'This is life and death': Midstate senior citizens have mission to help Ukraine orphans

DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) — A group of senior citizens with Middle Tennessee missionaries out of Dickson County continue to do amazing things in war-torn Ukraine.

For months we have shown you the smiling faces of Ukrainian orphans served by our small group of amazing senior citizen Middle Tennesseans.

Rolling blackouts in Ukraine caused freezing orphanages. The missionaries responded with a winter blanket drive with donations from the public that have been helping Ukrainians for nearly a year now.

It has been shoes and socks and toiletries and beds. It has been rebuilding showers and bathrooms, and always heaping helpings of love. But this time, the need is different.

“We’ve got 65 orphans that are trapped in the basement in an orphanage in the city of Harcove," said Pastor Stu Martin from Wings of the Wind ministry in Dickson County. "And they’ve already the shelling has hit the roof of the orphanage and knocked the roof off of it. But we need to get those kids out of there. They need to get them in a safe area of the country."

'No mama, no daddy, it kind of breaks your heart': Mission to help Ukrainian war orphans

The missionaries have three orphanages they have been serving in non-combat areas that will take the kids.

The highly skilled people at Aerial Recovery in Nashville will transport the orphans to safety.

But because of the special needs kids, the Ukrainian government will not release the orphans without a doctor and nurse.

“And the thing is we’re not asking anybody to go down there, we’re asking just give us contact with the Ukrainian government, give me someone I can talk to," Martin said. "That will help us to find someone to authorize the doctors and nurses to go down there because they are not going to move unless the government authorizes them."

'They thought we was Santa Claus': Middle Tennessee missionaries go to uncharted Ukraine

And here we finally have it - the senior missionaries who have defied all logic in serving kids that have been ignored by everyone - finally found something they can’t do.

“And so like I say I’ve talked to the offices of both or our senators and my congressmen and everybody keeps giving me the runaround," Martin said. "I’m not asking them to do anything except give me a contact, give me someone to talk to, give me a phone number, give me a name of someone to talk to."

So FOX 17 News decided maybe we could help. We jumped in and contacted Congressman Mark Green and Senator Marsha Blackburn. Hopefully they will turn something over here in a few days. After all, there is a lot at stake.

“This is something that’s happening everyday," said Pastor Stu Martin. "This morning there was bombings in those areas and shelling. Those kids are going to die in that thing if we don’t get them out of there. This is life and death.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s office gave us several emails and phone numbers. FOX 17 News will let you know if we get anywhere with that.

Get reports like this and all the news of the day in Middle Tennessee delivered to your inbox each morning with the FOX 17 News Daily Newsletter.