SAN ANTONIO – Funeral services for the 21 lives lost in the Uvalde school shooting are underway, and mourning families are saying their final goodbyes to their loved ones. During these dark days, the power of prayer is needed now more than ever, according to Last Chance Ministries Pastor Jimmy Robles.
“They’re going to see the casket going down, and reality is really going to hit, and it’s going to be terrible, and I hate to say those words,” Robles said.
Robles with Last Chance Ministries and nonprofit Benjamin’s Right Hand organizer Jessica Craven held a prayer vigil on Wednesday evening at Woodlawn Park to support those hurting in Uvalde.
Craven and Robles said they know the pain of burying a child.
“Remembering the days that we had to go and pick a casket and walk the cemetery -- we weren’t prepared for that. And I know the parents of Uvalde -- they weren’t prepared for this either. This is all new to them. Their journey is about to begin. My journey’s been five years, and it’s still not the same,” Robles said.
“There’s hope. After these long seven years, God has given me peace and hope, and I just want to share that with them,” said Craven.
Twenty-one angel wings with flowers and a picture of the victims were displayed at the vigil. Many people who went to the vigil wore a shirt that showed a picture of the kids walking up the steps of Heaven in front. On the back were the faces of the Uvalde victims.
The vigil was held at the park to show where the students who died should be playing and celebrating their summer vacation. The angel wings made for the vigil will be sent to the families in Uvalde on Friday.
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