On Thursday I flew from Manila to Legazpi City in the province of Albay located on a peninsula 12 hours southeast of Manila called the Bicol Region.  After Typhoon Tisoy made a direct hit in this area Monday, this is the first day Cebu Pacific Airline resumed flight here.  Fallen trees, damaged and destroyed buildings, and debris are quite evident.  President Duterte visited here today to survey the damage and the police force was out in full array.

Upon arriving I was greeted by Jhun Layusa, Jonathan and Nanette Carino, and other brethren.  The hotel where I was supposed to stay sustained significant storm damage and has no electricity.  Larry Ebuenga scouted and found a hotel in nearby Sorsogon City in the province of Sorsogon.

We had a good supper by candle light in Larry’s house at San Isidro, Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon which included rice, fish, pork, and squash cooked in coconut milk.  This is a rural area where electricity has not yet been restored, so the atmosphere is very dark and smokey because people are using fire to burn debris, to see, and to cook.

The box that traveled to Amsterdam was delivered to the hotel in Manila about 10:30 P.M. Wenesday night, but no one told me.  At 1:00 A.M. I scouted the lobby and found it.  Elias Cruz had been waiting at home to hear from me, intending to bring the box to the Bicol Region by driving all night.  By the time I contacted him, he decided it was too late and it would be better to pick it up at 5:00 A.M. and make the drive all day.  He safely arrived at the hotel in Sorsogon City about 10:00 P.M.

Tomorrow, Friday, we hope to buy a small generator which we could use in our preaching and Larry and other brethren could use whenever needed.

When we encounter trials on these trips, I always remember the Apostle Paul would have been happy and thankful to exchange the challenges he faced for ours.  I have not yet been stoned and left for dead or spent a day and a night holding onto debris while floating in the ocean!

Here we are in the dead of winter, but when I walked for 30 minutes last night my body was covered in sweat. Yet, all is well because I saw the half moon shining brightly with beams of love from home!

We made a down payment on a generator as we headed out to preach on Friday, but they are in such great demand as a result of the typhoon that none are available until Saturday.  A couple of hours of driving brought us to Matnog in the Sorsogon province where we boarded a pump boat by wading into the surf and walking up a narrow plank.

The pump boat carried 30 of us to Baranggoy Island where we visited for 30 minutes and prayed with saints reeling from the typhoon.  Four families make up the church here and all of their houses plus the church building were knocked to the ground by the typhoon.  One family has managed to slip in under the collapsed roof to live while waiting to rebuild, including a child 3-4 years old.  It will cost $300 each for them to rebuilt their house with light materials, but they are determined to rebuild the church building with small concrete blocks to make it more sturdy.  (Did anyone reading this report notice on which structure they put the higher priority??  – Is that what you and I would have done??)

We waded water to reboard the pump boat and traveled further to reach Paghuliran where we were allowed to use a civic building and a generator to preach with a projector.  About 50 people crammed into the building to hear my lesson on Psalm 57 entitled “Trust God Till the Danger Passes,” translated by Jaime Bobis.  Jonathan Carino preached on “The New Testament Church” in the dialect.  Ely Ebuenga offered the Lord’s invitation and four precious souls stepped forward to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and they were immediately immersed in the brackish water of the mangrove inlet.

On our return trip I noticed our boat coming into some debris including coconuts and hoped our propeller would not hit them.  Boom!  The engine stopped cold.  Our cruise ship drifted with the waves and current as we wondered what it would be like to sleep under the stars – but suddenly we had power again and off we went.  Finally, we all rolled up our pants’ legs again and waded through the waves breaking on the shore.  Then someone cut the tops off coconuts so we could drink fresh and refreshing buko juice.  A couple of hours later our van pulled up at the hotel in the dark.

What a wonderful way to spend a day – serving God by encouraging saints who have suffered a disaster and preaching the gospel of Christ to the lost.  And to top it off, four new souls were cleansed of their sins and added to the family of God!

Our Saturday appointment was at San Isidro, Prieto Diaz in the Sorsogon province with Larry Ebuenga.  I paid $300 for a generator which we picked up on our way to preach.  Larry is working diligently in this community to spread the gospel while also slowly building his house as funds permit including an extension where the saints meet.  About 50 in attendance overflowed the large room including visitors from the community.

My topic was “When Peter Confessed Christ,” a textual study of Matthew 16:13-19 where Jesus promised to build his church on the great foundational truth that he is the Messiah, the Son of God.  Jonathan preached a sermon showing God does not teach us we can follow man-made religions and be saved.

In the open forum the perceptive question was asked as to why all denominations have the same Bible yet teach very different doctrines.  Professing the Bible does not mean fidelity to it.  The Catholic religion openly violates the teaching of Christ in Matthew 23:8-10 by calling their leaders “father” as a title.  The denominations violate Mark 16:15-16 by denying baptism is essential for the pardon of our sins by the blood of Christ.

The power of the gospel penetrated two more precious souls who decided to confess Christ and to submit to him in water baptism for the remission of sins!

We then drove several hours to reach the house where a small church meets in Daraga in the province of Albay.  The husband is a stroke victim who stays in a small reclining chair, served by his faithful wife, but they invited visitors to hear a lessons entitled “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God.”

In the open forum a lady asked if it would be right to be baptized but continue worshiping in a denomination which “sponsors” her young daughter (a denominational practice involving financial help).  I pointed out such worship would be vain because Christ did not found any such denomination, the Lord’s Supper is not observed every Sunday, and musical instruments corrupt the worship (Matt. 15:8-9).  Furthermore, it would mean she is teaching her child to participate in a false religion for material gain.  I told her to do what is necessary to be right with God, then trust Him because He is greater than our problems.  She was convinced to obey the gospel and put God first in her life!

Another several hours of travel through rain and wind brought us to Legazpi City in Albay and then to Naga City in Camarines Sur and on to Daet in Cararines Norte – I sank into oblivion in the hotel bed at 2:30 A.M.  This trip brought us through a tremendous amount of devastation left by the typhoon.  At times we dodged trees, debris, and landslides partially blocking the highways.  For miles and miles cities and towns are without electricity.  The visit to Bicol came within a hair of being cancelled because of these very conditions.

The Lord’s Day morning appointment was in the rural community of Iwayan in Camarines Norte where three young men have continued the work while Danny Dao is in Laguna:  Raymond Senar, Robert Balison, and Rolando Cadiz.  About 30-35 people filled the little house for worship and heard a sermon on “The Prison of Sin” followed by Jonathan’s excellent study of “The Seed Principle.”

At about 3:30 P.M. we reached Del Rosario, Mercedes in Camarines Norte where Jhun Layusa labors in the gospel.  The construction of the church building is suspended for lack of funds, but we were able to  meet in the unfinished structure.  I preached on “Why Saints Assemble” followed by Jonathan on why people do not obey the gospel.  The building was filled with at least 50 people.

A visitor said in the open forum he wanted to be baptized but hesitated because he felt he had been deceived in the past by the denominations and did not want to be deceived again.  I pointed out that he should put his confidence in what the Bible says because God’s Word will never change or disappoint us.  Passages such as Mark 16:15-16, Acts 22:16, and 1 Peter 3:21 provide confidence of salvation and do not change with the passing of time.  We took him to the ocean in the darkness of the night to baptize him into Christ – he rejoiced to know he was saved.

Jhun’s 9 year old son wanted our help as he is working through his decision.  Though he is very young, his thinking is mature for his age and we studied for about 45 minutes, cautioning him about the seriousness of this decision while reviewing the basic steps of salvation.  After further meditation tonight, he will give his father his decision tomorrow morning.

Jhun’s wife provided a good meal and we returned to the hotel about 9:00 P.M.  I walked for an hour, studied for tomorrow’s series for the preachers, and worked on this report until 1:00 A.M.  Preparing and sending the email version will have to wait while I warm the bed a few minutes – actually a few hours.  As this long but rewarding day ends, I pillow my head with much thanksgiving for the love of God and the help of His saints which make this trip possible!

In Christian love,

Ron Halbrook