BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A Bowling Green church group has returned to the commonwealth after being in Israel during Hamas’ attack. 

What You Need To Know

  • Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, leading to over hundreds of casualties

  • Broadway United Methodist Church was in northern Israel when the initial attack occurred

  • The group had to undergo an air raid shelter after traveling to Jerusalem 

  • Days later, they were able to evacuate to Jordan; however, they got stuck at the border for five hours due to a heavy amount of people trying to leave

Adam Shourds is a pastor of the Broadway United Methodist Church. He, his family, and several members of the church went to Israel for an educational tour. However, while exploring northern Israel, their plans drastically changed after Hamas attacked Gaza.

Shourds said, “My guide pulled us aside and said ‘Hey, there are some things that are going on in the south of the country.’ We hoped it was a small thing and for it to be over quickly. We were getting texts from home, we were watching the news, and it became clear that this was an isolated event.”

Before the attacks had happened, Shourds said that the hotel they were staying at was a happy with a “holiday kind of environment.” But after the attacks started, the attitudes and atmosphere had shifted. 

“When we got back, it was like a ghost town,” Shourds said. “There was a real sense of grieving. It was like their 9/11. You could tell they were shocked, they were surprised. The environment changed pretty quickly.” 

The group remained calm and safe, eventually leaving Tiberias to head to Jerusalem two days after the attacks started. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they heard air raid sirens, and that sent them scrambling into a crowded bomb shelter.  

 

Shourds described the terror saying, “It was about 15 minutes of being unsure what was gonna happen. In the end, it wasn’t really anything we had to worry about. And it was really at that point we thought ‘Okay, it’s definitely time to leave.’”

The group quickly traveled to Jordan. The journey to the border wasn’t quick. They were caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Shourds said, “There were like 20 buses behind us, and they started to unload people and they were cutting in front of us. It was just a mess.”

Shourds and his group eventually caught a flight from Qatar to Washington D.C., and in those moments, Shourds said things were surreal.  

“I think when the plane took off in Qatar and the wheels got off the ground there, I think we all thought ‘Oh gosh, we’re actually going home,’” Shourds said. “And it was clear that when we landed in D.C., we made it. That’s still 10 hours away from home. But it felt like home.”

Now back in Bowling Green, Shourds is back to spreading a message of hope and prayers for peace to be restored.

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