I am Kota Garvin, one of the leaders of JxJ (Japanese times Jesus) in Seattle. I began serving there during my sophomore year of college at the University of Washington. Because I grew up in an American church and rarely visited Japanese churches, it was the first place where I consistently met with other Japanese Christians. There, I was able to practice my Japanese and make Japanese friends. It was also encouraging to serve in a ministry that had a direct impact on making new disciples of Jesus, which was not the case in other ministries I served in.
When I was invited to WIT by Dustin this year, another leader at JxJ, I was initially hesitant because I didn’t know what to expect or whether I would make friends. After some prayers, I felt led to sign up. When I first arrived, it seemed like everyone knew each other through Japanese church connections or EC. But I eventually got to know everyone, and they were all very friendly. One of the most fun parts was laughing together as we played different icebreaker games and putting together a skit about Daniel 3.
The biggest way I saw the Spirit work through that weekend was how he used others to encourage me. Since JxJ was the only Japanese group I was a part of, I could only see the small contribution that we were having on ministering to Japan. But throughout the retreat, I was able to hear how so many ministries across the US were helping other Japanese to find Jesus, and the Spirit opened my eyes to His broader plan. I felt comfortable sharing the challenges of our ministry because the other WIT participants had gone through similar struggles, and they were able to share ideas.
The experience I had at WIT reflected our studies on Daniel 3 about facing the furnace with fellow believers. The retreat refueled my passion for helping Japanese people in the U.S. to experience the love of Christ.
