In Shock

I just returned from our God Squad retreat and we had a great time. I wish I could write all about that, but my heart is heavy and I am in shock. We found out today that one of our teens, Dale, was killed yesterday. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but apparently his mom and brother got into a fight and he stepped in. His brother ended up stabbing him and his mother, killing Dale and seriously injuring his mom.

We got the news while we were at the retreat and immediately shared it with the teens. Everyone was...is...in shock. Dale has been around for years. He participated in our first teen mission trip to North Carolina in 2005 and then went with us to Mississippi on our Katrina relief trip a few months later. I still have wonderful pictures and videos of the night we were stuck in the Dallas airport on our way to Mississippi. We couldn't sleep so a group of us, including Dale, stayed up all night having fun as we ran free in the almost deserted airport.Several of our teens and leaders were very close to Dale and his death is very hard to take. This is a first for me. I know many of our kids and teens who have relatives that have been killed, I have never known a murder victim personally. It hit home and hit hard. As I heard the news I looked around at all the other teens that I love and I just cried. I can't be sad for Dale, he is exactly where I desperately wish I was. I am sad for us, though, the people who miss him and missed out on what God could do through Him. And I admit I'm a little scared. I love the kids and teens here more than I ever thought I could...and this could very easily happen again.

Jesus, we miss Dale but we get it, you couldn't stand to be apart from him any longer. Thank you for sharing him with us, especially for the laughter he brought. Hold him in your arms and enjoy your son.
Here is an article written about what happened:

In Philly: Brother is held in fatal stabbing of NE man
By CHRISTINE OLLEY

A family squabble over money turned deadly yesterday in Northeast Philadelphia when a man stabbed his 19-year-old brother to death and wounded their mother.

Police said Dale Wilson was stabbed in the chest, back and an arm at about 12:15 p.m. yesterday inside his home on Greeby Street near Summerdale Avenue. He died at Albert Einstein Medical Center shortly before 1 p.m.

Wilson's mother, identified by neighbors as Barbara, was stabbed in the right thigh during the argument, police said. She also was taken to Einstein, where she remained in stable condition last night.

"When she wakes up from this nightmare, she's going to be devastated," said one neighbor, who declined to give her name.

Homicide Sgt. Bob Wilkins, said Wilson's brother was in police custody last night but that no charges had been filed.

The slaying was one of two this weekend that followed arguments. The other involved 21-year-old Davey Guzman, who died at Temple University Hospital at 10:30 p.m. Friday shortly after being shot in the head at F Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philadelphia. (This happened 2 blocks from my house)

Yesterday, on Greeby Street, Wilson's house was dark and no one answered the door.

Neighbors said Wilson was a college freshman, but they didn't know where he attended school. They said Wilson's brother sporadically came to his mother's Northeast Philadelphia home with his 1-year-old son.

"It's awful. I mean people sometimes have arguments and such but to take it that far over some money, that's a bit much," said a man who declined to give his name.

The slaying marked the third tragedy the block has seen in less than a year