(KNOXVILLE, Tenn) — Alan Williams is a household name in Knoxville, Tennessee He spent more than 35 years as a news anchor until he recently retired to focus on other endeavors, such as growing deeper in his faith.
One of the most impactful ways to do so is traveling to where faith all began—The Holy Land.
In October 2023, Alan, his wife Becky, and First Baptist Knoxville congregants all traveled to the Holy Land for the first time. They were set to be guided on a pilgrimage tour through some of the most sacred and well-known sites in the Bible known as “The Footsteps of Jesus.”
“It was definitely a bucket list [item] for me to see this,” Alan said.
The day after their arrival the group was ready to embark on this journey, but soon they heard a loud boom that changed their entire trip.
This region of the Middle East has had a long, complex history that has become one of the most recognized and spoken about global conflicts of our time.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is a long-standing struggle over land, identity, and sovereignty between Jews and Palestinians, fueled by historical grievances, territorial disputes, and competing national aspirations, with both sides suffering from violence and displacement.
After years of conflict, the violence continued when Hamas, a Palestinian militant group who fights for freedom and resistance, launched attacks on Israel to stop mass occupation.
These attacks were unlike any other in that they marked an escalation in Hamas' tactics, shifting from primarily launching rockets to conducting coordinated ground operations. This led to more extensive destruction and more lives lost on both sides.
The first rocket that started it all flew right above their heads and without knowing the right course of action, Alan and his fellow travelers were unsure of their next move.
Over the next couple of days, the group tried to carry on with their pilgrimage, but it wasn’t long until they realized their safety was a major concern.
They visited sites such as The Dead Sea, The Church of the Nativity, and Shepherds’ Field, but on every corner they were met by a large military presence, which brought about unsettling feelings to the group.
“We were visiting somewhere and all of a sudden, a bus stops and out pops all these Israeli soldiers with Uzis. And I'm like, ‘this is not a couple-of-days skirmish here. This is serious stuff.’”
Although leaving was a top priority, work never stops for Alan. His background in Journalism allowed him to keep people back home alert and informed. He regularly sent footage and updates to many media organizations including CNN and WVLT in Knoxville, Tennessee, who were all praying for the group’s safe return home.
Everywhere they turned they were confronted with barricades that prevented them from leaving the country safely. The airport was shut down and all borders were tightened, but by power of faith and prayer, a way became available.
Alan traveled to Israel via Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. As he prepared for the 13-hour flight to Tel-Aviv, Alan was seated next to a familiar face.
“This woman looked at me and goes, ‘Do I know you?’”
Alan and his wife were seated next to another Knoxville-area couple, Lina and Samer Shatara, who were traveling to Israel for a family wedding.
Lina Shatara owns her own travel agency, Travel Corner International, which specializes in Holy Land Pilgrimage experiences.
“She gives me her card and said, ‘if you need any help while you're there or any advice, give me a call,’” Alan said.
Once they arrived, they were set to go on their separate ways, but they didn’t know it wouldn’t be the last time they would speak on that trip.
With the help of Lina, Alan, his wife and another couple made their way to Nazareth where they would then travel through the border to Jordan. They were then set up with plane tickets which would take them from Jordan to Egypt, to Paris, to Atlanta, and ultimately, back to Knoxville.
“My wife literally kissed the airport floor when we got back,” Alan recalled.
He believes meeting Lina in Atlanta at the beginning of the journey was a divine intervention.
“You can't make this stuff up. These are miracles,” he added.
“The whole departure went very smoothly,” Lina said. “Honestly, it's as if we had planned it way before, because everything just lined up and it went easily,” she adds.
Originally being from that region and speaking the language, Lina has traveled to the Middle East for more than 50 years and recalls several times she has had to reroute due to the region’s unpredictable nature.
“I've heard bombs in the background, and we've had to change directions of different itineraries; that's something that I was used to and capable of redirecting and maneuvering,”
But it wasn’t until she and Alan returned home that they were able to reflect on what had transpired.
“I think when you're faced with potential death and you see these things and it pulls you through,” Alan said. “God had a plan for me to be there.”
He recalled the many people who were continuously following his journey to safety. From phone calls to emails, people were rallying together to pray for a safe return home. He said he knew that the power of prayer was working as he felt a large wave of peace, comfort, and calmness throughout his entire trip.
But with a story like this under his belt, does he want to go back?
“The feeling we got from [being] there that God was with us this whole trip. We want that back. We want that feeling. We want to get that spirit back in us,” he said.
Alan shared how the friendships, the experiences and the faith they built was unlike anything he had ever seen or felt before.
And while the war rages on, Alan says his prayer for that region is that peace can be achieved.
He now shares his story as a message to demonstrate the power of prayer and the belief in miracles in the most unlikely places.
“Hopefully this will encourage others to look inside themselves and see that God is real.”