International Graduate Student Ministry – Gracepoint Berkeley
love locally, impact globally
It would be an understatement to say that we had fun on this LA trip to finish out the year. It was one of the most memorable trip for me because I got to have so much fun with the IGSM members in LA for three days. Some of us drove down to LA from the Bay Area on December 25th. We stayed at our members’ parents’ houses, which reduced the cost as well as allowed us spend more time together.
We went to Disneyland on the 26th and spent a whole day there. Disneyland was indeed the magic kingdom, in which we got to get on rides and watched various shows. Here is a clip of a few of us taking the ride called “Big Thunder.”
The next day, we started our day by visiting Caleb’s parents’ church for Sunday Worship Service. We were treated with three testimonies of three Chinese intellectuals’ journey to know God and to settle at that church. Many of us were very touched by the testimonies. After enjoying the delicious lunch at this Chinese restaurant named Sam Woo, we visited the Getty Museum. It was an awesome museum with several special exhibits. Sorry that I cannot show you any pictures because taking pictures was not allowed.
After Getty Museum, some members went to the Hollywood street. The next day, they went to the laguna beach and a few more tourist attraction spots. It was an awesome trip.
International Graduate Student Ministry (IGSM) is an official graduate student group at UC Berkeley. IGSM started in the fall of 2003 with the vision to help all UC Berkeley graduate students from various countries (including students from the United States) find out the true meaning and purpose of their lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of us also attend Gracepoint Berkeley, where Pastor Ed and Kelly Kang lead the ministry.
This has to be, by far, one of the most memorable trips I’ve had with IGSM this past year.
At Disneyland, our group got to experience 11 rides in one day, and as much as I also enjoyed watching the Fantasia show, my personal highlight from Disneyland has got to be going on Splash Mountain with the guys. We waited less than 10 minutes for this ride, and since two guys had never been on this ride before, they had the privilege and opportunity to ride in the front, and the look of anticipation and surprise on their face before and after the ride was absolutely priceless. The whole weekend was such a wonderful bonding time and I look forward to hanging out with the guys and sharing such memories more in 2010!
This trip was quite an action packed adventure. It was my second time visiting Disneyland, but this time around, it was much more fun going with bunch of guys, riding many rides, and hanging out with them. We also had a chance to go visit Caleb’s church as written in the post, the service was great, and also went to see the wonderful view of Laguna Beach, arguably the most beautiful beach in the US, or even best in the world, according to the European couple who were with us.
Our schedule was pretty packed like on an Asian bus tour, but it was way more fun and cheaper! There were some changes to the schedule, the drivers remained on dispatch and passengers gladly cooperated to make things work out smoothly. It was nice meeting so many friendly people and getting to know each other better. I am also grateful for the students’ families that let us stay in their homes for three nights so we didn’t have to pay for hotel. I am looking forward to the upcoming trips!