NORFOLK, Va. — It’s a sense of relief and excitement.
After spending days in Israel during that country’s war with Hamas, a Suffolk church group is finally back home in Hampton Roads.
Members of Relate Church flew to Jerusalem for a mission trip, last week, landing just as Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country.
Rita and Brian Larson were among the members stuck in Israel.
“We landed in Israel on Saturday about 10:30, right when they declared war,” Rita Larson said.
Brian Larson added: “It’s very eye-opening. Even on the way to our hotel, we see a big column of smoke.”
The Larsons said they could hear air raid sirens and missile attacks in the distance as they stayed in Jerusalem.
“Even though we felt safe in our area in Jerusalem, it’s still impacted by rockets,” Brian Larson said.
Realizing the conflict was escalating, the group knew they had to get out of the country.
“You could lay in bed at night, you could hear the rockets, you could hear the booms so that was really unnerving,” Rita Larson said. “One time the sirens went off and we had to actually take shelter.”
But they had a hard time finding flights. Church member Tyler Wilson said many commercial flights got canceled.
“We thought we were going to be coming back at the right time once the flights started getting canceled to America is when we started to get a little worried,” Wilson said.
Finally, this weekend, the group returned to Norfolk. They were greeted by friends and family with warm hugs, welcome home signs, and balloons.
“I am absolutely ecstatic,” Wilson said. “I am exhausted. I am ready to go back to my own bed.”
While they’re back home safely, they say they know many people back in Israel and Gaza are still facing conflict and they’re urging the community to keep faith.
“Just pray for Israel,” Brian Larson said. “Pray for Jerusalem.”
The group officially left Israel on Friday. They landed at Norfolk International Airport Saturday night.