Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Kevin and I split up Lord’s Day morning so that he could join Rody and Jhun Gumpad at the Edsa-Pasay church while James Paet took me to preach at the Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City with Ely Ebuenga.  Ely struggles to keep this prison work going because he lost some of his support including $125 per month for gas and other expenses involved in preaching at the prison (he is now driving a taxi to help meet his financial obligations, which reduces time for study and teaching).

The area where we meet has one wall and a partial roof but only a dirt floor which becomes muddy when it rains. $1,500-$2,000 would allow them to concrete the floor, build a small restroom and a baptistry, and make other basic improvements such as purchasing plastic chairs.

About 50 inmates attended today’s service.  James led several songs.  Then I preached on “Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost” (Lk. 19:10).  We studied what it means to be lost, what it means to be saved, and how we receive salvation.  When we extended the Lord’s invitation, 12 men responded to the gospel call, wanting to be baptized into Jesus Christ and his church.

There was a minor mishap at the end of the service.  The brethren had borrowed plastic chairs and they have to be returned to another group as we were finishing our service.  I did not think my chair had been removed and when I tried to sit down I learned the meaning of “look before you leap!”  As I fell backward and to the ground, the back of my head hit the wall hard enough to knock my lights out temporarily.  As I woke up I did not know where I was or what had happened, but I soon recovered my wits.  It is a good thing I have such a thick skull!

Kevin traveled from Edsa-Pasay with Rody and Tessie Gumpad while I traveled from the prison and we all met at Jimmy Battung’s house to worship at 2:00 P.M. in Parañaque City.  Jimmy converted his garage as a place of worship and about 20 gathered today.  Jimmy taught about the differences between the church of Christ and man-made religions, followed by Kevin’s lesson asking if we know the Lord.  I then discussed “Shore Lights” based on Philippines 2:14-16, urging every Christian to realize the importance of letting our lights shine with the gospel of Christ.  We closed by singing “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.”  Jimmy’s son-in-law Rick Halnas joined the service via Skype from New Zealand and it was good to see him and visit with him for a few minutes.

Here is one for “Ripley’s Believe It or Not:”  I got to bed last night by midnight and slept 7½ hours after having been up working till 12:30-1:30 A.M. for the past several nights.  Monday was reserved for James Paet and Jhun Gumpad to take us to some important sites reflecting Philippine history since this is Kevin’s first trip.

By 10:00 A.M. we were at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial to U.S. soldiers and Filipino guerillas who died fighting the Japanese in the Pacific theater of World War II (Dec. 7, 1941-Sept. 2, 1945).  This is the largest cemetery maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission around the world with 17,097 headstones and 36,286 names inscribed on the Walls of the Missing (huge limestone walls arranged in a circular pattern at the cemetery’s center).  A few years ago I located the name of Arline Tharp Harkrider’s father on that wall – he had worked closely with Gen. Douglas MacArthur and was later captured and beheaded by the Japanese for leading Filipino guerillas.  He was Lt. Col. Claude A. Thorp from the state of Washington.

It is always sobering to visit this site which memorializes the ultimate sacrifices made by over 53,000 servicemen just in this one phase of W.W. II on behalf of the freedom of the U.S. and of the Philippines.  Before leaving we prayed that we might have the same degree of dedication to suffer and sacrifice to spread the gospel of Christ which frees men from the cruel dominion of Satan.  Without a doubt God’s good providence can be seen in His overruling the tragedies of war to open doors for the proclamation of the gospel.

In the afternoon we visited the national monument to José Rizal who was executed by the Spanish government on December 30, 1896 on false charges of conspiring to overthrow the Spanish rule because of his outspoken views advocating democratic ideals.  Rizal is considered the national hero of the Philippines and an honor guard is posted at his tomb.

Next we visited Fort Santiago which was first built by the Spanish in 1593 as a citadel for the newly established city of Manila.  It was fortified and enlarged in the centuries which followed.  The Japanese used its dungeon as a prison for U.S. soldiers and Filipino guerillas who suffered terrible atrocities there.  When U.S. forces and Filipino guerillas pushed the Japanese Imperial Army out of Manila, the Japanese burned the city as they retreated and left 600 decomposing bodies in the dungeon – men who died from starvation and suffocation in the extreme heat and humidity.

By God’s providence Americans and Filipinos have been bound together by the fortunes of history, and now many of us are bound together in Christ.

At the end of the day Jerry and Teresa Toreja joined us for supper which gave Kevin a chance to meet them and visit with these dedicated children of God.  As usual, Teresa had a few good Bible questions for us to discuss.  Jerry reports that the attendance at the Kapitbahayan church runs 75-80 with two elders and two deacons.  They are preparing to live stream their radio program.  They are training 16 young preachers which includes rotating them in the pulpit.  Teresa reports that they are pairing a young lady and an older lady to teach the ladies classes two by two.  After the younger lady presents a Bible lesson, the older lady will make applications and observations drawn from life and Scripture.  It is always spiritually uplifting to spend time with Jerry and Teresa!

Kevin took to the work like a fish in water, but it is time for the fish to return to his original pond where his loved ones are waiting.  Tuesday morning he began that journey across the ocean back to his family and to the saints at Elizabethtown, Kentucky where he serves as a deacon.  Kevin and his family have sacrificed their time, efforts, and talents to help me in the Philippine work behind the scenes for years.  Having that background experience, he made his first trip with far more preparation than would be typical, and he has continued to learn as we went along.  In terms of public teaching, he probably taught God’s Holy Word to more people who are not Christians during these two weeks than he has done in all the past years combined.  He had attentive audiences and taught the truth in love.

We bid Kevin Godspeed as he travels home today to Christina and their three precious children.

After taking Kevin to the airport, I returned to the hotel to prepare for another week of preaching and teaching God’s Word.  I managed to get a little rest and exercise as well.  Since the moon has been in its Waning Crescent phase, I have not been able to find it, but I know it is accumulating all of its messages of love from home to be seen when the New Moon appears.  I will be watching!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

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https://www.hebronlane.com
https://biblework.congregateclients.com
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com