Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,

By the grace of God, the time for my 72nd preaching trip to the Philippines arrived on Tuesday.  After completing all the details necessary for the trip, I was blessed to have almost two hours to sleep.  The lights from Louisville to Detroit to Tokyo, Japan to Manila all went well.  At Detroit Jm Barnett (evangelist from Hope, N.M.) and Steven Saunders (evangelist from Macon, MO) joined me for their third Philippine trip.  They are talented song leaders and bring valuable talents for teaching song leaders.  We checked into our hotel about 10:30 P.M. Wednesday, thankful for God’s providence in giving us safe travel.  I went immediately to the exercise room for a 45 minute workout, which helps me recover from the 27 hour trip.

Thursday morning several Filipino brethren met us at the hotel to re-pack six boxes loaded with materials for singing classes and assorted Bible study materials.  All these materials are relayed ahead to our destinations and are distributed at the various venues during our visits.  The rest of the day was present with miscellaneous duties such as visiting the money changer, and then reviewing lessons for the next day of teaching.

Our first appointment was at the Kapitbahayan church of Christ in Navotas, Metro Manila where Ben Cruz established a flourishing congregation in the 1970’s.  Since Ben’s death, his son Elias labors with the church.  Their attendance now runs about 100 and they have elders and deacons, help to support preachers, conduct a radio program, and diligently serve our Lord.  On Friday 56 brethren joined the singing classes conducted by Steven and Jim.  

I taught a two-part lesson covering Matthew 23-34-25:46 entitled “Judgment by Christ: Jerusalem, and All Men.”  This includes the events prophesied by Jesus regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and also the final judgment of the world at the end of time.  Our study refutes premillennial claims that Jesus gave signs of the end time and the A.D. 70 heresy which claims the end time events have already occurred.

The open forum covered a wide range of questions starting with the divine nature of Jesus Christ.  One of the largest and most aggressive denominations in the Philippines is Iglesia ni Cristo which denies the deity of Christ, using the same arguments as used by the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect.

On Saturday Jim and Steven continued their good work teaching about singing in worship and giving instructions to song leaders.  Each brother was given an opportunity to lead a song in order to put into practice what he learned.  My topics was “Where Are the Dead?” – a study of hades.  The Bible teaches that the spirit or soul of man departs the body at death and enters hades, the realm of the dead, to await the great Resurrection Day.  Our souls are not annihilated, not reincarnated, and not received into heaven or hell immediately at death.  We will enter heaven or hell in the resurrected body. 

After the class’s afternoon song leading exercises, I taught from Isaiah 40, “With Wings as Eagles.”  God holds the universe and the nations in His hands, though men often fear and tremble over the affairs of both.  God’s humble people trust Him and He gives them strength and hope in all the trials of life.  The Q & A session was again filled with good questions addressing a wide range of subjects such as our duties to Christ in the local church.

On the Lord’s Day Steven went to Kapitbahayan to preach while Jim went to the Edsa-Pasay congregation.  I went to the Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City with Ely Ebuenga (Ely struggles financially with travel and related expenses to keep this work going).  About 50 inmates were gathered with the church meeting in the prison.  My study was entitled “The Lord’s Supper: Memorial to Christ” (Acts 20:7).  The inmates could understand me preaching in English, but I had the key passages read in their dialect showing that this memorial was appointed by Jesus, observed on the first day of the week (his resurrection day), practiced by all true churches of Christ, and kept by his holy people.  The final section was an admonition, “Do not be deceived by false worship,” including the Catholic Mass, Christmas, and other practices by the denominations and sects created by men.

The open forum was rich indeed with questions about temptation, the worship of images in Catholicism, and what must we do to received eternal life?  Five men stepped forward to acknowledge their faith in him and to submit him in water baptism for the remission of their sins. They were baptized in a borrowed barrel filled with water which had to be purchased.

After preaching, Steven was brought to Edsa to join Jim in traveling to Paranaque City while Ely brought me to the same congregation meeting in a garage at the side of Jimmy Battung’s house.  There were 21 saints who gathered for worship as Steven spoke on God’s will that men should obey Him and then both Jim and Steven led the audience in studies about worship in song.  As always, this church warmly received us and expressed appreciation for these studies.

As a sidebar, I request prayers for recovery so that the wounds on my big toes will heal.  About 10 days before leaving home, a toe infection appeared.  The podiatrist performed procedures to resolve problems resulting from ingrown toe nails in past years.  The procedures left wounds which have been slow to heal.  Dr. Teresa Toreja thinks the problem grew worse due to travel circumstances involving the wearing of shoes which prevents air getting to the wounds and promotes moisture, breeding infection. She put me on an antibiotic and also gel to be applied to the wounds.  Tomorrow morning we fly to Palawan and begin singing classes after lunch, but I will stay in my room in my bare feet applying the gel and resting.  I know the prayers of the saints is the most effective medicine.

Steven is managing his diabetes and other health problems well.  Since Jim’s health is so good, he will be forced into indentured servitude to carry all the suitcases!

Thank you for your prayers for our safety and success in these labors.

In Christian love,

Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.CEIbooks.com