From Jacqueline
Dearest Prayer Warriors:
Thank you very much for all the friends and families who came across the miles to attend Sami’s funeral service in Houston. Over one thousand people stood with us as we celebrated Sami’s life. The Lahouds, Raads and El-Issas were very touched by your love and presence. We also know that many people were following it online, and we are grateful for those as well.
For those of you who are in Lebanon, I will be leaving today to travel to Lebanon with my mother-in-law Wadad where there will be a Memorial Service for Sami at the National Evangelical Church of Beirut (Pastor Habib Badr), Friday, February 7 at 1:00pm.
Visitations at the above church: Friday, February 7 immediately following the service until 7:00pm and Saturday, February 8th from 11:00-7:00pm
The Lord indeed is faithful and has done and is still doing great things! He was with us throughout the whole journey and guided Sami home safely to His eternal Glory!
To be honest with you, I have mixed emotions! My heart aches for the physical separation! I miss him terribly! We all do! But at the same time, it’s very comforting to know, FOR A FACT, that Sami IS with JESUS, free from pain, healed and whole! I praise The Lord for 19 years of marriage and for a godly husband and father! I’m grateful Sami lived a life dedicated to The Lord where he did not waste one moment! He shined for Christ even in the darkest moments of pain & suffering! He was always focused and always reminded me that it’s a battle of the mind and all the enemy wants to do is shift our focus from The Lord to our troubles! As Dr. Raad said in the service: Sami’s last assignment was MD Anderson Cancer Center! He shared the love of Jesus with so many patients & medical staff alike!
Now he’s enjoying the Lord’s presence where there’s no more pain and suffering, no more Chemo, medications nor infections; no more waiting for hours for doctors’ appointments, blood transfusion or so on! He accomplished his mission! I was so honored to be his partner! I pray and trust that the Lord will give me the strength to continue my journey without Sami. He left in my care three precious gifts – our children! I need to be there for them! It’s definitely a new phase in my life and it can be scary! But I trust God’s presence to be with me. Like Isaiah 41: 10 says: “Do not fear for I am with you; do not be anxious for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
I fully trust He is faithful!!! The children & I will be in His grip just like Sami always said!
Thank you for carrying us in your prayers throughout this journey!
In His Grip,
Jacqueline
Sami Lahoud 
Love you Jaco. Remember I am a phone away!
Love you Angel….
Love you all. Also know that Sami and all of you have strengthened my faith, led me into worship of the Lord and focused my priorities on His Kingdom.
May you be forever blessed and guided by you faith! I wish you Godspeed in your travels. Lets have dinner when you return. Kiss moma Wadad for me; give her those multiple kisses like Sami used to do… smile!
Sami leaves on “restored”, and we will see him again….
Sami lives on “restored”, and we will see him again….
I send you all my love, to you, the children, tante Wadad, rima, Lamia, stay strong.
God bless you and the children. Sami was faithful to the end.
Habibitna Jaqueline, your faith guided you through the illness phase and you and Sami were able to inspire so many people through a wicked illness. Your faith is a source of inspiration and you continue to inspired us. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers. We love you and your precious children dearly.
Habibit Albna Jacko :
We are all praying for you and precious Wadad . Your words always bring tears of joy and comfort to our hearts . We are all behind you to continue the great mission and calling of Healing and Grace that The Lord has given to very precious Sami and to raise 3 great ambassadors for Christ like what Wadad did .
With All Our Love and Prayers
I RAAD
Sent from my iPad
what can I say. I kept on sending message in the blog till after the passing because I know that sami is next to us in spirit. I would like to assure you that I will be by your side in the days to come and stand by you all as a family because you are all my family… I am continuing to pray for you Jacqueline to your lovely waddad you is so courageous and blessed and janette and Handsome Samir… I am sure that the lord is carrying you all now. with much love anis and family
♥♥♥
Jacqueline, your faith, strength and courage are and have always been an inspiration. Your dedication to Sami is an example of what love is all about. I have known Sami and the Lahoud family for as long as I can remember. Sami was always a special person and remains so in my life. We have not met. However, I hope one day I will get a chance to meet his lovely partner, wife and their children. Sincerest, Ramsey
Dear Jacqueline
Eventhough I have not met you, I can only imagine the amazing person you are as I know how amazing Sami was ( I prefer to say IS). His kindness, genuine care for his friends (including us from IC days), humor & wit are rare jewels. REading his blogs helped me revive my Christian teachings, it made me admire his personality even more. I kept praying for alternative therapies to be implemented and make a difference but we have to trust in the path and hope to continue his values through his precious children. I wish you continued courage and strength.
Sincerely
Rula Freiji (a friend from highschool days)
Dear Sami
today we held a memorial for you rememberance at the national evangelical church of Beirut one month exactly from your passing. don’t worry your mom was so much loved by all and jaco was held in the arms of her sister and brothers real and in Christ as well. She is such a terrific woman. Your smiles engulfed the hall I know and I felt you with us in spirit. Your friend Hani Asfur and his sweet wife rula and I were active supporters of the family. your brother issam was there and talked very highly of you as his adopted son and more than a brother. tomorrow will be the last day of condolences here in Beirut. May god open the gardens of heaven for you my brother, as for your family I know that he will grant them patience, love, comfort and endurance in this time. Your blog held us more together and gave us a full realization that salvation cant be attained except through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD FULL STOP AND AMEN …. WILL SEE YOU SOON.. NALTAKI AAN KAREEB….I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH….
في عرس الرحيل
ضيوفا حللنا على هذه الأرض، ليشرق الله نوره سلاما للقلوب هداية للأرواح، وراحة للنفوص. فطوبى لمن حمل الشعلة وأكمل المسيرة علىدرب الرجاء،
سموت أخانا سامي فوق الجراح، كانت رحلة مريرة وشاقة مع المرض العضال، لكن الألم يُطَهِّر ويصقل؛ لترحل نقيا من كل خطيئة، ففي عرس الرحيل أقول:
بورك لك في عليائك، وهنيئا لك في حضرة صاحب الجلالة العظيم. فكلماتك التي سطّرتها خفة ظلك، وعزفتها موسيقى فؤادك الشجيّة، وأنشدتها ابتسامتك التي لم تفارق ثغرك يوما واحدا، ستبقى راسخةة في جوارحنا، ومثلا نقتدي به إلى الأبد.
ويا أيتها العروس الملَك، ـ كما قال سامي والطبيب عصام؛ـ وهذه حقيقة جلية، نعم الزوجُ أنتِ ونعم شريك الحياة، ونعم الأم، لا يسعني إلا أن أهنئك بالزوج النبيل، الطيب، أليس الطيبون للطيبات، بورك لك التسعة عشر عاما التي أثمرت إرثا كريما وأثرا كبيرا فهنيئا لك بهذا الغنى، هنيئا لك بوداد، جانيت وسمير.
ويا حضرة الأم الفاضلة الصابرة، صعب هو فراق فلذة الكبد، ورفيق الروح وحبيب الفؤاد؛ لكنك علمتنا بأن الموت هو نقطة عبور والإيمان بالله يمسح الدموع ويغسل الأفئدة؛ ومن كرم السماء، أنعم الله عليك برقة لمياء، وصلابة الطبيب عصام، وصدق ريما الدافئ، وبراءة الأحفاد؛ لنسعد بهم ونشكر الرب على هذه الكنوز الثمينة.
لقد جمع سامي الناس على اختلاف دياناتهم، وطوائفهم ومذاهبهم، فهاكِ يا أُمّ هذي الجموع، أتوا من كل حدب وصوب ليشاركونا العرس؛ إنها المحبة الحقة التي ترعرعت وربيت أبناءك وتلامذتك عليها.وها هي روح سامي تظللنا مغردة مهللة مترنمة بترانيم السلام، ناشرة عبق رياحين الحب، وطيب بخور الحياة الأبديّة؛إيذانا ببزوغ الفجر الجديد، حيث لا دموع، ولا بكاء ولا عويل.
البقاء لله.
Jacqo you are a rare gem, a true daughter of God and a shining example of what we should all strive to be. You and your family will always be in our prayers and in the Lord’s safe and comforting grip.
Dear Jacqueline and family,
I just came upon Sami’s blog site a few days ago, while searching for
Survivor stories from people diagnosed with FLT3 AML. I was devastated
When I discovered on reaching his blog site that he passed away only
a few months ago. I went on to read his journey and found so much comfort
reading his words. He sounded like an amazing person and so inspirational
and courageous in his fight. I wish I could have communicated with him.
His journey reminded me so much of my own journey and fight and how blessed
We have been to have the love and support of our family and friends to get us
through these tough times.
I just wanted to say from the bottom of my heart how sorry I am for the loss of
Such a beautiful person in your life, but to also thank Sami & your family for sharing
Your journey & faith & optimism. I did not know him but his words have certainly
touched my heart, and I will take them along with me in my journey.
Sending you all my love and thoughts (from Melbourne Australia)
Caroline xxx
Sorry Caroline we never replied to you. I hope you have survived your ordeal and thank you for your kind words
one year on, you are still in our hearts and mind… your memory lives in me… I feel you are still praying for us… love you my dear brother and we wait to see you again….anis