Halbrook Philippine Report May 19-26, 2013
May 26, 2013th Year of Our Lord
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
Steven and I are counting the days until we will see our loved ones back home!
Today is the Lord’s Day, May 19 , and Steven traveled to the Kapitbahayan church to worship with them and to present two studies in the life of Joseph. Meanwhile, I joined the saints meeting at Edsa to present a two-part examination of “The First Gospel Sermon” (Acts 2 verse by verse). Rody Gumpad was in Tuguegarao, but his sons Junior and Jay were at Edsa with their wives. Junior and Jay knew I was coming but the congregation had not heard there would be a guest speaker, yet the room was full with about 45 souls including visitors. One young couple said they had been observing the large sign out front and wanted to get acquainted. The man is an American from Tennessee and the young lady a Filipina. They are members of the church. I got his email address to follow up and the brethren also got contact information from him.
Atoy Franco then drove me to Kapitbahayan for the continuation of the preacher training classes. Steven had already started teaching his classes which gave me a chance to take a much needed nap on the cot in the adjoining room before I taught. I was still recovering my strength after the sickness on Friday and was much improved. I taught three afternoon classes and I commended the young men who have been studying with us so diligently. Some are so anxious to participate that they begin reading the verses out loud as we announce then even before we call on them to read!
Our classes continued and were completed during the following week of May 20-25 (Monday-Friday ). This has been a busy week as Lordy, Steven, and I have worked together in teaching these 25 young men who are learning to preach. We have surveyed every book of the Bible, the New Testament church, denominational doctrines, the life and work of a preacher, the history of the church from the first to the twenty-first centuries, and issues which have divided brethren (such as instrumental music, missionary societies, one container, institutionalism, and the social gospel).
The classes began each day at 7:00 A.M. and ended at 7:30 P.M. The students had assignments to prepare at night. This has been a challenging series of classes for both teachers and students. The most difficult class for the students was the survey of church history because they have little understanding of history period. They lack the historical context in which church history occurred, but as we moved forward I tried to give them as much context as possible. They began to grasp such events as the development of Catholicism, denominationalism, and restoration efforts as they began to relate them to their own Philippine history. I let them prepare short reports each day on men who were being introduced to them and about whom they were curious to know more.
When we learned how to use Bible study tools, I gave them exercises using Bible maps, which was entirely new to most of them. They caught on quickly, using maps introduced to them in their reference Bibles and Bible dictionaries. Some students not only filled in the blank maps I gave them but also colored them to look professional.
Since nearly all of these men are single, one of the last lessons I studied with them was “Selecting a Mate: The Lord Builds the House” (Psalm 127). Selecting a mate will be the most crucial decision they will make as they grow to maturity and strive to develop themselves as servants of God. I did my best to convince them to marry a faithful Christian and to trust in God’s help and providence to find that right mate.
When we finished teaching on Friday evening, we followed the Filipino custom of having a “graduation” to give certificates for completing the classes. Two students were recognized as “Most Improved” and two as “Most Inquisitive” (the “Ask, Seek, Knock” award). Each student came to the front to personally express appreciation for everyone who made these classes possible including U.S. brethren who provided financing to send Steven and me and for the purchase of Bibles and study materials. Some of them referred to specific lessons which helped them, or quoted new verses they had memorized. Some became very emotional and could hardly talk as tears welled up in their eyes. At the request of many of the young men, Steven and I wrote a short note of encouragement in their Bibles after we dismissed.
Only God can measure the potential all these young men will have in the future as they give their talents to the service of God, their brethren, and a lost world!
These classes could not have been taught without the financial help of brethren who donated funds for Steven and me to travel to the Philippines, for Bibles and study materials, and for related expenses. How I wish each of you there could meet these fine young men, see their diligent efforts to learn, hear their insightful questions, and observe their growth. Actually, it will be a joyous occasion in heaven for those who have made such sacrifices on each side of the ocean to meet each other and to unite in glorifying God for eternity!
Steven left very early Saturday morning to go home as scheduled. I extended my stay to include May 25-26 (Sat.-Sun. ) in order to preach again at the Edsa church here in Manila by the request of the Halnas family. The room rented by the Edsa church was filled today with 45 in attendance. Rody preached a short lesson on how souls are saved and added to the body of Christ. I followed with a lesson on “True Repentance” and “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God.”
At the invitation, the entire Halnas family came forward to confess their faith in Christ including Ricky, Malaine, Kyle, and Audrie. Since Malaine’s father (Jimmy Battung) was baptized several years ago, the Halnas family has been studying and searching for the truth. Rick had just arrived last night from New Zealand where he works, to have a three week vacation with his family. They had decided the very first thing they wanted to do was to obey the gospel together.
One reason I agreed to extend my stay for these two additional days was to talk with Ricky about what he can do to worship in New Zealand. There is no church of Christ in Timaru where he lives on the south island and it is very far from the new church in Auckland on the north island meeting in Ronnie Salunga’s home. Ricky is urging me to come to Timaru and he will gather friends to try to convert them and start a church there. I will be praying about this matter and I told him we would do our best to find a way to help him. Through Filipinos, the gospel is spreading around the world!
Steven Deaton made it home Saturday night by the grace of God. By the time many of you read this last report I will be somewhere high in the sky praying for a safe return. I truly thank God for the saints who sacrifice to make these trips possible. May God bless and reward each one of you!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
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