The Osterhus Times

The Spring DTS has left for outreach and we are taking the somewhat relaxed summer schedule to prepare for the Fall and to spend more time together as a family.

Since we moved into our house 16 months ago, we haven’t completely settled in. Hoku is taking advantage of the summer months to enhance the homey-ness of our house in Haiku. She also has been discipling a couple of our staff girls.

Elias loves having his big brother home from school and plays with him every day. Inspired by Veggie Tales, he often likes to pretend he is a pirate. He keeps us all laughing.

Tom has been enjoying the summer months of being home on Maui with family. Although he enjoys teaching at other YWAM bases, it is nice to have an uninterrupted season with the family and to get caught up with the list of administrative tasks on base.

Timothy is enjoying the summer break before he begins middle-school as a 6th grader. Perhaps Timmy’s biggest highlight for this summer was the buck that he harvested on Molokai. With his uncle Frank guiding him, Timmy dropped the deer with a .22 rifle at 60 yards. Way to go, Timmy!

This summer has been the most relaxed quarter we’ve had at YWAM since taking the reigns of leadership 4 years ago. After a very difficult past 2 years we are experiencing a sense of God’s grace and faithfulness. In answer to prayer, both schools look to be full and it may be the biggest session we’ve had in over 5 years.

For the first time since 1994, we came under a Tsunami warning here in Maui.  While our home is in the safe zone, there are a couple of YWAM staff homes that are in the Tsunami zone in Paia. These folks were packed up and moved to high ground at the Haiku facilitiy.  The surges hit the islands but thankfully, none weren severe. No damage was caused and no one was hurt. Thanks for your prayers and concern.

We hope all is well with you and that you had a wonderful Christmas. 2009 had been a very busy year for us and 2010 doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.  Timmy had 3 weeks off and he and Elias enjoyed playing and fighting with each other. On Christmas day, we had about 10 staff over to celebrate (most went home for the holidays).

Our outreach teams have recently returned from ministering in Borneo, Thailand, Nepal, and another big country in Asia.  Graduation was on February 26th. On the home front, we have had a number of experienced leaders move on to other things such as marriage, university, or overseas ministries. This has left a greater leadership burden on our shoulders. Our DTS school leader (from Thailand) was not allowed back in the country and it took some time to find new leaders to take up this role.  Besides leading the Maui base, Tom has been doing a lot of teaching this year. In addition to teaching here in Maui, he has also been blessed to teach at YWAM bases in Kona, Honolulu, Alaska, and Asia. Next week he will be at the YWAM base in Honolulu teaching in the DTS on the topic of Christian Worldview. One of our ministry highlights has been commissioning a long-term team from Maui to a city in southern Asia to pioneer a permanent ministry. It has been thrilling to see God’s favor on us in our endeavors there.

This Summer, we will be in Minnesota for a time of rest and reconnecting with family, friends, and supporters.  The last couple of years have been extremely busy and we are in need of a change of pace. Please pray that the time will be relaxing as well as productive.  When Timmy was asked what his favorite part of going to Minnesota was he responded, “Everything!”

Family Summer 2009

Sunday night, July 12 at 6:30 there will be an Open House for us at Crossroads Evangelical Church in Forest Lake, MN.  This will be a great time to reconnect with people and to share what has been happening in our lives and ministry.  Please feel free to join us if you’re in the area.

YWAM Hawaii is located on three islands.  This week, Tom is on the neighboring island of Oahu teaching Worldviews in the Honolulu DTS.  This is the same topic that he taught in Alaska in March (see post, “What has Hawaii to do with Alaska?”).  It has been going well so far.  If you want to know more about YWAM Honolulu, check out their website:  www.ywamhonolulu.com

It is always difficult when our family is separated and this week has been no exception.  While Tom has been away, Hoku has dealt with some food poisoning (she was quite sick for a number of hours) and the following day the brake fluid leaked out of the Honda while she was in town.  Thankfully we have friends who were able to help her out.  Our other vehicle is also down and in need of repair so she has been a little stranded today!

This week I am blessed to be teaching at the DTS in Homer, Alaska.  This new work was pioneered several years ago by Scott and Barb Smith from the YWAM Denver Base.  In the early stages, YWAM Maui had the honor of supporting this new base by sending a number of our staff to help out with leading the first DTS and also serving on base staff.  Since then, we have maintained relationship with our YWAM family in Homer and I’ve been able to teach there a few times.

Fishing boat in Homer, AK

YWAM Alaska (also known as YWAM Arctic Mercy) has a vision to reach out to the indigenous peoples of the area, particularly the people of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering sea.   Although it is still in the US, the base in Homer is one of  the most isolated  geographically from any other neighboring YWAM location.  Check out their ministry’s website at: www.ywamalaska.com

The topic that I’ll be teaching this week is Introduction to Worldviews.  Throughout the week we’ll be discussing what a worldview is and why having the right worldview is so important. Then we’ll compare and contrast between the Biblical Christian, the Secular, and the Eastern worldviews.  Please be praying that God will use this time to train the students to love the Lord with all of their mind.

So what else has Hawaii to do with Alaska? Another interesting link between Maui and Homer is that each is a popular destination for New Agers and the the hippie subculture.  Some of these folks spend the summers in Homer and the winters in Paia.

Here at YWAM Maui, our year is divided into quarters corresponding to the lecture phases of our schools (DTS and SBFM). The fall quarter is typically the busiest and fullest time of the year. This fall has been no exception with 17 students in the School of Biblical Foundations & Missions and about 26 students in the Discipleship Training School. These students are a great group of people to work with. They are eager to learn, excited about their walks with the Lord, and eager to go on outreach in December. While we currently have the summer DTS team serving in Nepal, the fall schools will be going to Thailand, Myanmar, Borneo, Bangladesh, and Ch!na.

In addition to my duties as Base Director, I (Tom) have been busy teaching in both schools; a total of 5 weeks so far. The topics I’ve taught on are The Nature of Truth, Apologetics, Basic Christianity, and Bible Survey (different versions for each school).

Last week, I taught in the DTS on the topic of Bible Survey. It is always a privilege to lead the students through the big story of the Bible and to see the revelation that God brings to their hearts and minds as we study His Word. Many of them start the week with the assumption that they are just going to receive a bunch of dry head-knowledge but by then end of the week, they find that their hearts have been touched by the radical love that God has for us. How does one give an overview of the bible in only one week? By focusing the broad outline of Creation, Fall, & Redemption. In the survey of the Bible we trace the promises, covenants, and prophecies which paint a very clear picture of the person of Jesus and His work on the cross. As we examine these stories and portions of scripture that point to the cross, it is exciting to see that God’s heart has always been to restore all peoples to relationship with Himself. When we truly grasp the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection we come up REALLY thankful for the amazing grace that we’ve received. Out of this flows the motivation and the passion to go and make disciples of all nations.

It has been a very busy few months since our last newsletter. In the Spring quarter, we graduated nearly 40 DTS students who had recently returned from doing ministry in Thailand, Nepal, Brunei, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Fiji Islands, and a very large Asian country. The 4 outreach teams were led by 8 of our YWAM staff.

It was so inspiring to hear their testimonies about what God did in their lives and also what God did through them in reaching out to the people in the outreach locations. These students displayed a deeply rooted passion for Jesus, for the Truth of God’s Word, and for reaching the lost.

Some of the things that stuck out to me during the debriefing times was that the students had a great balance of being rooted in the Word and being led by the Holy Spirit; they chose to serve others above themselves; most of them returned to Maui with a long- term plan for serving the Lord. At the end of the week, I found myself thinking, “if this is a sample of what God is doing in this generation, then we can expect great things in the future!”

There was a high percentage of the students who expressed a desire to come back and join our staff or to attend our School of Biblical Foundations & Missions. This fall, the SBFM has 17 students and the DTS has about 25. Both schools begin on September 13.

The week of September 7-12th, Tom will be in Kona, HI for YWAM’s University of the Nations Strategy Conference. As such, it looks like it will be a busy season.

Thank you for your prayers. The Lord is definitely blessing us and the ministry here is bearing much fruit.

Kandace Kaieie Waho English

August 24, 1951 – February 28, 2008

We are mourning the loss of Ohokulani’s mother. On the evening of February 28, Kandace English passed away at age 56, she had died of respiratory failure.

The funeral was held on March 4. So many family and friends came to mourn the loss. In spite of the difficult circumstances, it was good to spend time with that part of the family.

On March 7, Ohokulani, Tom, George (Mom’s Husband), Ohokulani’s sisters, Missy and Lahela, step-brother, Mahi, and his wife, Anna flew to the Kalaupapa Penninsula. Mom had asked that her ashes be buried in the same place where her mom and sister had been laid to rest. The setting, overlooking the northern sea cliffs of Molokai, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. (See Pictures Section)

It was providential that we spent this past Christmas on Molokai with our family there. Although the majority of the time was spent with Ohokulani’s Dad’s side of the family (see picture on the reverse side), we spent Christmas day with Ohokulani’s Mom and step-dad, George. We didn’t realize then that this was to be the last time with Mom, but we feel blessed to have had that precious time with her.

Needless to say, the time since has been difficult. We thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers.

The Fall Schools recently returned to YWAM Maui and presented exciting reports on what the Lord is doing in Asia. 4 teams were sent out and ministered in Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Philippines, and another really big Asian country with lots of people. We graduated students from both our schools (DTS and SBFM). Graduation is always a wonderful time of celebrating what God has been doing in and through the staff and students who come here as well as commissioning them out into what God has for them next.

During the debriefing week leading up to graduation, we had over 115 people on base from the US, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, England, Cook Islands.

With the Fall schools brought to a close, the Winter school outreach teams are heading back out to Asia. 3 of the 4 outreach teams are heading back to Asia and the Surfers For Missions, International DTS is heading out to the Fiji Islands. They left Maui on March 25.

With the departure of the Winter DTS teams, we have a couple of weeks interim period to prepare for the Spring School of Biblical Foundations & Missions which begins on April 12.