Canadians in Humboldt, a small city in the Saskatchewan province, are still coming to grips with the terrible tragedy that killed a dozen young junior league hockey players and their coaches Friday night last week. Broncos team chaplain Rev. Sean Brandow spoke during a recent vigil to express his sorrow and shared how he's seeking refuge in God.
Brandow said that in the midst of the tragedy he received about four Bible passages via text message, yet he couldn't process them because of what he had witnessed from the site of the crash. All he could think about was a passage from Psalm that spoke about the valley of darkness.
"It was so dark, I needed to hear from God," the pastor shared. "[But] someone reminded me that there's more to that Psalm than 'we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. 'You need to finish the statement,' someone told me. 'I will fear no evil because you're with me.'"
Brandow said that people might question why God allowed the accident to happen or where was God in the midst of the tragedy. He was upfront and said that, as the pastor, he doesn't have all of the answers but he knows that God is still in control.
The pastor read verses from Psalm 23 to assure the more than a hundred people present at the vigil that there's still hope in God. He also read a verse from Romans 15:13 to remind those in grief to fill their hearts with Jesus to help them out of the darkness.
Meanwhile, Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench assured the residents that they will get through this grief as a community. Using a hockey analogy, the mayor said that they will "stickhandle our way through this" to eventually heal. VIPs in attendance at the vigil included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.
A total of 16 people died in the bus crash. Fifteen died at the scene, with most aged between 15 and 20 years old, as well as the team coach, assistant coach, team announcer and bus driver. The team's athletic therapist and the lone female Broncos staff, Dayana Brons, died later in the hospital.
