SNOWFLAKE- A Christian women’s group from Snowflake is in Israel, sheltering in place and evacuating to bomb shelters as they hear the Iron Dome engage and watch Israeli military planes fly by.
The women’s Christian group is the Calvary Chapel Snowflake group, and they’re joined by the Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship based in California. There are 49 women in total stranded in Israel.
The Snowflake group goes to Israel every year for a pilgrimage to the area where Jesus Christ lived, ministered, and was crucified. For Christians, these places are sacred, and worshiping there renews faith and brings meaning and understanding to Christianity.
The group left Snowflake, Arizona, and flew to Israel last week. When the group was visiting sacred sites in Israel, the United States bombed Iran. Then, Iran bombed Israel.
We are deciding not to disclose the group’s location in Israel for security concerns.
During the bombing, the group was led into a bomb shelter where they stayed until the alert was lifted. The group told Mountain Daily Star that they are presently resting in their hotel, waiting to hear any further warnings.
One of the women, speaking to the Mountain Daily Star from her location in Israel, described the intensity of the moment.
“We heard the Iron Dome from our hotel, and it sounded like a sonic boom,” she said. “We also watched Israeli fighter jets fly through the sky.”
Her account underscores the heightened tensions in the region, as the sound of air defense systems and military aircraft became part of the backdrop outside her hotel window.
The time difference is nine hours, and as the day turns into night in the Middle East, the world finds out that the U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran have resulted in the death of Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with others in the regime.
According to Netanyahu and intel sources, they are saying the leader was killed, and many around the world continue to monitor the situation in Iran.
The World has been put on a Worldwide Caution Alert by Travel Gov, warning all Americans to use caution when traveling and to shelter in place.
According to one of the women, their flights back to the mountain have been canceled, and no flights or planes are currently available.
The U.S. Consulate in Israel told Mountain Daily Star that all the planes in the area have been taken to Greece, and there are no plans to fly anyone out of Israel for some time. But that “they’re working on getting things back to normal as soon as possible.”
The Christian women’s group expressed concern and asked all Faiths in the White Mountains to pray for them as they work with the U.S. Consulate and their tour guides to get home safely.
“This is a very scary situation, and we are trying to rest between sirens and thank anyone who wishes to pray for us; they are needed,” said one of the women.
Mountain Daily Star is in contact with the groups and will update the community as soon as we have more information.
