EL SOBRANTE, CALIF. (ANS) -- It was not a phone call Denis Haglund ever expected.

He told me by e-mail that the phone rang at his bedside in central California at about 5:30 AM pacific time Sunday. It was his youngest daughter Bethany on the line, a student at Youth With a Mission’s Discipleship Training School (DTS) at the Eagle Rock campus, 20 miles up in the foothills above Arvada, Colorado.

She quickly brought her dad up to speed about the terrible shooting at YWAM’s Arvada Campus.

Denis said that Bethany and her fellow students had just returned from Arvada on Saturday evening, and were awoken in the early hours of Sunday morning to pray.

Denis said, “This they did for many hours, as they took turns calling their family and loved ones letting them know they were safe for the moment. We were very proud of the way she was holding up to the stress of this trial.”

Bethany is no stranger to stress, Denis said. “She grew up with an Air Force Sergeant for a father (me), and a mom who taught elementary age children and was a Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) missionary (Susie). We were a family who followed the news closely, because it often had a great impact on us in a very personal way.”

Denis was often called away at short notice to undisclosed locations around the world.

He said, “My children could be woken in the middle of the night for a goodbye kiss from Dad in my flight suit, which would be followed by tears from the girls and long absences from me. The worst of these times was Oct 3, 1993 as the girls watched the events in Mogadishu, Somalia unfold on CNN, knowing Dad was there but not knowing if I was safe or not.”

As time went, Denis said these events took their mental and emotional toll on his family. Bethany’s older sister was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The family experienced many hard years, but Denis said nonetheless held true to a family saying, “No matter what, we love each other.”

He added, “We all grew to trust in the providence of God for all things; even the personal safety of ourselves and our children.”

As Johanna came close to finishing high school, Denis said she began looking for some place for her to fit in and serve the Lord.

Denis said, “We knew she was not ready for traditional missionary service, or maybe traditional missionary service was not ready for her. In either case God led us to YWAM Denver. They were willing to accept Johanna when other organizations had rejected her for her as yet ‘uncured psychiatric disorder.’ We do know she may never be completely cured, but God has allowed her to cope without medication. YWAM was a huge blessing both for her and us. They took her under their wing, and loved and cared for her like family.”

Denis said it is because of that love and care that he and his wife Susie are able to entrust their children to the care of God “and the family at YWAM Denver.”

Johanna attended training in Arvada for a year, and then went on staff there full time for an 18 months stint that only ended Oct. 1 of this year.

Dennis said, “She worked with Tiffany Johnson (one of the victims) very closely for much of that time, and was obviously shaken by her death ... The real irony of this circumstance is that the shooter is just the kind of person YWAM Denver is uniquely gifted to help and support.”

Denis noted that daughter Bethany leaves for Thailand in a week, and he asked that people pray for her and her friends. He said, "We don't know all the lessons that will be gleaned from this tragedy, but we do know there are many to be learned. We also don't want her to miss what God has in store for her and her friends at DTS, and those they will meet in Thailand."

The advice Denis said he and his wife have for their children during these difficult times is not to ask God “why?” That question may well only be answered in eternity, he said, but rather to ask, “What now, God?”

That, Denis said, is the only way to truly move forward from such a tragic loss.

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City: A Call to Service." Additional details about "Homeless" are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A higher resolution JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.