Page 130 - 如溪邊喬木40th 紀念特刊 _Neat

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/Caleb Lyu

his photo was from Winter Retreat 2015, the first winter retreat I
T had with FPCOC-Grace Chapel. It was one of the few opportunities I
had to bond with other members of the ministry because we all got to stay at
the same house for 3 days and 2 nights. I did not grow up in this church, so
when I first came I felt like there were a lot of connections that were already
built that I had missed out on, as opposed to someone who did grow up in this
church. But thank the Lord, the members of the church were willing to accept
and welcome me, so that I felt like maybe I could find my next church here.

This first retreat I remember we had reserved a house that was too small for all
of us, so we definitely had a lot of people sleeping on the floor and couch on
the living room and even outside. In the organization of the retreat, I really had
little experience working with others at this church. I wasn’t sure how we would
be able to take care of all the logistics, but thank the Lord that it all worked out.
We all were able to accommodate and serve one another, whether it was

through cooking, taking turns using the bathroom, cleaning, driving, etc.

It was quite a cast of characters there that I don’t know if we’ll ever be in the
same spot again…of course that’s up to God. And as an aside, you probably
won’t see at least two camera-shy individuals in this picture very often through-
out all the other church pictures...It was here that I think the friendship and feel-
ing of belonging to the same group really began for myself and maybe a few
others, especially considering the timing of the retreat in relation to the history
of this church. Thank God for His love and mercy, that while there are people
who come and go, this ministry can continue to serve Him and its members for
His glory.

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