Archive for June, 2009

  • True bonding

    True bonding

    Submitted by Helen… I had a really good time at the interns retreat this past weekend. I was so thankful that I was able to go last minute. I was personally really blessed and challenged by the retreat (even though it wasn’t for me). The...

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  • Carried by others

    Carried by others

    Submitted by Christine… The three years before my father’s death in 2007 were the most difficult years of my life as I experienced two deaths in my family. However difficult it was though, I felt loved and cared for by people in this community. As...

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  • Seed that’s been planted

    Seed that’s been planted

    Submitted by Joyce… This was from a few years ago, but since our 5th graders just “graduated” from Joyland… Graduation Sunday was our last Sunday with the 6th graders before we sent them off to Element. Teacher Michelle gave a message about the importance of...

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  • A haven from my to-do list

    A haven from my to-do list

    Submitted by Becky… Generally being a Type-A person with a long list of things I need to get done and rushing from here to there in a frenzy, I can start to see our monthly convalescent home visit as another item on my to-do list....

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  • Fear of the dark

    Fear of the dark

    Submitted by Mark… After coming home from work one night, my back then 2-year-old son and I went out from our garage to ride our bikes along the adjacent backroad. When we got to the end of the road, he realized all of a sudden...

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  • Multiplication through service

    Multiplication through service

    Submitted by Andrew… One weekend as I was “blocking” the Sierra House, I couldn’t help but think about all I’ve been able to learn while serving at this church. I never thought I’d know what “blocking” is, let alone what it is used for (to...

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  • Going to the chapel

    Going to the chapel

    Submitted by Ahmi… I wanted to share about one couple and their journey as they dated and got married. Around the time they were going to meet each others’ parents, one of the prayer meeting topics was on financial simplicity. We happened to read an...

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  • Welcome to America!

    Welcome to America!

    Submitted by Joe… One of the ways that International Student Ministry (ISM) at Gracepoint Fellowship in Berkeley serves incoming graduate students is through free airport pickup service. For one of the school years, I was given the privilege of serving as the coordinator who would...

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  • Living out a vision

    Living out a vision

    Submitted by Eunice… Last summer, we held the first annual Sophomore Discipleship Retreat at Sierra Lodge, led by Pastor Ed and Kelly Kang. It had only been a year since we first met these sophomores as wide-eyed frosh, and many of them didn’t really know...

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  • On the mat

    On the mat

    Submitted by Jiseon…. I am so so very grateful that we were able to get the surgery this past Friday and that it went successfully. I was so grateful for many provisions we experienced since Kenny’s dramatic turn of events this Friday. I was grateful...

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  • Jeannie’s story

    Jeannie’s story

    I grew up in a traditionally Buddhist home, but when we came to America when I was three, I was sponsored by a 7th Day Adventist Church. This was my first introduction to the Bible and Christianity. I attended several Sunday schools with my parents...

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  • Who would have thought?!

    Who would have thought?!

    Submitted by Carmen…  Although I had used my minimal Photoshop skills to put my architecture portfolio together, I didn’t know what the Adobe Photoshop vocabulary of “layers,” “masks,” or “sets” even meant. In Spring 2003, I got formally trained in Photoshop in a 3-day workshop...

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  • How can you?

    How can you?

    Submitted by Jin… Several years ago, an overarching sentiment I felt can be captured in the words of “How can you?” It is an episode of my life I am very ashamed about and not anything I ever want to relive again. In the summer...

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  • Impacting kids as a helper

    Impacting kids as a helper

    Submitted by Hugo… Excited about the idea about being a part of Impact, I applied to be a Team Lead right away. I was so set on being one that under the application I even marked that position for both my first and second choice,...

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  • SummerFest Fun – Be Strong!

    SummerFest Fun – Be Strong!

    Submitted by Tony… Thank you for your prayers and support!  After a late night of preparation on Friday, SummerFest started yesterday with 74 second graders from Ruby Bridges Elementary School in Alameda and Garfield and Franklin Elementary Schools in Oakland.  With over 160 volunteers ranging...

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  • Graduating from law school

    Graduating from law school

    Submitted by Andrea…  (who just got married to Will Sam today by the way!  Congratulations!!) Graduating from law school last May was an important milestone and such a clear reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness in my life. I remembered coming to Hastings and SF...

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  • Facing trials together

    Facing trials together

    Submitted by Joe… As Annie, my wife, went through chemotherapy almost a year ago, I had a chance to reflect on how this experience of her battle with cancer, while frightening, also enabled me to experience God’s blessing of love and encouragement from many people...

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  • Youth days to wedding day

    Youth days to wedding day

    Submitted by Jin…   For those who I’ve talked with, no one told me that preparing for their wedding was stress-free. They always talk about how stressful it was. And for us, this was no exception. What I do find as the exception, though, is the...

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  • Sharon’s Story

    Sharon’s Story

    I was born in 1971 in Seoul, Korea into a normal, loving family. But my normal childhood ended when my mom passed away from a sudden heart attack when I was nine years old. I still remember how my personality changed shortly after my mom’s...

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  • Raising the walls

    Raising the walls

    Doing DT through Nehemiah last week reminded me of this story, submitted by Andy… In the book of Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and its gates were destroyed by fire. Filled with anguish over the city, Nehemiah rallied the people to overcome...

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  • Bursting at the seams

    Bursting at the seams

    Submitted by Dan…  There was a point in life when I wanted desperately to die. I thought the world would be a better place if I was gone, and that apart from a few people no one would even bat an eye at my permanent...

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  • True tough guy

    True tough guy

    Submitted by Kan…   I have always known that Eugene has a long commute from Hsinchu to Taipei everyday, but I didn’t really know how bad this was until I had an internship in Taipei this past summer. I commuted with him on most days: we...

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  • My Trip to Honduras

    My Trip to Honduras

    Submitted by Gordon…   I will be praying for Gracepoint Berkeley’s Honduras Mission Team as they leave this month. Where can I even begin to describe all that I’ve experienced and felt through a mere one week mission trip to Honduras. What God has allowed me...

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  • Roy’s story

    Roy’s story

    I celebrated my first American Christmas in Houston, Texas in the winter of 1992, mere weeks after first setting foot in this strange and seemingly unreceptive land. As a ten-year-old FOB, I would spend the next four years in what I, at the time, would...

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  • Keys please?

    Keys please?

    Submitted by Ashley…    At Gracepoint Fellowship, you often hear stories about hard workers behind the scenes who make things happen especially for big events like G-live, NSWN, or JCC. Among this group are our weekly ImpACT and Joyland drivers who may very likely be...

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