My name is Van Michael Komatsu (For those confused, I am half Japanese/half white). You can call me Van Michael (as my family does), or just Van. I’ll try to be as brief as possible so as not to bore you =] If you’d like to know more about me you can visit my myspace or facebook.
Origins: I was born and raised in Hawaii and have lived there my entire life. My home islands are Lana’i (where I was born) and Maui (where my family now lives). God is teaching me about gratitude because I never did appreciate the beauty of my home state and the perfection of its weather until moving here to Fort Worth two weeks ago =) I’m not used to this place and am still experiencing tremors of culture shock, so if I say or do anything this is offensive or you think is plain weird just let me know (please). haha
Family: My father’s pastor and my mother’s a stay-at-home mom (all cliches and overestimations aside, this is the hardest job in the world). I am part of a large, crazy, and very loud family of 7 children. I have two sisters(one older, one younger) and am the oldest of five boys. I’d say the backbone of our family is my mom. She embodies Proverbs 31:30 and has set an example for me so that I can one day say with a family of my own (by God’s grace) that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” I love my family tremendously although they can be super crazy at times (all the time actually).
Passions:
I have a passion for athletics. I love to work out and play sports. I particularly love to play basketball. I also like playing tennis, football, volleyball, raquetball, lifting weights, and underwater basket weaving.
I have a passion for hip-hop. More specifically, I have a passion for christian hip-hop. And when I say christian hip-hop, I mean more than “Toby Mac & Grits.” =) I feel God can use and is using this resource as a platform to share the gospel and edify and challenge the church in many, many ways. Just a few of my favorite christian emcees (rappers) are Lecrae, shai linne, Trip Lee, and Flame(shout-outs to Q-dog!). I am also part of a hip-hop group based out in the islands called Born Again (you can check out our myspace music page here and my personal music page here if you feel so led =] ).
Finally, I have a passion for Jesus (duhh). I have a passion to see people come to Christ and to see those who know Christ make Him the ultimate desire and object of their existence. I have a passion for radical discipleship. I realize that I’m still immature, shallow, and prideful. So I also have an enormous desire to grow and have a mature, godly man disciple me.
I’m looking forward to learning many things and to meeting all of you and building strong, lasting friendships. Let’s all make our biography shine so that God can be glorified and we can be humbled. When it’s all said and done, I pray that I (and all of us) can repeat the words of Whitfield by saying, “Let me die and let my name die with me.” We live for His name and His glory – not ours. Aloha ke akua.
…underwater basket weaving? I want to hear more about that.