How to Pray

I got this from a friend yesterday, who is connected to someone who is connected to someone in Blacksburg.

Greetings from Blacksburg - I have been overwhelmed by yesterday's events as well as the great outpouring of compassion from people writing and calling from all over the country and the world. Many of you are wondering how to pray - here are a few specific requests at this time:

-Pray for the body of Christ, through the churches and campus ministries, to be united in expressing the hope we have in God.

-Pray for physical stamina and rest for all the leaders in our community, from campus administrators and pastors down to student leaders. We are tired, physically and emotionally! God is our strength.

- Pray for a freshman student, Lauren, who was involved with the international student ministry through one of our partnering organizations - she is currently missing and was believed to be in the classroom building where the shooting occurred.

-As the news has spread about the shooter's South Korean heritage, please pray for the large Korean population in Blacksburg . Because of their community-centered rather than individual-centered orientation, Koreans are culturally more likely to identify with the shooter and to feel shame and/or guilt One of my Korean student leaders expressed this morning, "I do not know him personally. But, as he is of Korean descent, I feel responsible for the situations to some degree. And, I am really sorry..."

Once again, I am most grateful for all your expressions of concern and support. I'm sorry that I cannot reply to many e-mails and calls during this time, but know that I'm receiving them and they mean a lot. I'll send more news later this week.

In Christ, our living hope...