Two accident-related stories have surfaced this morning. Prayer support for each situation will be appreciated. The first note, about the Yoders, comes from Jonathan Wiley at Columbus, and the report of the East Side (Columbus) accident is from East Side member Pat Phillips.
Please be praying for Grace Brethren International Missions staff members Mike and Letitia Yoder, their family, and especially Joshua (Mike, Letitia, Hannah (11), Joshua (9), Cedric (5), Alecia (3). This morning (Tuesday) they were involved in an automobile accident.
Joshua has sustained some significant head trauma with much unknown at this time. The next 24 hours are extremely critical. From what is understood Mike, Letitia, and Hannah are OK. Cedric and Alecia have some minor injuries and are expected to be OK.
In the second incident, Tom and Judy Locke of East Side Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, OH were on their way home from church a week ago when they were involved in an accident. The wind and snow had already postponed their singing in East Side’s Christmas cantata that was scheduled later that day. The road conditions were not good, and a driver who drove though a stop sign ended up getting hit by the Locke’s car which had no stop sign.
The Lockes didn’t believe they were seriously hurt, but emergency personnel felt they needed to be checked out at a local hospital just to be sure. Judy’s neck hurt a little, and Tom felt a little discomfort in his abdomen. As Tom talked with the other driver, he told him, “I don’t know why this happened, but I’m sure God has something to teach us, either today or in the not too distant future.” Little did any of them realize the events that would follow.
At the hospital, Judy checked out fine, although she did have a slight case of whiplash. However, when the doctors came to tell Tom the results of his CAT scan, it was not what any of them were expecting. The doctors told Tom that he had a tumor. Subsequent tests determined that the tumor was cancerous and would have to be removed, but that the prognosis was good. Since Tom had no symptoms of the problem, if the accident had not happened, the cancer would have continued to spread. Tom is scheduled for surgery, but that is not the end of the story.
The other man involved in the accident works at the hospital where Tom is to have the surgery. In fact, he is a nurse and still more amazingly will be the nurse anesthetist during Tom’s surgery. As Tom shared his testimony about the accident at East Side this past Sunday and his comment on the day of the accident, he said that God taught them all something and that “God is good!”
Please remember to pray for Tom, Judy and Tom’s doctors.