When Iran began firing missiles at Israel three weeks ago in response to military action against its regime, some Christian tourists unexpectedly found themselves in harm’s way. They made it home safely, and one member of the group then found herself in the midst of another harrowing experience – a campus shooting.
Pastor Gabe Turner, who leads Charlottesville, Virginia’s The Point Church was preaching to nearly 60 American Christians atop the beautiful Mount of Olives. He told CBN News he’s done it many times before, as he leads a group to the Holy Land every two or three years. However, unlike previous trips, sirens began blaring, indicating a possible Iranian missile attack.
“None of us had ever been in any experience like that before,” he said, “but we could just sense the hand of God and the peace of God in such a supernatural way.”
Their Israeli tour guide, Ofer Ashkenazi, told CBN News he’s responsible for the safety of the group and had to take quick action.
“The first thing we did, actually, was to take them into a shelter, which, sadly enough, happily enough, it’s the bathroom over there,” he said. “So we all went down underground into the bathroom.”
Shortly afterwards, they carefully made it back to their hotel bomb shelter. Lydia Wilson, a college student who was part of the Christian group from Virginia, told CBN News that despite the danger, they felt the presence of God.
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“We were constantly in prayer. And then I know we had people from back home, our church family, they were all praying for us as well. And we felt that. We felt the prayers,” she said. “And I can’t speak for everyone, but I just kind of had an overwhelming sense of peace. I didn’t think that I was, obviously, we were in the middle of everything. We were in danger, but I didn’t necessarily feel like I was, if that makes sense.”
Throughout their ordeal, the group would eventually seek shelter a total of 24 times.
“We just sensed the hand of God,” said Pastor Turner, “the protection of God over us. We leaned heavily into Psalm 121 that, ‘God who watches over Jerusalem will never slumber or sleep.'”
With airports in Israel and Jordan closed, the group drove four hours to Eilat, in southern Israel, to spend the night. The next morning, they crossed into Egypt, driving another 10 hours to the Cairo airport, and flew back home.
Israeli tourism, a major industry, is now on hold until after the war.
“As a tour guide, we get paid for the day we are guiding. If there is no guiding, there is no work,” Ashkenazi said.
Israelis prefer a quick end to the conflict, that also ends the current regime in Iran.
“If the regime is not going to be changed by the end of the war, we are going to have another war in two years, in three years, whatever it is, it’s going to be again and again and again,” Ashkenazi said.
Like most members of the church group who arrived safely back home from Israel, Lydia Wilson felt grateful to God. However, as an Old Dominion University student, she came back from her harrowing experience only to face another. A shooting happened in the very building Lydia attends class. At the time, however, she was in her nearby apartment.
“It kind of brought back some of those same fears, like I mentioned, from Israel,” she said. “Just because we had those same sirens constantly playing. And it was just like, I don’t know, kind of triggered something like, ‘Oh, I’m not safe right now,’ but I know my roommate and I, we did immediately pray.”
The gunman killed one and injured two others. Lydia and her roommate prayed for the victims and their families.
“There could have been more casualties. There could have been more people injured,” she said. “I mean, it’s just this constant, ‘What if’ and I think that in that sense, God kind of had His hand over all of us.”
In this case, while facing danger in a war zone and here at home, these Christians experienced God’s protection firsthand and peace, despite their circumstances.
