“Be like Jesus" Hayden was told. So he went to bed and slept through the demonic storm.
On 7 October 2023 Israel was attacked in a brutal, inhumane and barbaric way. My long anticipated trip to Israel with air tickets taking me from Napier, New Zealand to Tel Aviv, Israel at the end of October 2023 were understandably cancelled. Many torturous months passed, as the bitter war in Gaza continued with too many lives lost or unaccounted for. But months later the travel agent offered me another tour uniting a group of fellow Kiwis and Australians, named ANZAC. In some small way we wanted Israel to know we stood in solidarity and they were not alone in this fight. We pledged to stand in the land our forefathers fought so gallantly for in 1916, to serve our Israeli brothers and sisters in whatever way we could. Cooking for the IDF would have been such an honour but was cancelled. Instead we did farming, planting, helped a refugee distribution center, donated blood and money." We moved about the countryside, with some sightseeing included. Hayden was certain this would be a unique adventure and they would see God at work in His land.
"There were some harsh days with survivors telling their harrowing stories. First responders still piecing together the brutal events. We heard from them recordings of desperate calls for help. Fields of blood and gruesome details. I saw bullet holes, blown up houses, burnt houses, car graveyards, an ambulance militants had blown up, cars and homes that people got killed in. I went to the site of the Nova festival, the kibbutz that got invaded. Everyone was deeply affected. Every person knew someone who died, was held hostage or was wounded."
Towards the end of our 9 days in Israel, the mission team checked into accommodation at a hotel in Tiberius (beside the Sea of Galilee). "The threat from Hezbollah (Lebanon) was real and we heard many explosions and the airforce flying to and fro across the border. There were rockets launched from the north and aircraft flying overhead so regularly, I got used to the noise". Hayden continues "one morning just before 2am, 3 loud explosions woke me. I stuck my head out the window but couldn't see anything in the sky. I asked Jesus if I should evacuate? He said when you hear sirens then make a move. Alright I said, no sirens, back to sleep."
From the time we entered this hotel "I could feel there was something from the dark side in the hotel and in my room. We see with our eyes and feel with our spirit. One night I suddenly got restless, wound up and angry for no reason. Also my phone I used for daily updates, photo uploads and communication kept dropping out for no reason. Definitely not natural feelings. I struggled to make sense of it and wondered if other team members were sensing a similar unnatural disturbing force. It was like a dark shadow, a big black palpable thing. I knew by the size, shadow, territory and colleagues involved, that backup was needed. I started to pray, and managed to get a txt through to my Mum back in Tauranga to pray and cover not only me, but the other ANZACs. I
recognized it was warfare. This was not of the Lord. I had to fight with this darkness but eventually I felt the room lighten, it had been kicked out. I knew with the time difference in NZ I was covered by prayer. All was well and I was able to sleep."
"What I did not know at the time was how God had moved in an extraordinary way back in Tauranga. A friend of Mums who I had never met described being woken at 1.36am NZ time and told to pray. Pray for Hayden, she was told in her spirit. She describes being told to get out of her bed, and pray around her door way and lintels above the windows. When she was moving her hands above the window and looking out to the heavens, something stopped her. Stopped her hands. Stopped her prayer. Her focus was not lost but in that moment something broke".
It turned out the 1.36am NZ timing was exactly the timing this demonic force struck Hayden. He knew in his spirit it weirdly had something to do with the window sills. What lurked in that room was rebuked and thankfully Hayden was safe.
His confirmed flight out of Tel Aviv remained scheduled even though the threat of retaliation from Iran was imminent. A friend from the tour happened to be at the airport, as her flight the previous night had been cancelled. Even though that night Israel prepared for an attack from Iran bringing cruise missiles and a swarm of drones and closed all air space, the flight Hayden was booked on was still good to go. Miraculously his friend also ended up on that same flight. There was a lot of prayer that night worldwide and Hayden felt the "angels doing their work."
"Earlier the Lord impressed on me an urgent feeling to get to the airport and a safe zone as soon as possible regardless of the time you fly." Hayden reported he knew he had to move and follow the Lord. It was a tense time. The airport was chaos. Frightened travelers, and staff rushing about. Flight boards clicking over and over with airline carriers changing departure and arrival details. 90% of the departure flights were cancelled. 99% of flight arrivals were cancelled. Hayden's airplane was waiting on the ground ready to fly. Flights were scheduled and rescheduled but eventually after hours waiting, Hayden was onboard a flight with his tour friend and departing Tel Aviv. Other ANZACs had flown out just ahead of the threat. All continued to trust and believe God was in control and would eventually all be transported safely out of Israel.
"Some of the bloody horrors I've seen cannot be written about" Hayden explains from the safety of his home in New Zealand.