Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Monday was another disappointing day for me because the battle to overcome this laryngitis is progressing so slowly.  It was a great day for the work’s sake.  We planned on 50 participants at the rented venue in Iloilo City for 3 days of Bible lectures and 79 showed up for this first day!  Jonathan and Jack know how to plow the corn in teaching the first principles of the gospel to the benefit of these denominational preachers.  I learned there was a good open forum with lots of Bible answers given to their questions.

Meanwhile, I am trying every play in the book to defeat this laryngitis including rest, intermittent exercise, prescribed medications, gargling warm salt water, drinking Salabat Tea (a Filipino term for ginger ea, often with honey or lemon), and drinking warm calamansi juice (a hybrid lemon or lime grown primarily in the Philippines).  Laryngitis typically runs its course in 3-7 days and today is my third day.   I can now talk a little with effort but not well enough to actually carry on a conversation and certainly not well enough to preach. All I can do is to grin and bear it one day at a time. This, too, shall pass, but the sooner the better!

The confinement at the hotel Tuesday is giving me cabin fever as I have continued praying, taking treatments, resting, exercising, catching up on some email, and waiting for this recuperation to go into high gear.  Meanwhile, Jack and Jonathan continue sowing the seed of God’s kingdom with skill and patience.  We are confident God will give the increase in His own time.

A brother from Texas emailed me about a person he has been teaching via the internet in Metro Manila who is ready to obey the gospel.  I contacted an evangelist who has already communicated with this person and they will try to get together soon.  The gospel continues to spread by God’s good providence!

My voice did improve slightly today, but it has almost no range, inflection, or strength.  It was good to be able to talk with Donna by phone for several minutes and to learn that she is doing well but anticipating her knee replacement surgery next month.  All prayers on her behalf are appreciated!

I was amazed to wake up Wednesday morning with more range, inflection, and strength in my voice – not back to normal, but significant gains.  So, I decided to take a chance on preaching, being careful to rely on the lapel microphone, and made it through the full day – exhausted at the end, but it went well by the grace of God.

The first sermon for our 76 attendees was “From Wretched Man to More than Conqueror,” followed by “Salvation by Grace through Faith.”  This was a golden opportunity to proclaim the true grace of God to a room filled with denominational preachers, many of whom are under the heavy influence of Calvinism.  All of them have been taught that salvation is received by faith alone contrary to the clear teaching of Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27, and other passages.

After the lunch break we studied “The Two Covenants” and “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God.”  There were about 15 questions during the open forum regarding the Law of Moses, baptism, the church, instrumental music in worship, and other topics.  We have to patiently teach and realize these preachers have been saturated with the false concepts of denominational doctrines and systems all of their lives.  The ground is fertile but follow-up teaching is needed and we are discussing plans to make that possible.

Our last day to preach was Thursday when we traveled by ferry boat to Guimaras Island where we met with a group of 47denominational preachers in a function room in San Miguel, Jordan.  Rodian Alcobilla hosted us, giving a warm welcome and keeping everything on a good track.  Our audience listened attentively to four lessons on the theme of “Salvation and Worship:”  “When Are We Ready to be Baptized?”, “True Worship VS False Worship,” “Nailed to the Cross,” and “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God.”

Hearing many things for the first time which distinguish between New Testament Christianity from denominational systems, naturally they had good questions to offer during the hour-long open forum.  For instance, I was asked to explain the different between Holy Spirit baptism and water baptism – God administered Holy Spirit baptism only two times to introduce the gospel age to all men with miraculous signs (Acts 2 & 10), but men administer water baptism for the remission of sins to all sinners who will obey the gospel.  These two baptisms should not be confused.

Can instrumental music in worship be justified by Psalm 150?  If so, animal sacrifices can be renewed by using Psalm 51:19.  Can it be justified if the intention is to glorify God?  In Leviticus 10:1-3 Nadab and Abihu offered incense to glorify God but used fire He did not authorize, and God rained down fire from heaven to consume them because He can be truly glorified only when we worship by His instructions.  Other good questions were discussed, as well, and everyone maintained the right attitude for a productive study.  The seed was sown again and God will give the increase according to His will.

We arrived at the ferry port by 5:00 PM but could not catch a ferry until 8:30 because so many vehicles were lined up taking the ferries as they came in every 30 minutes.  To end the day on a good note, we shared a delicious supper at 9:30 at a restaurant that serves fresh fish back in Iloilo City.  I fell into bed exhausted at 12:15 AM after talking with Donna.

Friday morning Jonathan and Nanette Carino caught a flight from Iloilo City back to Cebu City while I flew back to Manila, and Jack with his wife drove back to Victorias City on Negros Island.  James Paet met me in Manila and immediately took me to the Philippine Bible Society where 403 Bibles were purchased to be shipped to brethren in various dialects around the Philippines.  God will surely bless and reward the many Christians who donate funds to put His Holy Word into the hands and hearts of His saints!  This ends the trip on a high note!

This final report is being sent about 11:00 PM Friday and I should be high in the sky by the time many of you read it as I fly home Saturday (Friday in the U.S.).  The trip takes 24-26 hours.  God willing, I should arrive home in Louisville, Kentucky shortly before midnight on Saturday, U.S. time.  I hope to give a report of the trip when I preach Sunday night at the Hebron Lane church of Christ in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, God willing.  I look forward to seeing Donna and all of the saints at home who sustain me in so many ways to make this work possible by the grace of God.  I thank God for every saint who has offered a prayer or donated a penny for the cause of Christ in the Philippines and in New Zealand.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook