Andrii's story
Ellissa's story
Ellissa's story
I am from Shostka, Ukraine.
I was born in 1987. I signed a professional soccer contract but was seriously injured in 2005 at the age of 17 and forced to stop playing professionally after only one season of my career. Just before my injury, I became a believer in Jesus Christ. I realized that this injury was God’s prompting for me to commit my life to ministry. It was my desire to dedicate my life to
the spreading of the gospel to people involved in sports. At the age of 19, I became a soccer coach in my hometown. In 2009 after Eurasian Sport Leadership School, I became a full-time missionary at my local church, and in 2011 at the age of 24, I joined SportQuest. From 2006 to 2018 I dedicated my life to ministry in Shostka where many lives were changed. In 2018 I moved to Kyiv to lead a bigger ministry. 2018 was the year of many changes, in the same year I met my future wife Ellissa.
Ellissa's story
Ellissa's story
Ellissa's story
I was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1992. I grew up in a large Christian homeschool family and was blessed with two godly parents. I became a believer at a young age and was hugely impacted by stories of missionaries who served orphans around the world. In 2018 I did a one year internship with a missions organization that hosted summer camps for orphans in China. This internship opened my eyes to the needs of vulnerable children around the world and urgency for God’s message of hope to be shared. I told the Lord I was willing to move anywhere in the world if He wanted to use me to spread His gospel! In 2022 Andrii and I were married and I moved 6,000 miles away from my family to join my husband on the mission field.
Our story
We were married in 2021 and Ellissa moved 6,000 miles across the world, to Ukraine to join Andrii in his sports ministry.
On February 24, 2022, we woke up to the terrifying sounds of bombs being dropped near our home. The Russians launched a full-scale war on our beautiful country. We were forced to flee our home with what little possessions we could throw in our car. Everything else was left behind.
Ellissa was 38 weeks pregnant! We stayed in a car for more than 50 hours during the first 5 days of the war. In the end, God guided us across the border to Budapest, Hungary.
In March 2022, we welcomed our first baby girl, Emiliya Heidi. In August 2023 we welcomed our baby boy, Iliya Andrii. Our Ukrainian/American babies born in Hungary.
For 2 years we have lived and done ministry in Budapest, Hungary. We served Ukrainian kids and families using football as a tool to connect, share the Gospel, and disciple them. Also, we continue to serve and equip coaches and ministries in Ukraine. But we are waiting for the day when we can return to our home and family in Ukraine.
Our Mission
The heart of our family is to equip and prepare coaches for ministry, advance the Kingdom of God in our generation, and allow kids to have significant life-changing experiences in a broken world.