Dear brethren,

Since late 2023 a drought has been spreading throughout much of the Philippines.  I have seen rice fields which should be standing in water baked to dry barren paddies.  The destruction of crops has a domino effect by driving up the prices of commodities and nearly everything else.  Therefore, the suffering has spread even to areas not under drought.  Many thousands of our brethren are suffering from hunger and even disease for lack of food.  I have been sending a little help off and on but have been out of the country and also have been helping Donna through her surgery and recovery (which is going well, thanks to your many prayers!).   I leave for Alaska May 30 and will return June 21, God willing.  Then, I hope to go the Philippines in August.  While home, I want to do more to help the drought victims.

If some of you would like to provide benevolence to the saints who are suffering, I can give you contact information for reliable Filipino brethren who can deliver benevolence where it is most needed.  Or, if you wish to trust me as your messenger, let me know and I will relay benevolence funds to affected areas on your behalf.

Continue reading

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Greetings to all in the royal name of Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings.

There has been another upsurge of coronavirus infections in the Philippines.  Thousands of our brethren are suffering from hunger because of the government enforced lockdown in many areas.  Some of you have sent benevolence funds and asked me to serve as your messenger in relaying the benevolence to our brethren, which has been a great blessing, but I cannot begin to scratch the surface of the vast needs.

Some of our brethren feel neglected, not understanding that I have no flowing fund to resolve this ongoing disaster coupled with earthquake victims living in tents, rat infestations destroying crops, flash floods, and typical pleas for medical help, support for evangelists, funds for church buildings, lack of Bibles, etc., etc.  It grieves our hearts, but we continue to encourage all of them to trust in God who has many ways to care for His saints when we do not know what to do.
Continue reading

Dear brethren,

When early leaders among Christians met in Jerusalem, they stood shoulder to shoulder in upholding the truth of the gospel and they agreed it was imperative to remember the poor.  “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.  All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do” (Gal. 2:9-10, NIV).  I need to provide an update on the situation among the poor saints in the Philippines and our efforts to help them.

Toward the end of my February preaching trip in the Philippines, coronavirus was becoming a national concern and President Rodrigo Duterte forbad flights from the infected area of China to land in the Philippines.  By mid-March the rising danger of a pandemic led to a government enforced lockdown.  Citizens were given a pass to leave their homes once a week to get food and other essentials.  This has been most consistently and forcefully enforced in more populated areas such as larger cities, and it has been partially relaxed in some areas which have made progress in the battle against covid, but a more recent rise of cases in some areas has resulted in renewed restrictions.  Many of our brethren have been battling hunger in these conditions.
Continue reading

Wade Holt has been so kind as to initiate a GoFundMe drive to raise funds for Bibles and songbooks to be distributed in the Philippines Islands.  Please see his message below and consider helping.  Perhaps you can help by sharing and spreading this information.  For more information or to donate funds, click on the link Wade provided below.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

I am raising money to purchase song books and Bibles for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Philippines.  These are extremely poor people that struggle daily just to survive.  Yet the church continues to grow thanks to the work of zealous Filipino evangelists and U.S. preachers who visit to help them labor in that field. The churches there are in dire need of song books and Bibles.  The Filipino people love to sing and study God’s Word.  They do not have enough books to go around and often must share with others.  We are so blessed to live in this great nation, and we take so much for granted.  Most of us do not think about God’s people in other countries that are starving for the Word and want only to go to Heaven when they die.  We all must and can do our part to spread God’s Word and evangelize the world.
Continue reading

Wade Holt has been so kind as to initiate a GoFundMe drive to raise funds for Bibles and songbooks to be distributed in the Philippines Islands.  Please see his message below and consider helping.  Perhaps you can help by sharing and spreading this information.  For more information or to donate funds, click on the link Wade provided below.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

Wade Holt is organizing this fundraiser.

I am raising money to purchase song books and Bibles for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Philippines.  These are extremely poor people that struggle daily just to survive.  Yet the church continues to grow thanks to the work of zealous Filipino evangelists and U.S. preachers who visit to help them labor in that field. The churches there are in dire need of song books and Bibles.  The Filipino people love to sing and study God’s Word.  They do not have enough books to go around and often must share with others.  We are so blessed to live in this great nation, and we take so much for granted.  Most of us do not think about God’s people in other countries that are starving for the Word and want only to go to Heaven when they die.  We all must and can do our part to spread God’s Word and evangelize the world.
Continue reading

Dear brethren,

I wanted to update the situation in the Philippines regarding the effects of coronavirus regulations on Christians there.  This nation is near China.  When I was in the Philippines in February, the news hit about the rise of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China and the Philippine President immediately shut down flights coming from that area.  March 16 he put Luzon under a lockdown and soon the whole nation was included.  It was extended to April 30 and now again to May 15.  Though this is a third world country, this aggressive policy of containing the disease has resulted in less than 10,000 cases and only 637 deaths.  Most of our brethren are day laborers, meaning “no work, no eat,” and they have been suffering hunger because they cannot go to their jobs.  There are thousands of Christians scattered throughout the Philippines.

Many of you have already responded to this vast ongoing need, and also to the needs of saints stranded in tent cities in southern Mindanao as a result of 11 earthquakes with over 4,000 aftershocks.  As previously stated, I feel like a pygmy trying to sweep back the ocean with a small toothbrush because these emergency needs are so vast.  Yet, I also trust in God who feeds billions of birds and clothes untold billions of flowers every day (Matt. 6:24-34).  It is a privilege to do what we can and by faith leave all the results in God’s hands.  Your donations have made it possible to relay well over $100,000 to our brethren and help has been distributed to hundreds of congregations with thousands of saints.  Truly, as Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
Continue reading