A Lake Geneva pastor and a group from his church are back home after a Holy Land tour turned into a firsthand experience of war.Pastor Josh Amstutz of Lakeland Community Church led a group of 30 people ranging from high schoole rs to 70-year-olds on what was planned as a 10-day tour of Israel. The trip was cut short when conflict between Israel and Iran escalated, forcing the group to spend two additional days finding a way out of the country.Watch: How a Walworth County church group managed to make it home after being stuck in Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Lakeland Church group makes it home after Holy Land trip caught in war conflictRight before the group ever departed, Amstutz said they had just heard a warning of what they could be in for."In fact when we had left he [President Trump] gave directions and said I'm going to give you ten to 15 days, and our trip was ten days long," Amstutz said. The group was among the first to return to Israel for a tour after travel had stopped following the outbreak of war in 2023. But what began as a spiritual journey through biblical sites quickly shifted when missile strikes began."All of a sudden the sirens go on and then within minutes we saw jets overhead and we knew alright this is it, this is happening right now," Amstutz said."This is going to shift everything we thought we were heading into it was going to be different from here on out."The group sheltered in place in bomb shelters, people's homes, stairwells and basements more than 30 times during their time in Israel. Amstutz said sirens came relentlessly. "We wouldn't go probably more than two hours before there would be sirens again," Amstutz said.With only 90 seconds to find shelter each time the sirens sounded, the group took cover wherever they could including under bridges while their bus pulled over."We saw lots of missiles go over top, we saw them get shot down. There were times where they would get shot down and you would feel this poof, this wave," Amstutz said.One night, a missile struck close to where the group was staying."There was some pretty bad ones that came in the middle of the night and one hit about a quarter mile from our hotel, killed about five people that night," Amstutz said.Amstutz described locals as accustomed to the rhythm of conflict going about daily life until the sirens forced them underground. He recalled a moment from within the group when a business owner in a market quickly ushered one of them to safety."They said they were in the market and a business owner said come quickly they took them into their bomb shelter in their home," Amstutz said.Despite the danger, the disruption to the tour also brought unexpected moments. With other tourists largely absent, the group had iconic sites to themselves."We were at the Church of the Nativity, which often has a two hour line, and we were there by ourselves," Amstutz said.The group also had Mount of Olives and Bethlehem largely to themselves, guided by locals going about their lives between shelter-in-place moments.Amid the chaos, Amstutz said the group witnessed something that stayed with him people of different nationalities showing grace to one another in the middle of war."We think here's two groups of people who shouldn't know how to talk and they do. They show a greater grace to one another than we know how to show to each other," Amstutz said.When it became clear the group needed to leave, they had two options: exit through Egypt or Jordan. They chose Jordan, where they connected with a local church preparing to reopen."We spent that whole day cleaning out a church that's getting ready to reopen. We painted rooms for them," Amstutz said.When the plane finally lifted off, the relief was immediate."There were a few claps on the plane when the thing took off. As soon as it took off it was like this phew we made it," Amstutz said.The group arrived back at Lakeland Community Church's parking lot to a crowd of people waiting to welcome them home. It was only then, Amstutz said, that the weight of the experience fully hit him."There was a responsibility for caring for people and the need to get them home that I didn't even know that I was carrying until we got here and all of a sudden I was like okay, I'm done," Amstutz said.Amstutz said the experience deepened the group's faith in ways he hadn't anticipated."Yet I would say our faith probably grew more in war than in tour," Amstutz said.He said he will never rule out returning to the Holy Land, but plans to take a closer look at the political climate before making that decision.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. 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