A South Carolina church group narrowly escaped a harrowing ordeal in Israel, finding refuge in bomb shelters amid Iranian counterstrikes before their safe return to the U.S.



A group of 41 members of a South Carolina church safely returned to the United States earlier this week after being stranded in Israel due to the Iranian counterstrikes.

Charles Timmerman, assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel, told The Christian Post that the group traveled back to the U.S. after taking a bus from Israel to Jordan.

“Our faith in God is the most important thing in our lives, and we are just deeply grateful to our God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and then for the prayers that have come in from across the country,” said Timmerman. “People have stepped up, and we are very deeply grateful.”

He added that he was “very grateful for all the support from our local politicians,” as the church was “directly in contact with” the offices of Republican U.S. Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of Tennessee.

Although the group was scheduled to return on Sunday, they attempted to return on Saturday after Ambassador Mike Huckabee gave a warning about the strikes on Friday. The effort was initially met with a delay prior to takeoff after the Israeli airport was shut down due to Iranian counterstrikes.

“We were going through security, and that’s when the war broke out,” Calvary Chapel Pastor Vic Carroll told WCSC/Gray News earlier this week. “The alarms went off. They ushered us all to the bomb shelters.”

“Every time we head to the bomb shelter. You’ve only got a few minutes to get there once the alarm goes off, and we’re hearing the explosions going off over our heads, it’s just completely surreal. It’s unbelievable.”

The strikes took place after the U.S. and Israel launched several strikes on Iran, killing Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, other high-ranking public officials, as well as several civilians of Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking public officials.

As of Friday, a GoFundme account created to support the church group members raised over $100,000 to cover unexpected costs like hotel stays, meals, and travel delays.

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