August 16-18 UK-France-Philippines #6
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
On Friday we traveled by van 6 hours from Pagadian City in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur to Cagayan de Oro City in the Province of Misamis Oriental. Our driver was safe but pushed hard to get us here as soon as possible. On one stop we lost 45 minutes in the drive-through lane of a KFC. I have never been a fan of drive-through service because 99% of the time I can be in-and-out before the cars in the drive-through lane can give their orders! There is a time to keep quiet, though, so I kept quiet. By God’s grace we arrived before dark, giving me time to prepare for tomorrow and work on the backlog of emails, plus take exercise. I got to bed at 12:30 AM after talking with Donna to be sure she is doing well – she continue to make progress.
57 souls gathered at the Box 1 church in Cagayan de Oro City for all-day preaching Saturday where Stephen Carpentero and Nonoy Andallon labor in the gospel. A large number of young people attended and paid close attention to the 2 morning sermons on “God’s Truth VS Satan’s Lies” and the 2 afternoon lessons on “Overcoming Sin.” This was a rare occasion because no questions were raised in the open forum – everyone said they were satisfied with our studies.
Starting about 20 years ago I worked with Cipriano Carpentero, Sr. here in this city, then after his passing with his son Jhun, and now after his passing with Stephen, a grandson. It is good to see the work continues to flourish. These brethren are aggressively working to spread the gospel.
About 80 souls met for worship on the Lord’s Day at the Box 1 church with a good mix of all ages. The sermon admonished everyone to “Finish the Race” and it was well received. There was a long break after lunch and I was able to get a good power-nap, and then we drove around the Cagayan de Oro City area visiting congregations. Our first stop was at Lower Sumpong where Alfred Tadeo labors, then San Simon, next Zone 1-E where Junrell Dangcal works with Stephen Carpentero. Here I preached “God Is Our Shepherd-King” from Psalm 23 to 65 people. Last we stopped at Sitio Oro Zena where Nonoy Adallon labors.
In 2012 I preached under the trees next to the river when Jhun Carpentero was trying to convert the lost at San Simon. We baptized a number of people that day and a new congregation soon began meeting in the very cramped house of a sister. Later, they built a meeting place nearby and that church still thrives. During covid, the government prevented some of the brethren from crossing the river to worship, so they established the Zone 1-E church which is also thriving. Truly, this is a harvest time in the Philippines! It will not continue forever and we must make haste while the sun shines.
Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 6:30 A.M. to begin all-day travels to General Santos City in southern Mindanao, God willing.
The moon smiles at me and I smile back, because I know you are smiling, too!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
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