August 28 – September 3 UK-France-Philippines #9
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
Wednesday was used as a day of rest in Davao City – this was my first full day without preaching appointments other than travel days since I left home July 25. We visited some houses of our brethren which are under construction after they were forced to move by their landowner. They are making good progress, partly due to funds donated by U.S. saints.
Next, we visited the grave of Juanito Balbin who died February 6 of this year. He has been my dear friend and co-worker for 20 years or more. His sons Dudley, Sonni, and Connie faithfully continue the Lord’s work in the Davao City area and beyond, wherever they find open doors. In fact, during last year they have received invitations to preach and to teach singing classes in other parts of the Philippines. They along with James Paet recently labored with Shamar Cajigas at the Seaside church near Toledo City on the island of Cebu, which was very successful.
It was interesting to learn in email that some parents are reading these reports to their children to open their eyes to the spread of the gospel around the world.
Thursday was a travel day. Jack Jaco and his wife flew back to their home on Negros Island and I flew back to Manila from Davao City. Having missed lunch when I arrived at 2:30, I was ready for blueberry pancakes at The Pancake House – delicious, as always! James Paet took me to the hotel where I took care of a few errands, exercised, worked on email, talked with Donna via cell phone, and got to bed before midnight – a major accomplishment!
James Paet drove me on Friday to the home of Mr. Jun Hornedo, a devout Catholic and the father of our dear brother Tonyboy, a deaf mute who preaches to the deaf mute congregation. When we arrived for the Bible study with Mr. Hornado, I was surprised to learn he is 90 years old. His mind is very sharp and he read aloud every passage I turned to. Our study started at 10:30 A.M. and finished at 3:00 P.M. with only 30 minutes for lunch. When I suggested we might stop to eat at 1:00 P.M., he said immediately, “I am not watching the clock,” meaning he did not really want to stop. We ate a quick lunch and resumed our study.
I started with a lesson I developed for first-time studies, giving an overview of the Bible message of salvation in Christ. Then, we focused on the plan of redemption revealed in the New Testament, and contrasted it with modern religious error. Mr. Hornedo used to be an engineer and he caught on quickly to the concept that God has given a blueprint of truth in the Bible which cannot be changed. When we reviewed passages exposing the errors of Catholicism, he agreed the Bible has to be right and all changes made by men are wrong.
At the conclusion, I told him we did not want to pressure him but wanted him to know we are ready to help him submit to Christ in baptism for the remission of his sins today or at any future time. He agreed the things we studied were true because they were in the Bible, but he asked for time to meditate further on these truths which were new to him before making his decision.
Every trip has one or more incidents that are worth the whole trip, and today was one of those occasions. We do not know what he will do, but we do know that for the first time in his life, this 90-year-old man understands the basics of God’s plan for his salvation. Yes, this is worth the whole trip, in spite of the physical and financial challenges it requires!
An all-day Bible lectureship was planned for Saturday at the Edsa-Pasay church in Manila for the deaf mute saints. The attendance far exceeded our expectations when 70 people came including 47 deaf mutes, the largest gathering of them to date.
Another surprise occurred just before we started when wires in the main electric box of this old building burned and almost started a fire. Fortunately, a security guard was in the room where it happened and he contained it (someone must have been praying for us!). This left us on the 4th floor of the building without electricity. The fans and the small AC unit were useless. The heat was sweltering and by noon I was mopping sweat off my head while preaching, and my clothes were soaked. Everyone was fanning today, but no one complained or left.
In fact, the audience manifested intense interest in the 2 morning lessons on “God’s Truth VS Satan’s Lies” and the 2 afternoon studies on “Overcoming Sin.” The sermon outlines were shown on PowerPoint and a translator signed to the audience.
During the open forum, someone asked about the difference between atheism (outright denial that God exists) and agnosticism (the claim that we cannot know whether God exists) – both, lies of Satan. A lady asked how she could stop friends from trying to persuade her to drink wine with them. I suggested she open the Bible and let them read Proverbs 20:1 (the unwise are deceived by intoxicating drinks) and 23:32 (intoxicants are poisonous snakes), and then invite them to join a Bible study. There were other good questions, as well.
When the invitation of Christ was extended for anyone wanting to be born again, 3 precious souls confessed Christ and submitted to him in water baptism. One of those ladies had asked several questions when I taught here on my previous trip. When we sow the seed of the kingdom, we never know when the harvest may come.
The Lord’s Day was a wonderful day which resulted in great rejoicing in heaven and on earth. Keith Greer, Rody & Tessie Gumpad, and Willie & Kathy Pastor have just returned from the Island of Palawan where many souls were converted to follow Christ. James Paet brought all of us to the Edsa-Pasay church where Keith presented an excellent study on “Salvation” and I preached on “Death, What Then?” 87 people attended and 4 precious souls submitted to Christ and were baptized to wash away their sins in the blood of the Lamb!
In the afternoon, James drove me to the church meeting at Meycuayan in the Bulacan Province where Jaime Bobis preached until his recent death. His son James with other saints carries on the work of the Lord. The room was filled with 57 souls as I spoke on “Death, What Then?” and “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!”
In the open forum someone asked how we compute that the church began in A.D. 33. Our calendar begins with the first day when Jesus was born and he lived 33 years on the earth. As soon as he returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to guide the Apostles to preach on Pentecost in Acts 2, and the church began that day when 3,000 souls were baptized (Acts 2:41, 46).
Another person asked for clarification on predestination. This means God prepared the plan of salvation in Christ before the world began. He sent Christ to save all men and Christ sent the gospel inviting all to be saved. God’s plan includes man’s free will to accept or to reject salvation in Christ. John Calvin’s doctrine of personal predestination is not found in the Bible and it rejects man’s free will.
Another question was how can we really know the church of Christ is the true church since all religions claim to be true. The founder (Christ, Matt. 16:18), the place of origin (in Jerusalem, Acts 2), the terms of entrance (faith, repentance, & baptism, Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38), and the worship ordained by Christ (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Eph. 5:19) are revealed and preserved in the New Testament. Those who believe and follow the teaching of Christ are his true church (meaning the souls he gathers for salvation). False religions were founded by human leaders at different times and places, teach different terms of entrance, and devise their own plans of worship. The New Testament warns this would happen and warns us not to be deceived (Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Tim. 4:1-5).
I returned to the hotel, ate a late supper, worked on this report, prepared some things for tomorrow’s important task, took a short exercise, and got to bed by 1:15 A.M. This has been a wonderful Lord’s Day serving Him with His saints! We are fighting together for our salvation and helping each other make the journey to heaven, while Satan is viciously fighting to take us all to hell. There can be no retreat and no surrender in this war. We must fight on God’s side to the last breath, knowing there is victory in Christ over Satan and sin! “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Jn. 5:4-5)
It is always a great honor and privilege to go to the Philippine Bible Society to buy Bibles in different dialects to be shipped to our brethren throughout the Philippines. This morning (Monday in the Philippines) James Paet drove me with Keith Greer, Rody & Tessie Gumpad, and Willie & Kathy Pastor to the P.B.S. where 930 Bibles were purchased. Keith also bought over 900 Bibles to ship to the saints he visited. I praise God for the saints who donate funds to make this blessing possible so that hundreds of Filipino saints will know the joy of reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word in their own dialects!
God willing, Keith will fly home tomorrow morning and I will catch a flight at 12:30 P.M. Rody and Willie will have to wait an extra day because the plane to Tuguegarao cannot fly in the torrential rain which is falling, but international flights are much larger planes which should not be hindered unless conditions worsen. Please pray the typhoon moves north of us and that will not happen.
I thank God for each of you who have been praying for our safety and success in this work for the cause of Christ from the time I left home on July 25 headed for the U.K., France, and the Philippines. Every trip is different and this one was longer and more expensive than usual. There were unexpected expenses along the way. It appears the donations on hand will not cover all the credit card debt waiting to be paid. God’s good providence has sustained me in this work since 1995 and He will make a way to meet the needs for this 87th trip where I taught 106 sessions, 16 souls submitted to Christ in baptism, and 1 was restored to Christ.
By the time some of you will be reading this report, I should be high in the sky somewhere over the Pacific Ocean headed home to my precious Donna and the beloved saints at the Hebron Lane church of Christ in Shepherdsville, KY. May God bless us all as we continue to fight the good fight of faith wherever God has placed us to serve Him.
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
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