My name is Akane Otsuka, and I had the privilege of serving as the director of WIT25. First, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support through prayers, offerings, and service. Whenever I am given the opportunity to serve in ministry or at a conference, I learn that it is truly God’s work, and that He faithfully uses each person’s heart in various ways as part of His work. With gratitude, I would like to share how God remembered your hearts and worked through them this time!
This year’s theme was “Know Gift Know Life”. We are each given gifts by grace. These gifts are unique to each of us, which is why the church can come together as one and use them. Even when we fall into comparison or feel discouraged about our small gifts, we can instead boast in our weaknesses and keep running toward God’s Kingdom with thanksgiving. We learned to be faithful servants in small things. Especially at this WIT, we sought not only the obvious spiritual gifts like worship, prayer, or teaching, but also how our passions, interests, personalities, experiences, and even pains — the very way we were uniquely created — can be used as gifts by God.
First of all, WIT was amazing this year again! Honestly, it was the best! (laughs) To me, WIT is like a glimpse of heaven — a place where I can lay down my work and worries, and simply worship. Once again, we came together from different places, life stages, and situations to praise the Lord, feed on His Word, talk about Jesus, play silly games late into the night, and laugh until we cried — it felt like a dream. And I know that this joy was a gift from the Lord, because we didn’t just have fun; we also shared our pains and tears, confessed things we could have hidden in shame, washed one another’s feet in prayer and forgiveness, and served each other with love.
I am grateful for meeting people carrying struggles different from mine — such as not being able to do the ministry they longed for, or moving to a new place with no close friends. I am also grateful for meeting those with struggles similar to mine — wanting to grow in faith, yet feeling stuck. We learned we are not alone, and we experienced how our prayers together were truly heard. We didn’t do anything extraordinary, but simply looking to the Lord together brought great encouragement. I believe it was the Lord who gave us this love for one another. This Scripture captures WIT25 perfectly:
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
(Psalm 126:1–3)
I often feel complexed about not knowing my gifts. Sometimes I think, “With only these small abilities, do I really belong in this church, this workplace, or even in America?” I overthink, burn out, and have even reached the point of literally being unable to do anything, feeling afraid and guilty toward God and those around me. It was at such a time that I was invited to WIT. Though I immediately thought, “I want to go!” because I love this ministry dearly, I wondered if it was the wrong season since I felt stripped of love and joy. But God told me clearly: “Serve through your weakness.”
Before going, I thought God wanted me to share my weakness with a certain friend, but that didn’t work out. At WIT, I thought He wanted me to pour out my weakness before all the participants, but honestly, I couldn’t do it fully. Yet the very next day, at my home church’s Sunday service, God gave me the chance to testify about WIT. I confessed before everyone that I don’t know my gifts and sometimes even lose sight of my purpose. I believe this was the challenge God gave me this time — to reveal my weakness before many in my church — and I am thankful. Later, when one person sent me a text saying they were encouraged because they had the same struggle, I felt a taste of freedom. Perhaps that was my small “one mina” (my mission for the day).
Since WIT ended, I’ve often sung alone the song we sang together on the last day: “Now is the time to respond to Christ’s love.” There’s a line: “Though I have no power, I will do something.” At WIT, I really couldn’t do much — not even share my weakness as I hoped. Even so, God blessed WIT25 under my leadership, despite my weakness. Truly, I have no strength of my own. Yet just as the servants faithfully carried the water that Jesus turned into wine, I want to be faithful to my role. That is my gift.
“To save many, to proclaim the gospel” — I want to keep loving the Lord and loving what He loves. That is the kind of gift I long to keep pursuing.
The friends I shared WIT with appeared to me as mighty warriors of the Lord, overflowing with the gifts He had given them. Please continue to pray that we will be raised up as faithful leaders who work for the Lord. Thank you so much.
