It seemed like only last week when we were huddled together late at night as we waited to take off from Northloop. That was a fun drive, getting to know a lot of Abe Yang's class (class of ’05), people like Jon and Allen who just recently got back from Taiwan, and Mark from SF. They are a fun class to hang out with. Each of them are very interesting characters... you'll know what I mean if you spend some time with them. This BTT trip was mostly made up of the younger staff interns, around 26 of us.
Man, our days were so packed, we spent our days preparing bible studies, working on different projects around the house, and of course having a lot of fun! You read that right, we were learning how to prepare bible studies, not just listening to bible studies. That was definitely very different. I've always been the recipient of a message, so to be on the other side and trying to give a bible study was a new feeling. After preparing 3 messages, I'm just much more appreciative of Pastor Ed Kang, Pastor Manny Kim (now at Gracepoint Austin), and Pastor William Kang when they give the message on Sundays or anyone who gives a Bible study. They spend a lot of time working on the message and a lot is taken into consideration, which we only began to scratch the surface of.
We also spent some of the time working on different things, from building a landing underneath the deck so we can use it to store bins and coolers, building a spiral staircase up to the loft, putting up blinds, etc. I worked on the staircase, along with my other Mech Engineer friend Richard Leung, and some of the other engineers. How many people does it take to put together a spiral staircase? Apparently it takes at least 4-5 Berkeley engineers. Haha. Next time you go up you can see the beautiful work that we did, just don't look too closely. There's something about using machine tools, and working with your hands that makes you feel really awake and alive. We cut wood, used nail guns, and it felt good.
We spent some time at Lake Spaulding, kayaking in the beautiful lake, enjoying the nature...wait, that’s not exactly what we did. We actually spent most of the time splashing each other with our paddles and trying to flip people who were too dry over as they got close to shore.
I'm really thankful for the time up at Sierra Lodge, not only did I get to know the rest of the staff more, but I feel like I got to know Pastor Ed and Kelly a lot more. Sometimes we only see them on Sundays, giving a message or leading prayer time, but to just eat with them and learn from them around a table is quite different and very special. I learned a lot, not only about how to give a bible study, but all that is involved, just the things that are taken into consideration. And being together, working on the house, having fun together, it was just awesome. I can't wait for the next time we get to go up, BTT 2.0!