VT Tragedy #4

Blacksburg, Va.
Thursday April 26, 2007 – 1:58 p.m.

Supporters, friends and concerned others-

Sorry this is so long…these updates also represent my thinking and processing so as to lead myself, my family and my team.

I must first acknowledge that the encouragement given to my team and I through email and phone calls in the last week has been unbelievable. Not only have we heard from people all across the United States, but also Canada, Brazil, Africa, England, Germany, Australia…to name a few.
The verse I chewed on the other day was Proverbs 24:10. It says, “If you faint (shrink back) in the day of trouble, your strength is small.” Up to now, we have yet to faint in this time of trouble…and I would have to believe that much of that is due to the many, many prayers spoken on our behalf.

I wanted to take a moment and give you a recent update on the scene and happenings here at Virginia Tech over the past few days since students returned. I will also give you a glimpse into what the Campus Outreach team has been thinking and doing in response to this tragedy and continued ways that you can partner with us.

Scene and Happenings at VT: Everything has changed, yet much is the same.

After thinking about the best way I could describe to you the current scene at Virginia Tech, this phrase kept coming to mind: “Everything has changed, yet much is the same.”
Let me try to explain.

Everything has changed.
Much of the idealism that dominates the college campus has been, a least in the moment, stripped away. I guess that death has a way of doing this…especially the death of 32 of your classmates and professors in a single day.
When I say “idealism”, I am referring to the assumptions that most college students carry with them daily both subconsciously and consciously. Assumptions like:
I have decades of life ahead of me.
I have plenty of time ahead to think about things of eternity; college is the time to focus on enjoying the here and now. “I will get to that other stuff later”.
My friends will always be there for me…and I am sure they know how much I care for them.
People are basically good. Really evil stuff happens somewhere on the other side of the world.
When the assumptions listed above (and others) are predominately held, it seems to keep people interacting at a surface or superficial level with one another. Once those assumptions have been taken away and replaced with a newfound “realism”, it is as if the barriers that kept people at a superficial level are removed and there is now a new (yet always existent) depth to plunge in the heart and mind of students.

We are experiencing this as we interact with students. Take my day Monday as a brief example:

At 7:15 a.m. I was outside West Ambler Johnston dorm with other campus ministers, faculty, students and media for a time of remembrance for Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark who were both killed in their dorm during the first shooting.
A bell was rung followed by a minute of silence for each victim. During the ceremony, I looked up and saw that the Va. Tech Men’s soccer team was present. There are two guys on the team that we have been sharing Christ with, so I found them as the ceremony was ending.
I could tell that one of them was not doing well. I knew that a good friend of his was Reema Samaha, the beautiful freshman dancer that was killed in Norris. As we walked and talked for a bit, he told me about her funeral and the visit he just had with her family and friends at her home. As he talked, it became obvious that he couldn’t believe that this friend, whom he probably would have hung out with this upcoming weekend, will no longer be with him. An assumption had been shaken.

The second guy joined us. I came to find out that these two guys were in a car together driving around the Drill Field at Tech when the shootings at Norris were taking place. The police stopped their car right near Norris and they had to sit there as the scene unfolded. They both expressed some shame and guilt because they recall being excited as the events were unfolding right before their eyes. From a distance, it looked to them like an action movie was being filmed in front of them…they now know that the genre was actually horror. It was clear that they took the scene so lightly because they couldn’t even fathom anyone doing such evil…especially on their campus.

Shortly after the first ceremony ended, I made my way to the Drill Field for the 9:45 a.m. time of remembrance in which thousands would attend. We will all never forget a few things from the ceremony on the Drill Field. They rang a large bell and released a white balloon for each victim. As each white balloon drifted off out of sight, it represented a life.
I talked with one student who lost a friend from church and another student that had a former Teachers Assistant killed. They were still in shock to the fact that their friends were gone. They just always thought that there was so much more life ahead for them.

I made my way back to our office to spend a few minutes studying before picking up three freshman guys from 4th West AJ dorm to eat and talk over lunch.
During lunch I engaged the guys on what was going through their heart and mind.
The first guy said he was two doors down from the first shooting in the dorm. He said that on a normal day he walks through that hall and stairwell at the exact time of the shooting. On numerous occasions he has ran through a series of “What if…” questions in his head.

Another guy said that he was standing outside when the Paramedics wheeled out the first victim on a stretcher. He says that he saw all the blood but never even considered that her life was about to end…and that someone did that to her out of a random act of hatred.

All the guys then commented on the fact that the school has built a wall at the end of their hall that blocks off the two rooms that used to be occupied by the first two victims. Every time they look at that wall, they can’t help but think of that wall as some sort of “Tomb”, where death lays behind. These are not common thoughts to have in a freshman dorm.

The change is also reflected physically on the campus.
Many memorials are throughout the campus. It is rare to pass by one and not see people standing and kneeling over one with flowers and tears to offer.
Dozens of huge boards have been littered with notes and farewells to the victims.
The news crews have dispersed, but police are still around in greater number.
Norris Hall is still yellow taped…and if you are near it, it is hard not to be somewhat drawn to that place either by looking or just walking over in silence.
The campus is full of outside visitors as well who have all descended to pass out their various religious materials. For the most part, students seem to mistrust any stranger who hands them material...especially the dozens of Scientology folks with bright yellow shirts on.
Many students have reported feeling taken advantage of or “preyed” on by these outsiders.
As for the Christian outside presence, it is hard to know what is helpful. I have seen some really good materials that are being offered by a local church. Their strategy has been to pass out drinks and snacks from a tent and have materials available if you desire to take them. I think this is received a little better than walking around and handing things to students.

So as you can tell, the scene and happenings at Virginia Tech have greatly changed…yet at the same time,

Much is the same.
Even with the presence of memorials, flowers, yellow tape and outside visitors the campus seems to be working its way back to normal…just with the added presence of these things.
The weather is beautiful and people are outside playing volleyball, frisbee, soccer, running and tanning.

I must admit that it feels a bit strange to see a Volleyball game and girls tanning in the sun while just a few feet away there are students kneeling and crying at a memorial.
Normally the grieving of the deceased happens at a cemetery where everyone is there for the same reason. Right now, there is both the celebration of life…and the mourning of death all happening in the same vicinity.
This feels strange, yet at the same time so right. We usually try to get as far away from death as possible which can lead to living in a false reality.

Much is also the same spiritually on campus. What I mean is that even though there has been a new depth revealed in the hearts of students, they are not immediately looking to Jesus for answers. The majority of students didn’t seek Jesus to help make sense of their life before April 16…so it isn’t a surprise that they aren’t frantically searching for a Christian to help them make sense of it now.

This is where we come in.
Though students are not roaming around looking for someone to talk to…they are willing to talk. Not only are they willing to talk, but their questions can’t be answered simply by the sensation of the next party, girlfriend/boyfriend or football game (though many instinctively go there). There questions are now bigger. Questions about death, purpose, evil, tragedy, friendship, etc.

We are trying to engage students over the fact that the Bible not only engages all of these major questions, but also gives clarity to them. C.S. Lewis said it best:
“I believe in Christianity like I believe the sun has risen:
Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Through our lives we want people to see Christianity. Namely, we want them to see men and women who are in real relationship with God through Jesus.
Through our lips we want people to hear the Word of God through which we may rightly see everything else.

This is just another way of saying what Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 when he speaks of sharing both the gospel and his life. So how/where have we been doing this?

Campus Outreach response: “Everything’s changed, yet much is the same.”
This same phrase seems to say it best again. Once again, I will explain.

Everything has changed.
The students at VT have changed. They have now been at the center of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. They have seen and heard things over the past week that they will never forget.
Many of them have experienced shock, sorrow and sadness that they never had before. Most of them have never had to be near the presence of death.

Even with this change, we quickly felt that God desired for our work mostly to remain the same.
In other words, we believe that the things we were giving ourselves to on Sunday night April 15th are the same things we should be giving ourselves to on April 17th.

It has been helpful for our team to realize that no “new” realities of life were created on Monday April 16th that didn’t exist on Sunday April 15th. Everything ultimately true today about God, Jesus, the Bible, man and woman, etc. was also true on Sunday April 15th.

So what did happen on Monday April 16th? That horrific event didn’t create any new realities, but it did reveal … or bring to the forefront of our minds, realities of life that for one reason or another we all tend to forget. Not only that, it did seem to create some quicker pathways to engaging people concerning those realities.

So the tragedy hasn’t at all re-directed our efforts in the lives of students. Rather, it has re-invigorated us to be used by God to make a difference in this place.
Our message is the same- God made us to be in relationship with Him. That is now made possible through faith in Christ work on our behalf.
Our method is the same- Our goal isn’t programs that work…but people that worship. We want to reach people and then reach more people through those people.

This clarity has been so helpful to us in such a crazy time. As a ministry (and in general), it is so easy to lose your focus in a time like this and begin to chase after “worthless pursuits” (Prov. 12:11) because you feel like you should be doing something new and big and public. These things do have their place, but I think that often these efforts lead to a temporary change in people and in the end a waste in time.

The fact that there are only two weeks left in the semester has also directed us. We don’t want to spend all our time planning something when we could BE WITH students.
We have all committed to following up with every person that we have had significant interactions with this year. We trust that God is going to bear fruit beginning from those relationships.

Two scriptures have helped to reinforce our call to keep the same focus as before.
Luke 13:1-5- Jesus is asked to comment on a tragedy that had happened. He responded by directing them to personal repentance before God. This direction from Jesus was nothing new…actually, this was one of the first things Jesus ever said in His public ministry (Mark 1:15)

Daniel 6:10- My VT campus director, Doug Rose, shared this with the team. We are told of Daniel, that in a time of great trial, he prayed and gave thanks before God three times a day “as he had done previously”. In other words, Daniel realized that the best thing to do in this moment of trial was to continue doing what he had been doing.

Here is one encouraging example for you of this lived out. Sunday evening we had our staff team and some students over to our house for some chili and bocce ball. It was a great time that provided students some stability as they were returning to campus.
After the meal, I talked with my Campus Director at Radford University (our other campus 15 minutes from VT), Collin Setterberg. He had been having a bible study for three weeks with some Radford athletes and was scheduled to have another one that night. What should he do? Should he cancel where he has been investing and go on the campus of Virginia Tech for the night? No, he did “as he had done previously” trusting that was where God intended him to be.
To make a long story short, at the conclusion of the bible study one of the athletes bowed and committed his life to Christ in the presence of the entire Bible Study! Collin had been sharing Christ with this guy for a few months now and we are so thankful for God’s work in his life.

How can you continue to partner?
Continue in prayer for us. Please pray for:
Ministry out of overflow (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
Our perseverance (Galatians 6:9)
Every interaction with a student. (Colossians 4:3-6)
Students both coming to faith in Christ and the young believers growing in their faith.

Make a financial donation to the work of Campus Outreach at Virginia Tech. As of right now, you may mail checks to the address below. Due to the many requests, we are close to setting up an online way to make a donation.
These funds will go towards the ministry of Campus Outreach at Virginia Tech in the days, weeks and months ahead. I believe that every single dollar given for the cause of Christ at Virginia Tech is one way that God is redeeming and causing good to come forth from such an evil act.
Think about it: What if enough money was raised to ensure that there were staff on the campus of VT sharing the gospel for the next decade? What if enough money was raised that enabled a house to be purchased across the street from the campus of VT that ensured there would be Campus Outreach staff living within walking distance for decades to come?
Once again, I am convinced that every prayer, every financial gift, every word of encouragement, every resource that has been and will be directed towards the campus of Virginia Tech because of this massacre is one of the hundreds of ways our God will be redeeming and causing good to come forth from such evil.

Thanks for keeping our team and students in your thoughts and prayers,

Matt Bradner
Campus Outreach Virginia Director
https://mail.campusoutreach.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.covirginia.org/
mbradner@campusoutreach.org
814 Cambridge Road
Blacksburg, Va. 24060
704-650-3426