Gracepoint Fellowship Church: First Service in Hsinchu

In case you missed the announcement, Eugene and Cynthia Peng are back from Hsinchu, Taiwan this coming week. Almost one year ago, they, along with many of my class peers, embarked on the great adventure of planting the first international church of Gracepoint Fellowship Church. Their leaving impacted me quite a bit, not only because my peers were on that church planting team, but because Eugene was my small group leader throughout my undergrad years.

Eugene is known as the “Hecka Haka” around our church, Haka being a tribe of people originating from China that immigrated to Taiwan many generations ago. I guess they append “Hecka” to his name because of his many quirks. For example, Eugene is widely known for his love of Red Bull. In fact, in his house in Alameda, he used to have Red Bull drinks from: Austria, Thailand, China, Taiwan, the US, and many other countries. Believe it or not, he even visited the Red Bull Factory on his honeymoon! Aside from that, what I miss most about Eugene is not only his disarming humor, but the many hours he spent with our small group, leading us in devotional times, showing us how to serve, and getting to know each one of us in order to build our character and mature us into people who could share in the vision and heart of our church. Eugene and Cynthia are leaving this weekend, so if you see them this Sunday, be sure to say “Hello” (and ask them about all those Red Bulls).

Below is a picture of our small group in November of 2003. Eugene sits second to left. Second to right is my peer Kan Lee, who is giving the Sunday Message this Sunday in Hsinchu: