Maroon, Orange and Hokie Hope

I graduated from Virginia Tech in 1994.
As a student there, I was heavily involved in Campus Crusade for Christ.
While I do not presently know anyone who is a student at VT, I know several of the CCC staff members at VT who are not only reeling from Monday's tragedy, but are being called upon to bear witness to the sovereignty of God. There are many tears, many questions, much fear, and many hugs. And more questions. And more tears.

Friday, April 20th is a VT alumni-organized "Hokie Hope Day." If you own any item of clothing that's maroon or orange, consider wearing it tomorrow to remind you to pray for healing and open doors for the Gospel in Blacksburg.

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These prayer items came to me by way of the Campus Crusade Director at VT. Use them to direct your prayers, if needed.

• Pray for the families and friends of students who were killed—that they would turn to God for His comfort and strength. Four of the students were involved with Campus Crusade at Virginia Tech.
• Pray for the survivors of the shootings who witnessed the horrors of that day. Pray for God's grace and comfort.
• Pray for wisdom for the Campus Crusade staff and other campus ministers and pastors as they seek to counsel and love the hurting students.

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Here is an excerpt of an E-mail sent out by one of the CCC staff at VT. It helps to put reality to the situation. These were real people. They were students, friends, roommates, boyfriends, girlfriends, sister and brothers, sons and daughters. They are mourned and missed.

Thanks again for all of you who continue to pray for us and comfort us with your kind e-mails and phone calls. Today hasn't really been much better than yesterday, if any better. While yesterday shocked us immensely, today we have come to find that the people we were praying for yesterday have, in fact, gone to be with the Lord. Mary Read and Lauren McCain have been confirmed dead today. They were both freshmen women who were heavily involved in the movement. Mary was signed up to lead a Bible study next year. Lauren has faithfully served the Bridges International ministry that I lead all this year. I knew her pretty well and recall her passion for the Lord through prayer. She had such joy when she would praise the Lord in prayer times. She had a heart to see people from around the world come to know Christ. While we mourn the losses, we're comforted that both of these women are worshiping the Lord in His presence at this very moment.

We also learned today that another student involved in our ministry, Jarrett Lane , was also murdered yesterday. We had not met Jarrett, but he regularly attended our meetings and even went on our Fall Retreat conference in October.

Pray for a couple students who witnessed the events yesterday. Molly is a freshman girl who is involved in our ministry who was the first person to discover the bodies in the residence hall yesterday morning. She obviously knew both people well since they were both on her hall. I'm sure her dorm will never feel like home again. Clay is a Senior who has been involved in our ministry for several years. He was in one of the classrooms that the gunman came into and he was the only person in his class of about 20 people who left the classroom unharmed. While he wasn't physically harmed, he is in severe shock. Please pray that the Lord will be giving both of them comfort as they deal with this tragedy. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through.

We continue to ask you to pray for us as we cope with the loss in our own lives and pray that the Lord would give us supernatural wisdom in how to best minister to students as they mourn the loss of friends. Also be praying for the students who have lost friends as well as parents and family members who have lost loved ones in this tragedy. Many people are dealing with the shock and loss of friends, classmates, and family members. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Please pray that the Lord would truly bless and comfort those who are mourning tonight. Lauren has a brother who was involved in our ministry a few years ago, Joel. He has been teaching English in Japan for the past year and I'm sure is on his way home now. Thanks for all your prayers!

In Christ, we have a hope that does not disappoint. We will see Mary, Lauren and Jarrett again someday.

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Finally, the blog address to read Virginia Tech's Campus Crusade updates.

http://www.campuscrusadeforchrist.com/virginiatech/a-call-to-prayer/