This is to confirm that all of our teams are in the clear from typhoon Mitag as it inches its way toward the Philippines this weekend. The map below shows where the teams are located (thanks go to Heather Trimble for the map). Most are well to the south of the anticipated track of the storm, and those that are closer to the track are on the western side of the islands. By the time the storm reaches that area it will have crossed overland and should have lost much of it's strength.
We've heard back from all of our teams last night and this morning and confirmed that all are in safe areas for handling the landfall of now typhoon Mitag. The places where they are staying are not prone to flooding or mud slides, and none are under the government evacuation orders. Heavy rains and winds are to be expected across all of the Philippines this weekend as the storm makes landfall, but our ministry partners have assured us that we are in good locations. The locals are taking this in stride, saying there's nothing to worry about.
The storm has continued to gain strength with winds of 70mph, and as of 4.00am on Thursday (20H00 GMT on Wednesday) Mitag was charted 390 miles east of the eastern island of Catanduanes, moving west at 9.3 miles per hour. Mitag is expected to be just 190 miles off Catanduanes by Saturday and is expected to make landfall at the main Philippine island of Luzon by Sunday morning.
Please continue to keep the World Racers and the people of the Philippines in your prayers. Pray for opportunities in the aftermath of the storm to share the love of Christ by providing relief to the wonderful people of this country.
God bless you all this Thanksgiving!
Jerry
P.S. All of the racers that I've spoken with have had a great Thanksgiving there on the other side of the world!
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We are monitoring Tropical Storm Mitag as it continues to track toward the Philippines. It is expected to make landfall within the next 2 to 3 days. There has been an evacuation order for about 200,000 people in the Eastern Philippines. Mitag was gaining strength with winds of up to 85 kilometres (53 miles) an hour and was on course to hit the Bicol peninsula southeast of Manila on Friday, weather forecasters said.
We are contacting the World Race teams that are currently in the Philippines to ensure that appropriate precautions are being taken. At this time their locations are in what we believe to be relatively safe areas on the western side of the islands.
Please keep them in your prayers. We will keep you updated as we contact the racers and their host ministry partners.
The 26 September World Race team members have arrived safely in Bangkok. They will have a time of cultural briefing before heading out to their ministry sites. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin this adventure.
We give thanks that none of our World Race teams were affected by the plane crash in Phuket. Please keep the families of the victims in your prayers.
There is a breaking news story of an Orient Thai Airways plane crash in Phuket today. There were no World Race Team members affected. Allison and Mark were on their way to Bangkok this morning to meet up with the new September team, and called in to let us know that they were O.K.
Please keep the families of those affected by this tragic crash in your prayers.
We have checked in with all of the World Race teams (January and June) that are currently in Southeast Asia and all are fine. Many did not know that an earthquake had occured in that part of the world. All of the teams are at locations that are at least several hundred miles from where the epicenter of the quake in Indonesia.
The teams in Phuket that are relatively close to the coast (the closest were appx 1/2 mile) are working closely with their host ministries and were prepared to evacuate in the event of a tsunami. However, this does not appear to be a concern at this point.
Please continue to pray for all of our brothers and sisters in Indonesia and the surrounding countries. They are heading into the night time now, as they are 11 hours ahead of the U.S. East Coast time.
