"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. "
1 John 4:10
Dear Friends & Family, this 2020 is being a very different year. I am sure that none of us expected what would happen. A month ago, as I was scrolling down through Facebook, I saw several post and memes about people describing this year as a terrible year. Some of those post had funny images, and just when I was about to agree with all those post, I remembered what I wrote on my last newsletter, "If a word can describe how I feel this year, the word would be: LOVED."
Bible Time!
We have been in lockdown for over two months now. After the first week of lockdown, I did what any normal young girl of my age and generation would do. I turned into Netflix and any other streaming platform and watched countless hours of TV shows. I slept as much I as wanted to, immersed myself in social media like never before, etc. However, as the days went by, I felt bored, and I started feeling guilty and empty. I felt that I was indulging too much. Like if I was taking my time and throwing it in the trash bin.
Towards the end of the second week of lockdown, I got a wake-up call, through a close friend of mine. Through her testimony, she encouraged me to change my routine, reevaluate my routine, and invest more time in my relationship with God. And, So I did. My first step was taking time away from social media. I took almost a full month away from Facebook, spent less time on Instagram, which I decided to delete later, and I took time away from Netflix and TV.
Since then, I have been investing time in Bible reading, spending as much time as it is necessary, and there is no need to rush over things. It is amazing! Something I have discovered is that there is nothing too difficult to understand. All we need is perseverance and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. Through him, God allows us to understand and know who He is and His will.
This "lockdown" is being a time for clarification. God's light over my heart, showing and pointing to areas that I could not see before. Things, beliefs, or habits that need to be changed. It is a time for God to make a distinction between what it is His, what is mine, and what comes from the world. The word of God penetrating my heart making a separation between right and wrong. There is one Korean word I learned that can define it well: 가르다 (Gareuda), which means: "To tell right from wrong, or decide a certain outcome" (separate; distinguish), and "To move quickly as if cutting through" (cleave and penetrate).
What do I do these days?
A Missionary to my Family: In this time of Bible study, I am not just feeding myself. God has placed in my heart to share everything that I am learning with my siblings. God knows how much I worry over their spiritual life, and now, I have the opportunity to testify to them, answer to their questions, and share with them my "discoveries" have been a blessing! It fills my heart with joy to see their hunger for God. Please pray for them when you think about me.
Studying Korean: I have been studying Korean every day for at least two hours. I might not be able to travel right now, but it does not mean that I will forget what God has said. As I am at home, I am still preparing and getting ready for what my time in South Korea will be. The more I study and learn, the more I fall in love with the language.
YWAM Converge: Yes, I am still connected and working with YWAM Converge. We have finished all the translations, and now I am working on making CC, Close captions for the English videos. In May, we ran an Internship Coordinator Certificate Course online, in which over 15 leaders from South America participated. They are people committed to mobilizing students and professionals for missions. And interesting to get to know Converge and how they can use it in their ministries. Most of them used Converge in Spanish. I was so excited that all the hard work and effort invested is starting to bear fruits.
This picture is from one of the online meetings of the Converge Internship Coordinator Course. People from US, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile, Peru... and more!
A Short Testimony!
In all of these of being a missionary to my family, there are days when it seems that nothing is happening. A couple of weeks ago, while playing with my 15-years-old brother. I decided to teach him/ remind him of the ten commandments. During the next couple of days, we challenged each other: "if you can recite the 10 commandments right now, I'll buy you an ice cream". It was fun. One day, as I came into the bedroom, he was playing a violent video game called "Free Fire" (for over a year, my mom has tried to stop him from playing this game) I told him: "Hey do you remember the 10 commandments? You shall not murder." After a 2 minutes discussion on whether killing in a game count as killing or not, as I was leaving the room, to my surprise, he said: "Look! I'm uninstalling this game and I'm not playing it anymore." Oh, wow! Praise God! Since then, he has not played the game again. This might be something small for many, but to me, it means the world! It means that there is Hope!
JOIN ME IN THIS ADVENTURE!
PRAY FOR ME
1. Pray for my family: For more hunger and thirst to know and obey God. I don't want to see them just being saved but my prayer is that they will live a fruitful life in Christ and for the Christ.
2. Pray for wisdom and understanding. I want to continue learning and listening from God regarding this time, and how to best reach out to my family. Also, about the timing to go back to Jeju, South Korea.
3. Pray for my Korean language learning skills. So that I may learn what I study and that I can feel comfortable to speak the language.
Dear friends and family, my prayer for you is that in this season, your eyes may be fixed in Jesus, in His words, and promises of salvation and deliverance. That you may experience the peace of knowing that He is Almighty and is in control.
Good News! After waiting such a loooooong time, I am happy to announce that next Friday, June 12th, I will graduate from university!
I am so thankful for all your support, both, financially and in prayers.
Blessings,
Glenis Acosta.
THANKS SO MUCH!
I have also been thinking a lot about the blessing I had last year to be part of the Bible distribution project in Mongolia. I rejoice by the thought that right now, while everything has stopped, people in this country have a Bible in their homes.
