[Magdalen] Prayer Request--Fires

[Jay Weigel]

In east Tennessee, where I was this past weekend, they are desperate for
rain. There are wildfires burning across the mountains everywhere and the
air quality was upgraded (or downgraded, depending on how you want to look
at it) to Code Red this morning, which is the most serious of all. It looks
like Beijing. My son-in-law sent me video yesterday from the cell tower he
was on near Pigeon Forge and it was scary. It wasn't too horrible over the
weekend where we were because there was a breeze, but it stopped overnight
Sunday and when we left Monday morning the smog in Johnson City was like LA
or worse. It continued like that all the way through the panhandle of SW
Virginia until I-81 make the turn and headed straight north--I think some
of that smoke came from wildfires in eastern KY, where some schools are
closed today because of smoke. My son-in-law has bad allergies and is
having to wear a mask part of the time even up on the towers; my daughter
and the boys also have allergies and are having to stay indoors. We were
both pretty miserable Monday until we got home. Tennessee's governor has
declared a state of emergency across the entire state and instituted a burn
ban. Several arsonists suspected of starting these fires have also been
caught and charged. We in the northern Shenandoah Valley of VA have not had
any wildfires thus far, possibly because we had a decent amount of rain
this past spring and summer, but it's pretty dry now and apparently there
are some small fires here and there.

All this is a long way of asking for prayers for good, soaking rains for
this area, for all people in the paths of these fires, and for the people
who are working day and night to fight them. Also that any who have started
them be found and brought to justice. Thank you.