Two years ago, we met Irina for the first time when she decided to visit one of our local home groups in Ashdod, after a friend of hers, Sveta, convinced her to join her. At the time Irina shared her heart with the rest of the home group, saying that she came searching for something deeper than what she had experienced before. Her life, at the time, was marked by various struggles, and she felt the need for change.
After about a year and a half of attending, her husband, Yuri, also started coming to the group. His initial reason for visiting Irina’s home groups had been curiosity, but to our joy, he quickly came to faith in Yeshua. The transformation in him was almost immediate. He began reading the Bible eagerly, quit smoking, and gave up drinking, something that had once held a tight grip on his life. It was clear that God was working powerfully in him.
However, Irina’s journey was more complex. Before she had started coming to home group, she was deeply involved in the occult. She would read many books about white magic, and her home was filled with objects associated with witchcraft, including numerous Baba Yaga dolls. She had spent years engaging in these practices, seeking power and answers from sources outside of God.
But our God is a God of mercy and grace, and He touched her heart during her time with us. After a few short weeks of attending home group, Irina repented, realizing the darkness in which she had been living, and she made a bold decision. She threw out all her books on magic and got rid of the dolls that filled her home. It was a huge step toward breaking from her past life.
Yet, even after these outward signs of repentance, Irina still struggled.
Though she had turned from witchcraft, she didn’t experience complete freedom. As we continued to meet and talk throughout this past year, it became clear that she didn’t fully grasp the revelation of Yeshua. While Irina had heard about Yeshua, her understanding of His role in salvation was limited.
Coming from a Jewish background, she believed she could pray directly to God the Father without realizing the necessity of Yeshua as her Savior and mediator. She didn’t yet fully understand that Yeshua is the only way to the Father, as He Himself says in Scripture (John 14:6).
Her struggles with alcohol persisted, and in a moment of weakness and confusion, she made the decision to turn to a spirit guide for help, thinking this could provide her with the relief she desperately sought. She later confessed this to us, and we knew that what she truly needed was deliverance, not from the symptoms of her struggle, but from the spiritual forces that were still oppressing her.
The home group leadership decided then that the best course of action would be for our follow-up team to meet up with Irina for a deliverance session if she would agree to it. Irina was receptive to the idea, as she truly desired freedom. And so, our team met with Irina at the next home group meeting, and prayed fervently for her, calling upon the authority and power given to us in the name of Yeshua.
As our team prayed for her, and waged spiritual warfare by binding the darkness and casting it out, the oppression that had tormented her for so long lifted off of her, and Irina received the freedom that only Yeshua can bring. It was a powerful moment of breakthrough, and from that day forward, her life was radically changed. The change in her was immediately apparent as joy radiated from her face. Hallelujah!
Now, Irina walks in the light of Yeshua.
She has fully repented, accepted Yeshua as her personal Lord and Savior, and has become passionate about her faith. She prays regularly, reads the Bible, and is committed to being in fellowship with other believers. Irina is an active member of both our congregation and her home group, where she continues to grow in her walk with the Lord. We often pray together, rejoicing in how good and faithful God has been to her.
Irina’s story is a beautiful testimony of how God can take someone from a place of deep darkness and bondage and bring them into His marvelous light. Through His grace and the power of the name of Yeshua, she has found true freedom. Truly, God is good, and His mercy endures forever!
