Israel
Kristina’s Story: From Islam to Christianity
“After many years of happiness, I felt completely empty spiritually, and I was desperate to fill the hole in my heart. To my great regret, I sought satisfaction in worldly pleasures, which led to me getting pregnant. After my daughter was born, I raised her by myself, and after several years of getting sick over and over again, I finally went to the doctor. I was absolutely devastated when my blood work indicated that I had contracted a venereal disease. “After receiving my diagnosis, I had to spend a lot of time in the hospital. My relationships with my family and friends quickly deteriorated, and to my surprise, the only people who wanted anything to do with me were my Muslim neighbors. They prayed for me, talked to me about Allah, and at the end of my treatment, I started attending their mosque. For a year and a half, I…
The Eternal Impact of a Young Leader
David was born in Georgia, but in the late ‘90s, he moved to Israel to escape the law after living a life of crime for many years. After moving, he began using drugs, but in 2010, when he felt trapped in addiction, he checked into the Living Israel rehabilitation center in Haifa. When he completed his four-month program, he enrolled in School Without Walls (SWW) and lived in a monastery for a year. During that time, he married Svetlana, who is also a former drug addict, and now they have two children together. David served in ministry in Haifa for several years, but in 2015, he and his family moved to Rishon LeZion to start a new rehabilitation center. Since then, David and Svetlana have also started three home churches for about 30 people, and now they would like to start nine more home churches in their community so even…
“Discovering the Love of My Heavenly Father”
“My name is Roman and I was born in Israel to a family that didn’t know God. My father was a drug addict, and when I was only a few months old, he left my mother and me and moved to Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city. Later, I learned that he justified leaving by saying that he didn’t want his son to know his terrible father. In fact, I didn’t know my father was a drug addict for 10 years. I actually didn’t even know that he was still alive. “When I was 10, my father called me for the very first time. He said, ‘Son, you don’t know me, but I’m your father. I’ve been a horrible father, because I’ve never paid attention to you, but I recently became a new person. God changed me.’ That was also the first time I ever heard about God. It turned out that…
Andrey’s Story: Freed from Addiction
“I had dedicated myself to Satan and was involved in the practice of the occult from an early age. When I was only 14, I began to use drugs and then graduated to heavier drugs. I soon realized that I couldn’t help myself, even though I knew deep down inside that I should stop. My addiction to drugs was just part of a destructive lifestyle that involved immoral behavior, clubs, parties, women, and everything that the world could offer “I ended up in a lot of rehabilitation centers over the years, and it seemed like there was no hope. But when I entered the Christian rehab center in Haifa, I somehow believed that things would be different. And they were! The Christian rehab center in Haifa actually served as a springboard to a new life that is now full of joy! It was here that God changed me from the…
Stepping Out in Faith: Living Israel Bible Camp
Last year, God called several young Next Generation Christian leaders to organize a summer Bible camp to share the gospel with unreached children in Israel, in partnership with Living Israel, a messianic church and ministry committed to sharing God’s love with Israel’s Russian-speaking population. These young leaders knew that many children in Israel are unreached by the gospel and in danger of getting caught up in crime or substance abuse, and they wanted to create a setting for them to experience the love of Jesus and the care of godly role models. And so, the idea for a summer Bible camp was born. We weren’t sure whether or not the camp would bear immediate fruit–but we took a step in faith, trusting that God had a plan and that He would be faithful. And by the end of that first week of camp, it was clear that God was working powerfully in the…
Serving the Lost Sheep of Israel
Boris is one of our current School Without Walls (SWW) students in Israel. He found Christ through a Christian rehabilitation center run by Living Israel, a messianic Christian ministry in Israel that partners closely with Mission Eurasia to conduct holistic ministry in the Holy Land. Boris’ faith journey is one of dramatic transformation only made possible by God’s grace: Before dedicating his life to Christ, Boris spent 17 years addicted to drugs. He had heard the gospel and even said he was a Christian, but he had not fully given his life over to Christ. Eventually he got to the point where he felt like he was dying, and then he remembered hearing about Christian rehabilitation centers. He found Living Israel’s rehabilitation center, and there he learned about God’s love and restored his relationship with God. After he finished his time in the rehabilitation center he was eager to share…