Reporting from Hualien, Taiwan

I had the privilege this past week to be in Taiwan when our brothers and sisters at Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu had their first multiple-day outing to Hualien (花連).  It was a great time of bonding between the team members and the students, and I just feel very blessed and privileged that I was able to join them in that time of bonding and appreciating the beauty of God's creation.

Most of us slept over in different apartments in Hsinchu on Wednesday night because we had an early departure time on Thursday morning in order to beat traffic and make it to the train station to catch our early morning train.  Then we were in for a nice long train ride to Hualien.  We passed the time on the train by doing our DT, sleeping, playing cards, and watching the scenery pass us by.  Finally, we arrived in Hualien, caught our bus, and went straight to Taroko National Park, which is one of six national parks in Taiwan.  And let me tell you, it was a place full of breathtaking beauty.  Right when we got to the park, we went straight to a trail called the Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道) and hiked about 4.4 kilometers into the park.  Along the way, we had an incredible lunch of rice and meat wrapped in seafood, and we had it in an incredible location - right next to a running river of cold, clear, blue water.  And of course, because of the hot weather, we all went wading into that river.  It wasn't too long until the water fights started, with brothers Eugene Peng and James Chao getting soaked by some sneaky attacks.

After that, we visited one of the Aborigine culture centers, and then we went back to our hotel to wash up, and then we went to dinner - some of the most memorable dishes for me were the wild chicken, bamboo shoots, and fried squid.  After dinner, we met in one of the hotel rooms to have Bible study, and afterwards we all took the Myers-Briggs personality test and hear about each of our corresponding personality types and try to see if they really match with who we are.

The next day, we woke up bright and early for breakfast and DT, and then we set out again for Toroko - we started the day at the Swallow's mouth - a breathtaking canyon named because of the abundance of swallows flying there.  The next stop was the Tunnel of Nine Turns - at each turn we saw some incredible vistas and waterfalls.  After lunch and an entertaining performance by the former Joyland teachers serving on the Taiwan team (James and Jessica Chao and Chi and Tiffany Su), we headed out again, this time for the Cave of the Waterfall Curtain.  Hiking through those dark cool caves provided a welcome relief from the summer Taiwan heat, and the final cave was quite an experience with a mountain river running through it and sheets of water pouring from the ceiling.

After that, we bid Toroko farewell and headed into Hualien City.  We had a three part dinner at a famous dumpling shop, a famous mochi shop, and one of the Hualien night markets.  After dinner, we headed to another night market for a night of fun.  It was like a carnival, and we tried our hands at a series of games like archery and baseball pitching.  One of the highlights of that time was when we had a USA vs. Taiwan marksmanship challenge - using airsoft guns and balloons.  The end result was a tie score of nine hits out of ten attempts, although it also must be said that Joyce Yen, representing the USA, hit all of her targets in decidedly less time.  Finally, we ended our night out with a stroll on the beach before heading to our hotel, where we had charted out our life journeys and got to share about several high and low points of our lives which have really shaped how we are today.

The next day was our third and final day in Hualien.  After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed to a nearby lake for a fun time of paddle boating.  As people were debating what to leave in the bus and what to take with them, the manager of the boat rental service assured us that if we were just looking to paddle and enjoy the water, then we were in no danger of getting wet.  However, once we paddled about fifty meters away from the shore, it became obvious that staying dry was not going to be an option.  Thus, the war on the water began.  The highlight of that time had to be when some of us decided to unite to chase down the stragglers who had wandered off, thinking that they could remain dry.  Some people decided to grab onto each others boats and link them, evoking images of the battle of Chi Bi (from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms).  I'm sure that sight of swan and dragon headed boats advancing on the water was one that struck fear to many people.

Finally, we ended our time with a BBQ at the Seven Star Lake, a beautiful beach by the ocean, and a game of Football Plus (足球之加) - which is the name we came up for Ultimate Football (a variation on Ultimate Frisbee) for use here in Taiwan.

Anyways, that's the news from Hualien, Taiwan, where the food is great, the vistas are awesome, and where the members Koinonia - Hsinchu had a wonderful time.

River and Beach Outing on 7/26/08

We had a blast this past weekend on our outing with HG 8 to the Russian River and Bodega Bay! Yes, we couldn't decide between freshwater and seawater - so why not do both? 

First, we jumped into some kayaks at Johnson's Beach and paddled out into the river. It was a perfect day for being out on the water, and being put under some water... Yes, the plentiful barrages began almost instantly - no one needed to be told what to do. Those who managed to evade would-be attackers had a nice and peaceful journey upriver, until they had to come back. =)

Afterwards, we headed west to Bodega Bay and hiked up a hill (Bodega Head) that overlooks the ocean and the bay.

Next we went to nearby Doran Regional Park for some soccer on the beach! The sand was nice and soft - half of us were convinced that it was imported from Hawaii! But between the strong gusts of wind and 12 of us running after the soccer ball, there was a lot of sand flying. It was a fierce and close battle, but at the end of the 45-minute period we reached a draw, 2-2. Whew! I'm still sore from that one.

The perfect conclusion for the day: fresh Dungeness crab sandwiches and Bodega Bay's best clam chowder! No crabby faces here, except for in the picture.

Don't worry if you didn't get to come this time - we'll be sure to go again!

See the rest of the pictures here.

An update from Hsinchu, Taiwan

大家好！

I wanted to give a firsthand update to those of you who are interested in what's going on here at GFC - Hsinchu. I arrived this past Saturday night (in Taiwan time) after much trial - getting lost on the way to SFO, finding out that my ticket was cancelled and having to wait on standby, getting an upgraded seat to Evergreen Deluxe (OK ... this wasn't really a trial), and finally landing in Taoyuan and waiting an hour for my ride - they got lost in the airport! But, after all that (and getting fined $150 NT for using Gracepoint lingo that's on the banned list here in Taiwan) it was good to finally arrive in Hsinchu and see everyone.

The next morning was Sunday Worship Service, and it was different, but strangely familiar. We started by moving the equipment from one of the apartments to our SWS room where we commenced with setup - sound setup, chair setup, stage setup - it was all the same skills that are hopefully being perfected by those of us in Tech/Arts training. After all the setup, it was time for praise practice, and I was able to get some shots of our Taiwan praise band practicing - same familiar songs, just sung on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.  After service, we were treated a delicious home-cooked meal!

For the next couple of days I went to visit family in Taipei, but now I'm back in Hsinchu and getting mighty excited for the Hualien outing this weekend.  We'll actually be gone from Thursday to Saturday, and it's going to be a great time of hiking, sharing, eating, and hanging out in one of the most beautiful places in Taiwan.  I'm excited!

Anyways, that's the news from Hsinchu, Taiwan, where all the boba is inexpensive, all the food is tasty, and all the team members are doing well.

News for this week (7/21-7/27)

Sorry everyone, but I wasn't able to get to the weekly announcements post too early this week, as I've been out here in Taiwan since last Friday. However, don't worry, we still have about half a week left.

We continue with Tech/Arts/Praise/Worship training this Thursday - it'll be at our NL building in Alameda, starting at 7 PM. Please try and arrange rides with other students coming from Berkeley. This will be the second to last week of training (although it's also the third week of training) - pretty soon, we're going to have a whole new group of experts in the world of sound, stage design, lighting, video editing, web design, and photoshop. I'm looking forward to seeing the fruits of your training.

This Friday we have our usual Summer IM's and DT combination - IM's start at Wood Middle School at 6:30 PM. Afterwards, we'll have dinner and DT sharing, location TBA. However, in addition to that, we'll also be doing something a little different this Friday. After DT sharing, we'll be having people sleeping over in Alameda in preparation for ...

... an outing to Bodega Bay on Saturday! We'll be going with Homegroup 8 and spending the whole day together for a time of hiking, sports, and ending with a beach bonfire and BBQ! Sign up here to let us know if you can make it, or ask one of the staff if you have any questions!

Finally, Gracepoint Fellowship Church Sunday service is at the same Gracepoint time, and the same Gracepoint location. Check the website for more details, or ask one of the staff.

Anyways, that's the news from Berkeley, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu Chapel: Some Thoughts

I don't know if some of you have noticed, but I'm pretty crazy about what's going on in our church in Taiwan - Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu Chapel, and the associated college ministry there, Koinonia - Hsinchu.  If you haven't noticed, just check all of my posts - I think I find some way to mention our church there in most of my posts.  I'm always hungry to know what's going on there, interested in the latest news on how our team is doing and how the students there are doing, and eager to pray for them.  For those of you newer to Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Koinonia, and Homegroup 6, I thought I'd take the time just to share some background about what's going on across the ocean.

Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu Chapel only started less than a year ago, when Eugene and Cynthia Peng (formerly staff members of Kairos Christian Fellowship) along with seven other brothers and sisters from our church, moved to Hsinchu, Taiwan to start a new church and new campus ministries at National Tsing Hua University and National Chiao Tung University.  When they got there it was just nine staff members - now, the Friday Night Plus (the name for their Friday night Bible study) is a place where many Tsing Hua and Chiao Tung students have heard about the Gospel.  Some students on those campuses have even taken Course 101, a survey of Christianity that was developed at Gracepoint Fellowship Church.

For myself, I'm always very excited to hear about what is going there in Taiwan because Taiwan has been an important place to me for my entire life.  My parents grew up there and most of my extended family is still living there, so when I heard one year ago that we were really going to plant a church in Taiwan - well, I can't think of a suitable word for what I felt.  This past winter, I had the privilege of going to Taiwan and being a part of the Christmas Celebration - it was a chance for us to share the true meaning of Christmas, since to many Taiwanese, Christmas is just another holiday from the west and is characterized by consumerism.  To be there, singing the familiar praise songs and hearing the familiar story of Christmas, was truly a special experience.

So, now that you know the background, let's get back to the present.  As many of you have heard, the dynamic duo who leads Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu Chapel are here in the Bay Area even as I type.  That's right, Eugene and Cynthia Peng are in town.  For the next couple of days they will be at Sierra Lodge for a good time of fellowship and training, but they will be around for the weekend, so be sure to say "Hi!" and "加油!" if you have the chance.  Last night we had a time of fellowship and sharing with them at our North Loop building in Alameda after SET/prayer meeting.  They shared a bit with us about what has been going on this past year in Hsinchu and lessons they have learned.  Peopled asked a variety of serious and humorous questions: "What is one piece of advice that you would give to people interested in missions and church plants?", "What was the most hurting praise moment that you experienced this year?", and "I heard you banned some words in Hsinchu - what are they?"  If you're interested in the answers, let me know in the comments - maybe I'll post them in a future post.

Anyways, that's all for now.  In other news, I'm leaving this Friday for Taiwan, and I'll be there for the next four weeks, visiting family and our team members, as well as helping out with an English camp that is happening on the NTHU campus in August.

It's not Dis-Gracepoint Fellowship Church ...

... but rather Dish-Gracepoint Fellowship Church!  I think most of us would agree that good food is integral to good fellowship, but how can you make a tasty meal without it being too hard on your wallet?  Well, you're in luck because Tom Kim, of a2f1 has recently launched a new cooking blog.  For those of you who don't know him, Tom is our church's resident food scientist, and he has a real passion for food - he likes it cheap and tasty.  He's going to share his recipes on this blog as well as tips for getting the most bang for your buck.  Check it out!

Well, it's been a quiet week in my hometown ... (7/14-7/20)

It's that time again - the time for the weekly announcements.  Luckily, this week we're back to a normal level of busyness - which means that you'll only be very busy instead of extremely busy.  Let's first look at what we here at Homegroup 6 are doing this week.

On Tuesday, we once again have our usual Summer Evangelism Training and prayer meeting.  As always, we're starting at 7 PM, and the location is First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, and snacks will be provided starting from 6:30 PM in the courtyard in front of the church.  And if that wasn't exciting enough, I'm told that we're going to have a special guest attending - one of our intrepid missionaries from Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu.  Yes, if you haven't heard, Eugene and Cynthia Peng, the leaders of our church in Taiwan, are coming to visit as well as attend Bible Teacher Training up at the Sierra Lodge, so be sure to say "Hi!" to them when you see them this week.  UPDATE: Actually, SET for this week is going to be at St. Augustine's, not at First Pres.

This Thursday is the second day of our Tech/Arts/Praise/Worship training at our North Loop building in Alameda.  I hear there are plenty of students with cars in Berkeley who will be going, so please try and arrange rides on your own.

On Friday, we have our "usual" Summer Intramurals and DT sharing afterwards.  The sports are at Wood Middle School in Alameda with the dinner/DT sharing location TBA.

This weekend is the first of three class discipleship retreats - the sophomore discipleship retreat is happening this coming weekend - it will be at Sierra Lodge and led by Pastor Ed Kang and Kelly Kang.  Sorry, signups are already closed.  It'll be a great time of training: through sharing, Bible study, and working on the house.  Also, the basketball court up there was recently completed and we have a full set of kayaks and rafts up there for going on nearby Lake Spaulding - it's going to be great!  Don't get jealous juniors and seniors, your chance is coming soon enough.

Finally, on Sunday, we have Sunday service at Gracepoint Fellowship Church at our usual location, Willard Middle School.  Please check the website for more details.

So that's all the events happening with Homegroup 6.  In other Koinonia/Gracepoint Fellowship Church related news, our Honduras 2 mission team is leaving today, July 14th, at 9 PM from North Loop.  Our Honduras 1 mission team just returned this past Saturday.  These two mission trips are medical mission trips that we're taking through an organization called Baptist Medical & Dental Mission International. Please pray for all of our brothers and sisters who will be going.

Anyways, that's the news from Berkeley, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

What happened this week?! Stories from Homegroup 6, Koinonia, and Gracepoint Fellowship Church (7/7 - 7/13)

This past week felt like it's lasted forever, so let's take a short look at what happened.

Michael and Joanna finally came back from their long trip to Cambodia and Taiwan - they were only gone for two weeks, but it felt much longer than that.  Along with Azusa, they were in Cambodia serving at Life University as well as ministering to the surrounding villages. They did things like teaching classes at the University (which is actually a school for children through college - you can ask Azusa about her experience with the primary school kids). They actually took responsibility for running the whole school for an entire day in order to free up the regular Life University teachers for a teacher's retreat!  And our very own Michael Kang was actually a key member of this mission team, taking the responsibility of giving messages when the team leader, Lem, fell ill.  Truly devastating.

After their trip to Cambodia, Michael and Joanna continued their trip by visiting our friends serving at Koinonia Hsinchu. From what I've heard from the team over there in Taiwan, their visit was a welcome source of encouragement. Their visit coincided with the departure of Jon Chou of Homegroup 2 and Allen Chen of Homegroup 3.  Many students who were out of town came back in order to bid them farewell, which resulted in a record number of people at Sunday worship there over in Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu (unless, of course, you count the crowds at the inaugural service and the large trip to Taiwan that happened earlier this summer).  Here's a fun fact - did you know that starting with my class, there is at least one person per graduating class who is currently serving in Taiwan (through the class of 2002)?  Anyways, if you want some more fun facts about the staff of Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu, you can find that here.  Let's all make sure that we continue to remember our brothers and sisters in Taiwan in our prayers.

So far, we're at Tuesday - on this day, after Michael and Joanna (as well as Jon and Allen) returned, we had our weekly Summer Evangelism Training and prayer meeting.  Afterwards, we had a great practice in front of Haas Pavilion for the Austin Farewell - now that's not a normal sight.  I think the campus is used to seeing hip-hop dancing on Lower Sproul and in from of Haas Pavilion, but what about a crowd of college students singing and doing fake "line dancing" - we actually drew a few stares from people passing by.  Well, a bit more than a few, but there were only a few people.

On Wednesday, we had the Austin farewell - a night full of mixed emotions.  You can check out my previous post on the Austin farewell as well as the sendoff from the airport.

Then, on Thursday, we had our first Tech and Arts and Praise and Worship training of the summer.  This is first rate training from many of Gracepoint Fellowship Church's finest - including our very own Michael Kang who is teaching the web class.  Other classes that were offered include Photoshop, sound, stage and lighting, video editing, keyboard, voice, guitar, and drums.  It was a really fun time of learning together, and from what I could see people were getting first class instruction.

On Friday, we had our second week of Summer Intramurals - doesn't it feel like forever since we had the first week?  I don't know what happened with other people, but I have to say my ultimate frisbee team had a tough time - our first game was a heartbreaking 1-2 loss which we gave away in the final minutes, and we were severely outclassed in our second, a lot-0 loss.  However, despite losing it was A LOT of fun - a good chance to just go out and run around and get to know students and staff and young adults in other ministry groups.  And the night didn't end there - after dinner (which was complete with Steve Suh's special BBQ sauce that he received as a gift from Pastor Manny of Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Austin), we had a quick time of sharing from Luke 15.  But the night didn't end there - right after Bible study, some of us rushed off and some of us stayed at Steve and Suzanne's, but all for the same purpose - to prepare for the wedding of Jin Kim and Yumi Park, the leaders of Homegroup 8 which was happening the next day. For those of you who don't know, here at Gracepoint Fellowship Church, we typically celebrate weddings through a series of performances at the receptions - whether through heartfelt songs, silly dances, slideshows, or the famous Normal Versus videos.   For Yumi and Jin, our homegroup joined with Homegroup 8 and parts of Homegroup 7 to prepare a performance of the silly dance variety.

Finally, on Saturday, many of us attended Jin and Yumi's wedding.  Pastor Ed Kang brought the message on Psalm 127:1, and he gave both Jin and Yumi some advice for their future life together.  Then we went to the reception where many groups sacrificed their shyness and dignity in order to show how much they have been touched and loved by both Jin and Yumi.

And finally, we're at Sunday, and we're done (since it's still Sunday, but I'm sure something exciting is sure to happen before the day is over).  Phew!  It's hard to believe that we crammed all that into one week!  But watch out, next week is just around the corner!

Gracepoint Fellowship Church @ Austin! Yip-pi-kai-yai-yay!

Howdy Everyone,

I just wanted to put up a post commemorating our Austin team which left early this morning.  For those who weren't able to make it to yesterday's farewell at First Presbyterian, it was a night full of song and dance, videos, and heartfelt sharing where we got a chance to honor the team, send them off, reflect on how they have impacted us individually over the past X years, and pray that they would have an equally significant impact on the students they are going to meet at UT Austin.  For myself, I came away a immense sense of the privilege we have as a church to send this team off to Austin.  One of the sentiments that Pastor Ed Kang shared was something that really stuck out to me, because when I think about it, it is just so true.  He said that by the logic of the world, this kind of move just does not make any sense - to leave those you love, your friends of X years (for Pastor Manny and Sunny Kim, they've been at our church for 20 years!) to go to a new and strange place.  But, in the context of going for the sake the Gospel, it just makes much more sense, and in fact is something very admirable and worthy of honor.

And it didn't end with the farewell last night.  This morning, many of our church members got up early to get to the Oakland Airport at 5 AM - ridiculously early, I know, but only appropriate to honor and support the team whom we are sending out.  We got word this afternoon that they arrived and are safely in Texas.

Let's continue to pray for the team in Austin right now, as well as those who will be joining them soon.

Well, it's been a quiet week in my hometown ... (7/7-7/13)

Just wanted to remind everyone of what's going on this week:

On Tuesday, once again we're going to continue with SET at First Presbyterian Church at 7:00 PM, and once again snacks are provided starting at 6:30 PM.  Also tonight, we're going to have a practice for the Austin team farewell right after prayer meeting - it will be around 10 PM.  The location is in front of Haas Pavillion.

On Wednesday, we have our farewell for the Austin Team - among those going in this first group are six staff from Koinonia: Pastor Manny and Sunny Kim, Henry and Margaret Chen, and Bryan and Sarah Song.  The farewell is going to be at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, but we're going to begin the night with an all-Koinonia picture on Sproul steps at 5:45 PM.  Be sure to be there!

This Friday, we're going start up our Summer IMs again, with dinner and DT sharing afterwards.

Finally, on Sunday we have Sunday Worship Service at the same time and location.  Check the Gracepoint website if you need more information.

On a different note, Azusa returned with the Cambodia Mission Team this past Saturday, and Michael and Joanna are returning today after their visit to our friends in Hsinchu, Taiwan.  Be sure to welcome them back when you see them!

Anyways, that's the news from Berkeley, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

Fourth of July Point Reyes Trip

Alright, it's time to give some more information on our Fourth of July outing.  We're going to lovely Point Reyes for a day of of sports, food, sun, and fun! Actually, I've never been there myself, but from what I've heard it's beautiful there. Anyways, right now the plan is to leave Berkeley around 2 PM, and we should be back around 10:30 PM, so be sure to study in the morning so that you can join us in the afternoon. If you're interested in coming, please let one of the staff know so that we can arrange rides.

UPDATE: Here are the details.  Please be at the Anna Head West parking lot (right across the street from Crossroads) at 2 PM for pickups - you should bring a warm jacket/sweater (it's going to get cold at night!), a water bottle, and some money for the trip.

Well, it's been a quiet week in my hometown ... (6/30-7/6)

Just wanted to remind everyone of what's going on this week:

On Tuesday, we're going to continue with SET (Summer Evangelism Training) where we're currently going through The Reason For God, a book by Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, and watching some video clips from Just Walk Across the Room, a resource created by Bill Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church. After SET, we'll have our regular college/ISM prayer meeting. SET starts at 7:00 PM, but we'll have healthy snacks (well, maybe the fruit snacks are not so healthy) starting at 6:30 PM.

On Friday, we would usually have our Summer Intramurals, but since this Friday is the Fourth of July, we're going to instead take advantage of our day off and go somewhere! UPDATE: We're going to go with Homegroup 7 and Homegroup 8 to Point Reyes for a day of sports, fireworks, and hopefully a bonfire to end the night!

Sunday service is at the usual time and place: 1:00 PM at Willard Middle School. If you need more information, you can find it on the Gracepoint Fellowship Church website.

Finally, just wanted to let everyone know that Michael, Joanna, and Azusa are still in Cambodia right now for the second week of their mission trip. Please continue to pray for their work there, and also for their health since a number of people have fallen sick in Cambodia this year. Azusa will be back this Saturday, and Michael and Joanna will return next Tuesday after their visit to our friends in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Anyways, that's the news from Berkeley, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. *

* Disclaimer: This post has been influenced by The News from Lake Woebegon, a segment of A Prairie Home Companion, a program by American Public Media. Actually, the last statement was pretty much taken exactly from the program, except I replaced Lake Woebegon with Berkeley. Just in case you thought I had gone blind.

Launch of the new Homegroup 6 Blog!

Well, here's the inaugural post of the Homegroup 6 blog - as many of you may have heard, the structure for Koinonia is going to be somewhat different this year - gone are the days of KGroups (K1 and K2) and Clusters.  Instead, we're splitting Koinonia into 8 smaller, coed Homegroups.  We here at Homegroup 6 are going to be led by Michael and Joanna Kang, with Azusa, Steven, and I (David) rounding out the rest of the staff.  Anyways, before I sign off, I wanted to leave you guys with a picture that hopefully gives some of you a better idea of what some of the staff in our group are like.

I'm looking forward to this coming year.