This morning I received a frantic phone call from a good friend's (and member of my church) sister telling me that the friend's wife had drenched the inside of their house with gasoline and set it on fire, in an attempt to kill herself. She had been suffering from depression since losing her job last May.This is what happened:

A few months ago, my friend's wife stopped by my church office and let me know she had been let go from a job of 12 years. The reason was due to a slowdown in work and, since it was a family-run and operated business, and she was the only non-family employee, she was the only one let go. She looked and looked for work, but couldn't find anything she could do that payed over minimum wage.

She became depressed to the point that he would take her to work with him every day. I had even offered to bring her to the church a few timers each week, but she didn't think that was necessary. It got to the point where he locked his guns away to where she couldn't get to them. Lately they had returned to church, and she seemed to be doing much better.

She had gone to her doctor on Tuesday, and had her med's adjusted. He told me that she had slept through the night wednesday night, and actually fixed him a big breakfast for the first time in months. He even said she was happy and relaxed. (Note: in my limited expereince and extensive reading, this behavior of being calm and in control is a good sign that the person has made the decision to go through with the suicide ... I realize it is difficult to be worried when they are acting better, but beware and watch for this sign.)

At about 8:30 that same morning, while at work about 20 miles away,  he received a call from his wife. She told him she was sitting on the front lawn and had set the house on fire. At first he didn't believe her, but after talking for a minute or two he realized she was telling the truth. He hung up and dialed 911 and headed for home. By the time he arrived, the police, ambulance and fire personnel we arriving. His wife was placed in the back of a police car, and she more details to the story:

She was depressed, and had decided to committ suicide by setting fire to the house and staying inside. She first went inside the house, killed their aging dog and set their two cats outside. She then took 2-5 gallon containers of gasoline from the garage, poured the fuel around the house, set the cans on the porch, put a match to the gasoline and sit down to die. However, when the heat and smoke became too intense, she ran from the house and called her husband. (I feel that if she was really going to kill herself, she wouldn't have a cell phone with her. I feel this might be a BIG cry for help.)

She was taken to a mental facility at the local hospital, and is under 24 hour suicide watch. Their home is destroyed, they will probably have no insurance coverage, they have no health insurance, they have no personal possessions.

I can give them the spiritual support they will need, but I have "zero" experience in the mourning process over the loss of everything. And please don't say, "At least they have themselves", since that is only true in his case. How will he feel about her once she is released? How will she feel? And please, I need help here, so please don't send opinions; I need someone who has experience in this matter. From everyone else, they need your prayers. They are Rick and Linda, and are around 60 years old.