Hope remains amid the sorrow

Healing begins as Virginia Tech senior speaks to his church in Cary

CARY -- David Lundin wanted the world to know a little something about his friend, a Virginia Tech sophomore who was gunned down in French class Monday.

So he stood in front of his congregation Sunday at Good Shepherd United Church of Christ and gave them the facts.

Matthew La Porte had a smile that seemed to stretch across his whole face. He wore Converse high-tops and a leather jacket, no matter the weather. He loved dances and football games.

"He didn't have a big stature," said Lundin, 22, tears clouding his eyes as he held his hand just below shoulder level. "He only stood so high."

Lundin is a Virginia Tech senior. At a time when he should be enjoying his final months in college, he is trying to process the massacre of 27 students and five teachers at the school he has grown to love.

During a long weekend at home in Cary, he decided he wanted to speak at the church he has attended since he was 10 years old.

He wanted to tell the parishioners about Matt, who was a fellow member of Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets and its Regimental Band. But he also wanted them to know that he still has hope for Virginia Tech -- and for the world.

"I return to Blacksburg today, and I know that the place I am going has been changed," Lundin told the congregation. "However, I am optimistic about the future of Tech. In the wake of this tragedy, new life will rise, hope will renew, and the ever-resilient flame of dreams will rekindle."

Good Shepherd's pastor, Pat Russell, said he asked Lundin to give the sermon after spending three hours talking with him last week.

Russell said that an incident like the one at Virginia Tech can feel so random, so shocking, that its lessons are hard to discern. But he said hearing Lundin's stories -- of coming together with other students, of celebrating his undiminished pride in his school -- helped him see what the event could teach his congregation.

"Even in the face of incredible evil, there's room for incredible good to be born. Even in moments of sorrow, there's room for realistic hope. And David is the greatest example of that," Russell said. "In the long run, that's the most important part of the story."

After Lundin spoke, the congregation rose to sing "Amazing Grace," the hymn that brought comfort to Virginia Tech students at a convocation Tuesday.

Lundin's parents, Rob and Carolyn Lundin, both Virginia Tech alumni, said delivering the sermon was a part of their son's healing process. They acknowledged that the shootings will always be a mark on what has otherwise been a happy time.

Carolyn Lundin said that the massacre was another way in which college has taught her son, one of three children, about life.

"We all mourn," she said. "It's part of what we all learn to accept."

David Lundin, who is planning a career in law enforcement, said the shootings can never outweigh all the good times he has had at Virginia Tech, as a tenor saxophone player in the band that its members call the "Highty-Tighties."

"I'm not going to let it dominate my memories," said Lundin, who planned to return to campus Sunday night.

After the service, some of the church members who had known Lundin since childhood swapped stories about him.

Nan Alberti of Apex stood in a clutch of women, remembering Lundin's enthusiasm for work on a mission trip six years ago, during which he helped roof an elderly man's house.

"He's always been an amazing young man," Alberti said.

The other women nodded in agreement. After a week of mourning, for the many promising young people who were lost, they were thankful for a good young man who survived.