Fire

Forest fire (from FB post)

 There's a huge forest fire on the north west of Jerusalem. On Saturday evening the sky was dark red and the sun was blocked out by the fumes. Everyone noticed it ... even this morning as I went to the Ivrea convent for Mass, I could smell the stench of burning. My asthma was so bad I had to stop twice along the road to sit and try to breathe. I thought I would faint as I couldn't seem to get air into my lungs. 

The fire is still going on, and the famous Hadassah Hospital might soon be evacuated if the fire comes any closer. Some 70,000 people have been evacuated already from the towns around that region.

Because I've been feeling very sick today, I decided to stay in my room. No work. No going out. The air pollution will kill me. I slept for the most part of the late morning as I've been sleeping barely 3 hours a night for the past week. Total exhaustion. Buddy and JJ slept with me. They've seen little of me as I've been busy working all week in office, seeing them only at night when I come home or feed them early in the morning before I go to work. Today we had a whole day together, resting and playing when we woke.

Damascus Gate market

The weather has cooled alot. Nights are 19 degrees and daytime is 29 degrees. Much more tolerable but still it provides kindle for the forest fire. Gaza had fired a rocket into Israel ... and usually these will start fires in the fields where they land. Rocket fire and terrorist attacks usually pick up when the weather cools.

Israel has declared, as of today, entries from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Taiwan need isolate only for 24 hrs. Infections have dropped a little and booster vaccinations have increased. That's good news. School will start in 2 weeks but we're not sure if students will be allowed back. Children under 15 are also being vaccinated. Many seminaries and church universities still cannot get foreign students to enter ... since none come from the Far East who are exempt from quarantine. Anyway let's hope for the best.