April 19 is a day that will live in our hearts. I had just arrived in Moore to serve as a youth minister for a suburban church there. On that horrible Wednesday, one of our secretaries rushed into our offices exclaiming “Somebody set off a bomb at the Federal Building.” Tommy and I had passed that building just a week before. I asked, “What is it like to do inner city ministry today?” On April 19, I found out.

When I shared my credentials as a volunteer chaplain from Arkansas, hospital, they made out a badge for me that said “Chaplain” and pointed me to the auditorium where many of the wounded had gathered. For the next couple of hours, I moved among the crowds with other spiritual helpers, listening to stories and offering prayers. I soon felt comforting hands on my shoulder as I went from one blood-soaked victim to another. It was as if angels swept down from heaven to help us deal with this horrible event.

In the midst of all this, Connie Chung from New Yorkaskedhercareer-ending question to Fire Chief Jon Hansen: “Do you think you can handle all this by yourself?” Her statement touched a raw nerve to a resilient people who regularly managed tornadoes, drought and dust storms. Connie Chung lost her job shortly afterward.