CEE Story From The Mission Field
“Tell Her About Me ”
April 23, 2003
In Kharkov, Ukraine, it is natural to meet in homes for tea with friends. This natural setting has become the focus of the ministry team in Saltavka and Kharkov, Ukraine. They have begun to gather in homes for small group Bible studies (cell groups), trusting that through the relationships formed there, the Word of God will find fertile soil.
Keith Wofford normally supervises the Tuesday night cell group, but he was going to be gone in June and asked Vitaliy Sorokun (Vee) to sit in for him. Vee is the pastor of New Hope Church (Church Planting Center). In addition he oversees the growth of the leaders of cell groups, while training new leaders to begin more cell groups. Vee tries to attend the cell groups once a month to make sure that they are heading in the right direction.
This night, Vee heard God speak to his heart at the very beginning of the meeting. He was clearly saying that one lady in the group, Yekatarina, needed to be saved. He felt the Lord’s prompting to, “tell her about Me.”
Yekatarina is in her early 60’s. She is a gentle lady who works as a kindergarten teacher. She is from an Orthodox background and has known about God all of her life. A friend invited her to attend this cell group. She had also attended Bible study and the celebration church service at New Hope Center in Saltavka several times.
After the meeting, during a time of fellowship, Vee felt compelled by the Lord to ask Yekatarina a question. He said, “I don’t know you very well, so please forgive me if I ask you an improper question. Have you received Jesus into your heart?” Yekatarina responded that she was looking for more of a relationship with him and wanted to know what she could do to have God draw closer to her.
Vee shared that she couldn’t do anything, but rather it was God who wanted to draw her close to Him. Jesus said, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” John 6:44. He shared the gospel with her. He told her how she could pray with him to invite the risen Lord and Savior into her life. He stressed how the words were not as important as what she believed in her heart. Yekatarina was ready to pray. The whole group gathered around and as Vee prayed for her, she prayed after him. The group prayed silently for her salvation and praised God. Vee said that all of them experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit during this time and immediately Yekatarina confessed that she felt that God had come really close to her and He had become real. They all joined hands and took turns praising God for His salvation and for His faithfulness.
Later as Vee and Yekatarina walked to the metro, she shared with him that during the Bible study time she felt something drawing her. She knew that Vee was supposed to tell her something important about God.