I would like to express my gratitude to those who supported my learning at WIT25, as well as to everyone who joined me in this journey. I want to record the memories, blessings, and lessons I received through the days in WIT.
I am currently a student in Seattle and joined WIT from Eikou Christian Church here. I was invited to WIT right after EC24, and honestly, I decided to join without thinking too deeply about it—both in good ways and bad. I didn’t know how many more chances I would have to participate in something like this while in the U.S., I was already involved in ministry, and I had the desire to learn. It just felt natural to say yes, and I felt that it was the Lord’s calling, so I said yes without much hesitation.
However, soon after, things started falling apart within my family, I grew more and more distant from ministry, and by April, I was completely worn out —physically and emotionally. Along with that, I stopped reading the Bible, I couldn’t pray, and I didn’t even have the energy to fold my hands in prayer. I stopped everything. I couldn’t even listen to worship. Lyrics like “I have no doubt…” made me think, “Wait, no, I do have doubts,” and I didn’t even want to hear them. So I came to WIT with a mix of desperation—wanting to be refreshed in a new place—and anxiety, wondering, “Is it really okay for someone like me, who hasn’t even been showing up to ministry properly, to attend a leadership conference?”
Through WIT, I was able to catch a glimpse of God’s perfection and realize that when our eyes align with the Lord, He is a God who always fulfills our prayers. Lord gave a new breeze into my faith through the family of God.
From the end of EC24 into the first half of this year, I had been praying to understand what “forgiveness” really means and what the “cross” truly is. I was baptized in February 2024, and my first encounter with ministry was back in 2022 when I happened to join an outreach for Japanese students here in the States. I thought it was ridiculous. I thought those people were just shallow—they rejected Japan’s culture and spirituality without seriously facing or engaging with them. I believed they had only a superficial faith, just acting like believers, lacking true understanding, just like they did not fully engage to understand Japanese culture but was saying that they do.
They were trying to evangelize pure-hearted Japanese students without truly grasping how hard life can become for them once they return to Japan—how difficult it can be to live in society if they’re seen as different. I thought they didn’t understand the “sin” of imposing their religion, labeling it “love,” and swinging it around selfishly. I now regret throwing all these accusations at the Christian friend who invited me. Even when I saw her trembling alone, I thought, “She deserves it.”
After the ministry, I continued to resist. Even when I opened the Bible, it was just stuff I already knew. (I loved art and was familiar with Christian paintings, so no matter what verse they showed me, I’d think, “Yeah, I already know that.”) I thought it had nothing to do with Japan and Japanese. I even tried to get those close to me to abandon their faith—convince them to “come to their senses.”
But even so, Lord, through His miraculous means beyond human power, sent a friend I hadn’t seen in over ten years at just the right time, and He saved me. I’ve shared this testimony many times, but was always focusing on only God’s omnipotence—how He saved even someone as stubborn as me. But during WIT, as I was sharing my story again, I realized something new: “That whole experience was actually God’s forgiveness toward me, who had rebelled and persecuted Christians.” At that moment, when everyone fixed their eyes on God, I was reminded of the prayer I had long forgotten—“I want to understand forgiveness.” The Holy Spirit pointed to that forgotten memory, and I rediscovered it.
WIT25’s theme was “Know Gift, Know Life,” with “Gift” being the key word. According to the spiritual gifts test we took beforehand, my main gift was “administration/organization.” Among gifts like wisdom, pastoring, prophecy, healing, service, etc., I thought, “Administration? That sounds like a job-hunting skill… so worldly. I mean, I like studying and working, and I’m good at it—but is that really what God values in me? That’s kind of disappointing.” Even when I heard messages during the sessions like “Your calling is linked to your gift,” “There’s no manual for gifts, so we learn how to glorify God through using them,” “Gifts aren’t just for you, but something God gave you to pass on to others,”—none of it really sank in at the time. I couldn’t make it personal.
In the midst of that, what surprised me most at WIT was how everyone laughed so loud over the smallest things. They were so full of joy. Before I was saved, I was just like that—laughing loudly everywhere, even getting scolded during school trips or in public. But once I became a Christian, I thought I had to seal that part of myself away. If I teased someone and made them laugh, I’d feel guilty and think, “Oh no, the old me came out again—I need to repent…” So I kept suppressing myself, always complaining that I have no friends that I can truly show myself. But at WIT, I saw Christians I respected laughing, teasing each other in love, pounding the table in laughter. I was shocked—“Wait, this is okay?!” I felt like Jesus Himself was laughing along with us. And for the first time, I felt I could truly be myself. I gained friends I can honestly call “brother, fellow-worker, and fellow soldier.”
The gift that God spoke to me through them was real. It wasn’t based on any worldly title or résumé. It was something they saw with their own eyes and spoke over me in love. I won’t write it here because I feel that if I do, it’ll turn into pride or become a label that binds me. But instead, I want to share the calling I feel for using that gift—as a prayer. My prayer is that the way I wrestle with the Lord (seeking His attention, fighting to see Him) could become a small bit of salt and light to the world. Not necessarily through “ministry,” “evangelism,” or things that explicitly mention the name of Jesus—but like the letters Paul wrote to the churches, I want to live in a way that encourages and uplifts my brothers and sisters. I want my life itself (though it’s hard) to be a fragrant offering.
Some days I’ll be laughing with my WIT friends, and other days I’ll feel like I can’t see the light at all. But still, I’ll continue praying, “Lord, please give attention to me today too. Please fight to help me see You today too.” That’s my prayer, and I believe that’s why the Lord entrusted me with one mina today.
To everyone who supported my participation in WIT, to the JCFN & WIT staff, to my fellow participants, and above all, to the Lord who turns all things to good—I thank you. This writing may be rough, but I pray that God’s glory shines through it.
