The year 2009 has already started off memorably with our first ever Koinonia-GFC Austin Winter Retreat. While the weather was cold (though I have experienced far colder in my lifetime), I was thankful that I could get away from the hustle-and-bustle of daily life and spend concentrated time in God’s words. It was wonderful to see so many students who were able to set aside their weekend as well and be so eager to listen to what God had to say to them. The retreat site was no Hyatt, but it was perfectly suited for our needs – comfortable bunk beds, good food, nice flat landscape, crisp fresh air, and even tumbleweed! Some of the highlights that will forever stay with me include but not limited to eating Kimchi Ramen Bowl late at night (my husband seldom lets me get away with eating so late, but this time, I could eat freely!), chatting and brushing my teeth with the girls before going to bed at night in my PJs, eating some of the best bacon and cheese enchiladas I have ever had in my life, playing “Wizards, Elves, and Giants” and “Capture the Flag” until all of our bodies turned sore (I will never forget how Janie bravely performed a body block on a momentum-gathering Caitlyn Richardson), and making a valiant effort to beat the guys at Charades (we didn’t win unfortunately).

Most importantly, I will remember the messages delivered tirelessly and heartfeltly by Pastor Manny which borne in me a deeper understanding of how precious and valued I am in God’s sight. Pastor Manny painted an unforgettable picture of the Father’s heart using a clip from the movie “Lorenzo’s Oil.” Watching the father in this movie mourning over his 5-year-old son who was diagnosed with a terminal disease made me see in a fresh way how much I matter to God and how the sins in my life grieve and torment Him. The words from Hebrews 12: 3 came alive for me – “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Jesus endured the Cross ultimately with joy because of His love for us; He knew that through all that suffering, He would be saving my life and my soul for eternity. This point along with so many other points made during the retreat refreshed my desire to honor God and be devoted to Him in every area of my life. To not relent in my struggle against my sins, and to keep living for him and for others even though it is not easy and may require sacrifices. Finally, the greatest highlight of all from this retreat was to witness so many significant decisions being made – 2 salvation decisions and several lordship decisions. I was moved to tears to hear all the commitments that were made and how so many of the students were challenged to devote themselves to the One who gave it all up for them by surrendering very specific things in their lives. I pray that as we step into this new year together, we can experience the joys of obeying God and being changed and loved by Him.

That was the theme of our Koinonia Spring Welcome Night. Much like our NSWN (translation: New Student Welcome Night) from last fall, Spring Welcome Night was a chance for us to invite new friends to spend time with us, find out what our group is all about, and listen to a thought-provoking talk. The night started off with a delicious sesame-Yoshida sauce wings dinner, followed by neat video made by one of our brothers back at home. Pastor Manny then invited us to consider some of the deeper questions about life – who am I? where did I come from? what is my life’s purpose? – framed by the fact that for each of us, time is slowly but surely running down the clock. For many it was their first time considering such issues; for those of us who have found answers to those questions, it was a good chance to think about them again.

Afterwards we tested each other’s mental mettle with a wonderful round of ‘Brain Bowl,’ courtesy of Carlton, Bryan, and David Lee. Despite some fear-inducing integrals and tough logic problems, fun was had by all, and people’s IQ’s probably rose a couple points just from playing the game. Homemade boba tea drinks capped off the night, and many hung out afterward to chat, hang out, and even help us take down. Many of the frosh brothers also came early to help set up (as you can see, they are now pros at winding cable and blowing up balloons), which we were very grateful for! Hard work is always a good bedrock for good fellowship =)

Looking forward to seeing our new friends again at another TFN soon!

“Gone…like Elvis and his mom, like Al Pacino’s cash, nothing lasts…” What a catchy song. “Gone – In 24 hours, today will be yesterday” was the theme of our Koinonia’s Spring Welcome Night last Friday. The hope was to communicate that our time here on earth is limited and death, though difficult to think about, will surely come to each person. How then should we live our lives so that in the end, when we find ourselves facing death, we know we will have lived meaningfully? What a topic to deliver to an audience of young, spry, wide-eyed college students who have their whole lives ahead of them. I remember how I felt when I arrived on the college scene (which wasn’t that long ago). I was excited because I was finally on my own. I felt unstoppable. Not because I had anything in particular going for me, but that I was young and I had the whole world at my fingertips it felt like. Then, I got this uneasy feeling that there might be a certain, right way to live out there that I am neglecting or might be blind to. I began asking the questions that Pastor Manny challenged the audience to ask themselves – who am I?, where do I come from?, what is life? If there are answers to these questions, it means that my life philosophy of doing whatever I want needed to change. It hit me that my life is indeed short and will pass like a blink of an eye. I remember how I was sharing with the students around me last Friday that the season of life that I miss the most was my third grade year. Why, you ask? Because I was making a lot of friends, my teacher was so patient and gave me a lot of love/attention, and I was at the peak of my tetherball game. That was 19 years ago. Time just flew by since then like a flash. In college, I met people who challenged me to think about my mortality. I began to take their advice. If God exists and if He is good and worth following, then I want to know right now so that I live correctly in His eyes. I’m thankful that I was able to find God during my college years so that I can give the very best of my life over to Him and experience the meaning and richness of living according to His truths.

A group of sisters at our home church back in Berkeley decided one day that they wanted to do more on their Valentine’s Day than buy into the sappy visions of flowers and teddy bears that it’s evolved into. So they decided to venture out into the community and use it as an opportunity to share God’s love with those who could use a little extra encouragement. Thus, ‘Valentine’s Day of Compassion’ was born.

Our first ever Austin ‘VDay of Compassion’ was yesterday, and twenty five brothers and sisters from our church (including 18 students!) got the chance to visit the downtown Salvation Army center. We prepared frames for a photo-booth for the families, home-made cupcakes, and some songs and games to share with the families we’d be meeting.

We weren’t sure exactly how many or who would show up to the evening, but by 7:10 pm we were joined by five families (most of the kids were boys) and we ended up having a hilarious time playing ‘Electricity’ and the most absurd rendition of ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors.’ Carlton gave a message on God’s love, and we sang some great Joyland songs as well.

It was wonderful to be able to spend a holiday traditionally focused on one’s own self and one’s girlfriend/boyfriend (or why one doesn’t have one!), to go out as a body of Christ and share His love with others, together. Hopefully we’ll get to go back again soon and spend more time with the folks there.

We had our first Valentine’s Day of Compassion here in Austin! A couple of sisters started this tradition three years ago in Berkeley, where we decided to transform Valentine’s Day into a day of compassion, showing God’s love to those people who are forgotten. Continuing this tradition, we got to visit the Salvation Army homeless shelter in Downtown Austin. It was a wonderful time, and a packed night!

We began the night at Pastor Manny’s house by baking cupcakes, getting the crafts ready for the evening, practicing songs, and eating pizza together. That was a fun time of bonding! My favorite time was when we were singing and doing motions to “Making Melody”, and Caitlyn commented, “I think you’re liking this way too much.” I know you were enjoying the song too, Caitlyn!

The night started off with singing and doing motions to songs such as “Shake a Friend’s Hand”, “Making Melody”, and “Your Love is Deep.” As we were singing “Your Love Is Deep” I was looking at each of the people’s faces, the adults as well as the kids, and my heart really yearned for them to know how deep, high, long, and wide is God’s love for them. I prayed that they would know how precious they are in His sight.

Right after that, Carlton came up to give a short message about how God is a shepherd who looks for his lost sheep because he loves and regards each as so precious. We had a special guest, Nathan the shepherd, visit us during the message. A very convincing shepherd, Nathan had lost his 5 sheep in the room, and so all of the children searched around the room to help find all of them. Carlton used this illustration to teach us that God searches in this way for all of his lost children, that He regards each person in that room as precious, and desire to bring each person home. In addition, we also were able to find out some interesting facts about Carlton, such as how he really loved to play with his Captain Planet toy when he was young.

Afterwards, Pastor Manny led us in games followed by decorating cupcakes and frames with the families. As each of the families and kids got to take pictures to put in the frames, it was so heart warming to see them enjoying the pictures so much. We found out that some of them hadn’t taken a family picture in many years, and they just kept looking at the picture, and you could tell that they really treasured it.

Lastly, we can’t forget the Great Maurice and his magic show. From coloring pages, to card tricks with signed cards appearing in wallets, both the kids and all the adults were in amazement.

I’m really thankful that on this Valentine’s Day we could share about God’s love with those who really needed love instead of taking cues from this world’s culture. The fact that we were able to give the families at the shelter a fun night, where they were able to laugh and enjoy the whole program, they must have experienced a little bit of God’s love for each of them. The kids there were so cute, and by the end of the night, we became really comfortable with each of them, and they with us as well. It was so great to see the kids starting to open up, to see the progression of them being able to look up to the college students by the end. I think it was a meaningful and touching time for all of us, and I look forward to visiting them again in the future!

This past weekend, we had our much anticipated Spring Break getaway trip at Canyon Lake – about an hour and a half away from Austin. It was a nice, cozy group and when its cozy, people always eat well. I have to run the 10K this coming Sunday and I am already regretting stuffing myself so much during the meal times. I have three most memorable moments from this trip. Number one – hiking (for 5 miles) at Hill Country State Park with little Nico by my side. It was so fun talking to him about things like how to clean, rattlesnakes, horse droppings, and just admiring together the almost jungle-like terrain. Number two – beating the guys in raft racing as well as witnessing firsthand two girls catch a Small-Mouth Bass! You don’t see that everyday! Finally, my number three favorite moment was chatting and sharing stories with the girls in my van during the long drives to and from different destination areas. Among other things, it was great watching “Miracle” – a hockey movie based on the 1980 Olympics when USA beat the world’s undefeated hockey champions – Russia – as well as playing a rowdy game of Taboo (girls versus guys, of course). I think the only lowpoint in the entire trip was having to listen to some really bad jokes/puns from someone during the Hill Country hike. Other than that, everything couldn’t have been any better. The houses we stayed at were situated right next to a beautiful, blue lake. If you didn’t take in the look of the land surrounding the waters, you would have thought you were in Hawaii. I was very thankful for the chance I had to just take some time away in beautiful nature with the students and my good buddies. I pray that we can keep having more of these unforgettable times away together in the years up ahead!

(Isn’t that a great title? I figured we’d try to spice this blog up with more of what are, in my o-pun-ion, the highest echelon of jokes.)

This past Sunday, fifteen staff and students joined 17,000 runners for the Statesman Capitol 10k (that’s 6.2mi for the mathematically challenged) footrace through the streets of Austin downtown. The starting gun was at 8:45am, and it was a brisk 40 degrees outside. The course wound through downtown, all the way back to P. Manny’s house on Winsted, and back again. The staff who weren’t running, and also YoungJu, sacrificed their sleep and came out to cheer for us at the 3 mile mark, and even brought the runners home-made breakfast tacos for after the race. Yum.

Three cheers to all who participated, and especially for those who came to show their support. Some were even inspired to think about possibly running (!) the Austin Marathon next February. Whether that was just momentary bravado brought on by the post-race euphoria or something more substantial, we’ll just have to see =)

Oh, you want to know who got the best time? Good question! That was the subject of much drama, and in fact there were a few dramas surrounding this 10k race:
1) A certain young turk from amongst the brothers decided he would pick out the most formidable opponent among the older ones, and challenge him for the title of ‘fastest 10k runner at GFC Austin.’ There was intrigue, there was speculation, and to find out the results you’ll just have to ask them yourself!
2) After several of the brothers finished the race (with respectable sub-50 and sub-60 minute times), they decided to cheer for the rest of the brothers who were behind them. Here’s a sample conversation:

Brother 1: Hey, do you think Bro X is going to cross the finish line soon? It’s been 60 minutes now.

Brother 2: Nah, let’s grab another banana and then head over in a few minutes.
(…at the finish line…)

Brother 1: It’s been an hour and a half now, no sign of Bro X. I only see grandmas and grandpas running now. Maybe he finished already??

Brother 2: (thinking) -Nah, no way. We did run by Winsted though, maybe he turned right and went home.

Brother 3: Yeah, maybe. Let’s go meet up with everyone else.

Unbeknownst to these brothers, Brother X had already finished and was waiting at Dominican Joe’s along with those who had come out to cheer for the runners. After finding out why the other brothers were so late in coming, he decided to play a little trick on them and pretend to struggle in to the parking lot a few minutes after they got back. Another snippet of conversation:

Brother 1: Hey man, good job! Wow, you made it finally! You survived!

Brother 2: My goodness, did you come straight here from the race?

Brother X: Yeah man, I sure did… AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO!

The look on Brother 2′s face was priceless.