Area chaplain requests prayer after Kentucky tornadoes (SLIDESHOW)

MAYFIELD,KY — Thru thick and thru thin, there have always been close knit ties between Ohioans and Kentuckians.

In a rare December tornado outbreak, at least eighty-eight persons are feared dead in what Kentucky officials are calling the most devastating storm in the Commonwealth’s history.

According to National Weather Service reports, the EF-3 rated tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky had winds ranging between158-206 miles per hour. The storm traveled two hundred-twenty miles thru the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and was three quarters of a mile wide. Rescue efforts from last weekend’s storms have turned to recovery efforts.

This past year, a Mansfield clergyman moved to western Kentucky to come back to his former stomping grounds. Little did he know that he would see such devastation in his new home first hand.

Gary Lambert serves as a Hospice chaplain in Cadiz, Kentucky. Previously Gary served as Senior Pastor of Belmont Community Church in Mansfield and as Chaplain with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Throughout his career in Mansfield, Lambert was known for leading prayer efforts in the community in times of distress. He now finds himself leading prayer efforts in a new community under a different set of challenges.

Moving to Cadiz, Kentucky. Lambert lives fifty miles away from Mayfield, Kentucky. According to Lambert, the tornado that struck Mayfield at around 10:30 PM went through his area five miles north of his home.

Lambert knows of an entire family that perished during the storm.

“This area is in real need of prayer, we are hurting down here,” says Chaplain Gary Lambert. “While we are seeing a large majority of helpers coming from Kentucky and Ohio, there is a real spiritual need. I am asking for those in North Central Ohio to make a concerted effort to please pray for us and see what they can do to help us in Kentucky.”

Lambert has toured different communities that have been hit by the storms, going to Mayfield, Dawson Springs, Eddy Creek, and Princeton, Kentucky. After losing everything from the storm, people have been traumatized by what they have gone thru. Peace of mind has become a thing of the past.

“I went to Mayfield to help a family collect their personal items,” says Lambert. “This tornado outbreak was such a devastating thing. I get jittery when I drive into the areas affected by the storm. Seeing it with my own eyes, you cannot comprehend the amount of devastation to the area. What you see on television does not do justice.”

Thanks to the “Quad State Tornado Found Items” Facebook page, one Kentucky lady discovered her wedding photos had been found in three different locations, with one photo found in Breckinridge County, some 140 miles away.

Recovery efforts are underway and disaster relief ministries are helping citizens dig out of their debris.

Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse has deployed several disaster response units to Mayfield and surrounding areas. For more information on how you can assist recovery efforts in Mayfield, Kentucky, contact Belmont Community Church at 419.560.8615. Prayer is needed.

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The Bottom Line:

The Bible says in the Book of Revelation, “GOD will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”