Dear All,

Here’s an update…It is Monday morning here and the sun is out.  The weather on this side of the country has been fine since Saturday.  Some areas in the Visayas were really affected by Typhoon Hagupit on Saturday, especially in Samar.  Today, the typhoon has moved to Luzon and is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility tomorrow or Wednesday.

There has been no complete report yet as to casualties and damages since some areas are still inaccessible because of flooding, road blocks, communication lines that have been cut off, and also because the typhoon is still traversing slowly across the country.  But initial reports say that the damage has not been like Yolanda/Haiyan of last year.  From a “super typhoon” status as predicted, it was downgraded to “typhoon” as it entered the Philippines.

We praise and thank God because of early announcements and forecasts that have enabled the people to prepare and evacuate earlier, and this time the government had a better plan in preparing and reducing risk.  Previous experiences have taught us all and given us a better understanding of disaster management and risk reduction.  Although there has been property damage, we praise and thank God that it was not like the previous super typhoons the country has experienced.

We thank all of you for your prayers.  The storm has been so inconsistent and unpredictable in its direction, strength, and speed that the typhoon did not really live up to its hype when it made landfall.

Our church in Cagnipa, Samar was used as an evacuation center.  The people there are safe and the church building is intact.  However, the house of one GBBC graduate and teacher was reported to be completely destroyed.  We have been trying to reach the district moderator in the area for more updates from other churches but we have not heard back from him yet.  His phone has been ringing but he has not been picking up.  He lives in Masbate and the typhoon also made its way there.  So we are anxious to hear from him.

We will continue to update you as reports come in.  We continue to pray for safety for al,l especially in the areas that are currently experiencing heavy rains and flooding.

Thank you very much for your support and prayers.

Love, Joyce Porcadilla

President of General Baptist Bible College

Update: Just heard from the district moderator in Eastern Visayas (Samar and Masbate).  They are safe in Masbate.  The church building was not damaged.  There is just one tree that fell right in front of the church but it did not cause any damage.  He has not been able to check with the members yet, as their surroundings are still flooded.  He has not heard from the other church in Nacube yet.  But he said all is well except for the flooding.

We really praise God for His power and mercy…He alone can calm down the typhoon and we praise and thank Him for sparing our brethren from further destruction.