prayer request

hey guys.

just a quick prayer request. we had a major ice storm go thru the area over the past two days...didn't really affect the metroplex but the texas panhandle and southern oklahoma and north got hit pretty hard. my grandparents live in southern oklahoma in a little town, altus. they live in the country and this storm hit them hard. they've been without power since thursday. all of the surrounding cities are without power too. the hospital has shut down and is only taking people with life threatening emergencies. the only places in town with generators are the hospital and the nursing home. they don't even have generators to allow people to pump gas. the roads have been closed due to ice--the power lines had about 3" of ice on them--no wonder they came down! a few of the trees on my grandparents property fell down. one of them fell and is keeping them from being able to get my grandpa's truck out of the garage--this poses a problem if they were able to get ahold of a generator...they wouldn't have a way to go get it. and at some point, this tree is going to have to be cut up and the wood moved--hard work for my grandpa, who is 83. so, currently they're huddled up next to the fire. they sleep in their recliners and take turns keeping the fire going. their fire wood is very limited. they have some family further down the road that's bringing them fire wood, but they're almost out too. they have candles for light, and batteries to get updates from their radio. all of these things are going to run out at some point--hopefully not before the stores open back up!

luckily, the phone line still works...the blessings of keeping a land line phone with cords! :) currently my grandpa has driven into town to see if anything is open. they've got minimal food in the pantry because it wasn't grocery day yet. they've been reheating things to eat over the fire. last night they had cottage cheese and fruit for dinner...this morning they had peanut butter and jelly for breakfast, and for lunch today they reheated some soup. normally, i'd say, "well, good. sounds like they just might be ok". but being in their 80s, i'm VERY concerned. some of the reports are saying it could take up to two weeks to get power back on--in the city. who knows how long it'll take all the way out at their place.

they're very resistant to leave because they're worried about water pipes bursting...not like they could do anything to prevent it though! my mom has been calling around trying to get pricing on generators and fuel to take up to them. and we've also thought about just going up there and forcing them to come back down here with us until power is restored. our only concern is the roads...they're still pretty icy. they had shut the highway down leading to my grandparents house because of the power lines and trees all over the road.

so please just say a prayer for them! pray that my mom and i will figure out what to do to help them and that they'll be willing to accept the help and our suggestions. and pray that the power comes back on SOON because they aren't the only ones in this situation. pray for safety, health, and a heat wave! :)

thanks guys, i'll keep you updated!