Hello, my name is brother Steve, I greet everyone with the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
I would like to share briefly my personal testimony, about the glory of God and in what spectacular way the Lord changed my life . I am 49 years old and I grew up in a regular soviet family – you can say a successful family. In the beginning of the 90s when the Soviet Union collapsed and the wave of freedom that swept the country at the time I jumped into drugs and became an addict and later an alcoholic. Everything continued to the point that I was a patient on a methadone program for 10 years. I got divorced in 2006. My wife left me with our son because of my drug addiction.
Later when it was 2017, which is about a year since my father passed away. I was dying and lost in my sins, and going from prison to prison. In one moment a minister of a rehab center met me on the street and told me that there is a way out. I kinda let it slip past my mind but it still touched my heart. This minister would say “come, we will pray for you and maybe if you also need to get a new change of clothing or have a meal.” It was then that I first got introduced to the unconditional love of Christ. When I felt that a person genuinely and selflessly cares about the destiny and life of another person who is dying. Later at one point he ended up sending me to the rehab center that belongs to a congregation called “Fruit of the vine” near Caesarea.
At first I came to the rehab center to just lower my dosage. I was not very seriously minded. I stayed in the center for 2 months, did not repent, but there I felt the genuine love of God.When a minister who himself was also an attic. His name is Aleksandr who also happened to have passed away a few months ago. A minister from Ukraine. I remember his prayers at night on how he would pray for me. How he cared for me. This brotherly heart and love. I believe that only in Christ is this type of love possible. I still left though after 2 months from the rehab center. I got into prison again and after being set free I felt I ruined the rest of my life. I lost all my relationships with relatives and friends.
I kept falling lower and lower and again I met this same brother Aleksandr and asked that he would send me again to a rehabilitation center. I still remember this day as if it’s today. It was Sep 4th, 2019, he again sent me to the same center. This time I came with a serious mind, I knew I needed to come to the Lord or I would be completely lost. I thought, I’ve tried everything to this point, so trying this rehabilitation for reals is not going to hurt.
At the moment when I came, Valeri Katzman was now the one overseeing the center. In our past life we used to cross in prisons and police. Here I saw huge changes that the Lord has worked on him. He now had a new outlook on his face that was fiery and holy. I knew that this was something supernatural. Only in Jesus Christ can a person have this. I stayed and thought I would collect some money while here. But by some miraculous way the Lord touched my heart. In about 2 months I repented with my full heart and genuenly. I am also thankful to the prayers of the congregation that was praying for me. This time I stayed the full program for 9 months. I continued to be part of the congregation and in about one year I accepted the water baptism. Before coming to the Lord, I also used to suffer from a heavy form of epilepsy. This was acquired through my usage of drugs. About once a week I would have seizures and the ambulance would take me to the hospital. Many times my face and head were bleeding. It was around a year after my repentance that the Lord also healed me and I haven’t had seizures since.
I stayed also to help the minister that was serving at the rehabilitation center. I also got a job and started to work in a security firm in the evenings where I had time to read the word. One the Lord spoke to me through a passage in the epistle to the
Romans 12:1 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
These words so touched my hear. In about a few weeks I quit my job and dedicated my life to helping at the the rehabilitation center 24/7. There I helped the person overseeing the center, and to look over the overall situation there. I am thankful to God that he opened my heart to serving Him.
At one moment, I began to have a desire to form a family. As the bible says, it is not good for man to be alone. I started to pray a lot about this. Praise God the Lord heard my prayers. Less than about 2 years ago the Lord blessed me with a sister in Christ from our congregation. She is a helper, and we serve together at the Aviv Center in Tel Aviv near the bus station. We preach the Gospel to lost souls, feed them and give first aid all for the glory of our Lord Jesus Chrit. I also now serve at our local Church in the media aspect and help with the subtitles for worship and continue helping in the rehabilitation center.
I want to thank the Lord that at one point he found me when I was drowning in my sins and lawlessness. He brought me to His house, His church. He washed me, cleansed me and healed me and gave life eternal.
I am thankful to the Lord for all that the Lord has done for me. My relationships are now mended with my son, mother, brother. The Lord through his wonderful ways has restored all these. Also I had a huge debt with the government that was also forgiven. I was not able to leave Israel for 30 years. About 2 years ago I was able to see some relatives in Germany and travel to France. I want to thank the Lord for all this that he has done for me.
