Geoff & Lydia Hamano

3 Months in Japan

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 23:13:10 +0000

Hi family and friends!

It’s been a few months since our vision trip to Japan and we wanted to show you how the trip went and talk about some things the Lord spoke to us while we were there. In this first newsletter, we want to give more of a general recap of our time and some experiences. But in our next newsletter, we want to go a bit deeper and share some things the Lord put on our hearts while we were there, and explain why we feel called to be missionaries in Japan.

Someone Stole Our Car and We Went to Hawaii

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 17:52:52 +0000

Dear friends and family,

A roller coaster of events have happened in the past few months and we are learning to trust God through it all. James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” As Christians, when unfortunate circumstances come our way we can still thank God through them as they can be used to grow us in endurance and our trust in God. There is so much hope for the believer because they know God is sovereign over everything, so no matter what happens He still holds them in His Hands! These truths have brought us great peace in the few past months leading up to our vision trip to Japan.

There's Peace in Dependency

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:05:29 +0000

Dear friends & family,

Do you ever fall into a rough cycle of trying to do the right things but end up falling short each time? So often as humans, we naturally want to take it upon our own strength and ability to go through life and accomplish what we need to. But the truth is so much less burdensome than this way of life. Jesus beckons us to come to Him like little children, understanding our need for utter dependency on Him. This teaching is what I always come back to (Matthew 11:25-30). The truth is that the more we depend on our own strength and “wisdom,” the further we go from God. But when we approach God eagerly with a child-like heart, understanding our great need for Him, it is to that kind of person the Lord reveals Himself.

Stepping Back and Pressing Forward

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 16:41:14 +0000

Dear friends and family,

We hope each of you have been having a good summer so far! Geoff and I have been so grateful for this past month because it gave us a chance to step back, rest, reset, and set out new goals to run after together.

Stepping Back

In the second week of July we were blessed to go on our postponed honeymoon and went up to the beautiful coast of central California. After a 6-hour road trip we arrived at the charming little town of Carmel-by-the-sea. It was full of good food, art galleries, tea shops, bookstores, and little gardens tucked away behind ivy and cobblestone.

The Joy of Fellowship

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 22:55:50 +0000

Hello again friends & family!

The Summer is upon us bringing lots of great fellowship through many celebrations & ministry opportunities! Let us share with you a few of the things we’ve been up to this past month.

CCA West Coast Pastors’ & Leaders’ Conference

The first week of June brought us right into a 3-day pastors’ and leaders’ conference held at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs. This was a refreshing conference where we were able to hear great messages and meet great people! Something I (Lydia) love about these conferences is how they really bring the Body of Christ together, whether you know the person sitting next to you or not! There is a beautiful unity within the global church, knitting our hearts together. It was a blessing to meet a few people at the conference and get to encourage one another in our ministries and spiritual walks.

Darkness in the Land of the Rising Sun

Thu, 30 May 2024 16:35:31 +0000

Dear friends and family,

It’s been a whirlwind of events as usual and we’re sorry we couldn’t get this update out to you sooner, but we’re excited to finally share about our trip to Japan! We were there for about 8 full days and were thrilled to finally be able to see and experience the country we have been praying over. As I (Lydia) write this, it doesn’t even feel real that we were actually there on the other side of the world! But now we will share some of our main moments with you. :)

Newly Weds!

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 18:35:59 +0000

Hello dear family and friends,

What an incredible month it has been! As many of you know, our 2024 started off with our wedding on January 6th. Praise the Lord! We write this letter to you with hearts full and immensely blessed by God’s goodness. Thank you to all who were able to come celebrate our wedding with us, we felt so loved and supported by each one of you. And to all the people who helped set up, serve, and manage our wedding, we can’t thank you enough!!

About

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 20:48:22 +0000

Geoff and Lydia Hamano are a young couple with a heart to serve the Lord and bring others into relationship with Him. They are called to serve longterm as cross-cultural missionaries and are being trained up through Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM), a missionary sending agency based in Southern California. Geoff and Lydia have a heart for Japan where less than 2% of the entire population are Christian. As they prepare to be sent out, they continue in Japanese learning and train in SGWM’s Missions Training School.

Gallery

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 20:48:22 +0000

Our SGWM Updates

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 20:48:22 +0000

Videos

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 20:48:22 +0000

Ministry:

https://youtu.be/qtJPJx9sSbs

Personal Life:

https://youtu.be/TSot6rrfjPY

A Day We've All Been Waiting For

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 19:27:13 +0000

Dear friends and family,

I often question myself wondering, will I ever go on the field? Will I be able to complete the call the Lord has placed on my life? Well, we are getting one step closer to that goal of going to Japan. First let me start with some life updates: Lydia and I finally have a date for our wedding, I got a new job at St. Jude Hospital, and we are going on a vision tour!

Give

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 22:29:51 +0000

And we are back

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 23:45:18 +0000

Dear friends and family,

From finding a place to live to become an intern at Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, the past couple of months have been such a whirlwind. The process of finding a place to stay has been a challenge to trust and have faith. For the past 12 years, I’ve lived in Santa Ana with my parents. Like an eaglet preparing to leave the nest, a young child must find the time to go discover the Lord’s calling in their life, and this was mine.

A Calling to faraway places

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:43:22 +0000

The final week is here, and the call is real. Looking back at the last few years, I realize that they’ve been pretty tough. I have been struggling with the question: “what is my calling?” Trying to figure out if going to school was the right choice or not. While trying college out, I had to take the placement test three times, resulting in low scores. Coming from a place where I was used to getting higher grades, that was a hard pill to swallow. The experience just felt so out of place; depression soon after. I ended up completing only one semester of school. Then, feeling there was a different calling in my life, I searched for other opportunities. Upon discovering YWAM (Youth with a Mission), I saw it as a calling from the Lord. I applied immediately and got in; the Lord directed me to Louisville, Kentucky. I didn’t know what the Lord had in store for me initially, but He showed me there is such rich soil for those ready to be sent out.

Sound the trumpet

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 00:55:17 +0000

But if the watchman sees the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword comes, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. Ezekiel 33:6

Challenging in maniging

This week we focused on cultural differences. In this eye-opening class, we were presented with accounts, scriptures, and personal testimonial evidence of how culture can affect long-term ministries overseas. Feeling the weight of the great commission, I began to realize how true the meaning of Matthew 16:24, “deny himself and follow me.” is. Over 7,400 people groups have not heard the good news of the gospel. I can not fathom living in a culture without the gospel. The amount of freedom we have living in the states is such a blessing to behold. Our teacher Rob Douglass continued pointing out the comparisons of saving souls to comforts we take for granted in our day-to-day lives. He proposed the question What is truly more important, Others salvations or Starbucks? This class has truly changed my outlook on what missions are as a whole lifestyle, not just a choice to go out for a couple of years.

Placing stones in people's shoes

Sat, 31 Jul 2021 16:25:03 +0000

Week three, we have had over 11 people confess faith in Christ. The Lord has blessed our team immensely. While we were evangelizing, the group had an opportunity to talk to a young couple who had an intriguing view of where they were going when they died. They claimed to believe a self-truth where everyone could proclaim their truth. I had the opportunity to discuss their belief, and it was an excellent lesson to teach how to have an open conversation.

Where the Glory shines through

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 17:11:33 +0000

One week down of class, outreaches, and leaving room for Jesus. The Lord has moved in even the last few days. During one of our outreaches, we came alongside Calvary Chapel Vista Del Valle to help in an event for the residence. While we were there, we had an excellent array of kid programs, Games, adult teaching, worship, and evangelizing. In the scorching sun, swiftly, the Lord moved through our team. Once we got to the park, we hit the ground running, playing games and expressing the little knowledge we had of Spanish.

We made it

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 21:33:46 +0000

We haven’t been at school a week, and the Lord is already challenging our team to see the world differently. Our first teacher, Pastor Trent, has taken us on a journey through the Bible, finding ministry foundations. He challenged us through the Scriptures to humble ourselves before all the nations as Jesus did. Setting the example, “to serve, not to be served,” is found in Matthew 20:28. Another main point that stood out was the progression of Jesus going out and calling disciples. Pastor Trent masterfully put a strong case pointing that many of the disciples knew Jesus before “dropping their nets and following Him” Matthew 4:18. Being at the School of Missions changed our outlook on the great commission.

The Journey

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:07:56 +0000

Over the past few years, I have gotten to travel to 4 different countries for missions. To find many different cultures while experiencing God in a new way. The Lord has given many opportunities to preach the gospel and serve others. Let me pause and say thank you to all who have supported me and prayed for our team. The Lord has shown me there is so much to learn to be a missionary.