Stories and Inspirations

My Name is Yosrah Johnson and I am a sophomore at Northern Illinois University. On February 14, 2008 a sense of

unspeakable violence occurred at my school. A man opened fire in my lecture hall killing five of my classmates and

injuring dozens more. I was able to escape with some minor physical injuries but the emotional trauma is something I take

 with me everyday. While my school was in a state of grieving they opened up a place called the "Peace Room" where anyone

 can go and get away from everyday problems and reflect and pray. I myself has found the peace room to be very helpful.

It is so nice to just find a nice quiet place to sit and write and pray. Well one day I go into to the peace room to find beautifully

 crocheted shawls. I read the note and prayer that came with the shawls and tears came to my eyes. This act of genuine kindness

 touched my heart and made me realize that love and kindness still exists in our world even when we feel like it is not out there.

The prayer shawl honestly came when I was having a day where I thinking a lot about the tragedy and was having personal issues

 of my own. I would just like to thank everyone who put in their time and effort into making these beautiful prayer shawls

you have touched someone today in more ways than one and I know these shawls are going to helps others too.

Thank you for your prayers and blessings!

Forever grateful,

Yosrah Johnson
Northern Illinois University Student