It's Friday, August the 11th, 2020.

Welcome to the Daily Article Podcast.

I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's article, written by Denison Forum co-founder and CEO, Dr. Jim Denison.

Quote, everything is gone, every single one of our family homes, the entire Lahaina town and entire subdivision of Lahaina, gone, end quote.

This is how Jordan Sarabay described the wildfires that engulfed his hometown on the island of Maui this week.

People were diving into the sea to escape the inferno. One resident called the scene, quote unquote, apocalyptic.

This tragedy is especially painful for my wife and me since we were privileged to visit

Maui in June. We spent an entire day in Lahaina, one of the most scenic and historic places

we've ever been. Once the royal capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, the town became a

whaling village in the mid-19th century. Herman Melville was one of the sailors who docked there.

The village is on the National Register of Historic Places with 55 acres set aside as historic districts.

Maui's oldest living banyan tree spreads across an entire park, just one of the

town's amazing sites. Now, Hawaiian Governor Josh Green estimates that upwards of 1,700 buildings

were destroyed by the wildfires. The death toll stood at 55 as of last night as firefighting

efforts are continuing. The full extent of

the devastation may not be known for weeks or months, but it is clear that Lahaina is gone. As Sarah Bay fled

what looked like a war zone, he wondered what would be left to go back to. Just praying that a miracle

happens, he said. I need to make a confession.

When news outlets first began reporting the wildfires on Maui, I should have done the same,

but did not. I watched the videos, listened to reports from the scene, and read articles on the

unfolding tragedy. I prayed for the safety of those affected by this devastation

and for the families of those killed by the inferno. However, while answers to such prayers

...