon! She'll be there until the end of summer... just in time for the Euro 2008!

Alright, that's all for now. Keep these brothers and sisters in your prayer, and on your Skype account!

30-Hour Famine: the Grand Total!

Our homegroup raised $1787! That's really great! On Saturday, we got together in the morning to make activity bags for bed-bound children at Oakland Children's Hospital. Afterwards, we did our DT, hung out, went for a walk to the beach where we had a standing long jump contest. Irene and Mike Ho won... and then we went to the WorldVision Experience exhibit, where we walked in the shoes of an African child dealing with the consequences of AIDS and hunger.

Sunday morning, we got up early in the morning and had a bowl of UNICEF-recipe corn meal, which is served to children around the world. Then we had breakfast burritos, and the look of joy on some people's face (ahem, John K.), looked like they were going to pass out from the tingling sensations on their tongue and in their stomachs. As a church, Gracepoint Berkeley raised $72,063.65!

We're so thankful for the opportunity to participte in 30-hour famine. We got to experience just a little bit of the hunger which is so prevalent throughout our world, help raise money for a worthy cause, expand our own sense of vision, and be a little more grateful for the abundant blessings we have.

World Hunger Update: Somalia

The worst-hit countries are in Africa. Stories like this remind me of the scene from Hotel Rwanda where the reporter says: "When people see this, they'll say 'Oh my gosh that's terrible,' and then they'll go on eating their dinners." Christians respond differently, and as in the words spoken to William Wilberforce by William Pitt: "Surely the principles and practice of Christianity lead not to meditation only, but to action." May this weekend's 30 Hour Famine open up our eyes, our hearts, and our hands to those in need.

Somalia humanitarian crisis worsening
June 27, 2008
By Daniel Trotta

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Somalis face mass starvation, with snipers, bombers and kidnappers increasingly targeting aid workers and civilians in the war-torn African nation, aid organization Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday. The group, also known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, has withdrawn international staff amid the humanitarian crisis because of violence from an Islamist-led insurgency against the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies. Violence against civilians has come from all sides, MSF said in a teleconference with reporters in New York. Internal refugees are crammed into unsanitary shelters while prices for rice and corn have tripled since the start of 2008. "Every time we think that it can't get much worse, it does. ... We feel we have reached a new low," said Nicolas de Torrente, executive director of MSF in the United States. "Aid workers are increasingly targeted in Somalia, kidnapped, killed," he said. The Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization estimates 2,136 civilians have been killed this year, bringing the civilian death toll to 8,636 since the insurgency began in early 2007 -- the latest in a cycle of conflict since the 1991 fall of a military dictator. The United Nations says 1 million Somalis -- one-ninth of the population -- are living as internal refugees, and MSF said malnutrition has exceeded emergency rates for a year. "People sell everything they have to buy extra food. Then they drop out the expensive food items that are usually the most nutritious. Finally they start to ration what they do have. And finally they are in the very difficult situation of having to decide which members of the family are expendable," said Greg Elder, the deputy operations manager in Somalia. One MSF nutrition program in Mogadishu is flooded with 3,000 children with an additional 500 arriving every week. "In that center over half of patients are women and children wounded by blasts or gunshot wounds," Elder said. Benoit Leduc, MSF's operations manager in Somalia, said the killing and kidnapping of aid workers have been chilling. "Each time we go in a car we fear we will be caught in a cross fire," Leduc said. "We fear to be hit by a roadside bomb. We fear to be kidnapped. So this is the frustration. We are not able to respond adequately to the needs."

World Hunger Update: India

Sadly, it's been surprisingly easy to locate stories of starvation and malnutrition around the world. The suffering is overwhelming, but in Jesus there is hope. Verse 1 of Psalm 32 reads: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven." Around the world, groups like World Vision and Compassion International are not only providing food, but they are also providing the gospel. That is true blessing.



Malnutrition getting worse in India
By Damian Grammaticas
BBC News, June 10, 2008

Madhya Pradesh - Lying on a bed is a tiny malnourished child. Her limbs wasted, her stomach bloated, her hair thinning and falling out. Her name is Roshni. She stares, wide-eyed, blankly at the ceiling. Roshni is six months old. She should weigh 4.5kg. But when she is placed on a set of scales they settle at just 2.9kg. Roshni is suffering from severe acute malnutrition, defined by the World Health Organisation as weighing less than 60% of the ideal median weight for her height. There are 40 beds in this centre. On every one is a similar child. All are acutely malnourished. Wailing, painful, plaintive cries fill the air. This is the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre in the town of Shivpuri. You might think we are somewhere in Africa. But this is the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh - modern India, a land of booming growth. "The situation in our village is very bad," says Roshni's mother, Kapuri. "Sometimes we get work, sometimes we don't. Together with our children we are dying from hunger. What can we poor people do? Nothing." There are around 10 million children in the state. A decade ago 55% were malnourished. Two years ago the government's own National Family Health Survey put the figure for Madhya Pradesh at around 60%. So why is it going up? "It's basically inadequate access to food, poor feeding practices, poor childcare practices," says Dr Agarwal. In Madhya Pradesh the situation is compounded by two significant factors. For four years in a row the rains have failed, so food crops have failed too. And now global food prices have risen, stretching many families beyond breaking point.

World Hunger Update: Cambodia

It is shocking to find that in a country of about 13.9 million people, 4.6 million live under $1 a day. Because of this, many children in Cambodia will be trafficked or used for forced labor. 15-year-old student Roeun Ra, said his parents used to make him work by scavenging through garbage: "Many of my friends cannot go to school because their parents ask them to work for money," the boy said. Cambodian Children March Against Child Labour, ABC News, June 12, 2008.




Food inflation hits Cambodia's poor, threatens hunger, Feb 25, 2008
CHRANG CHAMRES, Cambodia (AFP) — On the long, gently sloping bank of Cambodia's Tonle river, Doem Lao chops half a dozen large fish heads in the early morning for the one meal that her family will eat that day. It is the 45-year-old farmer's fourth unseasonably cold dawn in this quiet neighbourhood on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, where her extended family has set up camp with others from their village in the southern province of Takeo. Like tens of thousands of rural Cambodians, they have joined the annual migration to the river to buy enough fish to make a year's worth of prahoc, a pungent fermented paste that is the only source of protein for many in the country's impoverished rural regions. But the rice they brought from home has nearly run out and the fish have yet to appear in the large nets strung across the river in front of their camp. The crude bamboo and metal mesh processing stalls on the riverbank are silent -- and February is the last month of the fishing season. A sudden drop-off in the numbers of prahoc fish has seen their price more than triple this year, up to as high as 50 US cents a kilogramme from around 12 cents, putting this most basic of Cambodian commodities out of reach for many.

For poor Cambodians, this means that in addition to losing their traditional staples like prahoc, they are not able to supplement their already meagre diets with other foods, particularly meat. "Everything now is so expensive," said a village woman, Bhum Sap, rattling off the current prices of chicken, pork and beef, which can cost as much as five dollars a kilogramme, a fortune for Cambodia's estimated 4.6 million people struggling to live on less than one dollar a day. For as many as 2.6 million people living in extreme poverty, the situation has been worsening over the last several years, which have been marked by poor harvests brought on by natural disasters such as flood or drought. "Too many Cambodians still suffer from hunger and malnutrition for some or most of the time," the World Food Programme (WFP) said on its website.

World Hunger update: Haiti

In light of 30-Hour Famine this week, I wanted to post a series of articles that capture the global food crisis. Over 100 million are being driven deeper into poverty by the "silent tsunami" of rising food prices. Haiti is one country experiencing such tragedy. As heart-wrenching as the story is, I am reminded that just a little bit of money can go a long way. Remember to keep seeking pledges!

“Haiti’s poorest reduced to eating dirt,” News.com.au, January 29, 2008.

Extreme poverty is forcing Haiti's poorest people to eat dirt. Mud cookies - made from dirt, salt and vegetable shortening - have become popular among Haitians desperate to stave off hunger, the Associated Press reports. The cookies - which are occasionally used by pregnant women and children as an antacid and source of calcium - have become a regular meal. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the most disadvantaged in the world. Seventy-six per cent of the population lives on less than $2.25 a day, and 55 per cent live on less than $1.13 a day. Chronic malnutrition is widespread and diarrhea - an easily-preventable disease - kills one in five children under the age of five. Haitian doctors have warned that relying on the mud cookies will lead to malnutrition. “Trust me, if I see someone eating those cookies, I will discourage it,” said Gabriel Thimothee, executive director of Haiti’s health ministry. The mud cookies sell for around five cents each, compared to 60 cents for two cups of rice.

Welcome Back Dinner!

A summer Welcome Back dinner for everyone in the homegroup this Wednesday, 6/25. How exciting! We get to see our whole coed homegroup together...! Let me know if you're coming so we can prep food and arrange rides.

First Homegroup Activity: 30-hour famine... the plan

Our first activity as a homegroup will be to join the rest of our church in the fight against world hunger. to observe the world food shortage, and the hunger crisis in so many countries, we're going to participate in World Vision's 30-Hour Famine. We fast for 30 hours, beginning Friday midnight to Sunday morning... and to raise money, we ask friends and coworkers to pledge money and donate to our cause. It's a great way to reach out to friends and coworkers, get them involved in some small way, or connect w/ them at a different level than we're used to.

And then on Saturday--the day we're actually fasting from food--we'll spend part of the day together in meaningful service to our community. We're going to be assembling activity bags for some of the bed-bound kids of Oakland Children's Hospital. We'll be doing this together w/ one of the Praxis groups, so it'll be a nice time not only hanging out w/ our own (new) group, but also w/ some of the Praxis peoples. Afterwards, we thought an educational component a/b our world situation would be a powerful experience, so we're going to WorldVision Experience: AIDS in Africa down in Fremont.

Even if you're away for the summer, you can participate with us!

Some of you might be thinking:

• It's too late for me to get involved!
• How do I raise money? That's so hard.
• Go hungry for 30 hours?!

It's not too late to get involved! You can start raising money now! And you'll always have at least one donor--yourself!

Here are some ideas we were thinking about to raise money:

• Jenny and I talked to Trader Joe's and Safeway, hoping to get permission to able in front of their stores. They said no, but said they would possibly give donations: snacks, water bottles, etc. This doesn't mean our pantry gets fuller... but it meshes nicely with something else we were thinking of. We were thinking of tabling on campus on Sproul during the days. Hand out flyers, let people on campus know about the hunger crisis, let them know what we're doing about it, and see if they want to get involved. We could ask for donations, and give away the Safeway and Trader Joe's goodies as an appreciation gift for their sponsorship. Anyone interested in this? Anyone want to take the lead on this?
• Go thru personal belongings (clothes, CDs, music, gadgets, etc.) and take out the stuff you don't need. Go sell extra stuff at a local exchange store, and take the proceeds and give it to 30-hour famine
• for those of you working: companies will often offer gift matching programs. Ask if your company will match employee donations.
• bake cookies and sell each for $1
• you think of some!

Alrighty, let's go raise some money and "Be Hungry"

NorthLoop bible study & Worldview

Worldview Camp 2008 is happening right now, and Dr. John Bloom is speaking to the attendees even as I write this. I'm heading down to Monterey this afternoon, and will be giving my talk tomorrow. Please pray for me! I'll be gone until Saturday, and will return w/ the rest of the Worldview folks.

As for this Friday, dinner will be served at NorthLoop at 6:30 pm, and then all college department bible study will happen after that.

John C. left for China this past week. Daniel S. finished his PESI program at Tsinghua, and is in Tianjin now, serving an orphanage w/ some of the other PESI program students. The Rowland Heights juniors finished their Taiwan trip, and I think people are starting to trickle back in time for Session C.

I went to Sierra Lodge last week for SLT (Servant Leadership Training) retreat w/ Pastor Ed and Kelly. It was a really special time, and I'll post some pictures in a little bit. We had Sunday Service together, and then went to the Truckee River on the last day, where we got on rafts and boats and had a water brawl.

SET and GTS

All these acronyms! SET [Summer Evangelism Training] starts tonight. Here's an email from Jeannie:

I hope you’re excited about our Summer Evangelism Training, to start tonight!
Just a heads up on the schedule and a reminder that you need to have read the first chapter of Keller’s book “The Reason for God”

· 6:30-6:55pm: Snacks (for NL only)
· 7-7:05pm: Welcome and orientation (for tonight only) – please pick up a syllabus as you enter
· 7:05-7:40pm: Drill groups (this is the “head” portion, to go over keller’s reasoning to make sure that we understand and can articulate his arguments)
· 7:40-8:20pm: Message portion (this is the “heart” portion of the night)
· 8:20-8:40pm: During the “hands” portion, we will be meeting by ministry groups to share and pray together
· 8:40pm: Prayer Meeting


College will be meeting at St. Augustine’s for this week only and thereafter at 1st Pres.
And post-College will be meeting at North Loop.
Please also be sure to bring the $10 registration fee and give it to your drill group leader. This fee goes towards facility rentals and snacks.

Additionally, if you want to sign up for GTS [Gracepoint Training School] summer classes, sign up online. I'd encourage you to take Survival Kit 1 or Church 101.

Questions? Let me know.

Good Bye to some people... and Welcome to others!

Summer and the changing of seasons sometimes brings w/ it other changes.

I sent a long email already, but did want to officially welcome Jenny, Caroline O., Mike Ho, and John Cai (who's no stranger) to our H.1 staff! Jenny's junior girls will be joining our homegroup too! How exciting!

BUT... we have to say goodbye to Ben who will join Helen to lead H.3. Some of the junior guys will go with him. And Wenjie and Steve Choi will join Daniel and Hannah's group, H.4. And the other new grads will join Praxis.

Don't be sad! Be glad!

GSI Tonight & Tomorrow

Gracepoint Summer Institute w/ Dr. Jon Choi starts at 7 pm tonight, First Pres. in Berkeley. Tomorrow's session begins at 9:30 am at NorthLoop, and lunch is provided.

Take your brains off the summer shelf and brush off the dust and bring them tonight. See you guys soon!

Summer Courses & Intramurals: signups

Hey summer peoples, more administrative stuff for you:

• Gracepoint Training School's got some summer courses available if you'd like to participate. There's Course 101, Survival Kit 1, Church 101. Descriptions and sign up available online.
  
• Summer Intramurals are here. Soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee. It'll be fun. Sundays, after service, at Willard Middle School. Bake in the sun, get a tan, pick up some skills, and have fun too.
• Prayer Meeting this week at NorthLoop, Tuesday, 6/3, 7 PM.
  
• Gracepoint Summer Institute with a smart guy, Dr. Jon Choi, at First Pres this Friday. He'll be surveying the Old Testament on Friday night. On Saturday, he'll talk about Narrative Reading Strategy. For the Saturday session, you'll need to sign up online so you can get lunch.
  
• I talked about Summer Multiply Your Talents before. Sign up online, watch the video and laugh. You can make videos like this too.

Hope summer's treating you well. In other news, the Grand Central guys have moved in. The Taiwan team has moved to Tainan, where they'll be performing GospelFest. John Kwon has come back into town, and John Cai too. We learned how to make Seco de Pollo the other night. Watch out world.