A church group from Florida spent about a year planning their tour of the Holy Land, but about halfway into their 10-day journey, terrorists launched an attack on Israel. Now, they are stuck waiting for a flight out of a country that’s engaged in a brutal war.
Alan Brumback, the lead pastor of First Naples Church in Naples, Florida, told The Epoch Times that he had led numerous groups on “spiritual pilgrimages” across the Holy Land, but this is the first time he’s been there in the midst of a major conflict.
“This is surreal,” Mr. Brumback told The Epoch Times. “I’ve had my anxious [times], but what a moment to trust the Lord. What a moment to live out your faith.”
On Tuesday, the Baptist pastor stepped outside his hotel at about 8 p.m. local time for a Facetime interview with The Epoch Times. It was dark outside, and sirens could be heard in the background during the call.
“We were having dinner tonight, and I just expected the [restaurant] at the hotel was going to be empty, just our group,” he said. “The whole place was packed. It was full. There were people from Poland, people from America, people from everywhere.”
All were waiting, hoping they would be able to board flights back to their home countries in the coming days, he said.
Mr. Brumback, who leads a congregation of more than 4,100 members, said that the travelers in his group, which includes his wife and three children, are staying in a hotel about 50 miles from where the “gnarly stuff” is happening.
“What we’ve been able to do is instead of fear, we’ve turned that into fellowship. And instead of worry, we’ve turned that into worship and really allowed the Lord to speak to our hearts,” Mr. Brumback said, adding that they will be meeting for a time of worship following the call.
He has been working with a stateside travel agent to secure flights out of the region and back home to Florida.
“We’re doing everything we can to get them out,” Mr. Brumback said.
The group of 47 adults and six children arrived in Israel on Oct. 3, just four days before Israel declared war on the terrorist group Hamas in response to the initial attack.
Reality of Christian Persecution
On the morning of the attack, the group was in the northern region of Israel near the Sea of Galilee with plans to travel south to the Dead Sea and then stay overnight in Jerusalem.But their plans were derailed when the news broke that Israel was under attack.
“We saw it,” Mr. Brumback said calmly, adding they heard the booms but weren’t too concerned at first because it is not unusual to see missiles across the sky or to hear sirens going off.
“There’s always something going on in Gaza,” he continued, explaining that it has intensified since the terrorist attack. “Unfortunately, this is normal daily life [here].”
Mr. Brumback explained that the Iron Dome—an air defense system designed to detect and shoot down incoming missiles—is working as it should to protect the area where they are staying.
“I want to just reiterate that there are missiles hitting [here], yes, but it’s not like a constant barrage,” he continued. “It’s really out of range where their missiles are.”
He said the situation is serious and the missiles have caused damage, but that the Iron Dome has deflected a significant number of them.
But the experience, he said, has been a reminder that as “Americans, we’re sheltered” and don’t face the level of persecution that many Christians around the globe experience on a daily basis.
“The fear of death or the fear of destruction, that’s actually more reality for a lot of people in the world than we know,” Mr. Brumback explained. “I’ve literally gone around the world in over 40 countries, and some are very hard places, especially in the Middle East, and this is a normal day occurrence.”
He said the members of the group have taken this “crisis moment” and turned it into an opportunity to “sing, pray, and share testimonies.”
‘This Didn’t Take God by Surprise’
Many in the group have reached out to family and friends at home in the United States to assure them that they are doing well despite the devastating circumstances in Israel.“The people on this trip have said that they’ve never felt closer to the Lord than they do right now,” Rhonda Wright, the pastor’s executive ministry assistant at First Naples Church, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Ms. Wright said the staff and church members do not necessarily understand why this happened while their friends and loved ones were in Israel, but they are leaning into their faith until they return.
“We know this didn’t take God by surprise. While we don’t understand the timing, we know that God will use this situation for good,” she said. “Our faith is very strong. We know that God will continue to protect them and bring them home soon. We are completely trusting in the Lord to bring them home.”
