As we visit Russian Holocaust survivors and former prisoners of the Ghettos in their homes, we remind them that they are not alone; that Jesus loves them. We pray with them. Read the Scriptures together. And do their home chores. During December, whilst Israel prepared for rise of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, our staff there assisted and encouraged many of these elderly veterans!
Zhanna Goffman, an 84 year old survivor we assist, is now unable to go to church for health reasons. On our visits to her home, our staff pray with her. When they are not able to see her in-person, the phone conversations with her last at least one hour. She is very grateful for the help we provide her, and she always looks forward to our next meetings so that she can pray with us! Through your support, David Hathaway’s Ministry in Israel is able to share the hope and salvation of Jesus with her.
Daughter of a Jew, Zhanna was born in 1937 in Kirovograd, USSR. Zhanna's mother died when she was 10 months old. When the War began, her father left their hometown, leaving Zhanna with her grandmother.
In 1941, the Nazis came to Zhanna's town. Her grandmother hid her Jewish granddaughter from her neighbours, because some of them wanted to tell the Nazis about her.
These are three special impressions that remained in Zhanna’s memory during those 2 years when their city was under the rule of the Nazis.
A neighbour chopped off the heads of some chickens. As their bodies were running around, spraying blood into the courtyard where four-year-old Zhanna was playing, she fainted from seeing all the blood. Her grandmother went to argue with a neighbour, but the neighbour began to shout at her that she was hiding a Jewess, so a Nazi soldier came running, ready to shoot the "guilty Jews." Zhanna's grandmother dissuaded him with some words. But this terrible moment remained forever in the memory of Zhanna.
They had to move to the other side of the city, where their aunt, a tailor, lived. There was a huge mirror in this house. One day a fascist soldier came into the house, and in the room, when none of the relatives were there, he saw Zhanna's reflection in the mirror and walked over to her. From fear she backed up to the wall; the man went towards her and grabbed her in his arms as she burst into tears, but he said, he didn’t want to kill Zhanna.
On January 7, 1943, when Kirovograd was liberated from the Nazis, Zhanna and her grandmother knelt all night in prayer to Jesus. The whole city was enveloped in sirens, shooting, and explosions. In the morning, having opened the shutters, they saw that their glass windows were intact. But their neighbours’ windows were smashed from all the bullets. This answer to prayer left an indelible mark of faith in Zhanna. Now through every difficult circumstance, she always prays.
David Maltzer told us, ‘Today the volunteers of David Hathaway’s Ministry came again to my apartment! It is always pleasant when they visit, and not just because of food products and food cards they provide, nor just because of the necessary utensils, no! The thing is, they always cheer me up! I feel God's love, and their care. These volunteers are not indifferent towards me; they genuinely care about me! I am very grateful to this wonderful Christian organisation! For all the good deeds they do! Thank you very much! God bless you, and please do not stop helping us!’
Vitalij Mozherovsky says ‘Thank you very much to your organisation for your constant help and support. Firstly, because of you, I don’t feel lonely! Secondly, your weekly prayer meetings and services nourish my soul!’
