Hi folks,
This was written by one of my coworkers. There's not much to add. We are all doing all right, and our students are amazing; mobilizing prayer at every turn. Blessings to you all!
Akpene
From: noreply+feedproxy@google.com [mailto:noreply+feedproxy@google.com] On Behalf Of Reaching Campus
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:28 AM
To: sweetspirit96@gmail.com
Subject: Reaching Campus
Reaching Campus |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2010 01:52 PM PDT Today was just supposed to be another ordinary day in the office. But I guess I should have learned by now that every time I think that, something crazy happens and today was no exception. This is not a joke The morning began with a phone call from an old friend.
Racing to my roommate Jill's room, I told her the news and flipped on the TV and there it was. A gunman had entered the campus around 8am in the morning, opened fire, and then taken his life on the sixth floor of the Perry Casténada Library, one of the largest and most popular libraries on The University of Texas at Austin campus. The university had gone into lock down, with SWAT teams, Austin and UT policemen canvasing the area for a possible second suspect. I sat there trying to absorb all the chaotic information, fingers flying away as I sent out texts, emails and fielded phone calls. Everyone was trying to call each other to make sure we were all safe. Jill sat next to me reading her Bible. If there ever was a time to pray, this was it. Silence in the streets The Campus House of Prayer (CHOP) was all but empty when I arrived. Helicopters were flying overhead and sirens rang every 15 minutes warning students to stay indoors. The streets were eerily quiet, empty parking lots, devoid of most people save for a throng of reporters, cameramen, and the occasional student making their way back to nearby apartments. Walking through the front door, I hugged my co-workers Tanya and Akpene. The three of us sat in the office quietly listening to the live stream from Fox news on the shooting. Texts, emails and facebook messages were still flooding in, but things were a little calmer now. Reports said that save for the gunman's apparent suicide after firing shots, no one else had been injured. All our friends and family members had been accounted for, and we thanked God that there were no innocent casualties. I still couldn't believe this was happening. Not today. Not on my campus. A call to pray As you might have guessed, today's post is not the usual entry for this blog. But then again, today was not your usual day. While it saddens me to have had this happen on my beloved campus, it's been interesting to see the wave of prayer that has been going on since news first broke of the shooting. Christian students who were in lock down in campus buildings found other Christians to pray with, and it seems as though the entire Body of Christ has been mobilized. In my opinion, today has jolted us into realizing that more than ever, we must cover our campuses in prayer. So what am I saying? This is a call to pray. Pray for our campus, the students, faculty and administrators. For the shooter's family. But don't just pray for us, pray for your campus too. It has been said that times of crisis often drive people towards God. And while I'm certain God can and will bring something good out of today's incident, don't put yourself in a situation where you require a crisis to get on your knees before Him. Our campuses need people to fight for them. And as with all things, it starts with prayer. So pray. And we'll continue to do the same.
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