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La Plata UBF, Argentina

July 24, 2013

I Will Bless You

My name is Joseph Moon. I was born in Seoul, Korea, on December 29^th of 1994 as the youngest among 2 brothers. My parents are John and Johana Moon. I was born in a caring Christian environment receiving all love from my family.

I was living an ordinary and mundane life without worries nor meaning. Since I can remember, I would go to church as a part of my natural routine, and not as a personal expression of faith. There was nothing that would passionate or attract me, so I would do everything because I was forced to. From very young I didn’t like facing big changes because of fear. I still preserve this aspect and it affects me whenever I have to make a big decision. I would rather preferred keeping things as they were so I didn’t have to worry about the consequences. I remember that after finishing kindergarden I would cry and scream at my mom because I didn’t want to start school. But the next day my mom took my hand and took me to school. Because of this personality, when I found out that we were going to Argentina (a country I hadn’t even heard of in my life) my reaction was pretty obvious. I was absolutely against it. But my parents were not asking about my personal opinion or concerns, but they were simply giving me an advance notice so I would mentally prepare myself.

In July of 2006, being 11 years old, I arrived to Argentina with my family. It was a complete turnover of my life. I had to get adjusted to a completely new environment from Korea. Everything was new to me. New city, new home, new language, new culture and new school. Again, I felt the same fear I felt when I was a kid. But this time was different. I sincerely prayed to God. It was not the same prayer I used to say when I was at CBF or blessing the food before eating. I prayed every night for everything. I prayed for our visa, I prayed to make good friends, for the language and for my studies. And incredibly God answered and helped me specifically with each problem I would bring him. My dad used to say that I had the power of prayer because I was the youngest of the household. Thanks to God I could be free from my fears and worries, and relax.

But after some time, when things starting falling into place, I felt more confident about myself and thought I deserved all those blessings, and that they were product of my own hard work and nobody else. In this way, my heart started to be filled with selfishness and pride. I couldn’t see the sacrifice and hard work of my parents or God, but I would think only about me. I started looking more for the friendship and acceptance of my friends than of God. Naturally I let myself to be influenced by them and started behaving like them. I started questioning the Bible and could not distinguish the truth. I asked myself about the existence of numerous religions and gods, and I wasn’t sure if my God was the true God or just one among many others. Eventually I became a superficial person and lost the habit of praying. But at the same time, at each Bible conference I could newly feel the love and work of God, specially listening to life testimonies of other brothers and sisters. I could see how much they were struggling to come closer to Christ and this would move my heart too. But this feeling was only temporary and soon I would walk away from spiritual things.

Meditating in this key verse I learnt something important. I realized that my life would have been totally meaningless and ordinary if God hasn’t called me as a 2^nd generation missionary to Argentina. God opened my spiritual eyes and helped me to foresee a vision beyond what I can see. Thanks to Him I am who I am, and I owe him everything. I want to repent of my faults and thank him sincerely. I also understood that I have a foundation to become a source of blessing, and that everything depends on me.

I am 18 years old and I will be finishing high school this year. I am in a crucial moment of my life. The reason I came to attend this conference is to meet Jesus Christ more personally and learn about his love. I also wanted to receive a clear direction from God and make a decision based on his will through his word and prayer. I also wanted to meet other coworkers and 2^nd gens so I could broaden my vision and perspective. I pray I can leave everything in God’s hands, without doubting about his love.

God gave me the promise of blessing. God promised me to raise me as a future spiritual leader and bear much fruits. In fact he has already blessed me with so many things. God gave me the talent to play piano and glorify him through praise. He also gave me a Christian family, intelligence, a “cool” personality, among many other things. I want to be used by God using all these blessings and serving others. I pray I may have faith that God has a wonderful plan for my life and that I could be raised as a source of blessing like Abraham.

One word: You will be a blessing