Many of our alumni regularly visit our school and support us in various ways. Some are parents with children at Emmanuel,
some come as guest speakers or judges, while others just drop by to visit their former teachers. An impromptu mini-reunion
took place in the school office this January:
From the left: Derek Black '88, Caroline Bouma-Morsink '83, Rod Cornell, Karen Kattas, Richard Cameron '88, Judith McLauchlan,
Alana McKnight-Schmidt '82
Dawson Testimony
By Sharon Zwaagstra, class of 2005
The Dawson shooting was one of those events you would never expect to experience. And, if you knew it was about to happen, you would avoid it at all costs. Living through it was probably one of the most life changing events in my life. Amazingly, I do not wish that God would have spared me from it. Yes, it was in no way easy but the hand and presence of God that was manifested throughout and after it was an experience more incredible and rich than any other I have known. I believe that the way, in which I was encouraged at Emmanuel to trust God’s will in my life, helped me to look for and understand the work His hand throughout the entire event and afterwards.
The intricate details through which God worked on that day are far too numerous for me to relay. I will probably never even be able to gauge the extent of them. I was only able to know the ones which He allowed me to be apart of.
Wednesday, September 13 2006, started with a quiet rainy morning at school. After attending class and being held up in a teacher’s office, I headed down stairs to the Atrium to start on my homework as I ate my lunch- a little later than usual. I was so surprised at the unusual quiet of the cafeteria that I had to check my watch to make sure it was actually 12:30. It was like the quiet before a storm. I chose my table and went to microwave my food but, by the time it was finished, a boyfriend and girlfriend had taken "my" table and all the other tables appeared to be filled on that side of the cafeteria. So, I had to move to the other side of the Atrium. Little did I know how God was sparing me through that move!
While eating, I was working my way through a homework article on terrorism- never anticipating that the shootings I was reading of would "come alive" around me. The original peace of the Atrium was penetrated by shouts and screams, followed by the 4 shots of a semi-automatic gun. Time seemed to stop and proceed in slow motion as fellow students dropped to the ground around me. Unsure exactly how to act, I neither screamed nor dropped to the floor. Instead, I went into auto-pilot, packing up my stuff into my book bag. All the meanwhile, prayers of scripture (that I hadn’t even realized I knew) flowed from my mouth involuntarily. I followed the panicked group from our side of the Atrium behind a partitioner, and out of the cafeteria through a back door- with the intense fear that we would be shot too. Once standing in a back hallway I cried out to God to send someone to take care of me because I was too shaken to know what to do. Almost immediately, a teacher saw me shaking and came out of his class to ask me what had happened. After telling him, he brought the entire group, who were still with me, into his class room where we hid. Unable to witness because everyone else was on cell phones, I prayed harder than ever before and sang softly "God is my refuge and my strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore, I will not fear- though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the depths of the sea!". God’s presence engulfed me (as if I were sitting in His lap) and gave a sense of peace in the midst of the terror. Unaware of the severity of the situation, I did not realize that any other person, let alone Christian, outside knew what was going on. So, I prayed that God would set up at least one to pray. It so happened, that at that very time, prayer chains were being set up all throughout Canada. God be thanked!!
After about 20 min. of hiding, police came to escort us out- telling us to put our hands in the air, run, and to go to Alexis Nihon where it was supposed to be safe. Once inside the mall, I was still unsure of what I should do. I tried calling home (although I didn’t ever think that they would already know what was going on) but couldn’t get through. I decided to try to settle down to do homework at a table in the mall, thinking that I might head back to the library to work after the whole mess was taken care of. If you can imagine the terror one would feel after having run from the range of a gunman, totally believing that this would be your last day on earth, then you can most likely understand that concentrating on homework was not an easy task. The whole situation was completely out of my control. There was absolutely nothing I could do on my own to guard my life! I was at the complete mercy of circumstance. Yet, I knew the One who is in control of circumstances. And so, I was forced to lean completely into the open arms of my Heavenly Father- and, oh, what comfort I found there as I was continually reminded "Be anxious about nothing. But by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests know to God."
I had gotten up to try to reach home, when the crowd of people around me bolted in panic toward the door after a loud shout rang out of "RUN!!! THE GUNMAN’S HERE!!". I ran- my life flashing before my eyes, as a shot echoed throughout the mall behind me and the scream reached my ears "Someone’s been shot!". God had spared me twice. After twice finding the places I had believed "secure" to be unsafe, His presence was the only place which offered the security I desperately needed. And that presence had never seemed so close as when I had to hide myself completely within it!
Being lost in the city and having a metro line down, getting home proved difficult. It was only through miraculous intervention that I made my way back to my family, where I found out that my sister Andrea (who had also spared at the school that day) had done first aid on the boyfriend and girlfriend (Joel and Jessica) who had taken "my" table. Also, that she had been able to witness to and pray for them. How can any one miss the miracle of God’s guidance in that situation!
In the return to school, the lessons on backing up my faith and witnessing, learned in Mrs. Kattas’ MRE class, came in handy as God opened up chances for me to share the hope I had with friends who were completely distraught. Also, through media coverage, Andrea’s and mine and other Christians’ testimonies spread nation wide! Though Satan was allowed his 5 min. of fame, God stole the glory for himself completely, as Christians gathered to praise Him and to share His wonders with a hurting population and as the love for one another was shown in amazing amounts. His word continued to minister to us. One passage in particular:
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. No one should be
shaken by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For,
in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation. In
Me you...have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world."
