July 5, 1976
JoJo couldn't believe the phone was ringing at 7:00 AM. It was summer!
JoJo, cracky voice and all, answered, "hello."
"JoJo?"
It was Samantha! Aww Man, I forgot her Aunt was in the hospital.
"Hey Samantha! Are you ok?"
"Yea, I'm fine. But..."
"But What?"
"My aunt is not doing well..."
JoJo knew that Samantha was holding back tears.
"I'm sorry, Samantha. Can I do anything to help?"
"Would you be offended if I talked to your mom?"
My MOM?! JoJo thought. His selfishness quickly went away when he heard a sniff on the other end of the line.
"Sure Samantha."
JoJo went down stairs. Alice was cooking breakfast. JoJo was glad he told his mom about the accident before he went to bed. It's bad to get a shock early in the morning.
"Good morning, mom."
Alice was shocked to see JoJo up before noon in the summer time.
"You OK, JoJo?!!"
"Ha, yes mam. Samantha is on the phone and wants to talk to you."
"Oh my, Sure."
Samantha and Alice didn't talk long.
Alice started calling out orders, "JoJo, please stay here with Remi. I need to go to the hospital. When your Dad gets home, he can take care of Remi and I'll come get you."
JoJo started to question his mother, but stopped himself. "Yes mam."
JoJo ate his breakfast and went back to bed. Remi usually awoke at 10:00, unlike his noon-sleeping self. So, he set his alarm clock for 10.
It seemed like 5 minutes passed when the alarm clocked yelled for JoJo to GET UP! He got Remi up and fed her. JoJo explained, as best he could, the situation. Then, he and Remi played X-Box.
Dan came home for lunch. This was unusual for JoJo's dad! He was usually gone from 6:30 AM until 7:00 PM, however Alice called and filled Dan in on Samantha's aunt.
"Hi, JoJo and Remi."
"Hey my daddy," Remi joyfully blurted prior to giving Dan a big hug.
'Thank you Butter-Cup! Jo, how ya feeling?"
"I don't know. Confused. Helpless."
"Would you feel better if you could see Samantha?"
"YESSIR!"
"Good. Let me wolf down this sandwich. Remi can go to Aunt Karen's and we can go to the hospital."
JoJo didn't know what to say. But, he was grateful.
When the Smith men arrived at the hospital, they each received hugs from Samantha first, then Samantha's mom and Alice.
Samantha appreciatively thanked the Smith men, but her mom fell all over herself with joy.
"I can't tell you how much I love the Smiths! My sister was in bad shape, but after Alice and her Prayer Group prayed, everything changed! The doctors think she can get out of here tomorrow! "
"Wow!" Dan exclaimed. "Praise the Lord!"
Samantha fired back, "Praise the Lord!"
Alice looked ragged. "Dan, I am going to take these ladies to get something to eat. Will you and JoJo hang around."
"That's what we're here for!"
After Alice took Samantha and her mom to Chick-A-Yum Yum, Dan looked at JoJo.
"It's our turn to pray."
"Yessir."
Samantha's aunt was in ICU, so the guys went to the chapel. Dan let the nurses know where they would be.
When they got in the chapel, Dan began, "Oh Lord, our Lord! You are God, and we are not. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of Samantha's family. Praise you for allowing us to be a part of your family. Praise you for the healing that has already taken place, but Father----don't stop there. Heal our dear friend completely! Furthermore, we pray for salvation for Samantha's family. We pray for strength for her. Thank you, Lord that my son reached out to this young girl..."
Dan very quietly began to cry.
From that point forward, the two Smith men continued to silently pray.
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