34. Hope Will Not End In Despair

https://youtu.be/4rw_dLttQDw Today I’d like to introduce you to Daisuke Yokoyama, an amazing Christian singer songwriter here in Japan. I had the privilege of meeting him in the relief movement shortly after that terrible earthquake of 2011. We’re listening to his song “希望は絶望に終わらない” (“Hope Will Not End In Despair”), part of his response to the terrible darkness of that time. I remember one concert we played together in a high school gymnasium, not far from the broken nuclear power plants in Fukushima. When he finished singing, he walked around the room to talk with people. They were stuck in their designated areas surrounded with cardboard walls. He met with them, gave them one of his CDs, and, if appropriate, prayed for them as well. Daisuke is a master at making people feel loved. People called him DK, because they felt so close to him. Later, we played together in an outdoor festival much further north in the city of Ishinomaki. I played my digital pipe organ along with a number of musicians I brought from Tokyo, but the “star” of that day was Daisuke. I’ve watched his career grow these past ten years and was so honored to have him close out our Aroma of Beauty Conference this past March. Since most of you couldn’t be there, I asked Daisuke if he wouldn’t be willing to share his story on this podcast. [Interview with Daisuke Yokoyama] Daisuke Yokoyama’s WebsiteDaisuke Yokoyama’s album which contains “Hope Will Not End In Despair” https://youtu.be/HG8OkrgksxI Listen to more of Daisuke and Kazuko at the Aroma of Beauty Conference