Ocalans visit war-torn country

Rev. Rocky Shrable and his wife, Rebecca, at the Garden of Gethsemane. [Submitted photo]

Home » Community

Posted December 30, 2024 | By Marian Rizzo, Correspondent

Stirred to action by the strife in the Middle East, Rocky Shrable, pastor of Wings of Faith Fellowship in southeast Ocala, recently organized a humanitarian tour of the Holy Land. Shrable made the 10-day journey in November 2024, along with his wife, Rebecca, Shawn Smith, director of the Christian Homeschool Education Center, and Stanley Tyrell Scott, founder and president of Performing Hearts Inc., a performing arts ministry to youth.

Having been to Israel before, Shrable originally planned a tour for Oct. 9, 2023, with 10 individuals from his church signed up to join a group of 40. The attack of Oct. 7, that year, changed their plans.

“Everything got shut down, so I had to reschedule that trip,” Shrable said. “We had only four signed up this year. The others were still concerned about the ongoing conflict in Israel and were not feeling safe yet.”

Upon their arrival at Tel Aviv airport, the four teamed up with a tour group from the Philippines. Their itinerary included visits to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Qumran, the Dead Sea and the region of Galilee. Shrable said he was surprised by the welcome they received in that war-torn country.

“There were a lot of people with machine guns slung over their shoulders and adults with pistols, but they greeted us with open arms,” said Shrable. “We tried to love on those people and let them know there are people at home praying for them. Something meaningful to me was meeting a young lady named Ella, whose niece was kidnapped. Abigail was 4 years old and was one of the first hostages that was released. But her parents were murdered.”

Unlike in previous years, Shrable noticed there were fewer tour buses in the area. Most of the time, the group’s bus was the only one in the parking lot and they didn’t have to wait in line at any of the tourist sites, Shrable said.

Smith noted that the reduction in tourists has had a definite effect on the economy.

“The people were really thriving on tourism, but the tourism industry has tanked,” said Smith. “Shops have closed down. Some of the common groceries have shut down.”

For the four travelers, the initial intent was to purchase food and other essentials for families affected by the attacks. But things changed once the variety of needs became evident, he said.

“It was supposed to be a humanitarian mission,” Smith said. “We went to a local grocery store to buy groceries, but we ended up purchasing more than $7,000 in food distribution cards. That way, the people would be able to go to the store if they needed specific items. It was unbelievable. People were crying because they felt hope. They know that President (Elect) Trump believes in Israel. They would cry out to us in a way that was just humbling and greeted us with hugs, with gifts, with thank you’s. They said, ‘Hopefully, this will be the start of more Americans coming to stay and be with us.’”

Although there was supposed to be a cease-fire while the group was there, as they were departing northern Israel sirens started going off in the middle of the afternoon, Smith said.

“We just happened to be in the territory where the war was,” he said. “The driver told us we needed to get off the bus. Everybody lay down on the ground and put their hands over their heads. The first explosion hit. I thought, Wow! That was really close. Then the second bomb went off. I started looking for a man with a hand-held rocket launcher. I was looking for Hamas or terrorists. The whole street had stopped. Everybody was getting out of their vehicles in front of us. When it was over, everybody was praising God. When I got up, I could see the black smoke from the explosion, probably 100 yards above our heads.”

A former EMT/firefighter, Smith said the scene was unlike anything he had ever seen on the streets of America.

“I’ve never seen so many handguns in any city in my life,” Smith said. “There were a lot of handguns and a tremendous amount of AR’s (automatic rifles). It is mandatory to go into the Army at 17. When kids graduate from high school, they go into the military. They carry a weapon with them everywhere they go.”

While in Jerusalem, Smith met an Israeli Army commander, Erez Hadary, who had just come off the battlefield and was decompressing at a hotel there. The commander was in full uniform and towered over Smith.

“He had to have been 6’ 3” or 6’ 4”. He was a big dude,” Smith said. “He told me his name means rooted tree in Hebrew. That big man gave me a hug.”

Smith said that after Hadary noticed his special ops backpack, Hadary gave him his own combat medal, given to soldiers who had come from the fighting.

Meanwhile, Scott’s main focus was on the young people. He said he used his ministry of dance to reach out to young people on the streets of Israel.

“With the young, I noticed over there they are dealing with hardship at a dark moment,” Scott said. “A group of young men saw us praying. They looked like they were giggling, but when I got up and danced, their countenance changed. I do interpretive dancing with hip hop elements—moon walking, a little Michael Jackson—I just made everybody clap. They set the rhythm, and I danced to the beat.”

What struck Scott was the courageous attitude some of the young people displayed.

“I met a 17-year-old who was pretty much right from high school, and he has to go into the military,” said Scott. “His best friend was killed by Hamas. His attitude was ‘I’ve gotta protect my people.’ He wanted to go to the front lines.”

As president of His Compassion Food Bank, Shrable said his church is collecting non-perishable foods, clothing, toiletries, medicines, furniture and other essentials to be sent to the displaced families in Israel. With the assistance of Love Israel, an Ocala ministry to the people of Israel, Shrable hopes to be able to load and ship the container soon. Donations can be brought to Wings of Faith Fellowship at 5066 SE 64th Ave. Road, Ocala.

Shrable also is planning another humanitarian trip to Israel for some time in 2025. Anyone interested in going can call the church office at (352) 687-4600.