Our story with Taras began in 2023.
Taras is originally from the city of Pokrov in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Because of the war, he was forced to leave his home and became internally displaced. That is how he eventually found himself in Zakarpattia, in western Ukraine.
He happened to live not far from my mother-in-law, and through her he learned about us. One day, Taras came to Family of Christ International. He simply wanted to help, serve people, and make himself useful.
That was the beginning of our journey together.
Taras became a volunteer, joined the Family of Christ International team, and began helping others even while facing challenges of his own. He also started attending our church and became part of our spiritual family.
Later, Taras was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served with Ukraine’s 68th Brigade and carried out combat missions near Avdiivka, one of the most difficult areas of the front.
Sadly, during one of those battles, while defending Ukraine, Taras was severely wounded and lost an arm.
What followed was another difficult chapter of his life: treatment, rehabilitation, recovery, and the process of receiving and learning to use a prosthetic arm.
Throughout all of this, we never lost contact with him. During his military service, after his injury, and throughout his treatment, rehabilitation, and prosthetic process, Family of Christ International did everything we could to stand beside Taras and his family, support them, and help in every way possible.
And today, it brings us great joy to say: Taras is back with us.
Today, he works at Family of Christ International and is once again helping people as a full member of our team.
For us, this is about much more than simply employing a veteran.
We welcomed Taras back not only because he had served and worked alongside us before. We take care of our people.
To us, people are not resources to be used while they are strong, healthy, and able to contribute and then forgotten when difficult seasons come.
That is not what family does. Family stays.
Being a family means walking with people through every season of life: when they are serving others and when they need someone to serve them; when they are strong and when they are walking through pain; when they leave to defend their country and when they come home; through injury, treatment, rehabilitation, and the challenge of beginning a new chapter.
This is what ministry means to us.
It is about gratitude.
It is about faithfulness to people.
It is about honor and respect.
And it is about turning our words of support for veterans into real action.
We believe supporting veterans cannot end with simply saying, “Thank you for your service.”
It means standing beside them while they serve. It means supporting them after they are wounded. It means walking with them through treatment and rehabilitation. And when they return home, it means creating real opportunities for them to rebuild, work, serve, and begin a new chapter of life.
That is why Family of Christ International is committed to supporting and employing Ukrainian veterans.
We want every person who has been through this war to know:
You are needed.
You are valued.
You have not been forgotten.
There is still a place for you.
Taras, we are so grateful to have you back with us.
In 2023, you came to us as a displaced person who simply wanted to help. You became our volunteer, a member of our church, and part of our family. Then you became a soldier and a defender of Ukraine. You endured a severe combat injury, the loss of your arm, rehabilitation, and the journey of receiving a prosthetic.
And today, you are here again, serving people alongside us.
Thank you for your heart.
Thank you for your service to others.
Thank you for defending Ukraine.Welcome back to the team, brother.
You were, and always will be, part of the Family of Christ International family ❤️
Family of Christ International is a faith based nonprofit delivering help, hope, and healing to people and places in crisis, with a primary focus on Ukraine.
Founded in Uzhhorod, Ukraine in 2012, their teams provide humanitarian aid and practical support to vulnerable communities, including displaced families, orphaned children, wounded soldiers, and people in nursing homes.
Their mission connects the global church to real needs on the ground, combining compassionate relief with spiritual encouragement in the name of Jesus Christ.