A month from next Monday, I'll be flying out of the States to serve full-time in Odesa. In addition to traveling to four more churches before I leave, I'll be spending this next month preparing. And there's plenty to prepare: travel plans, international health insurance, selling my car, getting rid of what I don't need, getting what I will need, and finding room to pack it all. Most of all, though, I want to prepare spiritually through prayer. I'd be honored if you would pray with me. Here's a look at what I'll be praying for in the month before I leave:
Requests of God
I pray for my time right now while I'm in the States that God would give me opportunities to share the gospel to unbelievers and to disciple other believers. For as long as God has me in the States, God has a mission for me here, and His mission includes reaching other people: showing Christ to the lost and encouraging fellow believers in their spiritual walk. As Paul prayed (Colossians 4:3), I ask that God would open those opportunities to speak - and that I would have the boldness to use them. Paul also prayed for this boldness (Ephesians 6:18-20), knowing that opportunities are no good if we choose to ignore them.
I pray each day for the church in Odesa, Ukraine. The church members get news of nearby bombings weekly, hear sirens daily, lose electricity almost hourly, and yet need to rely on God minute by minute. Pray that God would grow and use these church members. I pray especially that God would strengthen Bro. Mark Priem and his wife. They often have health problems on top of exhaustion from all they are doing. I pray that God encourages them and uses them.
For myself, I pray that the collection of my documents for the visa process and submission of them to the Ukrainian government would go smoothly. The process has already started, and I pray for God's hand on the process. I also pray that God would bring me to full financial support before I leave on October 16th and that God give me faith regardless of what His will is.
Lastly, I pray that God would use me in Odesa in the way He wants me to be used. Even if it requires changing me, changing my plans, or changing something around me, I want to be who and where God wants me.
Praises
But not all my prayers are requests to God. How could I not praise Him for all His goodness these past few weeks? Here are just a few of the blessings that I have seen:
Complete provision for my needs and for things far beyond my needs
A full schedule of churches that have been full of generosity, encouragement, and a true heart for missions
Opportunity to share the gospel with the lost
Many times of close fellowship with other believers and friends
Peace in worrying times, assurance of His leading in my life, correction when I have done wrong, and joy continually
In light of all this goodness so evident in the past few weeks (and through my whole life), I know that, as we let God know our requests, He listens; He answers, and His will is good.
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