SNEEDVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Hancock County man is back at home but not for long. Joe Hurston is packing up again for another mission to Eastern Europe sooner than expected.
Hurston says he received a call early Tuesday morning about the need for more water purifiers in Ukraine.
“Now instead of a week-and-a-half home, I’m spending a couple more hours at home before I head out again,” he said. “And the Russians are looking to kill people so you’ve got people looking to save people and people looking to kill people.”
The former NASA pilot and his team with Air Mobile Ministries are determined to save as many lives as they can with the delivery of their homemade water purifiers. Hurston hopes to bring an additional 10 machines to Ukraine.
“As an American, it would be a bit difficult for me to get to the front lines so if that’s where God leads, that’s where we’re going,” he said.
During Hurston’s first trip to Ukraine in late March, many were fascinated and relieved with receiving the purifiers.
“When they would see me setting up and training people on the water purifiers, they would gather a crowd, and people would be looking, ‘I can make clean water?’ So my communication many times not with words but with action,” Hurston said.
And some action from others is a big help for Hurston and his mission.
“For the most part, it’s young Ukrainians who are taking these machines and plunging out right into the war zone into the most dangerous areas of the country,” Hurston said.
Hurston plans to be much closer to the Ukrainian-Russian battleground this go around, and he’s not forgotten the faces he saw on his first trip.
“I personally witnessed probably more than 5,000 people walking out of Ukraine,” he said. “I witnessed rich people, ladies in mink coats with little dogs carrying a little roller bag fleeing their homes that was blown. Poor people, we thought they were poor but that may of been the only clothes they could get in a moment. I’m not going to mention any of the towns we go, but we are going to move in closer but not in a foolish, irresponsible way.”
Hurston blogs everyday so you can keep up with his journey.
