Update

Kuperus update from Hawaii:

            We continue to enjoy living on an island with 201,000 other people where the weather is an average of 25 C (77 F).  Our island receives 1.5 million visitors each year to visit the world’s most active volcano and the green, black and white sand beaches.  We were visited by my cousin and his wife, who are from Marathon, New York.  They found our place by coming to the University, driving on campus until he found our van and located our residence by the Canadian and American flags in the window of Alisha’s bedroom. 

           

YWAM updates and some testimonies

            I, John, continue to staff Crossroads Discipleship Training School.  Our quarter is coming to an end and our teams will be going to Papua New Guinea and Cambodia.  I am always amazed at how lives are transformed as students come hungry for God and then go out to make his Name known to the nations.  My work on campus is mostly pastoral, where my responsibility is to equip, disciple, encourage and challenge our students to be missionaries to nations.   

           

            Following are three testimonies of men that I have mentored this quarter.  This is shared with their permission.

Roland is married with two small children from California.  When they arrived, their marriage was falling apart.  Their relationship had deteriorated to the point they were not even talking to each other and divorce papers had been made up.  They had reached out for help to counselors, psychologist and pastors, and their relationship was still a wreck.  They missed their Friday flight because his wife was having second thoughts about coming to YWAM, although they managed to arrive on Sunday.  He confessed sins, broke a vow and went to a couples’ seminar, which began their road to recovery.  By God’s grace, their marriage is restored.

            These are his words:  “Although I made the plane reservation, put all our possessions in storage, rented our house out, put my business on hold, paid the tuition, made sure had money in the bank, bought health insurance, and a list of many other things, what healed my marriage wasn’t me but God working through things and people.  Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing could have redeemed me, or my wife, and my marriage except for the love of God.  John, my small group leader, was one such vessel of God’s love.  He welcomed us with open arms literally because he was in charge of hospitality.  The love of God emanating from this man gave me confidence to stick through even when it was tough in the first few weeks on this blessed campus, when I wanted to leave.  Thank you, John.  Thank you, God.  All glory is his and we are just privileged to be a part of his plan.  This realization is the hope those in John’s life experience whether in ministry, in personal matters or business will know.”  

            Michael is 29 years old and comes from Atlanta, Georgia.  He had made some bad choices in life and was struggling with anger, negative thoughts and addictions.  He experienced major transformation by repenting and confessing sins, forgiving others, rebuking the enemy and acknowledging the lordship of Jesus in his life.  He also experienced a partial back healing. 

            He shares: “Dear John, I want to thank you for all the private sessions we had together.  You R mature in Christ.  I learned a lot from you.  I am glad I broke all those vows I made about not getting married.  I really told you a lot of my secrets that other people don’t know.  Also, thanks for the hospital ride and all the labor you provided for me and the group.  You are truly a dedicated disciple.  I am glad u were my small group leader.”

           

Jay and his wife are here with two of their children from the state of Washington.  He grew up on a farm and was a pastor of two churches.  He is at a crossroads in life and was looking to go deeper with Jesus. 

            He shares, “John, thank you for being a great leader.  Thanks for taking time to listen and to speak into my life.  I enjoyed most our Sunday night chats.  You helped me to think through difficult circumstances in my life and offered good advice.  Thanks also for the outings to coffee plantations, ocean beaches and Japanese garden.  I enjoyed getting off base if only briefly.  Keep pouring yourself into people’s lives.  You do make a difference.  God bless you and your family!  Love, Jay”

YWAM is about sending people to the nations.  Helen and I connected with a couple from Switzerland who are missionaries in Mali, West Africa.  They came here for a nine month sabbatical and now they have returned to Mali.  YWAM Mali is purchasing property from the Christian Reformed World Missions, where they intend on building a base. 

Family Celebrations:

            We celebrated Brianna’s 8^th grade graduation from the International Christian School (ICS) at the King’s Mansion.  She was recognized for her kindness, being responsible and intellectual.  We are so proud of her. 

           

Brianna, Nicole, Alisha and Karissa have come to the end of their softball season.  Our girls stood out from the darker skinned and black haired Hawaiians, so our girls were nicknamed, blondies.  Nicole made it on to the Gold Coast All-Star Little League team and she will be traveling with her team to the island of Oahu for state play offs.  Go Nicole!

Prayer concerns for the family

Joshua and Brianna will be attending Makua Lani Christian High School, which is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the campus.  Nicole, Alisha and Karissa will be changing from the International Christian School (ICS) and joining Anneke at the Learning Center next school year.  We had a good experience at the collective home school, ICS, and being a part of that community, but Helen and I are taking a break from teaching responsibilities so that we can concentrate on our other responsibilities.  Caleb will continue to attend the University of the Nations Preschool.  Next years tuition cost will be about $20,000 and pray that the Lord will release funds for us to pay for the education. 

 

We continue to live on campus, where our housing cost is $1400/month and our food is free.  We are looking to move off campus and have our own home.  This will increase our living cost because to rent a house with four bedrooms, two bathrooms is roughly between $1800-2000 a month plus the other cost.  We would love to own a house and are looking at that option too. 

           

In August, I will be traveling back to visit Ontario and New Jersey where I am looking forward to making some visits and celebrating our company Farmside Supplirs 25^th anniversary and attending my nephew’s wedding. 

I am working on writing the Today Devotion for the month of May 2013.  I have 30 written and I enjoy writing them.  A lot of thought goes into writing one day, so I have a new appreciation for the other writers. 

           

            We are self-employed missionaries.  Our work is possible only through outside support.  We are amazed by God’s provisions and are thankful for your support.  We need to raise additional support, so would you consider supporting us on a monthly basis?  Let us know if you are interested.  Our contact information is pastorjohn@tcc.on.ca or helenkuperus@gmail.com or 808.339.0048.  All to God’s glory and the advancement of his kingdom.   

SUMMER

School's winding down and the magical day of June 8, 2012, (the day summer vacation starts) is drawing nearer every day.

In other words, I'm PUMPED.

Every day that passes is a day closer to summer vacation and freedom. Two more days, and I can walk out of my classroom a free man.

Two. More. Days.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I had no summer vacation last year. (It was spent cramming. Horrible experience. If you can help it NEVER spent your summer vacation homeschooling.) And the summer vacation before was devoted to moving. Which means: I have not had a proper summer vacation for two years.

Two. Years.

Can you feel my pain?

Yes, I got to have awesome experiences in all kinds of crazy places like India, Hawaii, and two road trips across America. But all that moving and all that flying has some side effects. Like jet lag for instance. Or a good many nights trying to doze off in an upright position.

(Someone told me they could never sleep in an airplane, car, or hotel room. Were he me, I would have circles under my eyes the size of Saturn's rings, my hair would be standing shock upright, and I'd be an incoherent, blathering mess.)

Or way too many fast food meals. (McDonalds. My stomach hates you.) And you know how hard it is to invest in long-term friendships when you don't know where you are going to live in the next month or so? Trauma.

But that's all in the buried past now and that said, I've got a problem. What am I going to do with my few months of freedom? After all, this is the first summer vacation in two years. I better do something good.

I've come up with a few solutions to my problem.

1. Beach. If Hawaii were good for only one thing, sorry all you hula dancers, my vote would be on the beach. With an average temperature of 80 degrees all year round, the beach is the place to go. Since there is no reason for me to retain the paleness of a computer programmer, I plan to visit the beach more often this summer.

2. Weight room. Fortunately for me, I live on a university campus that allows me the option of lifting weights. Of course, it's rather ghettoish for a gym, and I'm pretty unmotivated at getting huge biceps, but since it's free of charge I'll take it. "When life gives you lemons ... be happy you received something."

Of course, I can't be in the weight room all the time (hey, a guy's body can only take so much pain), but it's something to do.

Being on a university base has some definite advantages.  When there are students around, there's usually something exciting going on. There's baskeball on Mondays, hip hop/ break dancing Tuesdays, volleyball Wednesdays, Ohana Court worship sessions Thursday night, and Ultimate Frisbee Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Sundays are church-going days at Solid Rock, and I used to play competitive ping-pong in the afternoon. The table broke a leg, so I haven't played for awhile.

3. Surfing. That's right: surfing. Although the university campus is fantastic, it's nice to get away every now and then. I'm planning to buy a surfboard from a friend for about sixty bucks (it cost him twice that). Since I've only surfed the astounding number of four times, I'd like to spend some time this summer surfing.

(I was looking at the other camera. Just so you know.)

4. Football Preseason. Synonymous with hell, preseason training has got to be the worst thing I've ever involved myself in. (Well, maybe not the worst...) I keep telling my body it's all for its own betterment, but it sure doesn't think so. Star pushups, bear crawling across the field, jumping squats, sprints, crunches, crab walking, backpedaling, running for thirty minutes straight -- all part of the torture program. Pain. Excruciating pain.

Photos from Makelapa Valley

 

Well, today I'm feeling lazy. No humorous anecdotes. No beguiling tales of the challenges of living in Hawaii.  No action-packed recountings of my (exciting) life.

Just a couple of photos. From a hiking trip. With some spectacular scenery.

Instagram anyone?

Photo Credits: Jean-Jacques Perrin, Brianna Kuperus, Helen Kuperus, Joshua Kuperus

Magrete's Testimony (By Josh Kuperus)

(Another version of this can be found at http://icskona.com/ )

Grassroots News Report

Can you imagine not being able to walk without crutches for twelve years, then waking up one day to go and run with your husband in the evening? 

An event similar to this happened to Magrete Stensby, a staff worker on the University of the Nations. Magrete's problems began in 1988 when doctors diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis, an incurable disease causing damage to the spine and brain and resulting in physical and mental disability. Over the years, her condition worsened, as she went from walking around in crutches to sitting in a wheelchair. Many days she did nothing but lay in bed since she did not have the capability to do anything else. Twelve years passed like this and her condition grew worse and worse.

Just before the year 2000, Magrete, along with her husband Thor and her family, came to Kona, Hawaii, to do a Crossroads DTS (Discipleship Training School).  As part of the training, each student in the DTS had the requirement to journal weekly. Magrete, with no thought to the symbolism or clue as to what would happen in the next year, chose the theme "Step by Step Into the Year 2000" for her title page, simply because it sounded nice. For a woman who could not walk without crutches, the idea of "Step by Step" represented more of a spiritual statement to her than a physical statement.

At least that was what she thought.

"On the  day before the millennium," Thor Stensby, Magrete's husband says, "she was having her quiet time. Six o’clock in the morning. She was sitting in the bathroom, because that was the only place you could have a light on without waking up our kids. And God told her that ‘Today you’re going to put your crutches away’. And this was the day before millennium. So it was literally “Step by Step Into the Year 2000.”

She stood up, got out of the bathroom, and walked to the University’s kitchen area to get breakfast. When Thor came back home from his work duty, he said “she had been walking to breakfast, and had gotten the breakfast. That evening we went for a three mile run together. That was the first time in twelve years she could move without crutches or wheelchair. And she was totally okay.”

In conclusion, Magrete Stensby’s story is a wonderful testimony as to the healing power of God. Even now, twelve years later after being healed, she still has MS (Multiple Sclerosis). However, she can walk perfectly fine.

Josh's Rugby Season

The other day I received a letter from my aunt and uncle in Holland where I was posed several questions about rugby. When did you start? Why did you start?

Instead of writing a letter back, and making them wait the year or two it would take my letter to find them over in Holland, I decided to write a blog post instead. I type out my answer, click the little orange Publish button on my screen, and three seconds later, their eyeballs can read my words. Simple, easy, and no required purchase of a postage stamp.


Let me rephrase their question as I see it. What would possess a skinny white boy like you, weighing under 150 pounds, to want to play rugby: a sport known for no pads, full contact, and big boys? When did you take leave of your reason? Were you trying to commit suicide?

Of course, when call myself "skinny" I'm not the those-aren't-abs-those-are-ribs skinny or the poke-me-and-you'll-cut-a-finger type of skinny, but nonetheless, I'm pretty skinny. My body's built more for dribbling a ball around a court than for slamming into a bunch of other bodies.

 My reason?

Well, it all started on a bright sunshiny day ...

But before that, I need to give you a little background.

My family first came to Hawaii in September 2010. Since that (historic) date, I had not played a single sport.

Not one.

Well, that isn't entirely true. I did play a few games here and there: a soccer game in Foundation School, a basketball game, or two, or three ... or four, with my cousin, David Amels, and one memorable game of volleyball in India, with brown teenagers most of whom knew no more English than 'hi' and 'bye' and 'thank-you' ... we had great conversations together, me and them.

(Later we all stripped and jumped in a dirty, scummy well to cool off and show off our flips, but that's another story.)

But the fact is, a game played here and there is not the same as being part of a team, with official uniforms, and games scheduled every Saturday. It may not sound like a big deal to some of you who haven't touched a baseball in years, but for a teenage guy, not playing sports, not being part of a team, that was tough.

The bottom line is:

I liked sports.

And I wasn't playing any.

So back to paragraph number ten:

It all started on a bright sunshiny day.  I was on my way to class when I saw Ben Nonoa, a big Samoan guy, sitting down at one of the picnic tables near my school, talking with two of my classmates.

"Hey Josh," Ben said, "We've just been talking about these guys joining my rugby team. Wanna join?"

Picture the past events of last year flashing through my brain at this moment. The sad lack of sports. My obsessive need to do something athletic again.  My countless petitions to my parents to sign me up for something, anything.

Rugby is a sport, right?

"Sure," I said.

After that my fate was sealed. I started to attend practices. Got to know the team (Hawaiian guys). Figure out how the game of rugby worked.

You see, I didn't know the first thing about rugby. Literally.

My first game came around. I still didn't know the fine details of the game. Basically all I knew about rugby was, "Get on the field and jump on people."

And that's what I did.

As the season progressed I became better at jumping on people and learned more about the game. I learned what in the world a scrum was, how "hooker" on the rugby field was a position and not a prostitute, how the back players ran their plays, how the forwards plowed theirs, and generally learned how not to make a fool of myself on the field.



It worked. (I think.)

In the end I learned that sometimes the best thing to do on the rugby field is just to stand there and act like you know what's going on.

 

I also started to work out in the weight room to build muscle. Not bodybuilding status weightlifting, mind you, but enough to keep my arms and legs from being ripped off by some burly Samoan.


My team, the Kona bulls, won the first game we played. And then we won the second. And then the third. In fact, we never lost once until the very end of the season when Waimea beat us in one brutal game. But, since they had several players over the age of fifteen they lost by forfeit.

And then if you want to get technical, two games we had played against Hilo and won were counted as forfeits on a technicality.

But we prefer to say that it was an undefeated season.

It sounds better.

Of course, when I say that we had an undefeated season, you need to know that only three Under 15 rugby teams exist on the Big Island: Kona, Hilo, and Waimea. When the tournament came around, these were the only teams we had to play to win state championships. And we had been playing them, and beating them, all season long. 

The tournament for state champions came around, and so I found myself one early Friday morning in a car heading for Hilo where the tournament would be held. My team needed to play, and win, two games, to go on to the state's championship game on Saturday.

Hilo is notorious for rain. Friday afternoon, the sky decided it wanted to be a shower nozzle. Soon, the bright green field transformed into a dull brown muddy mess. Puddles the size of Lake Michigan formed. The grass disappeared. The player became so muddy from tackling each other into the mud, their uniforms were indistinguishable from the other teams. 

 After and Before.

Buuut ... we still played the two games. And we won them both.

Saturday morning opened with a light drizzle. The field was still brown from the night before, and someone had to repaint the white boundary lines over the mud. Our game was scheduled in the afternoon, so my team spent the day watching other teams play, passing around and playing a beat-up ukelele and attempting to not eat too much junk food.

The time for the game came.

Coach Ben Nonoa led the team onto the field for warm-ups. We did a few passing drills, a few suicides, and then all joined hands for a brief prayer. (Dear God, let us win this thing. Amen.)

The team did a jog around the field, bowed twice to the spectators on each side, shook hands with our opponents, and got into position on the field.

The whistle blew.

The ball was kicked.

And the game was on.

Within minutes, there wasn't a clean uniform on the field. (Sorry Mom.)

Our tackles were more of flops. In the mud. On the other person. (With the exception of the beast tackle in the picture above of course.)

 
We played hard. We hit hard. And we won the 2012 State Championships!

In conclusion: the rugby season is now over. I have survived.

The trophy