I would like to begin by extending my deepest sympathies to Angela, Timaya,
Kyla, Trinity, Josiah and Winter. Also
to Sam's mother Fay, brother Gord, and all of Sam's other close relatives and
friends.
When I first met Sam Losey, I was a student at Emmanuel Bible College in
Kitchener, Ontario in the mid 1990's. I
remember him wearing a red and black lumberjack shirt. Upon getting to know him, it quickly became
apparent he was not a city boy! He was
simple, unsophisticated, and did not try to impress people by being something
he was not.
Over the next several years, Sam and I truly became best friends. In our case, the saying 'A true friend sticks
closer than a brother' was true. While
on dorm Sam and I became each other's confidants and accountability
partners. We told each other EVERYTHING
about each other's lives. We supported
each other through many family and relationship realtionship issues. As most of you know, Sam had the much too
rare ability to listen without judging.
If I had messed it up royally in my spiritual life, I knew I could go to
him, anytime day or night and talk and pray it out with him. He and i saw the potential in each other and
who we could be in Christ if we kept pressing on.
It was not unusual for Sam and I to get involved in lively discussions
about theological matters such as the 'once saved always saved theory'. We would also spend crazy amounts of time
voicing our opinions on how Bible colleges and churches should properly be
administrated.
Of course, not all of our time was spent in the spiritual realm. I remember spending many a Saturday in his
dorm room hanging out and watching shows like Hercules and Xena Warrior
Princess. Also, he and I, and several
other Bible college buddies would grab our Sunday noon lunch trays from the
campus cafeteria and religiously go back to dorm together to watch WWF
pro-wrestling and all the circus that is is.
We had a lot of good laughs. Sam
also was an avid player of foosball in the rec room at college, as our dear
friend Grant Waters who is here today, could attest to. Sam did have a competitive side, but never in
a mean way.
Sam had the patience of Job. On our
dorm we had a fellow who never went to class and just wandered around and
played video games. Many of us found him
irritating. I think Sam did too, but Sam
poured his life into this other guy's and spent many hours hanging out with
him, making him feel wanted. Sam had a
heart for mission work and seeing people come to Christ. It was he and Ang's dream to start a ranch
for troubled kids. We can only speculate
now what a blessing that ministry would have been.
I am sure we will all miss Sam's smile and laughter and love of life. People were naturally drawn to Sam. I remember one of our close Korean friends
had a habit of sitting down by Sam and literally caressing Sam's hairy
arm. Most guys would have been spooked
by this, but Sam took it all in stride.
After our life on dorm together, Sam and I moved into a fourteenth floor
apartment behind Fairview Mall in Kitchener with two of our close friends Shawn
and Steve. One of my best memories from
this time is Sam and Shawn arguing over whether Garth Brooks was a Christian or
not. I'm not sure who won...Of interest,
Sam from the country, who listened to the likes of Randy Travis and Billy Ray
Cyrus, actually had a couple of hard rock tracks by Gun 'N' Roses in his music
collection which I found interesting.
Sam's time at Bible college ended before mine. I remember balling my eyes out and asking him
how we would manage being so far apart from each other and not seeing each
other every day. He simply told me that
God would take care of both of us and just because we didn't see each other
that much didn't mean we weren't still close friends.
As the years passed on, it seemed everytime he would call, he and Ang were
expecting another child. I would ask him
how they could handle so many kids. He
admitted it took a lot of energy, but he and Angela worked superbly as a team.
I would like to say a few words about Angela. Sam was head over heels for you. He loved you with all of his heart. You truly were the missing piece of his
puzzle. He spoke only good about you and
the two of you wre an incredible team.
Though Sam is gone from this earth, I am sure He will be cheering you on
from above. You can see him in the eyes
of your five children. If Sam were here,
he would say: "It's going to be okay.
God is in control. God loves
you. Go forward and make a difference in
this life for Christ". Rely on God
and your family, friends, and church for support. Ang, you are welcome at our house anytime.
To Sam's five wonderful kids: Daddy loves you very much. He just has to do it from heaven now. He will always be with you in your hearts. I am sure you will laugh a lot about how
funny your daddy was. Your Daddy would
say: "Always love Jesus. God is listening when you pray. Help your mommy with the chores".
Fay and Gord, I learned a lot about your family from Sam. I can truly say he loved you guys so very
much. You were always on his mind. As you grieve, may you be flooded with many
great memories of your son and brother.
Also, feel free to visit me or stay in contact online. Sam would want you both to stay close to
God. God does not expect us to be
perfect but wants us to stay close to Him and serve Him.
Sam knew well, even back in college, he did not know how long his days on
earth would be, due to his health problems.
Nonetheless, he lived life with abandon and to the fullest and did not
dwell on future complications.
When I heard that Sam had passed away, I felt a piece of me had died. So many of my secrets and struggles are
"buried" in a sense, with Sam.
I will never be the same again and I am sure many of you here could say
that.
In closing, I want to relate something I hope with comfort Sam's
family. A week or two before Sam's
death, when I would call my dad, he would play me a song over the phone from
his CD player before we'd start to talk.
Well, the night I called Dad to tell him that Sam had died, wouldn't you
know it, the song Dad played me was 'Far Side Banks of Jordan'. I said to Dad: "You won't believe how
appropriate that song is" and then I told him the news. I would like to close with a few of the
lyrics from that song: "If it proves to be His will that I am first to
go/And somehow I've got a feeling it will be/When it comes your time to travel
likewise don't feel lost/For I will be the first one that you'll see/And I'll
be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan/I'll be waiting drawing pictures in
the sand/And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout/And come running
through the shallow waters reaching for your hand".
Those who know Christ will see Sam again and when we do, he will have a new and glorious
body. We love you Sam and God bless!