Will Rubie (Team Leader)

My name is William Rubie, I'm 26 and was born on 13.12.1980. I grew up in a town called Reigate which is 20 miles south of London. I went to university at Oxford University where I studied Biochemistry. When I left university I moved to the north of England to live in Durham, where I have been since then. I currently work in a church teaching the Bible to university students. My time is divided between meeting up with students who are not yet Christian, and explaining the good news of the gospel to them, and teaching the Bible to individuals and small groups of Christian people.

My Mum, Dad and brother (Andrew) are Christian and I’m so thankful to be brought up in a Christian home. A key turning point in my life was at the age of 20 when I fully understood the implications of the gospel on my life. I think that it was then that I put my trust entirely in Jesus. I used to play a lot of rugby and have had the privilege of visiting Japan twice before (2000 & 2002) on both occasions to play rugby against Japanese universities (Waseda, Kanto Gakuin, Keio etc). I'm a keen hill walker, bird-watcher and rugby fanatic (an odd combination!) I'm engaged to be married to Rachael Hudson (also on the Japan trip), and we will get married on 22nd September this year!

Rachael Hudson

Hi, my name is Rachael Hudson and I'm 28 and my birthday is on 14th May. I was born in a small village in South Yorkshire in the UK called Sprotbrough, which even English people think is a very funny name for a village. I have a younger sister called Sarah who is 25 and both my parents are retired school teachers and live in the house I grew up in.

I now live in Durham and for the past 4 years it has been my job to work for a Church in the city. Mostly my work is teaching the Bible to the female students who come to our Church and looking after them in lots of different ways.

I became a Christian when I was 14 having been to Church all my life. When I was 14 we have a 6 week course in my youth group explaining the basic message of Christianity. It was then I first realised that going to Church and being nice didn't make you a Christian and that I needed to trust in Jesus to be forgiven my bad attitude to God and to have a place in His Kingdom forever.

I haven't been to Japan before, but I am really looking forward to my visit in July.

Mark Rainbow

My name is Mark Rainbow, and I am 21 years old. My birthday is 11th February 1986. I live in a town called Southwell, which is near Nottingham in central England. I have an older sister and a younger brother. My father owns his own Do-It-Yourself business, and my mother does voluntary work for my local church. I am currently studying Theology at Durham University, and have just completed my second of three years. I became a Christian at a young age, through the faithful example of my parents. It was during my time at secondary school that I began to really understand what Christ achieved on the cross, and started to live with him as Lord of my life. This is my first trip to Japan, and I am looking forward to playing some sport, as this is a great interest of mine, and I also enjoy reading and spending time with friends.

Alice Bridge

Hi! I’m Alice, and I have just finished my 2 nd year studying English literature at Durham. When not reading books, I love to spend time with friends – especially over a cup of tea! I also enjoy music, playing the flute and singing whenever I can. Another newly discovered pursuit is rowing, which I have taken up since arriving in Durham and haven’t looked back since (except perhaps on the occasional very wet, dark early morning…)

I first came to know Jesus when I was about 17. I had occasionally been to church before then, and would have called myself a Christian, although I had never really thought about what I said I believed. However, at school a friend took me along to the Christian union, where I heard the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the first time. After almost two years of questioning and investigating the evidence behind the Jesus’ claims I realised that what the bible said was true and that I needed to accept Jesus as my Saviour and my King. Since then, particularly since being at university, I have come to understand more and more about the great privilege that it is to live as a Christian, and am very excited about the opportunity to serve Jesus in Japan this summer!

Andrew Goodchild

Hi, my name is Andrew Goodchild. I'm 19 years of age (20 on 10th July 07), and am from the town of West Kirby on the Wirral, a peninsula in the North West of England. I've just finished my second year out of four studying Engineering at Durham University. When I'm not at university in Durham, I live at home with my parents and two younger brothers.

I became a Christian when I was 14. I found myself taking a step back and looking at myself from a distance; I was satisfied with my family, friends and academic progress, but I hadn't cleared up my view of God, about whom I'd heard bits and pieces throughout my childhood but had never been taught convincingly or in any depth. Thinking that God, the Bible and Christianity were outdated, disproven and irrelevant, I realised that I ought to investigate the Bible thoroughly for myself first to enable me to make an informed and educated decision about its claims before I could dismiss it completely. I began to look for opportunities to find out more about what it actually said, and was soon invited to the youth group at what is now my home church. I began to go to the youth group, and to church, and started reading the Bible for myself. As I found out who Jesus claims to be and what it really means to be a Christian person, I began to come to terms with the reality of my situation before God and the truth of what the Bible says. I realised that, satisfied though I was with my own situation and achievements to date and thinking myself to be a generally 'good' person, I had rejected God and refused him his rightful position of authority, and I continued to do so every day in the way I lived. The only way, so the Bible says, for me to be brought back into relationship with God and to be saved from the coming consequence of my continued rebellion against him, is to trust in Jesus, who died on the cross to take my punishment on himself, paying the price and settling the debt once and for all.

In terms of my hobbies and interests, I enjoy anything technical, particularly website design and programming. I'm musical and enjoy playing the piano, and I also like hill walking and generally getting outdoors. I've never been to Japan before, but I'm very much looking forward to going, serving Christ there, and seeing the gospel work in a completely different culture.

Alex Machin

My name is Alex, I am 19 and my birthday is 26/12/87. I am from Chelmsford in Essex (SE England) but I go to university in Durham (in the North) and study General Engineering. I am the oldest child and have 3 siblings, 1 brother (Calum, he's the youngest aged 12) and 2 sisters (Abigail & Anna). My parents names are Kevin and Veronica. We all live in a large village called Danbury. We have 4 Chickens!

I dont know when I became a Christian! I have the privilege of Christian Parents; they took us all to church, and so I grew up knowing who Jesus was etc. But it wasn't until sixth form that I really made a big stand amongst my friends. I realised that if God had done all this for me and I had a place in his kingdom for eternity, that I should go and whole heartedly tell my friends (Rom. 8v31-35).

I have never been to Japan. I can't spell in English, so any ability to speak any Japanese is due to God's grace! My main hobbies involve distance running and cycling. I have really poor coordination - there's nothing funnier than watching me try and play football/tennis. I can do most DIY jobs.