Danny Yamashiro - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Danny Yamashiro survived a deadly 400 foot fall from the famed ridge of the historic Nuuanu Pali

Nuuanu Pali

Nuuanu Pali is a section of the windward cliff of the Koolau mountain located at the head of Nuuanu Valley on the island of Oahu. It has a panoramic view of the windward coast of Oahu...

in Honolulu, Hawaii at 18.

Survival story

On December 22, 1985, attempting to rescue his stranded girlfriend from a 20 foot mountain climbing fall, Danny Yamashiro slipped and fell head first 300 feet and later another 100 feet. The second fall took place during an attempted rescue and was captured on film. It aired on newscasts (KHON

KHON-TV

KHON-TV is a Fox-affiliated television station in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 2.In addition to its Honolulu broadcast facilities, KHON has relays on all the major Hawaiian Islands to rebroadcast programs outside of metropolitan Honolulu: KHAW-TV in Hilo; KAII-TV in...

, KITV

KITV

KITV is the American Broadcasting Company television station affiliate licensed to Honolulu, Hawaii. Based in Honolulu and broadcasting on digital channel 40, displayed as channel 4 the station is owned by Hearst Television and operates several satellites and translators on all the major Hawaiian...

, KGMB

KGMB

KGMB is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Hawaii that is licensed to Honolulu. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 23 from a transmitter in Palehua....

) throughout Hawaii. He suffered severe head injuries, skull fractures, multiple tears in his scalp, a shattered ankle, damaged organs, extensive lacerations, and being comatose. Further details are written in his autobiography entitled, Paradise Calls: A Spellbinding Story of Survival and Hope from Hawaii's Evangelist. His dramatic story has been featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network

Christian Broadcasting Network

The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...

(1999) across the United States and Asia introduced by Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson

Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....

with the words, "Do you like adventure? I've got one for you!" Yamashiro shared his story at the Aloha Stadium

Aloha Stadium

Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...

(1998) upon the invitation of evangelist Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie serves as the Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California.-Ministry:Laurie, who was born in Long Beach, California, became a Christian under the ministry of Pentecostal evangelist Lonnie Frisbee...

who wrote, "If it were a baseball game, you would have it a homerun."

Personal life

Danny Yamashiro was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is an American of Chinese, Hawaiian and Japanese ancestry with paternal roots in Okinawa. He is the great grandson of Chang Apana

Chang Apana

Chang Apana was a Chinese-Hawaiian member of the Honolulu Police Department, first as an officer, then as a detective. He is the officially acknowledged inspiration for the fictional Asian detective character, Charlie Chan.-Early life:Ah Ping Chang was born December 26, 1871 in Waipio, Oahu,...

, the renowned Hawaii detective of whom the Hollywood character Charlie Chan

Charlie Chan

Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...

was based. He graduated from Iolani School

Iolani School

Iolani School, located at 563 Kamoku Street in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a private coeducational college preparatory school serving over 1,800 students. Founded in 1863 by Father William R. Scott, it was the principal school of the former Anglican Church of Hawaii. It was patronized by Kamehameha IV...

in 1986. His father, the Rev. David T. Yamashiro, Sr., played football and basketball for Father Kenneth A. Bray. Danny is married to Jamie Yamashiro and has three children: Allie, Hugh and Luke.

Professional life

Danny Yamashiro is an entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker

Motivational speaker

A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...

, minister, publisher and consultant.

Evangelist & pastor

In 1993, he founded Jesus Christ Is Calling You Evangelistic Ministry, Inc. (JCCY) and launched a series of large scale revival tent meetings throughout Hawaii. Yamashiro utilized television, radio and print media to communicate his message to broader audiences and has been widely referred to as the "Billy Graham

Billy Graham

William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...

of Hawaii." Since 1998, his organization formed Paradise Global Mission and expanded to reach Japan, Philippines, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Thailand, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Brazil, Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, China, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

and more with medical and dental clinics, sports clinics and numerous forms of humanitarian aide by supporting the work of Christian churches in rural locations.

Yamashiro has ministered, studied and conducted business throughout Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Central America, Africa and the Middle East.

He is the founding pastor of Christ's Church at Kapolei, affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America

Evangelical Free Church of America

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an evangelical Christian denomination. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association.-History:...

, and served as senior pastor for nine years (1998–2007). Rene Paulo

Rene Paulo

Rene Paulo is an American pianist. Born in the rural district of Schofield, Paulo grew up in Wahiawa, Hawaii. His grandparents on his mother's side were from the Philippines, becoming naturalized US citizens after his grandfather joined the US military...

, Hawaii's legendary pianist who studied at Juilliard School of Music in New York City is an active member there.

Radio & television host

He hosts Hawaii's only live daily Christian radio talk show, The Good Life Hawaii, on Salem Communications

Salem Communications

Salem Communications is a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher specializing in evangelical Christian and conservative political talk radio. It owns 99 commercial radio stations, 65 of which are in the top 25 markets. Salem is the fifth largest U.S....

99.5 FM KGU-FM, a program of Danny Yamashiro Ministries. His guests have included U.S. Congressman Charles Djou

Charles Djou

Charles Kong Djou is the former U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district...

, Hawaii Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

Duke Aiona, Mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannemann

Mufi Hannemann

Muliufi Francis "Mufi" Hannemann is an American politician. He is the former Mayor of Honolulu. Hannemann has served as a special assistant in Washington, D.C., with the Department of the Interior, where he was selected for a White House fellowship in the Reagan administration under Vice President...

, Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

kick returner and receiver Chad Owens

Chad Owens

Chad Owens is a professional American, Canadian and Arena football wide receiver and kick returner for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

, New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

linebacker Brashton Satele

Brashton Satele

-New York Jets:After going undrafted, Satele reached an agreement with the Oakland Raiders on a free agent contract. Though Satele signed the contract, two days prior to having to report to mini-camp, Satele learned that the Raiders failed to "execute the contract" after receiving his signature...

, former Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

and Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala

Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala

Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala is a retired American football running back who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the University of Utah.-Early...

, former Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

defensive back Blane Gaison

Blane Gaison

Blane Keith Gaison is a former professional American football player. He played four seasons in the National Football League, with the Atlanta Falcons . As a defensiveback he was primarily a cornerback....

, mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

star Egan Inoue

Egan Inoue

Egan Inoue is an American multi-sport athlete. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist who has competed internationally in Jiu-Jitsu and also MMA. He is also a racquetball player who has won two world championships....

, Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

Norman Sakamoto

Norman Sakamoto served as a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate from 1996 to 2010. He represented Hawaii Senatorial District 15, comprising the communities of Aliamanu, Foster Village, Halawa, Hickam, Kalihi, Lower Aiea, Mapunapuna, Moanalua, Pearlridge, and Salt Lake on the island of Oahu...

, Representative

Hawaii House of Representatives

The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Accord to Article III, Section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consists of 51 members representing an equal amount of districts...

Lynn Finnegan

Lynn G. Berbano Finnegan , was a Republican member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, representing the state's 32nd district since her election in 2003 to 2011. The district includes the Lower Pearlridge, Aiea, Halawa, Hickam, Pearl Harbor and Moanalua Gardens on the island of Oahu...

, and finalist of The World's Strongest Man Joe Onosai

Joe Onosai

Joe Onosai is a former strongman competitor and Professional football player. Onosai is a Samoan tribal prince and a former member of the Dallas Cowboys. During his time with the Dallas Cowboys, Joe badly injured his neck and was paralyzed from the waist up...

. More information about The Good Life Hawaii can be found at The Good Life Hawaii website.http://www.thegoodlifehawaii.org

As host of the television special The Danny Yamashiro Show (KWHE

KWHE

KWHE is a television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, broadcasting locally on digital channel 31 as a LeSEA owned-and-operated station. KWHE can also be seen on satellite stations KWHD channel 14 in Hilo and KWHM channel 21 in Wailuku, and on Oceanic Cable channel 11 statewide...

, KWHD, KWHM) on LeSEA

LeSEA

LeSEA Broadcasting , also known as World Harvest Television, is an American Christian television network with over 40 affiliate stations in a number of U.S...

broadcasting network, Yamashiro featured notable personalities including University of Hawaii

University of Hawaii

The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...

head football coach June Jones

June Jones

June Sheldon Jones, III is the American football head coach for Southern Methodist University.-Playing career:Jones played the quarterback position on three college teams: Oregon , Hawaii , and Portland State . It is during his time at Portland State that he was introduced to the Run and Shoot...

preceding UH's remarkable 12-0 (2007) regular season which led to an invitation to the Bowl Championship Series

Bowl Championship Series

The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...

(BCS) Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...

against the Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...

Publisher

He is the president of White Mountain Castle Publishing, LLC

White Mountain Castle Publishing, LLC

White Mountain Castle Publishing, LLC is a private publishing company in Hawaii. It originated in 1996 under the non-profit organization Jesus Christ Is Calling You Evangelistic Ministry, Inc. with Paradise Calls: Spellbinding Story of Hawaii's Evangelist, an autobiography featuring the survival...

. Noted authors from Hawaii including Ada Lum, Kevin Asano

Kevin Asano

Kevin Yoshimi Asano is a retired judoka from the United States, who won the silver medal in the men's extra-lightweight competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics. On his way to capturing the medal he beat Shinji Hosokawa, who was the reigning world champion and 1984 Gold Medalist...

, Jimmy Yamada, Jr., Rob Gross, and Dr. George Nagato have had their books published through Yamashiro's company.

Awards and associations

Danny Yamashiro was the first ordained clergyman selected for the Pacific Century Fellows and offered a prayer at a celebratory dinner hosted by the Governor of Hawaii

Governor of Hawaii

The Governor of Hawaii is the chief executive of the state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state...

, Benjamin Cayetano at the historic "Washington Place

Washington Place

Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the Governor of Hawaii. It is a National Historic Landmark,...

" (1999). He was awarded Biola University's Young Alumni Award (2000) and received numerous Certificates of Recognition from the Hawaii Senate

Hawaii Senate

The Hawaii State Senate is the upper chamber of the Hawaii State Legislature. The senate consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands. The senate is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membership of the body, currently...

, Hawaii House of Representatives

Hawaii House of Representatives

, Honolulu City Council

Honolulu City Council

The Honolulu City Council is the legislative branch of the City & County of Honolulu and is considered the second most powerful parliamentary body in the State of Hawaii, following the Hawaii State Legislature...

and the Mayor of Honolulu

Mayor of Honolulu

The Mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu and considered the third most powerful official in the U.S. state of Hawaii, behind the Governor of Hawaii and the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii...

, Jeremy Harris

Jeremy Harris

Jeremy Harris, born December 7, 1950 in Wilmington, Delaware, served as Mayor of Honolulu from 1994 to 2004. A biologist by training, Harris started his political career as a delegate to the 1978 Hawai'i State Constitutional Convention...

.

Danny Yamashiro is ordained by the Evangelical Free Church of America

Evangelical Free Church of America

and is as a member of Dr. Luis Palau

Luis Palau

Luis Palau, Jr. is an international Christian evangelist living in the Portland area in Oregon, United States. He was born in Argentina and moved to Portland in his mid-twenties to enroll in a graduate program in Biblical studies....

's Next Generation Alliance of evangelists.

Education and training

Yamashiro attended Chaminade University in Honolulu before transferring to Biola University

Biola University

Biola University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located near Los Angeles. Biola's main campus is in La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, the university has several satellite campuses in Chino Hills, Inglewood, San Diego, and Laguna Hills.-...

and Talbot School of Theology

Talbot School of Theology

Talbot School of Theology is a non-denominational, conservative evangelical Christian theological seminary located near Los Angeles. Talbot is one of the seven schools that comprise Biola University, located in La Mirada, California.-History:...

in La Mirada, California where he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

degrees. He studied in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

as part of his graduate program. Professional tennis player Michael Chang

Michael Chang

Michael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....

, Christian author and speaker Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell

Joslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and writer. He is within the Evangelical tradition of Protestant Christianity, and is the author or co-author of some 77 books. His best-known book is Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which was ranked 13th in Christianity Today's list of...

, U.S. Senator John Thune

John Thune

John Randolph Thune is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a U.S. Representative for .-Early Life, Education:...

from South Dakota

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

and founder of Fuller Theological Seminary

Fuller Theological Seminary

Fuller Theological Seminary is an accredited Christian educational institute with its main campus in Pasadena, California and several satellite campuses in the western United States...

Charles E. Fuller

Charles Edward Fuller was an American Christian clergyman and a radio evangelist.Charles Fuller was born in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Pomona College in 1910, he worked in the citrus packing business in southern California until 1918...

are also graduates of Biola University.

He served as pastoral

Pastoral

The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...

intern at Christ Presbyterian Church of Hollywood in California and at Kalihi Union Church in Hawaii. While pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy degree he studied Expository Preaching in Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, Tennessee under Dr. Stephen F. Olford

Stephen F. Olford

Stephen F. Olford was a 20th century Christian leader.Dr. Billy Graham called him "the man who most influenced my ministry."He was a personal confidant of Graham. Olford was also a role model and friend to prominent pastors such as Charles Stanley and Adrian Rogers. He was a pioneer in Christian...

. He trained in Apologetics

Apologetics

Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...

under Dr. John Warwick Montgomery

John Warwick Montgomery

John Warwick Montgomery is a noted lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian, and prolific author living in France. He was born October 18, 1931, in Warsaw, New York, United States. In 2007 he was named "Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought" at Patrick Henry College...

in Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

, France and received pastoral training from Dr. Jack W. Hayford

Jack W. Hayford

Jack Williams Hayford is an American author, Pentecostal minister, and Chancellor of The King's University...

in Van Nuys, California. He was a delegate at two historic conferences: North American Conference for Itinerant Evangelists (NACIE `94) in Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, Kentucky and Amsterdam 2000 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...