A week and a half ago, Koinonia Austin had its first ever New Student Welcome Night, also known as NSWN. I don’t know what we were thinking when we, the Austin team, thought we could pull this event off by ourselves with our limited manpower. Thankfully, 13 of our brothers and sisters from our Davis sister church, Waypoint Community Church, flew out for nearly an entire week to help put the evening together. They did so much from creating props, barbecuing, shopping, tabling, decorating A-frames…you name it, they probably did it. And with such cheer not to mention. It was also great to see many familiar faces, and being able to house them in our various apartments and homes for that week.

All I can say is Praise God for an amazing night where nearly a hundred students came to hear about Koinonia and God! Though it required a lot of hard work and sacrifice, in the end it was all worth it. Let’s see what’s in store for the rest of 2008!

Today we had our third small group meeting of the semester! As usual, we started with a sumptuous dinner, catered from a local Chinese restaurant, shared some laughs, and then we broke up into our respective small groups to talk about one of the most important questions we could ever ask – What is Life? I’m thankful that God has given us this chance to discuss questions such as this, which are so important during this season of life, college. I remember when I was in college, the kinds of things I thought about, the habits I formed. And it’s true what many people have told me. The decisions I make and the lifestyle I choose to live in college have a great effect upon the rest of my life. Having been out of college now for some time, I can see the truth of such words.
I’m hoping that through this weekly small group all of our students would seriously think about the questions that really bear weight in this life, and give serious effort to know and live out the Bible, which is the truth. Looking forward to many more great small groups and memories to come!

There’s something undeniably attractive about sizzling patties & hot dogs, with a mound of hot, grilled onions on a nice day in the park. Many of us got our first taste of the awesome Zilker Park this past Saturday with an incredible day of eating and playing. We all got to the park at 11am (I know this is early for many of you college students out there but you made it!) and began with a game of ultimate frisbee. Although my team eventually ended up losing 5-4, we put up a good fight. While we were engaged in a serious frisbee battle, Pastor Manny and brother Maurice were busy grilling tons of cheesburger patties and hot dogs for us. Right after our frisbee game, we all flocked over to the picnic tables like wild hyenas who had been famished for weeks. Those patties went fast!

After we had finished stuffing our stomachs, we were ready for more action. This time, we hit the volleyball nets and played several games up to 25. And we ended the day with the epic match – California vs Texas…Knowing that the California team didn’t have any experienced volleyball players, with exception to Kelly Lin, I thought Texas would dominate or at least put up a good fight. Well, my view of Texans changed after the match. Let’s just say that I think our Texas friends should stick to rodeos and football…
See more pictures from our picnic!

There are times when it’s hard to put into words all that you’ve experienced from an experience or period of time. I think this past weekend is one of those times. On Sunday, I had the privilege of being a part of the Inaugural Service of Gracepoint Fellowship Church – Austin. It was a special time indeed as many people packed into the sanctuary with UT students, special guests, and nearly 70 of our dear precious brothers and sisters from the Bay Area. It kind of felt like I had been transported back to Berkeley at times seeing so many familiar faces…

Our senior pastor from GFC Berkeley, Pastor Ed, brought the message from Romans 16. He challenged us to be like the early church, that we might become a people who are close to one another because of our bond in Christ. After reading Romans 16:1-16, it’s very clear that Apostle Paul had this intimacy with fellow brothers and sisters scattered throughout the world. Pastor Ed also challenged us to become people who claim one another in love. That is what the church is, a place filled with people who claim each other in love. I think this is an appropriate message for me personally as I serve here in the Austin church. I’m reminded that the reason I moved out here is to become a person who loves God and people zealously.

Well, Ultimate Week and the Inaugural are all over now. As I look back, I’m just so thankful for the many friends and leaders who flew out here this past weekend to be with us. It gives me great strength to know that everyone back at home in Berkeley, Davis, and Taiwan continues to run this race alongside all of us here in Austin, and that we are all in this spiritual battle together, contending together to honor our awesome God. So it’s official…Gracepoint Fellowship Church Austin has been birthed! Happy Birthday GFC Austin!

Texas is the #1 football team in the nation. There’s no doubting that. A bunch of us from Koinonia crowded into Pastor Manny and Sunny’s place this past Saturday to witness the incredible prowess of our mighty Longhorns. What a way to spend a Saturday! We ate hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, salsa, threw a football around in the backyard, and to cap it off, jumped in jubilation as UT took down the #1 team in the nation, Oklahoma, in what is already being dubbed a classic.

Though I was cheering each time McCoy connected with Shipley, inside I could not help but feel a sense of anguish, anguish because I was torn inside with this sad reality…The team I’ve grown to love, my alma mater, the Golden Bears of the University of California Berkeley, better known as Cal, simply cannot hang at the level of a UT or OU. As much as I would like to fancy the idea that Cal is a top tier program and on its way back to the Rose Bowl, the reality is that they are simply is not there yet. Yes. I admit it. They are not there. Don’t get me wrong. I love Cal. In fact that is the reason why I must speak the truth. You see, I’m no fair-weather fan. I’m a true fan. I’m a golden bear. And I still hope. I hope that one day, I’ll be able to cheer in jubilation over a Cal Rose Bowl victory…(i tried uploading a video but blogger is giving me problems. so a photo will have to suffice…look at carlton’s hops!)

This past Saturday we witnessed our very first UT vs. OU football game ever.  Coming from California, I never really had much interest for football.  I’ve personally never gone or fully even watched an entire game.  But I guess being in Texas and having friends at UT-Austin I had to at least watch one game, especially a game that was considered one of the most important in the season. So, we gathered at Pastor Manny’s house decked out in our burnt-orange, Longhorn gear, and even the kids were all wearing UT shirts.  As we all gathered to watch the game together in their living room, I realized something.  Football is actually fun.  Perhaps it was because I never gave it a chance or because Cal’s football team wasn’t really that good, but there was suspense, excitement, and the taste of victory that I never experienced back in Berkeley.  Plus, as you can see from the picture of my friends jumping up and down in victory, neither have they. UT won the game that day, and I have come to understand why so many people love this sport.

This past Saturday, Koinonia went on a memorable outing to Zilker park. This was our second picnic at Zilker, only this time, the main highlight of the day was the kayak adventure. If there’s one thing you have to do when you come to Austin, it’s kayak in the lake. It was awesome! I think I must’ve seen at least 10 turtles while kayaking during that one hour as well. But to be honest, it’s not so much the actual kayaking that I was looking forward to, because it’s really all about the devastating water fights. And there was definitely no shortage this past Saturday. I think it’s safe to say that pretty much all forty of us came back soaked. I’d like to mention that John Lin and I held our ground quite well. In fact, I think it’s more accurate to say that we pretty much dominated out there on the water. Especially that time I pretty much dominated Matt Jones and Del’s kayak. It’ll be more of the same next time…:)

Koinonia wanted to try something fun, exciting, and new for Halloween night, so what did we decide to do? SCAVENGER HUNT! The goal was to answer each clue that described a particular landmark on UT campus. After answering the clue, the team was to take a picture or video that would be the most creative or unique. And how creative were they? Here’s one group that tried to exemplify “freedom” through an interpretive, “West Side Story” kind of dance.