Trip Report – Philippines, Australia February 3-28, 2025
February 28, 2025th Year of Our Lord
HALBROOK REPORT: 89th PHILIPPINE TRIP FEBRUARY 3-28, 2025
Dear brethren,
The loving providence of God made it possible to complete my 89th preaching trip to the Philippines and 8th Australian trip, all of which began in 1995 when Jim McDonald brought me to the Philippines. This trip concentrated on edifying saints and equipping preachers. 49 lessons were presented and 15 souls exercised their faith in Christ by repenting of their sins, confessing his name, and submitting to him in baptism for the remission of their sins.
Knowing that we are in a never-ending battle for our salvation, Paul admonished the Philippians, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). In the same spirit, a lot of teaching was done on this trip admonishing Christians to stand back-to-back and side-by-side as we battle for our salvation!
After flying from Louisville to Atlanta to Seoul, South Korea and on to Manila February 3-4, then running errands on the 5th, I preached Thursday at the Edsa-Pasay church with James Paet for deaf mute saints. The lessons contrasted the New Testament pattern for the church and social gospel practices. 36 attended and 1 was baptized. Tony Hornedo is a deaf mute saint who has labored with this church many years.
I flew to Tuguegarao, Cagayan on the 7th and traveled west in order to preach the next day at Cabaritan West with Jhun Miranda and at Payagan West, Ballesteros with Johnson Ramil, with 155 and 78 in attendance. 4 souls obeyed the gospel of Christ. Sunday was spent with Sammy Vargas in 2 congregations: the San Carlos church at Sta. Marcela, Apayao and the new congregation at Nararagan, Ballasteros, Cagayan. 58 and 35-40 attended these 2 services and 6 were baptized into Christ.
After driving back to Tuguegarao on the evening of the 9th, I returned to Manila the next day in order to fly to Brisbane and on to Rockhampton, Queensland in Australia on the 11th. There on Friday-Saturday 4 lessons were presented in a series on “Life, Death, & Beyond” with 25 and 27 attending. Daryl Johnson and other men preach here. He drove me 4 hours to Bundaberg on the Lord’s Day where I preached 3 lessons on the same theme to 20 souls. Ray Ward is 80 and has labored with these saints for years.
After we visited with Ray and his wife Monday morning, Daryl drove me back to Rockhampton where I spent the next day visiting with Pete and Carol Zussino from Gladstone and with Gordon and Glenda Johnson in the afternoon. Wednesday-Thursday was spent in flying back to Brisbane and on to Manila.
Our appointment on the 21st was at Vicas, N. Caloocan City, Metro Manila with Ciriaco Evangelista. An audience of 51 heard mixed topics starting with “Why Do We Live?” and “The Truth about Abortion” in the morning session. After lunch we studied “Instrumental Music” and “The Prison of Sin.” The next day found us at Santa Maria, Bulacan working with Alex Estoy and Domie Guevarra. The 60 souls gathered were mostly in their teens and twenties as we studied the series on “Life, Death, and Beyond.”
On the Lord’s Day James Paet drove me to preach at the Taytay church in the Province of Rizal with Sammy Medrano. 51 attended and after sermons on “The Prison of Sin” and “When Peter Confessed Christ,” 2 adults obeyed the gospel. We proceeded to the Binangonan, Rizal church where Jhun Abueva labors, where 23 souls gathered and a Catholic lady submitted to Christ. Monday’s appointment was with Edwin De Pedro at Canlubang, Laguna where 70 people heard the series on “Life, Death, and Beyond.”
February 25-27 was devoted to a lectureship on the theme “Preachers Help Preachers Reach Heaven” at Edsa-Pasay hosted by James Paet and the other saints here. Starting with “The Heart of the Preacher,” I preached lessons aimed at maintaining both the unity and the purity of the church. The other speakers were Filipino brethren well known for upholding the truth of the gospel: Lordy Salunga, Rody Gumpad, Elias Cruz, Julie Notarte, Jonathan Carino, Jack Jaco, Jolly Julom, Willie Pastor, and Dario Belviz. They gave a spiritual feast on our theme from nine Bible characters. Attendance was 130.
Thursday 736 Bibles in Filipino dialects were purchased at the Philippine Bible Society.
God blessed me with safe travels home to our loved ones on Friday. Thank God for all the saints who pray for and support the cause of Christ in the Philippines!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook