Texas Pastor Attributes Safe Return from Middle East to Congregation’s Prayers
Pastor Steve Brooks of the First Methodist Church in Midland, Texas, alongside his family, recently navigated a challenging evacuation from the Middle East amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The pastor expressed profound gratitude to his church members for their overwhelming prayer support during the ordeal.
Brooks, who had embarked on a pilgrimage to Israel with his wife and 9-year-old twins, found their spiritual journey abruptly disrupted as conflict erupted. “We got on buses in Jerusalem outside of our hotel. We had to walk about a quarter of a mile trying to keep a low profile,” Brooks recounted in an interview with KVUE-TV.
The Brooks family endured an 18-hour bus journey to reach Jordan, where they encountered delays due to the mass exodus from the region. They were instructed to maintain discretion, with Brooks noting, “We were kind of asked to go dark.” Despite this, the family’s ability to stay informed via Facebook and email provided some solace.
The church community in Midland rallied in prayer, with Associate Pastor Kurt Borden highlighting the emotional response, “It was overwhelming the number of people that just genuinely were concerned.” Borden described a special Sunday service dedicated to prayer for the Brooks family, marked by candles, scripture, and music.
Brooks attributed their safe return to the U.S. to this spiritual support, stating, “Certainly, in this situation, with all the prayers, we were out.” He reflected on the importance of faith during such trying times, underscoring the belief that “God is our refuge and our strength and our very present help in trouble.”
On June 20, First Methodist Church announced via Facebook that the Brooks family had successfully returned to U.S. soil. This homecoming occurred shortly after Israel conducted airstrikes on Iran, intensifying the regional conflict.
This article was originally written by www.christianpost.com
