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Have you ever wondered what life would be like if God was behind the scenes in one of the horrific events in life. Today there are of many school shootings that happen and beautiful people who lost their lives tragically and needlessly. Where is God during those events? Where is the compassion for humanity from one human being to another? Where is the justice in lives lost? I do not have the answers to these events but I have one instance where God intervened. So what does it look like when God intervenes in a school tragedy? This is my experience with God.

Early January 30, 2001 around 4:30 am I was awoken by a voice I had never heard before. Then I was reminded a scripture verse from Revelation 4:1, "The voice I have first heard speaking to me like a trumpet." This sounded like a trumpet with a small message, “Pray for your brother’s safety.” I was alarmed by an internal sense of urgency to pray. I sat up in my bed in the dark room. I said a quick prayer just like the voice had mentioned to pray for my brothers safety. I quickly retreated under the covers again because it was a freezing cold January morning. The warmth of the blankets and how early it was in the morning I quickly feel back to sleep.

The trumpet voice sounded again but with great intensity. I then realized this was nothing to lightly dismiss. I turned on the lights and sat up in bed. I found a blanket to wrap around my shoulders to stay warm and the lights on to keep me awake. I started to pray again, “I am praying for my brother’s safety.”

I wonder in the back of my mind should I call my brother to stop him from going anywhere that morning. I pick up the phone ready to call when I glimpse at the clock, 4:42am. It is too early to call, so I replaced the phone in the cradle. Then I ask God what else I can pray for.

A voice like a trumpet echoes out, “Pray for your brother’s safety and for others safety.”

I pray and repeat those exact same words, “I am praying for my brother’s safety and for others safety, I am praying for my brother’s safety and for others safety, I am praying for my brother’s safety and for others safety. “

I ask inquisitively, “Is there anything else to pray for?” The echo from the trumpet repeats the previous message. So I continue to pray. Time is passing to 5:00am, 5:30am, 6:00am, 6:30am, 7:00am, 7:30am, 8:00am, 8:30am, and 9:00. During those hours if I feel asleep the voice would wake me back up to pray. I did my best to pray all those hours with the simple prayer of, “I am praying for my brother’s safety and for others safety.” Sometime around 9:00 I feel into a deep sleep and did not wake up tell after 12pm. The morning events are erased from my mind.

During that time in my life I had debilitating illness that left me bedridden, so waking up late was not an issue during that time in my life. I proceed to make my morning coffee and turn on the TV. To my horror there was new reports about a local school. I listening to the events while sipping my coffee. Then a noise broke me from watching the TV. It was the phone ringing. I answer it. To my shock my brother’s first words are, “Di, I love you.” I am perplex by his affectionate words and wonder what he wants.

My brother continues, “I just wanted to let you know I love you because today at my school I could have been shot and killed. There was someone who was planning on shooting people exiting out the building I would have been in class for. I never go to the cafeteria but I was supposed to meeting a friend. So either way this person could have shot and killed me. So I am calling everyone I care about to let them know I love them.”

I asked in a confused tone of voice, “How did you escape the situation?”

His emotional voice said, “As I was entering the campus around 9am the police were evacuating the campus. As soon as I drove me they were signaling us to leave.”

I graciously said, ”I love you too.” We hung up the phone.

As I am watching the events unfold on the TV and realizing my brother was caught in the middle of this I realized how lucky my brother was. I still was not remembering the events early in the morning. It was two days later when I was traveling on Highway 85 south bound near the Fremont exit stuck in bumper to bumper traffic around 6:30pm that I started to pray. I can remember praying how much I wanted to be used by God again and how useless I felt with this debilitating illness.

The trumpet voice state,” I have used you, don’t you remember.” Then God started replaying the events like a vision from me praying and the events from the TV that morning I had prayed. The vision went like this: God woke me up to start praying around 4:30am, the same time the DeGuzman started putting his arsenal on the roof De Anza College Cafeteria. As I prayed tell 9:00am God was working miraculously behind the scenes to get the police involved. The police arrived on the campus around 9:00am to evacuate the campus the same time I feel back to sleep.

Here are a few of the headline news articles.

ABC News

“Based on a tip from a drug store photo lab clerk, police arrested a 19-year-old San Jose man they said planned to carry out a "Columbine-style attack" on a local community college with 30 pipe bombs, 20 Molotov cocktails and other weapons.

Police arrested Al DeGuzman, a student at De Anza College, on Monday evening and found the arsenal of bombs and booby traps at the house where he lived with his parents… They said they also found a diagram of the De Anza campus and other notes indicating that DeGuzman intended to begin planting bombs at 4:30 a.m. today and then spring his attack at 12:30 p.m. in the school's main cafeteria. Police said they thought he had been planning the attack for two years.

"This was an elaborate plan for a mass murder," said San Jose Deputy Police Chief Mike Miceli. "He had a game plan and was very intent on doing what he was going to do." Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies and other officials evacuated the campus at De Anza, a community college with 25,000 students about 10 miles east of San Jose, at 9 a.m. today. Police offered no motive for the alleged plan and said they believe DeGuzman has no prior criminal record….”

From Wikipedia, List of Unsuccessful Attacks Related to Schools, last edited Dec 24, 2013

De Anza College student Al DeGuzman planned a Columbine style school shooting at the school. An employee at a Longs Drugs store developed pictures of DeGuzman posing with his guns and homemade bombs. She and a coworker called police. DeGuzman was arrested when he returned for his photos. Police found Deguzman's bedroom stacked from top to bottom with sophisticated handmade bombs and a map of De Anza College, marked with locations where bombs would be placed.[5] In October, 2002, DeGuzman was sentenced to seven years in state prison.[6] He later committed suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell.

For those who think that God does not exist, or thinks where is God when a tragedies occur, this is proof that God does intervene in the midst of a tragedy. I was used as the proof that God was working behind the scenes. I am a witness for the amount of love expressed by God to pray for all the others, who I never knew, but could tell God genuinely loved them. He wanted to spare them this event. God came in and saved them from what harm could have occurred. All those were given a second chance to live a full life. Do you ever wonder what you have been spare from because God Loved You? You where created by the Love of God to do something wonderful with your life. You where created for a divine purpose.