Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Our Friday was consumed by travel on the Island of Mindanao from Pagadian City to Davao City.  Jack Jaco, Jonathan and Nanette Carino, and I got up early and left our hotel at 7:00 A.M. to catch our flight, only to learn it had been cancelled.  We came back to the old Carino homeplace where I rested and got some work done plus, enjoyed a great lunch.  About 4:30 P.M. we flew to Cebu City on the Island of Cebu and later changed planes to fly to Davao City in southern Mindanao.  By 10:00 P.M. we finally got into our hotel rooms.  By the time I got settled in, did a little work, and took my walk, I got to bed just past 12:30 A.M.

The Downtown church of Christ in Davao City is served by Sonni and Connie Balbin and other good men.  They have an annual combined singing and gospel meeting which was conducted today, Saturday, 8:30 A.M.-1:00 P.M., with 230 present.  Knowing their church building could not accommodate such large numbers, they rented a function room at a hotel which was air conditioned – but the AC struggled with such a full room.  

The songs were built around the sermon subjects “Purifying the Soul” and “When Good People Suffer Bad Things.”  Connie did a superb job leading us in the songs.    Jhun Layusa from the Bicol Region on Luzon offered the invitation and a man who appeared to be in his 30’s came forward to confess Christ and to submit to him in baptism to wash away his sins.  He told me later he had no intention of doing that when he came, but the lesson on “Purifying the Soul” convinced him he needed to obey the gospel without delay.  We never know who is listening when we proclaim the unsearchable riches of the gospel of Christ!

On Lord’s Day morning, Keith Alagano drove Jack Jaco and me to the church at Calinan where he labors in the gospel.  Along the way, a motorcycle sideswiped us.  The driver admitted he had not been sleeping and caused the accident.  Fortunately, he had only minor bruises and none of us were affected.  The police came and filled out a report and we had to spend time at the police headquarters but were finally cleared to go on our way to the services.  35 people were assembled as we studied Matthew 5 verse by verse on “Attitudes Essential in God’s Kingdom” and a lesson on “God’s Great Plan for Our Salvation.”  Two visitors who have been attending sat near the front and were very attentive – Keith hopes to baptize both of them.

In the evening, I was invited to speak for the Downtown church where we had a full house of at least 60 souls and I preached on “Higher Ground.”  Sonnie and Connie Balbin have worked with this congregation for many years.  They have elders and deacons and are fully devoted to sounding out the Word of the Lord here locally and reaching out to areas far beyond.  They have trained many preachers through the years and sent them into the fields to harvest souls for our Savior.  Their singing is outstanding and Connie has concentrated on teaching them four-part harmony, which is unusual in most places in the Philippines.  

I caught a glimpse of the moon next to a bright star, which painted a pretty picture in the heavens tonight.  It is just a sliver at this early stage in its phases, but it reminded me of all of you who are watching it, too! 

Monday we drove an hour and a half to Malagos, Davao City, Davao del Sur where Gerry Caa has preached for many years.  Unfortunately, one of the effects of his diabetes is loss of sight and he is on dialysis treatments three times per week.  Other good men are stepping up to the pulpit in the local work. 

Julie Notarte arrived ahead of us and was preaching to 220 souls in the Cebuano dialect when we arrived.  My first sermon was on “Attitudes Essential in God’s Kingdom” (Matt. 5 verse by verse) which was translated by Jack Jaco.  Next, I presented the oft overlooked subject of “Modest Dress through the Ages” (1 Tim. 2:9-10) and Bill Jones Caa was my translator.  Three precious souls submitted to Christ in water baptism for the remission of sins this morning.

After our lunch break, I turned to the subject of “God’s Great Plan for Our Salvation” (Heb. 2:3), translated by Benji Notarte.  Another three souls obeyed the gospel and were saved!

The open forum started with a question about how to understand and apply baptism “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” in Matthew 28:19 – are we required to repeat those words as a ritual at every baptism?   No, the point is that we are baptized in submission to the one true God (“the name,” singular) which includes the three persons of the Godhead.  Similarly, we are to do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus in Colossians 3:17, which again points to submitting to Christ in all things but not constantly repeating his name as a ritual.

Another interesting question was is it wrong for women to wear pants to worship?  Here is the first principle.   The Bible teaches us to dress and groom ourselves as males or as females and not to engage in cross-dressing the genders (Deut. 22:5; 1 Cor. 11:2-16).  The pants designed for males are not the same as the ones for females, so a woman in a woman’s pant suit is not dressed like a male. 

The second principle is that every culture has fashions of dress considered “dress up” to show respect for important people or events and other manners of dress viewed as “dressing down” for relaxation, work, or recreation.  God calls us into His presence in a special sense when we gather to worship Him.  Our dress should reflect that we wish to show Him the highest respect rather than dressing down.  

I advised the preachers not to fall into the practice of some who wear their slippers or flip-flops, shorts, and a tee shirt to preach.  This practice of casual dress shows that we consider worshiping God a casual occasion when it should be an occasion of genuine reverence for God.  I urged them not to wear graphic tee shirts to worship showing their favorite basketball team or some other worldly symbol.  We do not come to worship to view a person’s athletic preferences – that distracts from the solemn purpose of exalting God.  God does not legislate a dress code for worship like the priestly robes of the Law of Moses, but He is still high and holy, and we need to show Him genuine reverence rather than a casual ho-hum attitude.

Tomorrow will be spent resting and preparing for the next segment of the trip.  May God bless all of you who take the time for read these reports and to pray for our work!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook