Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)
I’m sure you have heard/seen/read the news from Virginia Tech of the ugly events from yesterday. When it happened, I immediately thought of a friend who is working there with a campus ministry group. We met her at Crosswinds several years back, so now a few friends from there have updated us on how she is doing there. An e-mail came in today, a forward from her, so I thought I would post that here. It’s an on-site update from the campus (from the perspective of a campus ministry, I suppose).
Here’s the letter from Terri: (unedited)
Hello, and thank you for emailing to let me know you were thinking of me! Each message is encouraging, and I am thankful to know people are responding to this tragedy in prayer. I apologize for not sending a more personal email, but right now, this is the best way to share.
THE DETAILS FROM DAY 1 – A brief synopsis: There were 2 shootings today – one that was a domestic type disturbance in a dormitory around 7am. The shooter there killed a student and an RA that entered the room to try to mediate the dispute. Both of those students have been confirmed dead. The RA was widely known on campus, and a friend of many people in [nlcf].
The 2nd shooting was on the 2nd floor of an academic building onat 10am. From what I understand, there were 3 different classrooms the shooter entered and killed and wounded people in. Most reports are saying that he lined people up and shot them in, others tell of classrooms in that hall that had barricaded the door that the gunman started to open and fire shots inside, and the class managed to shut the door on him. In several classrooms, students jumped out the window when they heard shots. In one classroom, a male student broke the glass and jumped – 5 other students followed him before the shooter entered. Everyone else in the room, including the professor, was shot. We know that guy – he’s the roomate of one of our [nlcf] leaders – and praise God that he survived. He doesn’t know Jesus yet, and his roomate has been witnessing to him for 2 years.
The stories break my heart, and they are just the beginning. So far, we know 34 people have died. We know 3 students names, and each are linked to people within [nlcf]… one of those students was an attender of an [nlcf] small group. There will be a full listing of names tommorow of the students who have been confirmed dead. The hardest thing right now for most everyone is waiting for that list of names to come out.
HOW NLCF IS RESPNDING:
Tonight, we had a prayer vigil at 8pm for [nlcf]. Several people came who are not from [nlcf], and they are considering getting into a small group this week. Later, our HG’s met in different locations where people spent time in a smaller, family like setting. Student leaders throughout [nlcf] opened their apartments to those on campus who didn’t want to sleep in the dorm tonight.This week, our staff will be on call & available to anyone who needs us. We are letting everyone know set places they can find us on campus, and intentionally going into the dorms as much as possible. We will be attending the convocation on campus Tuesday at 12noon, and we are working to plan a possible prayer vigil on Wednesday mid-day. We will also have this Sunday’s weekly gathering devoted entirely to responding to this week’s events.
HOW YOU CAN PRAY:
– for the staff – For our energy, our unity, and for us to be guided by the Spirit in how we respond to students this week. For our pastors as they decide how we will directly talk about this week’s events this Sunday in our worship gathering.– for the campus – Pray for the [nlcf] students to be a light even as they grieve their losses, and interact with their friends around campus who lost someone.
– Pray for a response of love, rather than hate to today’s events.
Pray for the school administrator’s interactions with parents, and for the press to be respectful in the way they interact with the students, faculty, and families of VT.
– for the spiritual battle we are in – I felt very clearly today that I was getting ready to go into battle as our staff gathered to pray and discuss our response. There is still a great amount of fear remaining for some students who live on campus… some are concerned that there were two shooters, not one, and they fear another shooting will happen. THIS IS NOT CONFIRMED… it is what people are afraid of. Please pray for truth about what happened today to shine clearly for the
investigators, and God to remove fear and bring peace to campus.– for me – rest, and the ability to ask questions & listen wisely.
Thank you – it means so much for me to be able to tell students that they are being held up in prayer by a whole army of people they don’t even know.
Terri Dewey
www.nlcf.net
(we will have updates on how we’re responding on the web)