NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — Back home at their Novi church, Pastor Jon Morales and his wife Anna have their hearts still in Israel. They just returned from the country after a 10-day trip, witnessing more than they ever imagined.
“We are at home. We are safe, and they are not," Jon Morales said. "That’s heavy.”
Jon and Anna Morales are thinking of the countless people they met who are now living in a country at war. The couple took a group of 25 others to sightsee throughout the country, visiting holy sites along the way.
"The first five days, we did what tourists do: traveled around freely. No sirens, everything was great," Anna Morales said. "But then Saturday morning, that all changed.”
Saturday morning in Jerusalem as they boarded their morning tour bus, sirens they said sounded like a tornado warning rang out.
“We were totally disoriented. We didn't know what was happening," Jon Morales said. "We asked our guide 'what is this?' And he said 'sirens,' and we go 'what does that mean?' And he says 'missiles.''
Quickly, the church group of 27 people ages 25 to 81 ran to a bomb shelter. All they knew to do was pray.
“We're a church group, so we worshiped," Anna Morales said. "We worshiped together. We prayed. We prayed for the country we were in, we prayed for our deliverance and safety.”
Unknown to them at the time, Hamas launched a surprise attack. An hour later, the country they were visiting declared war.
"I definitely felt in danger," Anna Morales said. I’ve never heard a bomb in my life.”
"There’s a few explosions I heard, we heard, in the distance,” Jon Morales recalled.
Soon after, all flights from the U.S. to Israel were canceled. The group was trying desperately to find a way home.
“We felt so supported by our community, which is the people here in the church," Jon Morales said. "People were praying, contacting all the families, seeing how they could help them.”
With some help, they crossed the border by bus into Jordan, then took a flight to Doha and eventually made it back home. It was a religious journey that was more life-changing than they ever imagined.
“How heartbreaking it is — just the conflict they live with day in and day out," Jon Morales reflected. "The many people's lives who have been lost. The innocent civilians in Palestine who are now in the middle of this war. So we’re praying, we’re praying for peace.”
