‘We can’t wait to see you guys’: Fernandina Beach church group begins heading home after making it out of Israel

Some members of a group touring Israel with First Baptist Church Fernandina Beach have already made it back to the United States after the group crossed safely into Jordan amid the ongoing turmoil of the war between Israel and Hamas.

In a post on social media, Pastor Zach Terry said that as they’ve been able to get seats on flights, they’ve been sending members of the group home to the States.

“The majority of our people are going to be traveling on Saturday and Sunday. The first group will go out on Saturday and the remainder, myself included, will travel on Sunday back to the States,” Terry said in a video posted to X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter.

The group of 54 people touring Israel safely crossed the border into Jordan earlier this week. They were unable to fly out of Israel because several major airlines halted flights in and out of the country amid the fighting.

READ: Airlines halt flights in and out of Israel after a massive attack by Hamas ignites heavy fighting

“We found accommodations. Our tour company is taking incredibly good care of us, Signature Tours,” Terry said in his video post. “They’ve provided guides and everything we need here on the Jordan side.”

Terry said the group has been safe since crossing into Jordan but asked for the community to continue to pray for the group.

“We’re certainly in a much safer position than we were a couple of days ago,” Terry said. “We can’t wait to see you guys, give you big hugs and celebrate the fact God has answered all of our prayers. Keep praying, we’re not out yet.”

Among those helping the group navigate their safe return is Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, who attends First Baptist Church Fernandina Beach.

“This is my pastor from the First Baptist Church. So we’ve got tons of friends, and we’ve actually got staff members who have family members on that trip, so bringing them home safe is our No. 1 responsibility,” Bean told News4JAX on Monday.

Terry said he has been to Israel many times, but this trip was violently disrupted when Hamas launched a massive attack against Israel, and Israel retaliated with a declaration of war.

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At one point, the group was close to the border with Lebanon but then they moved toward Jerusalem when Hezbollah began to encroach into Israel. Terry told The Morning Show earlier this week that they could see the Iron Dome, an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, working, although some missiles got through.

“Even last night, we heard machine-gun fire within blocks of our hotel. And so there were some skirmishes,” Terry said on Tuesday. “But all in all, we’ve stayed safe.”

Terry said Monday that his group could see the smoke rising over Gaza, which was about 90 minutes from where they were at the time.

Terry said having Americans stand with them amid the terrorist attack means a lot to the people of Israel.

“We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are Palestinians and we have Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters and just people created in God’s image on both sides,” Terry said. “Hamas is a terrorist organization working with other organizations like Hezbollah, and it’s evil. We need to see it put to an end. But there are good people in the Gaza Strip. There are good people in Israel, and they’re very thankful to have the support of Americans.”

MORE: Follow updates on the group in Israel at https://twitter.com/zachterry

The State Department has a 24/7 coordinating group communicating with U.S. citizens in Israel and providing them assistance through phone calls and an online form.

U.S. citizens seeking assistance to get out of Israel can fill out this form cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intake or call 1-833-890-9595 or 1-606-641-0131.