CBN.com JERUSALEM - Despite the fact that Palestinian and Islamic suicide bombers continue to blow up buses in Israel, many residents, especially in cities like Jerusalem, do not own cars. Buses are the cheapest mode of transportation. Those who take the bus, risk being in the next suicide bombing. And that includes Christians who live in the land.

It is estimated that more than 8,000 born-again Bible-believing Christians live in Israel. Many of them are volunteers who feel called to serve God in the Holy Land, despite the dangers of living here. Others are Messianic Jewish immigrants who have returned to their homeland, Israel.

Those Jewish and Gentile believers who work here have chosen to live in this land and show their love and support for Israel. They walk the streets of the city, and they take buses.

Since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in September of 2000, more than 800 people have been murdered in terrorist attacks. Two are known to have been Christian believers.

The Christian community here talks about "close calls" with death. Numerous times, believers have been close to a suicide bus bombing, but were not hurt. They speak of God's protection over their lives, and their thoughts are on those Israelis who died in a terrorist attack.

"When I get an emotional response is the next morning, when I look in the newspaper, and I see the faces and I read about the orphans and widows. That's when I feel it very deeply, and that's when I start to grieve, and that's when I feel anger and the frustration of the people who live here," said Ann Hilsden.

Ann is the wife of Jerusalem Pastor Wayne Hilsden. She was waiting with her son at a bus stop in the neighborhood of Gilo on June 18, 2002. Though they normally ride the bus, they were late for an appointment, and took a cab before the bus came. Just minutes later, the bus exploded.

Ann said, "Immediately, as soon as I realized what had happened, I said, 'Well, that wasn't a coincidence that the taxi came in time before the bus came.' And, I just thank the Lord for His hand of protection on me, and my son."

But the frequency of Christians being near a bus bombing has increased. On June 11th of this year, a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus in downtown Jerusalem, killing at least 16 people. Several believers were close to the bombing.

Ron Cantrell works for Bridges for Peace. He was standing with a colleague at the bus stop after work. His friend boarded a bus to go home, and Ron waited for his. The next bus in line exploded.

Ron said, "Not even two minutes later, the explosion happened. And, my first initial reaction was just to protect myself. So, eyes closed, and body hunched down. But then I looked up, because I didn't even know what it was at the time. I could see something between myself and this explosion. It was almost like a translucent pale thing that was making the shrapnel, the metal pieces and the glass go by my body on both sides. It sounded like bullets. And I remember closing my eyes again, and just thinking that 'There's a really good possibility that you're going to die today.'"

But, Cantrell's life was spared. He turned away from the bus and walked through city traffic until he reached home, where his daughter and her friends came to meet him.

"They came, and as we were walking up to the door of my apartment, they, one of them said to me, 'Ron, don't look at the back of your shirt. Just take your shirt off and give it to me.' But, there was a piece of someone's body on my back," Ron said.

Cantrell was in shock that day. But he was not the only one who had a close call in that terrorist attack. Israeli Jewish believer Tony Levin was standing across from the same bus stop when the explosion occurred. He ran across the street to see if there were survivors, and helped get people out of the bus.

"And, I put my hand to the left here, and I touched a person, and simultaneously, she turned. And, it was this little girl. She was about 10 years old, and she had blood on her face. And, she moved, and I tried to lift her quickly. She said, 'lo yacume.' She couldn't get up. And, with that, somebody jumped in the bus, and he went around and he pulled her over from the top, and I lifted her over the seats, and then pulled her through the window. Then, somebody else was there. So, I handed her to him," said Levin.

He continued, "The terror and the shock of it all was so sudden. It was one of the most terrible things I've ever experienced in my life. It's the third bombing I've been nearby. This was the closest. And I saw people being flung out of the bus, blackened, bloodied. It was just a horrific situation which is taking time to get over."

At Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital, two weeks after the bus bombing, Levin introduced himself to Daniela, and the Barkagan family. They thanked him for helping in the effort to rescue her. Daniela has made a full recovery, but her mother Ina was sitting on the bus next to her when the terrorist detonated the bomb. Ina sustained multiple injuries to her right lung and head.

Dr. Ricardo Segal, a neurosurgeon at Hadassah, said that part of Ina's brain was seriously injured. At the time, she needed emergency surgery.

"On the way to the operating room, she had a CT scan of the head. And we saw that pieces of metal caused by the explosion had penetrated to the brain," Segal said.

So he did an operation to remove the metal shrapnel. Immediately after surgery, Ina was paralyzed, and the hospital staff was not sure she would walk again. But after a few days, Ina started to move her fingers and her legs. Then, she was able to stand and walk. Her quick recovery has amazed doctors and nurses. With her family by her side, Ina will now have a long process of rehabilitation. But, with a lot of support, she is expected to recover fully and return to a normal life.

Levin said, "I'm an Israeli, and I feel for my people. I feel I'm part of Jerusalem. I have to, it's automatic - people in need, you run to help."

"What it really, really meant to me was, that it doesn't matter how close you are, God's hand is still with you, and He is still protecting you," Cantrell said.

Cantrell says Christians need to pray for God's protection over the believers living in Israel, especially Jerusalem, where most of the suicide bus bombings have taken place over the last three years, and we also need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that peace would come to Jews and Christians living in the land.