Machiko was born in Japan and raised in California and Hawaii. She is the third daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Yuichiro Nakano, who are travelling evangelists around the world. She graduated from Roosevelt High School, and then International Bible College and Graduate School of Theology in 1994. She has served as a missionary in Londrina in Brazil for about five years. Since returning to Hawaii, Machiko has served as HCC’s Youth Director. Then in February 2014 her service has expanded to include Children’s Ministry and College & Young Adult Ministries.

She and her husband Chris have 2 sons, Hezekiah and Ezra. Whenever she finds time to rest, Machiko likes to eat yummy food, watch historical & scientific documentaries, sci-fi or action movies & anime together with her family, and sleep!

Yan Yan was born and raised in Hong Kong but has lived in Hawaii since 1989. Her family attends the Honolulu Christian Church and leads worship on certain Sundays for the Japanese congregations. She started her early childhood education career in 2009 at Honolulu Christian Preschool, where she served as a teacher for three years before leaving to complete her Montessori training. Since then, she has been a preschool teacher and director, teacher trainer, college instructor, conference speaker, and assistant director of an early education program at a university. She holds a Master of Education in ECE from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Chaminade University of Honolulu. She also holds an Early Childhood Credential from the American Montessori Society. Since learning about Montessori education, she has found the approach closely aligned with Christian values. She prayed for an opportunity to combine the two to create an optimal learning environment for young children. God answered her prayer and led her back to the Honolulu Christian Preschool after twelve years to transform it into a Christian Montessori preschool and kindergarten.

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