ANOTHER PRAYER REQUEST FOR SAM

Once again I want to ask my readers to pause and offer a prayer in behalf of Sam Ousley. Sam is Betty's brother and last near blood-relative; all the rest are distant cousins who live far away. We hardly know what to ask for concerning Sam and Billie (and the rest of us) except that God's will be done and that there is enough strength and comfort for all to pass through these dismal times with hope, faith, and love intact. God's grace is more than sufficient for that if we will patiently accept it.

Sam is in his twenty or twenty-first week in ICU care in a Modesto, California, hospital, and his condition (damage left by a dying pancreas) continues to erode and now more swiftly. He now has internal bleeding and the doctors fear his internal organs are beginning to shut down. He can not communicate because of the tracheotomy and breathing equipment inserted in his neck and the effects of some of his medicines leave him confused anyway. We are assured that Sam is aware and at peace with his situation and is prepared for eternal life.

We are in a series of difficult phone calls and the waiting is hard and the news is bleak. We are preparing for another trip, but we fear it will not be in time for us to be with him again in this life.

Please remember Sam and his wife Billie, and the Ousley, Swank, and Wyatt families as we maintain this vigil and await whatever lies ahead. Billie and Betty and the rest of Sam's family and friends need your support and reassurance at this stressful time.