Air raid sirens, explosions in the distance, tanks rolling through the desert--these are the sights and sounds of Israel we've been seeing on the news recently. Not far from all this is half the senior class from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire. That includes Debbi Harp's daughter, Luci.
"I was watching the news Monday, and my son and my other daughter were like, Mom, just turn it off--you don't want to watch that," Harp says.
Harp says the school superintendent was monitoring developments closely leading up to the group's departure on Sunday.
Since arriving in Israel Luci has been posting photos on Facebook that capture a different mood than the video we've been watching on television. Luci talked to her mom Tuesday from Jerusalem.
"She has said the bomb sirens have gone off, but they don't feel endangered at all," Harp says. "She told me she's having a blast. She's really exhausted and worn out, but everything's going well."
Luci has told her mom the missiles have been striking in remote areas nowhere near the the students. And now, all appears to be calm.
"When I spoke with Luci yesterday she mentioned there was a possibility that a cease-fire was going to be declared, so it's good to know that it has been."
Harp says the trip--an annual event for Sunrise seniors -- was something her daughter had been looking forward to since sixth grade. This year, it coincided with a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the message from the students to everyone back home in Kansas is, the trip is going great and they're just fine.
