kairos 1 @ berkeley - gracepoint fellowship church

Another remarkable Kairos-ian post by our very own Bethany!

Kairos 1 & 3 went on a smashing trip to the Sierras this past Friday & Saturday. Greenness abounding, air revitalizing, birds chirping, trees scaling the scenery, mighty mountains ranging the skies, and a handful of us basking in all of God's nature... what more could we ask for?


[Sierra Lodge - pit stop]


[Yes, the first crew to finish tentmaking... sisters.]
As we worked on our tents and were putting stakes through the tent attachments to stabilize them into the ground, Bethany noted that high "stakes" were involved here. Yes, it was really "in tents."


[Campfire time @ Lake Spaulding campgrounds]

Someone: What do you do in the case that someone catches on fire?
Grace: Um, um, stop, drop, and drool.
Someone: Um... you mean, Stop, Drop, and Roll?
Someone else: You mean, if Tony's pants caught on fire?
Ernie: Liar, liar.
Yang: [wanting to bang his head against a tree]
Grace: Here, come sit on the logs around the campfire!
Ernie: And pull out the guitar so we could make some Log-A-Rhythm!

After settling in, we played a game called *Wink* in which there are 2 winkers and everyone else becomes the innocent bystanders. Those who are winked at die and lose. Man, it was a tough game for those who... didn't know how to wink but were the winkers. Ken, that's blinking... not winking. Wink, wink!

You must be thinking, Kairos 1 & 3 are... interesting... and YOU'RE RIGHT! Because before that... someone decided that we should all sing our national anthems. Chinese, Korean, American... too bad Richard Leung wasn't here... le Français! Then we have one particular brother, who will remain nameless (and whose first and last names rhyme), who confessed that he used to think our national anthem went something like this, "Jose, can you see..." Then he proceeded to say, "I mean, I know America is a mixing pot and all..." Eh...

After getting winked and anthemed out, Tony whipped out his guitar and we lit up the rest of the night with some tunes and praise songs finishing the session w/ a classic, Only You.


[Oh yeeeeuh.]
Devastatingly delish! Ramen, clam chowder, toasted rolls, marshmellows, smores.... mmmm... make happy stomachs. And happy stomachs make happy campers. =)


Saturday morning and Philippians 1,3. We spent some time in reflection before the day ahead of us. As we watched the still and quiet waters, we were drawn once again to God's magnificent creation. Afterward, here's Bethany getting ready to kayak and to rumble through the lake as we geared up for some splashin' adventures and a water race! (I'm so sore.)


[Kayak-ers / BBQ chicken!]


[Guys have an interesting way of trying to look cool.
Keyword: "trying"; FYI: they're just running and throwing rocks into the lake, in case you're wondering.]


[Here's Kevin Huang blowing down a tree. Timber!!!!! ]

Then a good 1-hour hike into the woods on the Feeley-Carr trail. Ran into some hikers, shoulder-biting mosquitoes (they're insects that only feed off of your shoulders, weird...), some more hikers, moss, ducks, fishermen... and horses. Then we decided that it would be time for... beef noodle soup! The students couldn't believe it's at a gas station stop. But yes, that topped it off. All in all, our trip was a smashing hit - with great outdoor activities coupled with great food (thanks Grace for the BBQ chicken - it was great!), good fellowship, and a whole load of high-caliber jokes (aka Kairos 1 & 3's infamous puns). Kevin Huang even joined in at the end and told our caravan he was "pun-alized."

Hi everybody. Hope you all had an awesome weekend. I sure had a blast buried in books and lecture notes. Ernie I would like to see some pictures from the camping trip please. Thanks. Anyways, I picked up a copy of the DailyCal today. And I accidentally stumbled upon an article worth reading. Here's the link:

http://www.dailycal.org/article/102152/the_constant_feeding_of_an_insatiable_hunger

DailyCal is not just about tree sitters and sudoku, it's actually read-worthy........ sometimes.

Oh, and props to Yang for Kairos Blog's new look. I dig it a lot.

Dish-Gracepoint

No, I did not spell it wrong, I am talking about DISH-Gracepoint. This is a blog that has been started by Tom Kim. If you have been coming to Gracepoint for a while, you probably have heard of his name, and his amazing mastery at meat cooking. Now, behold, he is about to reveal all his secret on his new blog site: Dish-Gracepoint. He will update on a weekly basis his new recipes, special cooking tools, and of course, special deal of the week (on meat items). So, you can be either an experienced cook looking for meat hook-ups, or an amature trying to practice serving your roommates by providing delicious meals, check out Dish-Gracepoint.

Posted by Kevin Tan:

July 4th. Independence Day. Where do I begin? We did so many things and had so much fun that, at the end of the day, it didn't seem possible that it had been just one day. We began with a winding drive up Mount Diablo, and spent much of the drive trying to solve ridiculous math riddles that, in combination with the curving road, made our heads hurt.

Regardless, once we disembarked, we were primed and ready to take on a grueling and challenging hike that would remind us of the importance of persistence, determination, and discipline. However, after three minutes of hiking, the trail leveled out. We'd driven up so far that there was no trail for us to hike!


We didn't give up, though, and found a menacing rock that all of us but Grace (who guarded our lunch!) scaled. Afterwards, we ate a lunch of sandwiches and eggs with a pinch of salt, but Tony and Yang indicated that this was nothing compared to the barbeque we were going to have later that night. I knew that I wasn't the only one excited when I heard that.


The menace.

A quick drive down to Alameda led us to our next activity, biking. Having not ridden a bike in almost four years, I was hesitant about getting on. However, I found out that it really is true that you don't forget how to ride a bike once you've learned how to, although Eugene found out that the hard part is learning how to. The coastline of Alameda was an incredible sight as we biked through, and we arrived at a grassy field next to the coastline. A game of Ultimate Frisball (Using a Football!) that pitted the experienced staff versus the energetic students ensued as the waves and birds provided the background setting. It was a very fun game that highlighted the importance of teamwork; the staff kept abusing the Ken-Tony longball and good passing and catching from everyone, but the students took advantage of a lightning fast blitzkrieg that all but tied up the score at 4 to 4. At this point we were famished, so we took a few pictures, packed up, and headed home.

Take note of Kevin and James and their lovely pose.

Back at Yang's new place, the kitchen bustled with students and staff alike washing vegetables, peeling corn, and making beef patties. Some of the guys set up the grill outside, while others who had nothing to do played with some very realistic Nerf Guns! The patties and hotdogs hit the grill, and the incredible aroma had us all very hungry but very happy. Before long, everyone was seated with a home-made hamburger, Yang's specialty salad, Dora's scalloped potatoes, grilled corn on the cob with a special honey sauce, and huge hot dogs. Yang's specially ground beef was spectacular, with a nod to the secret ingredient that made it all come together: bacon!. It was one of the best meals that I ever had for July 4th, and many people agreed. After we finished cleaning up, everyone took a popsicle and headed out for the finale: fireworks.



As we waited for fireworks, we played Word Volleyball, another ridiculously fun Korean game. And although we weren't able to see any fireworks up close, we were able to watch multiple displays all over the Bay, capping off an amazing day. I personally was very happy for the opportunity to share a part of my life with a few new people I hadn't met before, as well as strengthen the bonds that I'd had with those that I did know. All in all, I truly felt, and still do feel, that our July 4th was a window into the fellowship and celebration that God desires all of his children to enjoy, a window into heaven, if you will. Praise the Lord for his guidance over our lives, and for the opportunity to develop and strengthen new and existing bonds with our brothers and sisters. As I told a friend later, "If you didn't have fun today, there's got to be something wrong with you!".

Our Honduras Mission Team just returned this past weekend. Different from Taiwan or Cambodia, this is purely a medical mission trip, that our mission team travelled to Honduras to care for sick. Also, our very own Hung Yen is on this trip as well. Thank you for your prayers, they have returned safely. One of the sisters from SF Chapel have compile a video slideshow of all the things that has happened in Honduras.

Hello everyone,

Here is what's happening tomorrow at Kairos 1.

We will have Intermurals at Wood Middle School as usual, 6:30 - 8pm. Then dinner and Bible study at my place. Afterwards, we will have Eugene & Cynthia join us for a time of some fellowship at Planet Crepes (a frozen yogurt place nearby)!!

For Bible Study, we will cover Isaiah 40. Many of you have been doing Daily Devotions through this chapter, so please be ready to share your insights and realizations :) Also, we will be having a memory verse contest every week from now on. We will cover last weeks and I am going to give you this weeks. Please start now if you can :)

Memory Verses

I can't believe I haven't got the chance to post about this yet. We are approaching the third week of Summer Intramural, possibly one of the most exciting events this summer. Want to know how exciting it is? Just look at this highlight reel...

Hi!

I hope everyone's enjoying the great summer sun so far! For us Bay Area folks, it looks like we're back to the normal 68-70 degree day-weather. Hope you so-cal folks are survivin'!

I just came back this Tuesday from the Sierras after a one night stay at the Sierra Lodge for something called Bible Teacher's Training (BTT). There at our Sierra Lodge, Pastor Ed Kang and Kelly Kang helped shape some of the younger staff into the beginnings of Bible teachers. I had a blast as we arrived Sunday night and rose early the next day to start our very first session of Bible training. We were given a prompt and about 30 minutes to prepare a 5-minute talk. After that, we would embed the text from the Bible to substantiate our message. As we received constructive feedback from Pastor Ed, some of us were also blessed by each other's messages. Man! Who knew Yang's talk on monkeys could be so meaningful! When you see him around, ask him about that one. We also got to go to Spaulding Lake where we canoe-ed for about two hours. Rockin' fun!

My first message was on Luke 10 - the story of the Good Samaritan.

Waking up on the wrong side of bed, not having time to do DT, leaving the door late without that cup of coffee. Suddenly, time is all the more precious. You hold onto it tightly like Smeagol and his ring. It is my precious. Thereby, anyone or anything that causes that hiccup in your schedule becomes an obstacle or something you just want to jettison out of your way. How does each one of the characters in this story react when they see this badly beaten man, robbed and deserted on the side of the road? The priest and the Levite both pass by on the other side without a second look or a second thought. Perhaps they were thinking inside - today's a bad day for me, on any other day, maybe I would try to... or I have a whole load of stuff to do today, how could I possibly right now, right here? Or perhaps they were genuinely kind-hearted, but couldn't quite let go of some sort of agenda. I want to help but...

The Samaritan, however, stops... takes a glance at the man, sees someone hurting. So he gives up his time, and what more his oil and wine (considered precious in that day), his donkey, his money for an inn for that man to rest. He doesn't just help this man up, he steps out of any kind of comfort zone, does all this without having been asked. This is exactly how God picks us up - He gives us His time, His heart, and ultimately His Son. God asks us to exemplify that character in our daily lives whether it be to that classmate or co-worker who looked down, or that roommate who needed someone to talk to. But what about that final exam I have tomorrow? Should I?

How are we like the priest or the Levite? Steering clear of any precarious situation. Or has any one of us been like that beaten and broken man who was left to die or fend for himself when someone took that initiative to pick you up from the side of the road? What are some things that are hindering us from going all out and loving the people in our lives? Or recognizing that brokenness in us and personalizing the examples we've seen in our lives so that we may be like that Samaritan? What are some ways we're holding back and passing up on the opportunities to share in God's vision? I think if we can pick up something from the story of the Good Samaritan, we can really focus on others, and our hearts would grow for the hurting and the lost around us.


-Ernie

Sunday Worship Mixlist

As some of you may know, there has been incidents of over 800 fires throughout northern california. It has even threatened our Sierra Lodge. But thankfully, SL was not damaged. Here is some sharing from Kelly Kang (Pastor Ed's wife, for someone of you who do not know) regarding the fire.

http://acts2fellowship.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/sharing-from-kelly-kang/