Interfellowship March Mondo Meeting

Last Friday, we had the very first interfellowship large group meeting, sponsored by PEF, Manna, PFA and AIA.  We've done joint praise and prayers before, and joint worship nights, but as far as I know, this was the first time that the groups actually canceled each of their regular weekly meetings and encouraged everyone to come to the joint meeting instead.  This was all student-led and student-initiated -- it was so cool to see how excited everyone was for this joint meeting!  What a beautiful display of unity!

The whole "Mondo" thing really took off, too.  I'm not sure who first came up with it -- I'm betting it was just a simple alliterative device, calling it the March Mondo Meeting.  But the "Mondo" was off-beat enough to catch people's fancy -- there was so much Facebook chatter about going to Mondo, or being Mondo excited, or just simply the word "Mondo" followed by multiple exclamation points...  :)

All told, there were around 250 people gathered together that night.  And it was so much fun!  The worship sets were led jointly by the worship leaders of the different groups, which led to a wider range of songs and styles than at a normal PEF meeting.  And what a blessing it was for brothers and sisters to be standing and singing together in unity!  The message was delivered by Dr. Greg Waybright, senior pastor at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, former president of Trinity International University, and Jamie Rankin's old college roommate.  :)  He's come to Princeton a number of times in the last few years, and every single time, he remembers specific conversations he's had, and follows up on previous prayer requests -- he's very impressively sincere.  His message that evening was on Christian unity, and he struck just the right encouraging and exhorting notes with us.

I was so thankful to be able to be there.  We had Hilary come over to play with Joshua a little and then put him to bed, so we were both able to be fully present at the meeting, without having to worry at all about our little boy.  :)  And of course, I took tons of photos!







And then just a few photos of the fellowship time afterward, in Murray-Dodge:




And just two more photos, because they're so perfectly hilarious!


“My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity.  Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."  --John 17:20-23

PEF/Manna winter retreat 2011!

[Watch out -- here comes another big blog burst!  Complete with storyboards -- I've been having too much fun creating storyboards lately, and I think this will also help with formatting the blog books we create each year.  Which is good, since I'm still only halfway through formatting our 2010 blog book...]

The last week of January, our whole family went up to New Hampshire for the annual joint PEF/Manna winter retreat!  It's actually been several years since I've been able to go on this retreat -- I haven't wanted to take the week's vacation in the past, since it's one of David's busiest weeks of the year, and therefore not much of a vacation for him.  And of course, last year, neither of us went on the retreat because Joshua was due to be born that Monday, and was actually born early that Wednesday morning.  :)  But now, with our fun little toddler in the picture, we decided that making a family trip of it would be worthwhile.  And oh, boy, was it!

This retreat has always been one of our favorite weeks of the year.  It helps, of course, that David and I met for the first time on this retreat...  :)  Intersession break is the one true break during the school year, since Princeton has its fall semester exams after winter break.  So this week between the semesters is about the only time that students really have time off, which changes the whole tenor of the fellowship.  And it was so much fun bringing Joshua this year -- we were worried that he might have stranger anxiety the whole time, but he rose to the occasion, and then some.  He was so excited to have so many new friends to play with!  It was a wonderful place to celebrate his first birthday.  :)

And it was a wonderful week of refocusing for all of us.  The theme of the retreat this year was the beatitudes, with a mini-message on each individual beatitude.  It was a simple but powerful theme, focusing on the character traits of the Kingdom.  At the very end of the retreat, before we packed up the vans and headed back home, the entire group recited the beatitudes by memory -- and I was moved by how heartfelt the students' response to the message was.  As we're all caught up in the busyness of the semester again, I pray that we will still be clinging to this vision of the Kingdom, and seeking to live it out daily here.

So... pictures or it didn't happen, right?  :)  I took hundreds of photos that week, all of which are archived in our SmugMug galleries (click the "photographs" link in our header above), but here are a few of our favorites!

Joshua's first experience of the winter retreat!  Complete with ridiculously cute bear hat.  :)


Indoor fun and games in the chalet, where Joshua and I spent pretty much all of our non-napping time.


The annual (friendly!) PEF vs. Manna basketball game!


"Snow Bowl" 2011!  That is, snow tackle and ice-throwing -- conditions were too rough for the full tag football game this year, so they just spent time running and tackling each other.  Because, you know, that's much safer...



And the big huge group shot at the end of the trip!  (Minus one car, which had to leave early.)


We're so thankful for the opportunity to spend the week with so many dear friends.  What a wonderful break from our normal lives!  And Joshua is very much looking forward to the next retreat.  :)

Gabby and Jimmy!

Saturday, June 26 was the the first of our double-booked wedding days for the summer... We've got another one coming up in August!  I tell ya, we're just too popular...  :)

We had hoped to bring Joshua to both ceremonies and both receptions that day.  What we didn't really count on was the fact that it would be in the upper 90s that day -- and that both ceremonies were held in unairconditioned venues.  Poor little Joshua wasn't a fan of the heat and humidity... And because no bride, however gracious and forgiving she may be, wants a screaming baby to be the soundtrack of her wedding video, we decided that Joshua needed to be taken home early.  So David took our little man home, and I stayed for the ceremonies.  We did end up bringing Joshua to both receptions, so he got to meet tons of people that day!

So first up for us that day was the wedding of Gabby L. and Jimmy T., in the university chapel.  The chapel is such a grand and imposing space, with soaring columns and stained glass windows -- and Gabby and Jimmy had a fairy tale of a wedding to go with the venue!  Complete with an incredibly full princess-like wedding gown -- the perfect look for Gabby.

It was also so fun to catch up with old Manna friends -- Gabby was '03 and Jimmy was '04, so their guest list included pretty much all of the Manna folk of my era.  :)  Many of them have been stalking this blog (hi, friends!) and were so excited to finally meet Joshua in person -- he has quite the extensive fan base!

I didn't take any photos of the reception, because I was too busy holding Joshua and catching up with people... But here are some of our favorites from the ceremony!  [Nerdy photography note: I'm so psyched about the high-ISO handling of our new camera!  Still wish I had a faster telephoto lens, but I think I've been getting better with low-light photography, and I'm excited about that!]


Jimmy catches his first glimpse of his bride

Gabby's beautiful gown, and her walk down the aisle with her father

Hands clasped

Exchange of rings -- I love the smiles here!

Honoring the parents -- Gabby's dad and mom

The first kiss!

Mr. and Mrs. Tieng!  I also love how many cameras there were at this wedding...

The happy couple being greeted by bubbles
Gabby and Jimmy, we had such a wonderful time at your wedding.  What a beautiful celebration of your love!  May God bless you both as you embark upon your life together!

Jenitta and Stan!

Yesterday, we attended our first wedding of 2009 -- congratulations to Jenitta and Stan!! It was a beautiful wedding (aren't they all?), and a HUGE Manna reunion -- it was so good to reconnect with so many old friends!

Lots of pictures were taken.

Old friends were excited about seeing each other.

Jenitta alternated between giggling and tearing up on the way down the aisle.

She had a beautiful chapel-length train and veil.

Eternal vows were spoken.

Rings were exchanged.

Parents were honored.

The happy couple recessed together down the aisle.

There was a break between the ceremony and the reception, so we pre-gamed at Wendy's.

There was a huge bridal party.

We learned of another engagement -- congratulations, Jimmy and Gabby!!

The reception had beautiful tall centerpieces -- which didn't obstruct conversation!

Jenitta's family made all 300+ favors: monogrammed cookies.

The couple was greeted at the reception by a bridal party archway -- and confetti!

Jenitta's dress twirled beautifully as they had their first dance.

The MC spoke pretty decent Mandarin and Taiwanese, and brought a round of applause from the mostly Asian crowd every time he did so.

There was a table game involving a spoon, a napkin and a dollar bill.

I got to see some of the '03 Manna girls!

And we all loved being witness to this beautiful love story.

Congratulations, Jenitta and Stan! God bless you as you begin your life together!