ROMAN

As I am writing this, I am in Ukraine. Vicky, Luke, several American pastors, and I are here with our frontline chaplains. The men accompanying me did not come for a tour; they came to strengthen men who are carrying the Gospel into war. They came to encourage chaplains who minister where missiles fall, drones kill, and soldiers die.

We met a chaplain named Roman; he is known as Panda because he is so large, yet he is a very kind and loving man, full of the love of Christ. He walks with a limp from wounds he received in war, and his body carries the price of the front lines. But before Roman ever went to war, war had already come for him.

Roman’s father was a criminal. From his earliest years, Roman remembers his father teaching him how to use weapons. When Roman was about 10 years old, armed men attacked their home. Bullets tore into the house, his father fired back from one window, and his mother fired from another. Then, Roman’s father ordered him to shoot from a third window, while Roman’s young sister carried ammunition.

That was Roman’s childhood. His father later went to prison, and when he died, his partner in crime came back and murdered Roman’s mother. Roman is 44 years old and told me that all these years later, he still misses her.

As Roman grew older, he stepped into his father’s criminal world, but one thing stayed with him. His grandmother had taken him to church and had planted the Word of God in him, and the Word did not die.

When the man who murdered his mother was released from prison, Roman decided he would find him and kill him. He gathered his crew, and they armed themselves with bats and clubs. They planned to beat the man nearly to death, then drown him in a nearby lake, but God had other plans. Somehow, the words Roman’s grandmother had spoken about Christ pierced his heart. Roman walked away from crime and gave his life to Jesus Christ.

Years later, Roman was walking through the city and came face to face with the man who murdered his mother. When the man saw Roman, fear came over him. Roman was no longer a small boy. He was a strong, hardened man. As Roman came close, the man began to shake. Roman looked at him and told him he had forgiven him because of Christ. The man was visibly moved, but he did not ask for Roman’s forgiveness. He continued in crime and died shortly after that encounter.

That is the power of the Gospel. A boy raised in violence became a man of forgiveness. A man who once planned murder became a man who now carries Christ to soldiers at the front lines.

Roman entered the war in 2014, when Russia first attacked Ukraine. He fought for eight straight years. In one battle, Roman was ordered to tell a group of men to leave their position and move to safer ground, and they refused. As Roman was moving to safety, he saw a massive flash, and then everything went black. He woke up hours later from the force of the explosion. The city around him was destroyed, and the ground looked like the surface of the moon — cratered, broken, and dead.

At first, Roman did not know who he was or where he was. Then, a searing pain tore through his back. When he reached for his back, his hand touched his flak jacket, and his memory came flooding back. He wanted to rip the body armor off, but he knew if he took it off and died, his wife might receive nothing from the military. Roman told me that in Ukraine, if a soldier is killed without his body armor, the death can be considered his fault, and the family can lose the death benefit. To protect his family, he kept the armor on, endured the pain, and fought to live.

Roman had a friend who had lost his son to the war. After losing his son, life no longer held meaning for him. In another battle, Russian tanks and soldiers were advancing. If someone did not stay behind and hold them off, they would all die.

Roman’s friend told Roman to get the men out and that he would stay alone. He had two FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and successfully destroyed two tanks. Then, he kept fighting until he was out of ammunition. Around him lay more than 50 dead Russian soldiers.

When the Russians finally captured him, they told him he was a brave man and a great warrior. Then, they killed him by running him over with a tank. These are the men Roman has served beside; the ones he still goes back to reach.

Roman is not only a soldier but also a chaplain. He faithfully shares Christ with the men at the front lines. Many have come to faith in Jesus because Roman will not leave them without the Gospel. He was forced out of the military in 2022 because of his wounds, but he did not leave the mission. He still goes to the front lines to minister to the soldiers, where he prays with them, strengthens them, and tells them about Christ.

Roman’s disability income is only $250 a month. His wife and daughter live close to the fighting, and every day they live with the reality that they could be killed.

Our lead chaplain, Vitaliy, called Roman and invited him to attend the Far Reaching Ministries Ukraine Chaplains Conference. Roman said he could not afford to come. Vitaliy told him he would pay for Roman and his family’s trip. They came by train because Roman’s car could not make the journey. When I heard that, I prayed. Then, I knew what we needed to do.

I had Vitaliy call the Hyundai dealership and arrange for us to purchase a vehicle for Roman and his family. I had settled on a small SUV for $22,000 — reliable, serviceable, and strong enough for ministry in a war zone. Then Vitaliy came to me and said that a Hyundai Tucson was $4,300 more and better suited for the environment. He asked if he added the extra money, could we buy that one instead. I agreed.