That was the theme of our Koinonia Spring Welcome Night. Much like our NSWN (translation: New Student Welcome Night) from last fall, Spring Welcome Night was a chance for us to invite new friends to spend time with us, find out what our group is all about, and listen to a thought-provoking talk. The night started off with a delicious sesame-Yoshida sauce wings dinner, followed by neat video made by one of our brothers back at home. Pastor Manny then invited us to consider some of the deeper questions about life – who am I? where did I come from? what is my life’s purpose? – framed by the fact that for each of us, time is slowly but surely running down the clock. For many it was their first time considering such issues; for those of us who have found answers to those questions, it was a good chance to think about them again.

Afterwards we tested each other’s mental mettle with a wonderful round of ‘Brain Bowl,’ courtesy of Carlton, Bryan, and David Lee. Despite some fear-inducing integrals and tough logic problems, fun was had by all, and people’s IQ’s probably rose a couple points just from playing the game. Homemade boba tea drinks capped off the night, and many hung out afterward to chat, hang out, and even help us take down. Many of the frosh brothers also came early to help set up (as you can see, they are now pros at winding cable and blowing up balloons), which we were very grateful for! Hard work is always a good bedrock for good fellowship =)

Looking forward to seeing our new friends again at another TFN soon!

A group of sisters at our home church back in Berkeley decided one day that they wanted to do more on their Valentine’s Day than buy into the sappy visions of flowers and teddy bears that it’s evolved into. So they decided to venture out into the community and use it as an opportunity to share God’s love with those who could use a little extra encouragement. Thus, ‘Valentine’s Day of Compassion’ was born.

Our first ever Austin ‘VDay of Compassion’ was yesterday, and twenty five brothers and sisters from our church (including 18 students!) got the chance to visit the downtown Salvation Army center. We prepared frames for a photo-booth for the families, home-made cupcakes, and some songs and games to share with the families we’d be meeting.

We weren’t sure exactly how many or who would show up to the evening, but by 7:10 pm we were joined by five families (most of the kids were boys) and we ended up having a hilarious time playing ‘Electricity’ and the most absurd rendition of ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors.’ Carlton gave a message on God’s love, and we sang some great Joyland songs as well.

It was wonderful to be able to spend a holiday traditionally focused on one’s own self and one’s girlfriend/boyfriend (or why one doesn’t have one!), to go out as a body of Christ and share His love with others, together. Hopefully we’ll get to go back again soon and spend more time with the folks there.

(Isn’t that a great title? I figured we’d try to spice this blog up with more of what are, in my o-pun-ion, the highest echelon of jokes.)

This past Sunday, fifteen staff and students joined 17,000 runners for the Statesman Capitol 10k (that’s 6.2mi for the mathematically challenged) footrace through the streets of Austin downtown. The starting gun was at 8:45am, and it was a brisk 40 degrees outside. The course wound through downtown, all the way back to P. Manny’s house on Winsted, and back again. The staff who weren’t running, and also YoungJu, sacrificed their sleep and came out to cheer for us at the 3 mile mark, and even brought the runners home-made breakfast tacos for after the race. Yum.

Three cheers to all who participated, and especially for those who came to show their support. Some were even inspired to think about possibly running (!) the Austin Marathon next February. Whether that was just momentary bravado brought on by the post-race euphoria or something more substantial, we’ll just have to see =)

Oh, you want to know who got the best time? Good question! That was the subject of much drama, and in fact there were a few dramas surrounding this 10k race:
1) A certain young turk from amongst the brothers decided he would pick out the most formidable opponent among the older ones, and challenge him for the title of ‘fastest 10k runner at GFC Austin.’ There was intrigue, there was speculation, and to find out the results you’ll just have to ask them yourself!
2) After several of the brothers finished the race (with respectable sub-50 and sub-60 minute times), they decided to cheer for the rest of the brothers who were behind them. Here’s a sample conversation:

Brother 1: Hey, do you think Bro X is going to cross the finish line soon? It’s been 60 minutes now.

Brother 2: Nah, let’s grab another banana and then head over in a few minutes.
(…at the finish line…)

Brother 1: It’s been an hour and a half now, no sign of Bro X. I only see grandmas and grandpas running now. Maybe he finished already??

Brother 2: (thinking) -Nah, no way. We did run by Winsted though, maybe he turned right and went home.

Brother 3: Yeah, maybe. Let’s go meet up with everyone else.

Unbeknownst to these brothers, Brother X had already finished and was waiting at Dominican Joe’s along with those who had come out to cheer for the runners. After finding out why the other brothers were so late in coming, he decided to play a little trick on them and pretend to struggle in to the parking lot a few minutes after they got back. Another snippet of conversation:

Brother 1: Hey man, good job! Wow, you made it finally! You survived!

Brother 2: My goodness, did you come straight here from the race?

Brother X: Yeah man, I sure did… AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO!

The look on Brother 2′s face was priceless.

Our first group of graduating seniors this year! Grad Sunday is a tradition we had back in Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Berkeley, and one that we are thankful to continue here. We weren’t sure if we’d even have any seniors since this is our first year here, but on May 10th we got to congratulate and encourage our three seniors: Andy, Gillian, and Sobeyda. Here are some pics of the special day, including one of Andy sharing his testimony (which was really moving to hear). Praise God for His faithfulness in each of these precious brother and sisters’ lives!

Koinonia took the show on the road for the second time this summer. Descending on a hotel near the Galleria (with all our sound gear and ice-chests full of goodies), we invited our friends from Sugar Land, Katy, and everywhere in-between to join us for the Houston version of ‘On-the-Road’ TFN Bible study. It was great getting to see everyone again!

We played some volleyball-less volleyball to start off the night (wondering what that is? Bryan Song is your man), followed by on-the-road praise, and then a message by Pastor Manny on the book of Joshua, in preparation for a new school year and the fall semester. The following day, we trekked out to the Houston Museum of Natural Science (the highlight of which was an encounter with a real-life Terra Cotta Warrior – too bad they didn’t allow video cameras, as I would give pretty much anything for a video of Kevin G. yelping when the ‘statue’ grabbed his arm! =D  then again, I heard so did Pastor Manny…!), had a picnic next to a 5,000lb floating globe, weathered some incredible Houston thunderstorms on the way to Kemah and then capped it off with a yummy asian buffet.

Our time together was over all too soon, but we have the photos to remember it by, and soon we’ll be all at UT Austin again – so until that time, take care, Houston bros and sisters, and see you soon!

The month-long volleyball clinic and tournament during the month of July was so fun that there was a tinge of sadness that it was all over, now that August had arrived. And it was still too hot to play anything outside (unless tennis in 110 degree weather is your idea of fun! oops, sorry James+Wayne+Jeremy – you guys are indeed amazing to do so!) – so what better way to unwind at the end of the weekend and fellowship together than some good ‘ole fashioned…bowling!

Bryan scored us an incredible deal (thank you, Dart Bowl!) on shoes and 2 games, and we even had some in-between game cookie treats made by none other than Sheila. As always, the satisfaction of hurling a 10-lb ball at a row of nicely placed pins made for some good fun (cathartic for some), and two bros even got a turkey each. And we’re not talking Thanksgiving poultry here, either.

Afterward we said bye to some folks who were heading home until the fall semester. See y’all again soon, and to everyone else – til we meet again on the lanes!