LAPORTE – As Vicki Huelat and her friend decided on a pilgrimage location, the two opted for the Holy Land over Poland due to Poland’s close proximity to the war in Ukraine. Little did they know that decision would place them on war’s front doorstep and would leave them scrambling to find a way out.
“We decided that it wasn’t a good idea to go to Poland because it was too close to the nearby war in Ukraine, and here we go to Israel and a war breaks out,” said Huelat.
Huelat, a LaPorte resident and member of Holy Family Parish, was the only Hoosier in the group of 13 which originated from St. Anthony Catholic Church in Pocatello, Idaho. Huelat’s friend and Idaho resident, Marie Grams, was also part of the group. The 10-day trip began on Oct. 4 and was supposed to end on Oct. 14.
Huelat said the first days of the pilgrimage went smoothly as they visited many sites including the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee and Canna.
On Oct. 7, as Huelat and the tour group enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful third day of their pilgrimage, her husband Jerry Huelat was at home seeing a different picture of Israel. An initial text from Jerry alerted Vicki to trouble. “Are you ok? Israel is at war,” read the text.
“I was thinking he’s got to be joking. It’s a beautiful, glorious day. There’s nothing happening around here,” recalled Vicki Huelat.
Jerry Huelat reaffirmed the seriousness and the stark reality of the situation with a follow-up phone call, telling her, “I’m watching bombs blow up over Jerusalem.”
From their Mount Tabor position, Vicki Huelat recalls looking over the Jezreel Valley and wondering, “Is this the beginning of Armageddon?”
At the time, nobody else knew of the attack 150 miles south of them, or at least they didn’t make it known until later in the day when the tour guides informed the group that Israel was indeed at war. The guide reassured them nothing was happening to the north and the tour would continue.
“It was better to keep us occupied. I was happy they did it. I felt we were safe. Besides, I’d rather be living my life than hiding in a hotel room,” said Huelat.
As they enjoyed Mount Carmel and the Mediterranean Sea, the group witnessed military helicopters and fighter jets traveling southward. “It was surreal,” said Huelat. “That’s when it really hit us, there really is a war.”
The group traveled south to Jerusalem, where they were now only 60 miles, instead of 150 miles, from the war.
Huelat shared how moved she was seeing how the people around the hotel, Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, were working together and trying to live peacefully.
On Oct. 9, rocket sirens and a series of five explosions caught everyone’s attention. “It was close. We didn’t see smoke or anything, but you could tell it was close – about 9 miles away,” she said. The group was informed during dinner that the tour was officially over because things were escalating.
“We kept hearing the fighter jets flying by, then you’d hear rumbling. That’s when they really bombed the heck out of Gaza,” said Huelat. “It’s always in the back of your mind, ‘Are we going to hear the bombs going off?’ ‘Will it get closer?’ ‘Could Hamas terrorists come to the hotel or board the bus?’ They were pulling people out of cars. That stuff runs through your mind.”
“We were aware things like that were happening,” she added. “People were getting worried and anxious. We prayed the rosary, attended Mass, and kept busy. We stayed in the hotel from then on.”
For Huelat, thinking about her family at home was tough. “They were beside themselves worrying about us. They were seeing all this stuff happening in Gaza on TV, the worst of the worst. That was the hardest thing.”
Back home, the family members were left feeling worried and helpless. “There was nothing I could do. She was 7,000 miles away. She was essentially locked into a country, no flying in or out. She’s stuck and has to get out on her own, and she did. I tried to stay away from the news,” said Jerry Huelat.
The real nightmare began as Vicki Huelat and the group attempted to get flights out of the nation at war. “It was up to each individual to arrange a flight out. For days we tried to get flights out. We thought we had one, and then it was canceled. We were all a bundle of nerves,” she acknowledged.
Tickets were going for as much as $5,000 each.
On Friday the 13th, the group left after arrangements were made for a flight out of Aman, Jordan. She said the three-hour bus trip to northern Jordan had everyone on edge as Iran called for a “Day of Rage.” “The roads were empty. It felt like we were sitting ducks in this big old tour bus. We were very happy to cross the border,” admitted Huelat.
At the border, an Israeli soldier, armed with a machine gun, wasn’t going to let the group cross. According to Huelat, the guide told the soldier the bus was loaded with Americans and that the embassy wanted them out now. The soldier replied, “We love Americans” and let the group through.
After nearly 28 hours of flight time and layovers including stops in Abu Dhabi, New York and Chicago, the family was reunited.
Huelat attributed her safe return to prayer and expressed her heartfelt thanks to everyone, saying, “I’m so happy to be home with my family. There’s no place like home.”
This isn’t Huelat’s first encounter with international unrest. Two other occasions included her first trip to Israel and a trip to Medjugorje. “It seems everywhere I go, there’s a war close to it.”
Following the family’s joyful reunion, Jerry Huelat had one request of his wife, “I said when she got home, ‘Give me your passport. You’re not going overseas anymore.’”
According to Vicki Huelat, the next time she returns to Israel she won’t need a passport. “I’m never going back to Israel until after the Second Coming.”
Caption: Vicki Huelat poses with Zaki outside the hotel Huelat and her pilgrimage tour group stayed at in Jerusalem. Huelat said Zaki claimed her as his adopted mother-in-law and Huelat considers him as her adopted son-in-law. (Photo provided)