Jumpei turns 3!

Jumpei, an international student from Japan, just celebrated his 3rd spiritual birthday!

By Rachel Kuhn, International Student Ministries

Two weeks ago, to celebrate Jumpei’s 3rd Spiritual Birthday we kidnapped him and took him back to the tea shop where his new life in Christ began. While not a typical expression of love, Jumpei responded with, “I am so touched!” We drank tea, ate his “spiritual birthday cake” (made by volunteer Ginger), and listened as he recounted how God drew him to himself…

Even Jumpei’s eczema, which he struggles with, caused he and his dad to choose Hawai’i’s warm humid climate for his university studies. In God’s perfect way, Jumpei was placed with a Christian host family who invited him to their Chinese church. Here he was profoundly impacted by the warm fellowship, joyful songs, and especially one confounding command of Jesus to “Love your enemies”. In his ESL class (English as a Second Language), He ordained for Jumpei to meet Yuka who invited him to our ISM Bible study. During a storm, He allowed us to forget to tell Jumpei that we had canceled our Iolani Palace Tour a storm, so that we would go out to “rescue” him out of the rain and into the tea shop where he gave his life to Christ!

In the following years, Jumpei has weathered many storms threatening to destabilize his faith. How was he to honor God and also honor his Japanese parents who were resistant to his new faith in Christ? He responded by letting his roots grow deeper into the soil of God’s love and by depending on his new Christian family in Hawai’i. While we have not yet seen Mr. and Mrs. Narasaki and grandma Narasaki choose to follow Christ, we continue to pray for God’s miracle work! I ask you to please pray as well for the items in bold…

Jumpei celebrates with friends from International Student Ministries.

As he returns to Japan and applies for grad school, Jumpei is eager to apply all that he has learned in Hawai’i. Pray for God’s favor and leading as he looks for a faith-nurturing church community, intends to gather and encourage fellow returnees (Japanese who have like him have studied abroad), while also reaching out to international students in Japan! In the future, Jumpei hopes to be a light for Christ through his job as an English teacher at a Japanese high school or wherever else God will lead him.

I cannot adequately express the JOY it’s been to see this young man give his life to Christ, grow as a committed disciple, and then draw others to Christ through his tender heart and bold leadership. Jumpei’s greatest desire and prayer in his final semester is to lead someone to Christ. Pray with us that God would fulfil this desire both on this side of the ocean and then back in Japan!

Prayers for InterVarsity Hawaii, summer 2017

Aloha faithful ministry partners!

Would you please be praying for InterVarsity’s staff and students this summer? There’s a lot going on, and we know we need Jesus through it all. And if you missed an exciting announcement I shared in my last email, check it out HERE.

• June-August: Pray for our staff team as we contact potential ministry partners for appointments and share vision for what God wants to do to reach 62,000 students in Hawaii. Pray that Makaiwa would reach a fundraising benchmark of $3,600 in new support by June 30 so that she can participate in Ho`olohe Pono Moloka`i with some UH-Hilo students.
• June 19: Our summer missions team (Jasmine, Lindsay, Matt J, and Matt Y) start orientation for the Manila Global Urban Trek. Pray that the team would learn a lot in preparation for the summer and bond well with the others.
• June 19-24: Brenda and Brennan help with the Chinatown Program in San Francisco. Students gather for a week to explore the intersection of identity, faith, culture, and justice. Pray that students would see God in the normally unnoticed things in the community and through our study of Exodus.
• June 22: Pray for the summer missions team as they travel to the Philippines.
• June 22: Summer IV on O`ahu gathers on Thursdays. Pray that students grow in leadership and love for scripture and outreach.
• June 26-29: Pray for Naomi as she receives training at the Pacific Intern Orientation in Chico, CA. Also attending with be another Polynesian intern (Sam) who is serving at UC-Merced.
• June 26-30: Pray for the Formatio theological training in Sacramento. Brenda will be leading prayer, and Brennan will be MC-ing. Pray that we would see the beauty of God through scripture.
• June 30-July 4: InterVarsity staff gather in Madison for training. Pray for Jason and Brennan who will be learning how to plant 3 new campuses in 3 years. Pray also for Brenda who will be writing about spiritual formation and prayer from multiethnic perspectives.
• July 1: Pray for Brennan on his first day as the new Area Director for InterVarsity Hawaii. Read more about this transition HERE.
• July 8: Pray for Rachel as she transitions back from sabbatical.
• July 9-14: Ho`olohe Pono gathers students, volunteers, and community members for a week of listening, learning, and serving in the Hawaiian community. Pray for Moani as she directs the 13th annual Ho`olohe Pono.
• July 15-22: Ho`olohe Pono heads to the island of Moloka`i, starting in the town of Kalaupapa – a former colony for people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy). Pray for the group as we listen to kupuna (elders) and learn from community leaders and cultural practitioners.
• July-August: Pray for me (Brennan) as I search for housing on Oahu. Read more about this prayer request HERE.
• August 3: Pray for the summer missions team as they head back to Hawaii.
• Early August: Pray for good times of rest and reflection for staff after a busy summer.
• August 14-15: Pray for our staff team as we meet to prepare for the school year.
• August 19: Join us to pray for the new ministry being planted at UH-West Oahu at 10am.
• August 21: Pray for the first day of school and our outreach efforts at UH-Manoa, UH-Hilo and Hawaii Community College, and our new ministry at UH-West Oahu.

 

Jesus rocks Spring Break!

Seems like we say this every year about our retreats, but this year’s 9th annual Spring Break project truly was “the best one yet!” With over 60 students, staff, and volunteers in attendance from Hi-Light, Hui Poly, International Student Ministries, and IV Hilo , God poured out his Spirit, wisdom, and aloha during our time together. Students and staff grasped the theme of mālama, or stewardship, as we took time to learn about the history and challenges of Hilo, and to serve the land and the people.

Check out some pictures below:

Students working in the loʻi (wetland taro fields) – weeding and harvesting kalo (taro) in Waipiʻo Valley. As we spend time in God’s creation we experience his aloha and power, and we learn about how to take care of what he’s blessed us with.

Enter a caption We always look forward to hearing Aunty Mary Boyd share her wisdom with us. This year she shared about deepening our connection with `ohana. Everyone was so blessed to hear her share stories form her childhood, parents, and life as a kupuna (elder).

 

As we learned about stewarding God’s resources, students were challenged to invest financially in God’s kingdom. One group of students blessed kupuna at Hale Anuenue with worship and crafts.

Jason and Makaiwa led a Bible study on Matthew 25:14-30 – what’s often know as the Parable of the Talents. The group read the passage in English, Hawaiian, and Pidgin. The Holy Spirit also inspired a retelling of the parable entitled “Da Moʻolelo of the 3 Lawaiʻa.” Makaiwa shares, “I felt so encouraged to see other Pacific Islander and Native students connect to the story, deepen their connection to the Word, and see how it applies to them in their cultural identity. God is good!” Check out the story and an artistic depiction here.

By Makaiwa Kanui

Reaching Native Hawaiian students in Hilo

In 2011 we planted a new ministry at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College. By God’s grace we were able to reach communities of local, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students that hadn’t previously been reached by Christian ministries on campus. Campus staff Makaiwa Kanui shares an update on reaching Native Hawaiian students in Hilo.

Students share worship at Urbana

At the 2015 Urbana Student Missions Conference, InterVarsity Hawaiʻi students shared worship with their original song “Holy Spirity Fiya” in various Polynesian languages and dances. Over 15,000 people worshiped together! Check out the video below.