A brother I never had

Rolling eyeballs; fluttering fingers; the grin; you know it's time to play "complete the sentence";
Marc confessed to us (a bunch of small group people) that Amy had given up playing that game and let him complete his show and sentence.. eventually... or sometimes left unfinished.
I will miss that.

mARC was my mentor. He taught me so many things, I didn't know I'd learn just by listening to him.
How I can be better in community, in service, in not buying what we don't need, in sharing with others, in investing time on people, just as Jesus did, in meticulous dissection of Bible verses to find what God is saying, in leading the small group.
I will miss that.

mARC had been the elder brother I'd never had. The last day of ski season 2005, the both of us fought craigslist cheap-lift-tickets -shoppers to get the last run for the year, cheap! I had the opportunity to spend a night at his parent's in Reno that weekend. He'd offered me his childhood bedroom. It was filled with medals and growing up photos.
That weekend, he taught me to conquer my fears of double black diamonds. And of course, he did it in telemark skis!!
I will miss that.

mARC was always inquiring. From his Malaysia missions trip experience, and me from Malaysia, he'd ask me occasionally, what's the state of Malaysia these days. I'd forward him news of Malaysia; He'd read them and always had more questions, about my perspective, about my Malaysian friends perspectives and perspectives of other countries today.
I will miss that.

Both Marc and Amy were our role models. Last summer, Heather, my girlfriend and I had the honor of spending a long weekend backpacking with Marc, Amy and Ella in Emigrant Wilderness http://davidwoon.multiply.com/photos/album/69/Emigrant_Wilderness_07-07-07 Before the trip, they'd told us that it would be good that Heather and I slept in separate tents. We'd brushed it off at first, but it was integrity building as we'd learned. We got lost and dehydrated on the next day's hike just before sunset. Working together with Marc's agility and quick thinking, we'd source water from a flowing stream and found our way back to camp before dark. I've enjoyed every back country outing with Marc and Amy.
I will miss that.

Snow camping and telemark skiing was mARC inspired. We'd snow camped twice, the latest was last April. http://davidwoon.multiply.com/photos/album/6/Carson_Pass_April2007 Loving people, Marc also love the great outdoors, and he'll never stop to tell others about it! http://davidwoon.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/43/5?xurl=%2Fphotos%2Fphoto%2F43%2F5 Discovering our mutual interests, I'd come to spend so much more time with this brother of mine. We'd spent a day shopping for his new telemark skis and bindings this last fall for ski season 2007-2008. I was so inspired, I'd told him I'd go to March's telemark festival in Bear Valley with him. We'd planned mountain biking in spring.
I will miss that.

I thank God for those precious moments I had spent with Marc. Trusting that his legacy and his inspiration will carry through to others, I want to be his example and I want to be part of the community he had built and shared.
And until we meet again in God's time; Oh mARC, I will miss you so much!

-david woon : a Rock Kinship leader that mARC led and trained.