Jim McDonald first brought me to the Philippines in 1995 and November 28-December 19 marks my 68^th trip, and 8^th trip to New Zealand.  The saints at Colosse shared “the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Col. 1:3-6, NIV).  The gospel still bears fruit unto God in our time: 34 lessons on first principles of the gospel were presented and 12 people submitted to Christ in water baptism for the remission of their sins.

After my safe arrival in Manila on November 29, the next day several Filipino brethren met me at the hotel to organize the packets of teaching materials labeled for the various venues where I was scheduled to teach.  The plastic and labels on those packets in three boxes had been stripped off by the TSA and dumped in the bottom of the boxes with the books in a chaotic mess.  It was utterly impossible to resort everything so that everyone would receive the materials selected for them, but we did our best to reassemble the books, tracts, C.D.’s, and workbooks for the various venues.  TSA rules say that any package can be opened but must be placed back in the original condition, but who wants to follow the rules these days?

Late Thursday night I boarded an international flight to Auckland, New Zealand.  December 1-5 was dedicated to the Meadowood church in Auckland planted by the Ronnie Salunga family.   Our attendance ranged in the teens up to 20 night after night as we studied “The Glory of the Lord” (Ps. 19), “Holy Days & Holidays,” “Marriage: God’s Gift to Man & Woman,” a series on the inspiration and canon of Scripture, and “Two Attitudes Toward God’s Word: Conservative & Liberal,” As always there was a good mix of questions during the open forums.  This church is growing in spirit and in numbers.  They will soon locate a place to rent for their meetings because they are outgrowing the basement of the Salunga’s house.

December 6-10 was devoted to the church planted by Abner and Lani Salanguit in Whakatane in the Eastern Bay of Plenty region about 4-5 hours from Auckland.  I flew there on Wednesday and immediately that afternoon conducted a class for five attentive young people on why young people should study God’s Word.  The next day I had the opportunity to discuss the gospel with a Muslim friend who is attending the church and that night 15 Filipinos gathered in a house on a dairy farm for a sermon on “True Repentance.”  The host family has not yet obeyed the gospel, but they are learning well.  The Gariandos are faithful members and they hosted our Friday study on “New Beginnings in Christ” with 11 assembled.

Saturday 21 friends including visitors gathered at the beach for the baptism of Kyle Salanguit.  Afterward we assembled at the Salanguit home for a sermon on “When Peter Confessed Christ” (Matt. 16:13-19).  This was a day of great joy!  Seventeen people joined the Sunday worship as we studied “The Glory of the Lord” and “The Resurrection of Christ.” Steve and Jane Meredith are Kiwis who drive an hour for the worship.