|TOP|Missionaries in the Philippines with the International Mission Board have called on fellow Christians to pray for them as they make last minute preparations for their response to the landslide last Friday that wiped out the small farming community of Guinsaugon in the Southern Leyte Province.

Filipino officials fear the final death toll could be as high as 1,500, with more than 100 bodies already pulled from the mud.

“We are saddened to know that more than 1,000 Filipinos have been buried alive,” said Carl Miller, an IMB missionary to the Philippines.

“Sadder still is the fact that most of these Filipinos have died without knowing Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour and will spend eternity separated from God,” he said.

An IMB team has been sent to the village of Guinsaugon to assess the scale of the damage and assess how the missionaries can best be used to support survivors and rescue workers.

|AD|The missionaries have called for prayers to end the heavy rainfalls that triggered the landslide and continue to severely hamper rescue efforts.

Members of IMB have also requested prayers for the rescue crews to be guided by wisdom and have their safety protected, as well as for the IMB team heading to Guinsaugon.

The Salvation Army has responded powerfully to last week’s mudslide in the Philippines. Officers from the organisation’s Cantamuk branch have reported that as at Sunday Feb 19th that there were approximately 3,650 people seeking refuge and shelter in the school near the disaster area.

Explaining that they are there to provide a spiritual ministry, Salvation Army representatives have begun the process of obtaining food, blankets, mats and mosquito nets for those left devastated by the catastrophe.