Thinking about the Future

Since it's the new year, my husband and I began to think about what our goals are for 2013.  Firstly we pray that we will see Jesus soon, but that doesn't mean we will wait around idly for him to return.  There's plenty of souls that need to hear the gospel before Jesus returns, so we've decided to put more efforts than ever into our own spiritual growth and evangelism.

Some of our goals this year are:

1. Share the gospel with 100 individuals - write down who, when and what we talked about with the person.  This is a big goal for me since English speakers are pretty rare here in Ukraine.  Oles's goal is to share the gospel with 200 individuals and with 50 people in a crowd at one time.
2. Grow spiritually and make a victory against sin in our lives.
1. For me this means making steps to challenge the idol of comfort that I can sometimes put up in my life.  This is probably a result of being born into a middle class american family, where the culture revolves around comfort in every sphere of life.  This is maybe the biggest reason, I believe, that Christianity is so weak in America, in general.  I want to grow in my satisfaction and trust in God and be joyful with the life and circumstances that God gives me.
2. For Oles this means growing in humbleness and fighting pride.  This is a sin many men struggle with, and for some reason it's been especially difficult for him to deal with in the past.  From this sin come other sins, and he wants to be free from slavery to this sin.
3. We want to use 2013 to prepare our hearts, our spirits and our bodies for becoming missionaries in another country.  We are thinking about India and Nepal now, because Oles loves this area of the world, and we have connections in this part of the world, that so desperately needs the gospel.  We plan to do this by:
1. Growing in knowledge and ability to disciple young believers
2. Grow in strength and courage in sharing the gospel with non-believers
3. Strengthening our bodies to handle harder living circumstances 
4. Pray for hearts that are ready to suffer greatly for the sake of the gospel and making Jesus's name famous in the world and magnifying the glory of God.

Please pray for us this year as we grow spiritually and prepare for the future.  please prays for our hearts to trust God, to conquer sin, and to have a passion for sharing the gospel with the lost people.

- Jessica and Oles