Dear brethren in the Philippines, in Africa, in India, and around the world,

Greetings in the holy name of Christ!

Christians around the world are struggling with many trials because of the coronavirus pandemic — worship assemblies are interrupted, saints have died, saints cannot go to their work and do not know how to pay their bills, saints are suffering hunger, and other trials also.  In all of our trials, we cannot forget the precious and powerful promise of Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:20, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”  God holds the universe in His hands and He holds our lives in His hands.

Donna and I are well along with our brethren by God’s good grace.  I hope you, your family, and our brethren there are also safe from coronavirus infection.

These are trying times when we must learn more and more the meaning of Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”  The government forced the close of most businesses in the U.S.  Our nation now has more cases of the coronavirus than any other nation:  almost 450,000 infected people and almost 16,000 deaths. The saints here are just meeting in our homes at this time to comply with the government effort to stop the spread of the virus.  I know thousands of brethren in the Philippines are suffering hunger because they cannot work and government officials do not allow citizens to go out.  Your nation is on total lock down in this crisis.  Others countries are having the same experience.

More than 180 nations are suffering the onslaught of this virus.  I am helpless to solve this huge challenge. I have no such resources.   I am flooded with requests from the Philippines and other nations.  Thank you for these messages and reports so that we know to pray and pray!

Since I know the problem is nationwide there in the Philippines, I was able to find some donations to send benevolence, a little amount in Luzon, in Palawan, in Mindoro, in the Visayas, and in Mindanao.  I sent it to several brethren and requested they will serve as messengers to relay and spread it to more congregations.  In this way we maximize the amount for benevolence and minimize the fees I must pay to send the funds.  If I will send directly to each individual congregation, a huge amount of the benevolence fund will be wasted paying large fees to the bank.  We thank the brethren who have been helping me to relay the fund so that it will be divided according to the priority of the need.  I REGRET THE FUND IS NOT ENOUGH.  IT IS NOT ENOUGH WHERE I SENT IT IN LUZON, NOT ENOUGH IN PALAWAN, NOT ENOUGH IN MINDORO, NOT ENOUGH IN VISAYAS, AND NOT ENOUGH IN MINDANAO.  The reason is because I have no sufficient donations for the many thousands of Christians in all of the Philippines. If there will be additional donations for the needs of our brethren in any area, I will surely notify you, but I have no power to promise any centavo to anyone.

The needs are so vast and widespread that I AM LIKE A PYGMY TRYING TO SWEEP BACK THE OCEAN WITH A TINY TOOTHBRUSH.  Even when I do my best, the ocean is still there!

I know from past experience in handling benevolence, there will be murmurs because the fund is never enough to reach every place.  Anyone who handles benevolence will experience trials, even me.  I have been attacked by some Filipinos by emails circulated that I am running “a scam,” I am part of “a syndicate,” I “do not love the brethren,” the Filipinos helping me are just “crooks,” etc., etc.   Filipinos who help me are also accused.  I do not mind these people, but I pity them.  We will pray for them to change their hearts and meanwhile we press forward doing our work of preaching and handling benevolence when there are any available funds.  God knows our hearts and our service that we are doing our best, and we will not let murmurers discourage us. Paul was not discouraged to stop his work, but only he reminded the brethren what will happen if they commit the sin of murmuring in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 — it means they cannot enter the promised land of Heaven.

Let us teach the brethren to have the spirit of 1 Corinthians 12:26, “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”  If another Christian receives a greater blessing, we do not envy him but we rejoice the more with him!   This is part of the process of learning and growing as a Christian.  Murmuring is not a sign of maturity for a Christian.  We must repent of murmuring so that we can go to Heaven.

Thank you to each brother who has helped us spread the benevolence as much as possible even though we know the fund is not sufficient to all the needs and we cannot reach every congregation.  Let us admonish all the brethren, those who received benevolence and those who did not receive it.  We will teach 1 Peter 2:1-3, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,  now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (New International Version).  Yes, we tasted the Lord is good to all of us because He gave Christ to die on the cross and He washed our sins away!  No attack by Satan and no trial we face can separate us from the love of Christ, but, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom. 8:35-37).  We will not envy and murmur because we must live the new life of a Christian.  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

The coronavirus crisis is temporary and God is always ruling the entire universe, but we could not fully understand His wisdom, His power, and His purpose.  God overrules in all events of human history to accomplish His purpose.  At this time when the nations of earth are forced to their knees, sinful people should awaken to their need for God and for cleansing from sin.  “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

We press forward because we know God is greater than our problems, and He knows our problems.  He knows what to do when we do not know.  That is why Jesus teaches us to totally trust in God in Matthew 6:24-34.  The same God who feeds billions of birds every day and clothes billions of flowers every day will care for us.  Yes, we suffer many trials, but He will never leave us or abandon us.

To our brethren in every place, thank you because you continue to worship God in this time of crisis, the same as we are doing in our homes because we cannot go out. We must trust God till the danger passes as David expressed in Psalm 57:1, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”  We do not know what the future holds, but we know God holds the future – we will not fear but will trust Him always!

We continue to pray that God will bless and protect all of you, all of your families, all of your work in His kingdom, and all of the brethren there!  Let all of us hold to the precious and powerful promise of Jesus Christ, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

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