20 New Brothers and Sisters in Odessa!

As the war in Ukraine continues, life remains unpredictable—so it was such a blessing when the authorities re-opened some of the beaches to the public. Finally, we could set a date to baptize 16 new brothers and sisters in Yeshua (Jesus), five of whom are Jewish!

Leonid and Olga Vasserman serving in Odessa

One participant, Galina, had been uncertain about going through with it until the Shabbat service just days before the event. She had attended pre-baptism Bible lessons, but after the service, she confessed, “I’ve really been struggling about this. In addition to my own doubts, my Orthodox daughter has been pressuring me to stop attending the Messianic congregation and to forget all this. But God spoke to me through the message today, and now I’m sure that I want to take this step and follow Yeshua!” What a joy this was after ministering to her for more than 10 years!

On the day of the baptism, Nelia, another new Jewish believer, had great difficulty climbing down the steps that led to the sea. She had a bad leg and silently worried that she wouldn’t be able to make it back up. But after she was immersed, Nelia was amazed at how easily both her legs were working. She had no problem getting up the steps to enjoy our celebration service and barbecue lunch.

Praise God, just a few months after the baptism, three Jewish women (Marina, Alyona, and Snezhana) and one Gentile woman (Vika) came to an evangelistic service at the invitation of members of the Messianic community here.

After the Bible message, we had a call to repentance, and all four women wanted to make peace with God through Messiah Jesus! They all prayed to receive Him as their Lord and Savior. Please pray the Lord will bless them and help them grow strong in their new faith.

Those who were baptized received their own Bibles, and then celebrated with a feast!

We praise the Most High for His grace! And we thank you, dear friends of Jews for Jesus, for your part in introducing these new brothers and sisters to Jesus. As you pray for each of them to grow and be strengthened in the Lord, please remember to pray for all of us serving in Ukraine. It’s been nearly two years since our country was invaded, and as of this writing, we don’t see an end to the war in sight. Please join us in praying that God will grant peace and complete restoration for Ukraine.

Names are changed to protect privacy.