Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Monday morning, we began three days of classes on “The Home and Family Life” using L. A. Stauffer’s workbook “Family Life: A Biblical Perspective” as a guide.  Egdon Sabio at the church in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur is our host.   This church met for years in Egdon’s home but began meeting in their new church building in 2024. It is very comfortable teaching in this building with air conditioning in the hot Philippine summer.

Our classes are scheduled to start at 9:00 AM each day and dismiss about 5:30 PM. Over 80 are attending.  This first day my lessons included a biblical perspective on life and the home, God’s design of marriage, and the wife’s role of subjection in marriage.  John addressed the atmosphere of love, the husband’s love for his wife, and his role as head of the wife.  

The open forum lasted almost an hour.  Someone asked if a man commits adultery, does God automatically dissolve the marriage bond?  No, first, we should do everything possible to bring about reconciliation and save the marriage.  If that is impossible, the innocent person is permitted to divorce the one who sinned.  Notice that divorce is not required but is permitted.  

Another question was if we learn new things about our proper role and conduct in marriage, does it mean our marriage has failed, or is there hope for the future?  When we marry, the relationship should grow as we learn how to improve it until we die – there is always hope!  God wants us to learn and grow closer together as we make this journey together.

Someone asked when David committed adultery with Bathsheba and caused the death of her husband, why did he face no consequences?  Actually, he faced many very painful consequences.  As a direct consequence of his sin, their infant died shortly after birth.  Later, David faced a series of indirect consequences in his leadership of the nation and of his home.  One of his sons raped his own sister, another son retaliated by murdering him, and his son tried to usurp his father’s throne.   

The church building was filled again Tuesday morning with men and women eager to study God’s Word.  My presentations focused on the woman’s role as a suitable or adequate helper and two studies of marriage, divorce, and remarriage.  John concentrated on training our children, teaching them to honor their parents, and the challenges of working parents.

John and I jointly conducted an extra session on parents finding ways to give their children a good education in an age when public schools are often filled with false philosophies such as evolution and they often promote immoral agendas such as homosexuality and transgender.  With good audience participation, we discussed the growing home school movement, and we learned some Filipinos are turning to this alternative.  

Enrolling children in private schools is another alternative, but some of those schools promote Catholicism or denominationalism, while some others focus on academics along with good moral principles.  While churches of Christ are not ordained by God to conduct schools and colleges, there are cases where individual Christians have established schools separate from churches such as Athens Bible School in Athens, Alabama and Florida College in Temple Terrace, Florida.  Should Filipino saints wish to establish such schools in the future, they must avoid tying them to the church and they must operate them purely as educational institutions or businesses.  They must be cautious of liberal minded brethren who have established schools financed by church funds.

In any case, parents need to be keenly aware of what their children are being taught in school in order to protect and preserve their faith.

In the open forum, someone asked what should be done if a couple is living in adultery, the man wants to repent, but the woman wants to maintain their adulterous relationship.  The man should explain that he does not want to take her to hell and this is why he will insist on their separation.  

Someone asked if a preacher is living in an adulterous relationship, what can be done?  After making every possible effort to lead him to repent, the local church should withdraw from him as in 1 Corinthians 5.  Even if the church refuses to act, there is no Bible pattern for other churches to withdraw from that church, but faithful preachers should refuse to work in fellowship with such a stubborn sinful man (1 Tim. 6:5).

Wednesday was the final day of classes and was well attended again by 80 souls.  John’s first study was about selecting a godly mate for marriage, and my first lesson was on “Modest Dress through the Ages.”  Next, we turned our attention to delivering four lessons on “Man’s Leadership in the Home,” with each of us speaking twice on the subject. 

Some brethren left before we finished because there is a typhoon off the west coast of Luzon where we are and another one developing off the east coast.  At the day’s end, certificates of attendance were distributed to the attendees, our picture taking was completed, and 20 copies of the book God Give Us Christian Homes were given to preachers for further study.

Egdon Sabio met us at breakfast Thursday to discuss his desire to protect the church building from being hijacked by liberal and assorted false teachers in future years after faithful saints have labored so long and hard to provide an adequate meeting place.  John and I pointed out that it may be possible to include some helpful restrictions in the deed, but, ultimately, nothing can protect the property better than constant, consistent, thorough, sound Bible teaching which will guide the next generation in serving God.  

Rolly Salvador drove John and I from Cabugao to the Laoag City airport this morning in the rain.  There was flooding on the road at some points because typhoon Maymay came east-to-west across the Ilocos region where we have been teaching.  It is actually a blessing to the rice farmers who are planting rice and needing plenty of water. There was a severe electrical storm in the early morning hours, but we arrived safely at the airport.  As our plane approached Manila, it had to circle the city to avoid some heavy weather created by the typhoon north of us.  James Paet kindly met us and brought us to the hotel where we first exercised, then ate supper, and headed for bed.  Tonight, I was blessed with 8 hours of sleep for the first time in a long time (I have been getting to bed about 12:30-1:00 AM).

John boarded his plane early Friday morning to begin the long journey home in Tampa, Florida.  He will immediately be deeply involved in duties at Florida College (where he serves as president), but Filipino saints captured his heart and he hopes to come again in the future, God willing.  We had not known each other well in past years because our spheres and locations of labor have been different.   It has been a joy working together and recognizing more and more how deeply committed we both are to following the old paths of divine revelation. 

The typhoon has pushed monsoon rains into Metro Manila all day today.  As I am finishing this report, my cell phone is issuing warnings of the heavy rain falling.  John sent a text saying his plane was able to depart, and now I hope and pray the rains will not hinder my domestic flight tomorrow.  

As you can imagine, I have not seen the moon for several days and will not see it tonight, but we know it is still there just waiting for us to admire its beauty and to remind each other we all are seeing the same moon. 

I have been resting from preaching appointments today, catching up on other work such as this report, and preparing for the next leg of the trip which will be on the Island of Mindanao.  I am keenly conscious that I would not be teaching God’s Word here in the Philippines without the help of Donna, the saints at the Hebron Lane church of Christ, and other saints praying and providing funds for this work. 

Please pray for Tom Brown’s family at the Hebron Lane church.  He passed away on Sunday, July 26.  Tom was a giant of faith with a servant’s heart like his Savior and helped lead our congregation in paths of righteousness as an elder for many years.  While we sorrow for our loss, we rejoice for his gain (Phil. 1:21).

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook