Leaving for our FTS Retreat

Hi everyone,

i'm heading out for our annual FTS Retreat where I'll be speaking!  I can't believe it but I'm very thankful for the chance to go and share the gospel message with these precious kids.  Please pray for me to clearly and effectively and lovingly share this precious message.  Please also pray for the children's hearts to be open.  

I won't be there tonight at our weekly Homegroup time but please have fun without me!!! I really insist.  

Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Summer IMs

Jammy Yang, our head coordinator for Gracepoint's Summer IMs, has asked me to post a link for you to check out the weekly schedule, stats and HIGHLIGHTs from each week's IMs.  Highlights - hey, how come I'm missing?  

http://gracepointfellowshipchurch-intramural.blogspot.com

Honduras 1 Team Video

Gordon Lai from Gracepoint SF Chapel has posted a vide from their Honduras 1 trip.  Check it out here: 

http://gracepoint-sf-hg2.blogspot.com

This is a mission trip that our church took with BMDMI (Baptist Medical Dental Mission International).  Our Honduras 2 team is there now!  Please continue to pray for them.  

Team-building!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Here's a slideshow from last week's fun time of team-building with saltines and a special glue like dip!  We also made crab rangoon pot stickers.  Making food is always the best activity because you get to eat it too!  Can you guess what each of the groups made?  Some of the answers are: tower, angel, wall-e, maze...can you guess which is which? 

Visiting From Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Hsinchu

In case you've never met them, let me introduce you to Eugene and Cynthia Peng.  They are two very precious and dear friends of mine who are serving and leading our church in Hsinchu, Taiwan.  They've been there almost a year now!  How time flies by.  Last night, we got to hear from them about how life and ministry is happening there.  I used to live with Eugene for a couple of years while we were doing college ministry together and one lesson I learned from him is self-denial.  He really made his body his slave for the sake of the gospel.   I'm really challenged by this couple who are just a year younger than me but who have forged ahead out into a foreign land for the sake of the gospel. They will be here this Sunday with us so please say hi, introduce yourself and get to know them!  and please continue to pray for Gracepoint - Hsinchu!

Ultimate Pizza

We're going to have some ultimate pizza!!!  Join us WEDNESDAY - JULY 16 - @ 6pm at the field next to VLSB for some Ultimate Frisbee and Pizza.  We'll be there at 6pm, play some frisbee, eat some pizza and hang out.  Bring your friends for a fun time!  You can contact josh if you want some more info or ask me. 

Double Portion

"It's so hard to say goodbye."  This pop song I grew up listening to in the 80's echoed my sentiments this past week as we sent off our Austin team.  It can only be easy to say goodbye if you don't know the person or you don't have a shared history.  But I've had a shared history.  I've known Pastor Manny and Sunny for 14 years.  Actually I've known Sunny longer as she's my cousin.  But we've bonded more closely than as just physical family members. We've grown closer as coworkers and partners in serving God and His church.  From my freshman year, they've helped me mature and grow up and actually begin to care about others.  They helped me to turn my selfish heart into a heart of service by the example of their own lives.  

I could write pages and pages of all the ways they have affected me.  Not just them but the other team members as well.  I know I miss them and will miss them but what I've thought about most recently is that I want to fill the gap that each of them is going to leave behind.  From Sunny's warm smile to Pastor Manny's personal and loving care for a person whether through trash talking or a contagious spirit to Bryan's faithfulness or Henry's beastly exuberance and the others, I want to live out a double portion of their lives here. I think that's the best way I can honor their sacrifice of going to Austin.  I pray I can live out my faith here that much more passionately!

Gracepoint Fellowship Church's 30 hour famine

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know about another blog we created to share stories from the 30 hour famine. Please submit your stories! Here's the link: http://30hourfamine-gfc.blogspot.com/

Also, just wanted to let you know that we as a church raised over $106,000! Praise the Lord. I'm so thankful to be part of this and glad that many of you were able to participate as well.