The Hole in Dima's heart

When Dima was ten, his father — a man with no faith of his own — brought him to our SportKids Club. He said simply, “You are good people with strong values. I want my son to grow up to be a good man.”
Dima’s mother had vanished to Russia when he was just eight months old.His father, aunt Yulia, and grandmother poured everything into him; for Dima, his dad was the heart of his world. Then in 2022, his father was called to fight in the war. Every day, the boy carried fear in his chest.
In 2023, the fear became reality: his father was killed by Russian soldiers.When our coaches heard the news, they went to the funeral. Dima stoodbeside his grandmother; his aunt was too sick to come. He looked small andlost, grief etched into his face. After the funeral, Dima sank into a deepsadness. Our coaches kept close. They listened, prayed with him, and gavehim a Christian book and a Bible to comfort his wounded heart.But the hole in his life remains.
He is not the only one carrying this weight. Across Ukraine, thousands ofchildren are grieving, anxious, wounded, and growing up without one or even no parents because of the war.
Who will help the thousands of children like Dima enjoy their childhood again — even in wartime?

From a Wide-Eyed Kid to a Life transforming Coach

Ten years ago on a small field in Kyiv, I met a skinny, shy boy named Arseniy. He was ten years old, cared only about soccer, and paid little attention when we talked about Jesus after practice.
Over the months he started to linger, asking questions and quietly sharing his fears and hopes. Those moments planted seeds of faith. When war erupted we lost contact, and for a long time I wondered whether those seeds had taken root.
In 2023 a pastor wrote me to say that Arseniy, now in his twenties, was a youth leader at his church and hoped to start a Sport Kids program of his own. A few months later he walked back onto our field—this time with a notebook in his hand and a desire to learn how to coach and disciple.
For a year and a half he has been serving alongside us, mentoring younger players and boldly sharing the gospel. He’s preparing to join the Athletes in Action Ukraine team and dreams of multiplying leaders like himself.I still get a lump in my throat watching him kneel to tie a boy’s shoelaces or pray with a team.
A Boy far from God became a Coach who shepherds other Kids such as Dima.