| November 19, 2010 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
| 7:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
11/19/2010 Friday 7 PM
| November 19, 2010 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
| 7:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
On behalf of IGSM, I want to wish you and your family a very happy and blessed year in 2010. We joined the Watch Night service put on by Gracepoint – Berkeley on the last day of 2009 to welcome 2010 through praise, prayer and countdown. This is an annual tradition at Gracepoint as we recounted as a church how God has worked in our midst. It made the turning of the year (or decade) much more meaningful.
On the first day of the new year, IGSM had our annual dumpling making party. Kate, dubbed “The Dumpling Queen” in IGSM, prepared the filling for the dumplings and demonstrated to us how to make dumplings the right way. Some of us are trying pretty hard while others are looking for their own ways to make their perfect dumpling. It was fun and rewarding because we got to eat the fruit of our labor right away.
We had a sumptuous potluck dinner at Chul & Sharon’s place on the eve of Christmas. The potluck dinner was composed of fried chicken pasta, oven-baked mussels, broiled tri-tip, BBQ chicken, pan-fried sole fillet, pineapple chicken, and assorted desserts including fruits, pies, and cakes. It was absolutely delicious, and we all had our fill.
Given that the dinner is to celebrate the coming of Christmas, we sang two well-known Christmas carols: O Come All Ye Faithful and Joy to the World. Sharon explained the lyrics and the meaning of these songs prior to singing, which allowed us to reflect deeper the meaning of Christmas. It was a very informative and touching time as we thought about the magic of Christmas together. And the singing was wonderful in a small house.
After we were done with singing, we went out to the Thompson Street to see Christmas lights. This is an annual IGSM tradition to see all the houses on this street decorated with beautiful and creative Christmas lights. It was a nice walk together despite the cold temperature at night.
| January 1, 2010 | ||
| 4:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
Come and have some delicious home-made dumplings after which we will play some “yut-nori”, a Korean game sure to make you lose your voice from all the shouting for your team.
Date/Time: Jan 1, 4pm
Location: to be announced
If you are interested in joining please email Joseph at joseph.yu [at] igsmonline.org
| December 18, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm |

Come join us for a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We will start the night out with dinner, have a talent show, a short message about Christmas and finally a gift exchange with a twist (promise it will be fun).
Note: To participate in the gift exchange, please bring a new, wrapped gift ($5-$10).
Date/Time: Friday, Dec 18 at 6pm
Location: Lipman Room (top floor of Barrows Hall)
| November 22, 2009 | ||
| 1:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |

Come join us for our Thanksgiving Service and Celebration on 11/22 at Kofman Auditorium. This is a time to get together to eat some good food (think turkey), sing and dance (have fun), and thank God for all the ways that He has been good to us. Hope that you can join us. Please sign up so that we can determine how much food to make. Don’t want to go hungry do we
Time: 1pm
Location: Kofman Auditorium (2201 Encinal Ave, Alameda, CA) – Rides provided from Barrows Hall at 12:15pm. If you need a ride click on the Need a Ride checkbox below.
This past weekend was Baptism Sunday at Gracepoint Berkeley. Brothers Allen and Eric (not biologically related) were baptized, and Eric gave his testimony (again) during the worship service. Hearing once again at how God worked in his life, bringing him to Berkeley for 1 year for a masters, and how he learned about sin and his need for the cross in that period of time was really powerful. Indeed, it validates everything that we are striving for at IGSM: impacting international students with the gospel in the short window of time that they are studying here at America. We also had a chance to celebrate with them by taking photos, presenting them with gifts–flowers from the sisters and NIV Life Application Study Bibles from the brothers, and giving them a warm hug was a very special time.
Personally, it was very impactful for me because I’ve gotten a front row seat to see God change these two brothers’ lives and hearts in the 1 year they’ve been here. I remember going on an SF outing with them 1 year ago. I had no idea then that these two would be taking Course 101: Christian Foundations (you can sign up here!) with me and Jesse. During C101, I saw them think about their lives more seriously and conclude that the gospel is true–and in the process, they had personal encounters with God. I was so thankful to see them up there Sunday, and I can testify that God is good. If you missed Baptism Sunday, be sure to congratulate them when you see them!
Many of you know Hank, a former staff in the International Graduate Student Ministry. He was married to Joy in the Praxis department in Gracepoint Fellowship Church. It was an indeed a very joy-ful occasion (I cannot resist the pun). Various ministry groups and peer groups showed their support to the couple by performing singing and dancing on the stage at their wedding reception.
Due to the high average age of the IGSM staff, we figured that we would not look good to dance. Jisup came up with the brilliant and daring idea of doing a Doo-Wop song, using “Come Go With Me” as the prototype. With the help from Paul breaking down the parts in the song and from Jesse/Jisup/Sara rewriting the lyrics, we were able to pull off a fine performance and received a good reception from the audience.
If I can find the recording of our performance, I will post it up later.
This post is a bit late, but it’s still worth remembering all the graduations that took place last month because graduation is a significant milestone. Last month, we celebrated Ted, Betty, Diana, Hui, and Sara’s graduations with their families and friends. We pray for these graduates that they will experience God’s leading and provision as they begin the next chapter of their career. Congratulations!