Philippines & New Zealand January 31 – March 2, 2024
March 2, 2024th Year of Our Lord
HALBROOK REPORT: 85th PHILIPPINE TRIP JANUARY 31-MARCH 2, 2024
Dear brethren,
By God’s providence, Jim McDonald took me to the Philippines in 1995 and now my 85th trip there has been completed, as well as the 11th to New Zealand. I taught 49 lessons, mostly to souls hearing the original gospel of Christ for the first time. 403 Bibles in Filipino dialects were purchased to ship to the saints.
Once when Paul pondered where to preach, “a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them” (Acts 16:9-10). We do not receive such miraculous visions today, but we still serve the God who opens doors for us to find people seeking the truth.
January 31-February 1 three flights brought me safely to Manila, where I spent a day running errands, and then Saturday preached at Santa Maria, Bulacan with Alex Estoy & Dominador Guevarra. 50 souls heard a series on “Moral Truth in an Amoral Age” addressing abortion, homosexuality, transgender, and social media. Young Filipinos tell me these sins are being promoted in some schools here. Sunday morning I preached “From Wretched Man to More Than Conquerors” to 30 saints at Pavia St. in Tondo, Metro Manila where Rey Tacbad is an evangelist. That afternoon James Paet brought me to Bacoor City, Cavite to preach to a church he is reviving where about 25 attended this first service. Monday James drove 6 hours round trip to let me preach at the Cambio church of Christ in San Miguel, Bulacan where Jimmy Lacambra labors. The audience of 40 spilled out into the yard in this rural place.
February 6-7 took me from Manila to Auckland, New Zealand, and the following day was for rest and adjusting to the 5 hour time change. On the 9th I flew to Whakatane, Eastern Bay of Plenty to work with Abner Salanguit and all the saints there. They have had 14 baptisms since my visit last year.
Saturday two lessons on “Selecting a Mate: The Lord Builds the House” were presented to a room filled with 44 people almost half of them ages 9-18 (plus 8-10 people joining via Zoom). This was followed by a healthy discussion which included clarification on why young people should avoid dances such as the prom. Sunday we studied two lessons on “The Threat of Pornography: Making Sex an Idol” plus “How to Study the Bible.” The next two days we covered the series on “Moral Truth in an Amoral Age” by studying two lessons at each assembly. 41 to 55 souls attended these four days plus others who joined us via FaceBook. New Zealand’s culture is very secular and extremely liberal on moral issues and the topics chosen were designed to fortify the faith of brethren in the face of these cultural pressures.
On the 14th I returned to Auckland to work with the Meadowood church which began in 2009. There were five sessions on “Marriage and Morals” with the attendance from running 11 to 21 (many more joined via Zoom from New Zealand, the U.S., the Philippines, Africa, and India). Most members are Filipinos, but they invite anyone and everyone, and many have heard the gospel here through the years. One family is from South Africa. Each meeting February 15-18 lasted at least two hours because there are always a good variety of questions and follow-up discussion. The 19th was devoted to a home study with the Halnes family. After a delicious fish dinner at a Chinese restaurant, I slept at a motel near the airport.
The 20th-23rd was used traveling back to Manila and on to Panay Island. Laryngitis sidelined me the next day, but Jack & Jonathan preached at the Tina Victory Christian Church in Dao, Antique (Rene Palacios preacher), and again Sunday at the Oton Gleaners Christian Church in Iloilo City (Hernane Equipado preacher). We worshiped in my room because there is no church of Christ here, but a faithful brother named Marben Escodero agreed to start one. They continued teaching in a rented venue in Iloilo City the 26th-28th with over 70 denominational preachers & I taught 4 lessons again that last day on “Saved by Grace.” The 29th I preached to about 50 preachers in a rented venue at San Miguel, Jordan, Guimaras Island on the theme “Salvation & Worship.” Follow-up work is planned for Panay and Guimaras islands.
March 1 I flew to Manila and bought 403 Bibles in Filipino dialects at the Philippine Bible Society.
The 2nd brought me home to Donna and the saints in Shepherdsville, KY who help to make these trips possible. Thank God for all the saints who pray for and support the cause of Christ in the Philippines & N.Z.!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.
https://biblework.
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com