Greetings!

For the past two weeks, we have been having bible studies by home group in Alameda. It’s definitely a new change from our large 260+ people gatherings on campus, but so far it’s been really good! We have the flexibility to study the word of God in cozier groups in an interactive way.

This past week, after a yummy hot-link-spaghetti dinner made by Jenn and some of the senior girls, we had separate brothers/sisters bible study. I think the one of the big lessons from the night for the girls (and for the guys too, of course) was that we really need to keep the word of God in our hearts, to help and protect us as we go through various issues in our lives.

Once the guys came to join us for fellowship time, we watched a few videos of the Olympics. For some reason, many people in our home group wanted to watch videos such as “Top 5 Worst Jumps”, “Top 5 Wacky Moments”, and the video clip in which an athlete from a small Asian country collided with another athlete from the VERY SAME small Asian country on the ice. We watched a couple of more uplifting videos at the end also, don’t worry.

We then took the much anticipated Myers Briggs personality test!

The self-proclaimed “Mother Teresa” team, the INFJs.

Our biggest personality group was ISFJ, ISTJ and ENFP! We had a fun time reading one another’s personalities, quirks…for some, the descriptions were EERILY accurate. But other people had some questionable characteristics, like Wynn being an adventurous spirit who loves motorcycles. Obviously the Myers Briggs is not perfect.

Anyway, come join us if you haven’t done so yet!

Just wanted to show real quick the prep that we did for VDOC. The frosh and senior girls decorated cards with verses on them that we were going to give as gifts to the elderly residents. Hannah busted out her big craft bin and we got to decorate the cards with our own artistic sense! Some looked really professional!

Intense…We take this stuff seriously, ya know?

The final products! Not bad, eh??

Posing with our creations…

Don’t get me wrong, the guys helped the next day with our frames and ribbon-tying as well so they also got to partake in the joys of prep. But alas, we don’t have pictures of that night. You just have to take my word for it.

By the way, here is a sharing from one of our juniors, Lindsey, about her experience from that day:

During this year’s Valentine’s Day of Compassion, I was able to more concretely see how people really do need God’s love. I talked to one elderly woman, Janet, who shared with me parts of her life story, and I could tell that she was so bitter, hurt, and unhappy with where she ended up. She kept emphasizing to me that the facility they lived in was for people with problems, but I told her that it didn’t matter, because God loved all of us the same. I told Janet about how God can use all people for his purposes and plans and that he created everyone a certain way so that we can testify to his love for us. Janet started lamenting about how she didn’t feel that she had a purpose for her life because she was constantly in pain, laying in bed, or tired so she really didn’t see what she could do. This really made me heartbroken and so much more aware that she really needed to be loved. I told her that maybe God had a higher purpose for her, which is why she’s still here on this Earth. Even though I was going to school and it seemed as if my future was bright since I was still young, I still had one fundamental purpose for my life: To love others, the people in my life, people like Janet. It didn’t matter how old we were, how physically able we were, everyone’s purpose is still the same. After I told Janet this, her face got so much brighter, and she looked so much more alive. I told her that she had so many people around her in this home, and that she could start by loving them. She seemed so encouraged by my words and agreed with me, that her purpose for her life was to love others around her, and that she could start with her roommates. After this long exchange with Janet, I was just so amazed at how I was able to connect with Janet and use God’s word to speak truth to her. I was also amazed at how God’s love can transform people into more loving individuals, who have true purpose for their lives. From this experience, I was able to feel God’s love channeling through me to other people. I was also able to receive clarity about how it’s so true that we were created for something higher than just satisfying our inward desires and attending to only ourselves, because after I was able to impact Janet’s life, I felt joy like I’ve never felt before. I was very glad that I was able to concretely see God’s love for people, and that I had spent my Valentine’s Day sharing the gospel to people who are in need of God’s love.

PTL! Leave a comment with your own thoughts about what you learned/felt through this experience!

In acknowledgment that Valentine’s Day should be more than a celebration of romantic love, we decided to spend that day sharing God’s perfect love with people who are often overlooked and neglected.

We visited a rest home in Oakland, where we were welcomed by a small and cozy group of elderly residents.

The residents really enjoyed the songs that we sang (and the moves that we…danced?)

Wenjie gave a message from Psalm 139, reminding us that the longing we have to be completely known and loved is found in God. The residents are listening intently…

As gifts, we gave blankets with homemade cards of verses attached (thanks freshman/senior girls for decorating!) and frames with Zephaniah 3:17.

We ended the time with some more mingling and took a nice group picture:

We were so thankful to have been able to have this opportunity to share the TRUE LOVE of God with these precious people!

Last week, we had our Spring Welcome Night to welcome new friends for whom this is their first semester at Cal. Over 300 of us squeezed into VLSB and listened to our speaker Lem (welcome from Davis!) give a message on King David.

Afterwards, we headed over to Haniel’s (or Dannah’s, if you prefer) house to eat our yummy bentos, cookies, fruit, and ice cream!

Yum.

Boys lending some useful hands in the kitchen. I like it.

cooooookie.

After we stuffed ourselves, we thought it would be appropriate to just sit back and relax on the couch. JUST kidding. We did sit on the couch…but it was NOT relaxing. Why? Because we were playing the couch game! It was a competitive nice guys vs. girls game which tested our memories and helped a lot in learning one another’s names!

Intense. For some reason, Joy ended up having to guess the majority of the people. Tough job, as you can tell…

Some looked hopeful…but others…

In the end, the girls won the first game in maybe RECORD time, and we were nice enough to let the guys win the second round.

Here’s what we are doing on Friday (tomorrow!)
What: BIBLE STUDY
Where: 155 Dwinelle
When: 7:30 pm
What we’re doing after: something great with Joe and Annie’s HG @ the Y!

Seeya there!

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to those we haven’t seen in a while! Last week we had our annual churchwide winter retreat. It was a refreshing time of hearing testimonies and messages that really challenged us to fully commit our lives to God and geared us up for all that God has in store for us in 2010! It definitely helped us start this year with the right spiritual focus!

Shall we try to relive that time with some pictures?

Why are these guys laughing at Dan…?

Hm, these pictures don’t do the experience justice. But I hope that for those of us who were there, that we can keep the memories and commitments of this retreat in our hearts for the rest of the year, and for many more years to come! For those you who weren’t able to come…well, just come to the one next year!

Hello friends! Hope everyone is doing well at home, wherever that may be~

Just to let you guys know what has been going on over here, a LOT has been happening!

First, we sent off a mission team to Taiwan, who shared the true meaning of Christmas with the students in Hsinchu through creative and artistic means, such as song and dance and drama! The team worked really hard, even doing a Remember-the-Titans-style cheer in the dining halls to advertise! I heard that after a while, even the cleaning lady followed along to their dance/cheer!

On New Year’s Eve, we had our annual Watchnight Service, where we listened to testimonies of how people personally experienced God this past year. We were all challenged to take our spiritual lives seriously and the need to grow up and mature in light of all tha God has in store for us in 2010! We finished off the night counting down together, welcoming the new year with a sense of anticipation and renewed hearts (and also some sesame balls).

Many students came back early this past week to take J-term, a week’s worth of intensive training in the Bible, Course 101, and also valuable skills such as guitar/bass, Photoshop, and video editing! Night times were filled with fellowship, food, and for some…much needed studying. Here are some pictures of one of such nights, where our HG DH/ER girls had a make-your-own-kimbap night at Sieun’s!

Yes, we rolled and cut our own kimbap! There were some funny looking ones, but otherwise delicious!

Today, we welcomed back the Cambodia mission team! We have been hearing about all that has been going on over there, from gospel night to village outreach, to fellowship with the brothers and sisters at Life U. I’m sure we will be hearing a presentation (complete with pictures!) soon. Can’t wait to hear about how God worked in the heart of each team member!

There is still so much even in the next few weeks that we have to look forward to! We will be welcoming new students in this spring semester. We also have been praying much over our upcoming Winter Retreat, which is one of the highlights of our church to start off the year with that correct spiritual trajectory! If you haven’t signed up yet (I can’t imagine why you haven’t yet!) you can do so here!

See you guys there!!

Christmas…a time of selfless giving! So what’s been going on the past couple of weeks, you ask?

In the midst of finals, the junior and senior girls baked some delicious, glisten-y choco chip cookies…not for themselves! But for the freshmen girls who are undergoing their first EVER round of finals in college! I’m sure the care packages were greatly appreciated in the midst of papers and all-nighters.

Last Thursday, our homegroup had our annual Christmas gift exchange! The highlight gift of the night was an awesome leopard-print Snuggie. Dan, our emcee, made us do wacky things to earn, snatch, and retain our gifts from other covetous people.

John and Andy…Nutcracker ballerinas. Wynn…Ferrero Rocher chocolate / sushi lunchbox salesman. Unknown people…Bollywood dancers.

We all had a great time laughing at ourselves! Here we are, with our gifts! Notice Jason was the privileged one to get the leopard-print Snuggie. He really wanted it.

We also had the privilege of participating in the Angel Tree program, in which we were able to buy gifts for children of parents who are in prison and hosted their families for dinner at Willard!

Right after that, we watched the Joyland Christmas Celebration, in which our Joyland and Impact children performed skits, recited verses, and sang songs to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, which often gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the season.

Whew. A lot happened! Pretty soon, people will be back at home for winter break. There is a lot of precious time that you will have on your hands! Let’s take advantage of it. There is so much we can do: read good Christian books, volunteer, or just have some great devotion time! Let us remember together how much we have to be thankful for during this season – thankful for our salvations, thankful for the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His precious son Jesus to us as a vulnerable baby.

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Here’s something I read many many years ago that I think nicely captures the true meaning of Christmas:

God has blessed us forever; that is what Christmas is all about.
The nature of Christmas is giving, because it all began with a gift.
A gift that can only be received; a gift that brought joy to the world.
A gift that came special delivery.
As promised, God sent his best;
and the sky and the stars gave the world’s first baby shower.
(God knew that they couldnt afford announcements
So he lent them a star; the only nightlight with a lifetime guarantee).
Christmas has a radiance all its own, and even unplugged could illuminate the world.
(Two thousand years later, God leaves the light on still)
God revealed a glimpse of Heaven that night in the manger;
The setting was humble and the cast was divine.
Then through a tiny door every creature saw it, the enormous gift of eternal love,
and all who entered knew they stood upon the very door of Heaven.
This was the touch of Christmas, the simple became the sacred.
Even the world’s first masterpiece was only framed in straw.
Who but God would think of sending a message and wrapping it in swaddling clothes;
Who but God knew it would take the heart of a child to reach the soul of the world?
God is love; Christmas is proof.
For only from the heart of God could such a one as Jesus come.
Such a tiny little son, who would grow to comfort all the world,
a Savior to look up to who would never look down on us.
Peace on earth began in a manger, the Christmas presence asleep in the hay.
May the simple beauty of Christmas take your breath away.
May you taste the love in every Christmas cookie
Hear joy in every Christmas song,
Feel warmth in every Christmas present;
And in the midst of all the celebration, may you make room for peace.

This past Sunday, we had our Baptism service for 23 precious brothers and sisters! Though we only got to hear a handful of their testimonies, it was clear that God has been faithfully working in their lives to bring them to this point.

There were three people from our HG who were baptized: Steven, Elisa, and Erin!

We are so happy for you guys!

To repeat what Pastor Ed said…to those who are still seeking…we hope to see you up there one of these days! Then we will cheer for you like this!