Duped by a con-artist and rejected by her Orthodox Jewish community, Sabrina was broken and humiliated – until she found a Savior sweeter than any sorrow, for her and her family!
As a middle-aged woman who moved from South America to Israel 10 years ago, Sabrina* met and fell in love with a con-artist who tricked her into believing that they were legally married. She even underwent an entire Orthodox Jewish conversion and the couple moved into one of the most Ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in all of Israel.
Life was challenging there – to say the least. One particular day when she was walking in the neighborhood, her skirt was deemed “too short,” exposing just a bit of skin above her sock-line – a controversy that created a commotion in the community. And this was only the beginning.
While Sabrina would regularly support the needy in her neighborhood, sadly some began to suspect that she was a “spy.” Rumors began spreading that she was an undercover missionary – and they decided to kick her out of the community!
After all this, she departed Israel humiliated and with a broken heart. Her “husband” kept the apartment and all the money from the business she had opened and everything else she left behind.
Years later, Sabrina would discover that her marriage documents were falsified! In shock, she scoured online to find what else had been hidden from her and found out that “her husband” was now getting engaged to another woman.
Time passed and Sabrina finally decided to move back to Israel on her own. But she was all alone, with no one to pick her up from the airport and nowhere to stay. Amazingly, even though the organization helping her immigrate is particularly against believers, for some reason they recommended Sabrina to a believing organization.
By God’s providence, Sabrina ended up staying near some of our team members. She met with several of them, including Rachel and Daniel, where they spoke together about life and the faith. Rachel helped Sabrina practically to get settled in Israel.
They invited Sabrina to visit a local congregation. Sabrina greatly appreciated the evening session, especially the worship time. As a singer, Sabrina was enamored with the music and shared these songs with her family – even though they didn’t understand the meaning behind them.
Sabrina gladly joined the new Latin group for believers from the congregation where she shared about the rejection she has experienced in her life. Daniel comforted and encouraged Sabrina saying, “Jesus knows the weight of being rejected by His people more than any, and He’s telling you – as a Jew – that He receives you now with His arms open just as He died on the cross.”
Tears started to stream down Sabrina’s cheeks. After all these years in the desert, and for the first time in her entire life, she felt embraced – understanding that Yeshua, Jesus, fully welcomes her with open arms. It was a special meeting that evening, as the Holy Spirit fell on those attending. Many believers saw visions from God, confirming the comforting message He wanted to give Sabrina.
Daniel shared his vision, “I saw a river flowing, it was the streaming river of God. And this river can be inside of you.” Sabrina drank in every word as he continued, “Jesus said, ‘The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38).’”
That night as Sabrina laid down to sleep, this vision permeated her thoughts. And what would happen next would change her life forever. She turned to God and softly spoke, “I want to have this living water in me. Reveal Yourself to me.”
Just a few days later, Rachel met Sabrina along with a few other believers to celebrate a birthday. One of the women there shared her powerful testimony with Sabrina and eagerly asked her if she wanted to receive Yeshua into her heart as well.
With the sun shining in all its glory, Sabrina nodded and replied “Yes,” and in the blink of an eye she had joined the Kingdom.
Sabrina shared with us that she had had many obstacles in her life binding her, but that after she met Yeshua and received prayer she was free – she could sleep well and felt the love of God and His presence.
And over the next few weeks, she began growing in the Lord, worshiping and singing everywhere she goes, and sharing about Yeshua with others, including with her own family – she’s clearly a natural evangelist.
Redeemed from their Trials
Back in her homeland, Sabrina’s mother, Naomi, had become very ill. She almost died twice recently due to thrombosis and cancer. She was desperate. Sabrina wasted no time in sharing this with us and asked us to pray for her. And after we prayed for Naomi on the line with her, she miraculously began to feel better!
Sabrina enthusiastically explained, “There is power in this name of Jesus, don’t close yourself to this name, open your heart to Him.” Sabrina continued to share the Gospel with her mom and her brother, Gabriel, who struggles with alcoholism.
One day Sabrina contacted her mother from the Wailing Wall over a video phone call to show her she was in Jerusalem. But Naomi’s face was as white as snow. After finishing praying for her, all the color returned to her face immediately!
“Your face is just as pink as mine!” Sabrina gleamed. She continued, “Mother, please seek help from believers.”
Sabrina connected Naomi with our team members and she brought us many prayer requests. Naomi could see what Sabrina said was true – there is power in the name of Jesus.
During one of their emotional conversations, Sabrina felt it was the right time for the seed of the Gospel to sprout. She passed the phone over to Daniel who related to her the wonders of the Messiah and excitedly prayed with Naomi to receive the Lord in her life! Full of joy and salvation, Naomi shouted, “Thank you, thank you!”
Different team members took turns speaking with Naomi, encouraging her in her new faith and especially the importance of forgiving her husband, Valentin. Naomi had been holding bitterness in her heart due to Valentin’s infidelity in the past. But Naomi repented of all unforgiveness in her life and forgave him. And thank God their relationship has greatly improved since then!
But Gabriel’s drinking problem was not yet solved. As a foster child, Gabriel has felt extremely lonely and laments that he feels he has no one in the world, especially since his sister and roommate Sabrina left for Israel.
Sabrina asked Daniel to pray for Gabriel, as he was still struggling with addiction. Daniel prayed with him over the phone and reassured him, “We are your family, and you are not alone.”
Only a few days after praying with Naomi to receive Yeshua, Daniel amazingly had the opportunity to pray with Gabriel to receive his Savior too! Gabriel was both touched and overwhelmed as he broke down in tears of deliverance as his burdens were lifted.
Today, Sabrina is reading the New Testament every day together with her mother and brother, encouraging them in their faith. Please pray for her as she’s also sharing her experiences with her father in the hope that he will turn to his Messiah too!
Please Pray with Us:
- For our follow-up team – God’s doing something very special in our follow-up team over these past few weeks – sharpening, refining, and inspiring us more than ever before. Please pray that God will protect from every attack; give unity of heart, mind, and purpose; and conform us more and more to the image of His Son so we’ll be more effective disciple-makers.
- For our discipleship video series and program – for wisdom, anointing, effectiveness, God’s perfect timing, and powerful impact
- For all the new believers (see more stories here), including:
– For Rami, the Druze man we’ve mentioned here – we had a heart-to-heart talk about some of the horrible and illegal things that have been done to him, and when we read the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 with him, he immediately knew he needed to forgive and did so! Please pray that he’ll trust in Yeshua, overcome the many attacks he’s experiencing, and connect with us regularly in spite of many challenges in his circumstances.
– That God would stir all those who are supposed to join our discipleship course using our own video series soon, and that they’d all be filled with the Spirit, grounded in the Word, and become fruitful disciples! - For follow-up with thousands of Israelis online and on the streets, including:
– Eliyahu, a former Orthodox Jewish man from Jerusalem, and Angelo, a seeker from a Christian background, who joined our team member Halel at a worship event. They were intrigued and decided to stay for the Bible study. The message of God’s existence as our Creator spoke to their hearts. Please pray that God will open their eyes and draw them to Himself. - For our Pro-Life and Gospel Campaign, including:
– Karin, a 20-year-old woman, who is more than 8 months pregnant. Due to the war, her family was evacuated from the border and after experiencing pregnancy-related bleeding and having an intense fight with her mother, she broke down and sought to jump from a three-story building. This of course prompted the police to be involved as well. Please pray that God will anoint our counselor Rene to help her in this dire situation and that Karin would still safely deliver her baby and find healing and new life in Yeshua!
– Ofra, a 39-year-old single mother who is in a relationship with an abusive man. Ofra doesn’t feel her partner would be a good father to their child, and unfortunately now thinks that abortion is the solution. Please pray that she and all the others in similar situations would stay in touch with us, choose life, and find wholeness and grace in Messiah.
