Imagine a hurricane the size of Katrina hitting millions of people, but with no Coast Guard, no National Guard, no planeloads of relief supplies, no place to escape to. That's what is happening in the Philippines right now. Nearly 1/3 of the population of Manila is in temporary relief centers. You can read more here.

We at PTBI are deeply concerned for the teachers and students at the 300 Filipino Christian schools we've worked with over the last three years. These dear friends are discipling tens of thousands of children at great personal cost.

Dr. Beth Bullecer (the Philippines director for our strategic partner, the Association of Christian Schools International) toured many of the schools yesterday and reported the following:
•    The death toll will likely rise to 500.
•    Ophelia, the beloved secretary who organizes our trips there, had four feet of water in her home.
•    The schools toured have suffered bearable loss--mud and water have destroyed curriculum materials and records--but they will recover.
•    The families who send their children to these schools have been extremely hard hit. These are families who were already poor and sacrificed enormously to give a Christ-centered education to their children.
•    Price gouging is a serious problem. Food supplies are selling for 10 times their previous value and people are finding it hard to get food and water to meet their basic needs.
Rosie Rico, the former early education director for ACSI, lost everything but managed to save the lives of 26 people who took refuge on the roof of her two-story home, among them a group of children and a mother with her infant who had just been delivered by Cesarean.

As the water rose to within two feet of the roof, one of the children kept telling smaller kids that "Jesus is taking care of us, isn't it so, Ma'am Rosie?"

If you would like to join PTBI in helping these damaged schools and the devastated families they serve, we can offer two options:

1. Make a direct tax-deductible donation to Passing the Baton. We will forward 100% of the funds to help the Association of Christian Schools International's establish a relief fund so they can continue the work of educating and discipling future Filipino leaders. Just use the "donate" button on the left hand side of www.passingthebaton.org.

2. Order Handoff books at $10 each, all proceeds go to Philippines relief. Just yesterday we received a fresh supply of Handoff books. We'll offer a special price of $10 per book (reg. $12.99), no quantity limits, and set aside the proceeds for relief for our Filipino Christian schools. Use the special order link here.

Both of these options will be available through Friday, October 2. If you'd like to help, please act soon. Time is of the essence; we will start channeling relief their way by the end of this week.