Credit: Nic Collins
For almost a week, a North Texas man has been trying to navigate getting back home through a war zone.
He took a few moments to talk to FOX 4 while still on his journey home.
North Texans caught in Middle East conflict
Nic Collins, who organized a pilgrimage to Israel for himself and a group of other people from Rockwall, says the group arrived near the end of February and had been monitoring warnings from the U.S. State Department.
The group began their pilgrimage in the foreign land. Collins said it was intended to be a spiritual time of worship, as well as a time of fellowship and fun for his group.
Days later, everything would change after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
Iran attacks Israel and US bases as war intensifies
Iran attacked Israel and American bases on Thursday and has threatened the United States for torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Collins says the group had decided to continue their pilgrimage, but things started to escalate quickly.
The group had parents with children back in the U.S., and Collins said the consensus became to get home and out of harm's way.
Collins says once the group decided they needed to leave, the next challenge was figuring out how.
Group returns to US
What they're saying:
"I had to become a travel agent overnight," Collins said, "Because our travel company back in America basically said, 'We can't do anything for your air flights and stuff. Here's the phone number. Good luck with that.' And we kind of said okay."
And they weren’t the only ones facing those issues.
"It's really been a race for Tai Vania to try to find planes that aren't full, planes that aren't booked, seats that don't cost $7,000," Collins said.
The group was eventually able to leave Israel and headed into Egypt, where they were able to get flights out.
"And then from Egypt, we were able to stay at a hotel there. The Egyptian folks are very kind to us," Collins said.
Despite the chaos, Collins and his group stepped foot in Texas on Saturday.
And while they’re thankful to be headed home, they’re still thinking of everyone who isn’t able to leave.
"We were also concerned about the loss of potentially innocent life," Collins said. "If you know, even in Iran, you know things happen in war. We understand that, but we pray that God would intervene and just make there be as little loss of life as possible across the spectrum, across the Middle East."
Gas prices on the rise in North Texas as U.S./Iran conflict continues
You might get sticker shock the next time you try and fill up your car, as gas prices in North Texas are at their highest in over a year due to the U.S./Iran conflict.
What's next:
Collins was on the last bit of the stretch before being delayed in Houston because of the storms, but is headed back to the DFW area Saturday night.
He says they’re already planning their pilgrimage to Israel for next year.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a FOX 4 interview with Nic Collins.