The prayers that were said during the haze crisis, by Ben and Becks:
18 June: The haze descended and PSI hit 155. We rushed out to buy one of the last 6 units of air cleaners at Courts Tampines before confining ourselves at home.
“Dear Heavenly Father, make the haze go away. We want to go out and have fun.”
19 June: PSI soared from 190 to 290 in less than an hour, and all of us watching TV thought we read a typo. Who would have known that this was the beginning of bonker-dom indoors? The scramble for the N95 masks begins.
“Dear Lord Jesus, it’s very hazy outside our window and we have to close the windows now. We pray the haze will go away. Amen.”
20 June: PSI went way past the hazardous level to 371. Smoke got in our eyes.
“Dear Lord, send a GIANT pour of rain to wash away all this haze here and the fires in Indonesia. We want to go out and play!”
21 June: PSI hit 400 and we never knew it could be soooo bad. Choking on smog already. *Cough cough*
“Dear Heavenly Father, if You can’t send rain, can you send the wind to blow this smokiness and smell away?”
(Ben also asked God if he could kill the bad people in Indonesia. I laughed very hard for a few seconds, then told him I’m glad he’s not God.)
22 June: The skies miraculously cleared. We start to see blue again. Breathing better now too. We headed out for Baskin Robbins and bubble tea.
“Thank you, Jesus, for a beautiful day. You sent a big wind to blow all our haze away! It’s nice we can go out today. Amen.”
23 June: Our skies are clear for two days running, and the worst seems to be over. Indonesia has begun cloud-seeding, we hear. But the PM2.5 concentrations are still high, so we’re not taking our chances.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we pray for a big rain to wash away the haze particles we cannot see. Mama says after a huge rain washes all the little things away, we can go to the zoo or Bird Park or Sentosa. Can you send us a huge rain? “
24 June: Visibility has returned but there sometimes is that lingering burning smell. Or has the stench of smog lodged itself permanently in my nose?
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the wind that is blowing everything away. Do you know there’s no rain so we cannot go to the zoo? There’s only wind, so we go to the library. Thank you, God, for a beautiful day that we can go out, but we still haven’t go zoo, you know?”
– Tonight’s prayer by Becks, who clearly prefers the zoo to the library
The National Environment Agency said the improved air quality is due to a change in wind direction over Singapore, from south-westerly to southerly since Saturday night.
I say our good God hears our prayers and answers them.
