Halbrook Philippine Report Apr. 19-21, 2014
April 19-21, 2014
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
Having finished our work in Dipolog City, we began our trek eastward in northern Mindanao on Saturday, April 19. Two vehicles were loaded with Jhun Carpentero, Bobby Entroso, Jack Jaco, Rody and Tessie Gumpad, and myself. Jhun drove one and Rody, Tessie, and I rode with a fine young couple named Rolando “Dondon” and Melina Mabasa who came all the way Pagadian City to be with us these next several days.
The trip from Dipolog City to Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental took several hours, but I slept several times and missed some of the scenery. I was awakened when the roller-coaster road dipped so sharply that my head banged on the roof of the car, but, thank God, the trip was completed safely and without any breakdown. Ozamiz City will be our base for the next few days. In all my years in the Philippines I have stumbled onto Dr. Pepper very rarely, but the little café in the hotel here has it – so all is well that ends well!
After traveling over an hour Sunday morning, sometimes on roller-coaster roads again, we reached Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, where Ramon Villamin preaches. It seems in past years this church was under some liberal influences, but in recent times they have been open to hear conservative preachers and are moving away from institutional liberalism. Over 100 brethren met in a large room at a high school where one of the members teaches. At the morning service I spoke on “The Resurrection of Christ” and Rody gave an overview of God’s plan for man’s salvation in Scripture and in history.
During the afternoon service Jonathan Carino preached on obedience (he arrived by taking an all-night ferryboat from Cebu) , then I spoke on “Two Attitudes Toward God’s Word: Conservative and Liberal.” Passages such as Jeremiah 6:16 and 2 Timothy 1:13 teach us to have a conservative attitude of strictly adhering to God’s standard of truth. The lesson shows the difference between conservative and liberal attitudes toward Scripture in relation to these applications: Revelation Authorizes VS Silence Authorizes, Local Church Action VS Centralization of Local Church Work, Spiritual Work VS Social-Recreational Work, Church Benevolence to Saints VS Benevolence to Sinners, and Preaching All God’s Word VS Worldly Weakness in Preaching.
The audience was very receptive to our lessons today. Rody closed with a lesson designed to invite sinners to obey the gospel. Four were baptized.
When in the Philippines, expect the unexpected. The meeting today, Monday, was planned to start at 9:00 AM at the Malaubang church of Christ here in Ozamiz City where Geneses Delos Santos preaches. A vehicle bringing many visitors had a flat, so we waited until after 10:00 AM to start to give them time to arrive. The local church has only a handful meeting in a building that could seat 250 (built by liberal brethren some years ago), but today 87 attended including brethren from churches at Libinay and Clarin. Fifteen Catholics from the area attended as well. Brother and sister Ramon Carino rode a bus from Pagadian City to be with us today – he is 90 and still mentally alert and quite active.
My first lesson was on “Simon Samaritan Sorcerer Saved,” followed by Rody’s overview of the plan of redemption. He extended that lesson after lunch, then I taught “Two Attitudes Toward God’s Word: Conservative and Liberal.” When Rody was about half way through his first presentation, there was a citywide brownout (temporary loss of electricity), so the projector could not be used any longer. Fortunately, a whiteboard was at hand which both of us used during the rest of the day.
Brownouts are fairly common from time to time in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. President Ferdinand Marcos served from 1965-1986 and was farsighted in building up the infrastructure of this nation including power plants, but because of pressure from environmentalists not one power plant has gone online since he resigned in 1986. This is one major reason the Philippines is so far behind in economic development. This brownout today lasted four hours – how can businesses rely on such an unstable power system? This is a city of about 140,000 people!
After returning to the hotel, I have been following a route on three streets to reach the city hall where there is a small paved sidewalk for walkers. I have been making several rounds there, then returning to the hotel. Shortly after dark I was almost ready to return from walking and another brownout occurred. Every light went dark including the street lights (except for a few businesses with generators), and I had an adventure getting back to the hotel because I could not see the surface where I was walking. Vehicle lights only served to blind me even more. I know, I know, I can hear some of you saying, “You should not be out like that at night,” but previously I did fine because the street lights on these main streets gave sufficient light.
In the Philippines, expect the unexpected. But, I had a Dr. Pepper again with supper – so, again, all is well that ends well!
The two days of preaching in this area have been productive in confirming the convictions and the desire of these churches to take a more conservative biblical stand. The main issue that impacts Filipino churches is whether to distribute benevolence from the treasury to saints as was done in the New Testament pattern, or to include sinners after the manner of Catholicism and denominationalism. There are also some liberal churches sponsoring social and recreational activities, but few have funds for such activities. Sunrise Christian College at Butuan City on Mindanao receives support from churches, and there are Filipino liberals supported by sponsoring churches in the U.S. So, liberal influences are very much present over here and must be countered by teaching brethren to respect “the form of sound words” or “the pattern of sound teaching” found in the New Testament (2 Tim. 1:13 KJV; NIV).
I thank God for opening the doors for all of these opportunities, and I thank all of my brethren who make it possible for me to come take advantage of such wonderful opportunities to teach souls who are seeking the truth.
In Christian love, Ron Halbrook
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