Dear family, brethren, and friends,

I got up before 5:00 AM Thursday to catch the flight to Narita, Japan where I was met by Kim Caa and two other men about 2:00 PM.  After getting a McDonald’s burger in the airport, they drove four hours to reach Shizuoka.  This drive was on a very modern freeway and it quickly became obvious that Japan is a highly industrialized nation as we passed factories and warehouses of all kinds and very modern looking city skylines.  You know you are not in the Philippines any longer when the temperature is in the 60’s rather than the high 90’s and when you travel a couple of hundred miles and see only one motorcycle rather than hundreds!

Mt. Fuji greeted us as the sun was setting just next to it, a beautiful sight.  While traveling we discussed the upcoming meetings and the efforts being made to gather not only saints scattered over here but also Filipino relatives and friends who are not yet Christians.  Naturally, they are trying to teach Japanese friends and contacts, too, but piercing through the long history of idolatry is a difficult challenge.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

About 2:00 PM on Thursday I bid goodbye to Rody and Tessie Gumpad, James Paet, and Rolly Salvador and his wife at the Laoag City airport and flew to Manila.  After a couple of hours there, I boarded a plane to Cebu City, but we sat on the tarmac for almost an hour.  The Filipino man seated next to me engaged with me in discussing the Bible when I explained I am here teaching the Bible.  He is a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), an organization formed by several denominations merging many years ago.

I explained some differences between the teaching of Christ and the UCCP.  He sent his email address so I can continue to provide Bible study materials over the internet, in addition to a copy of “The One True Church” foldout tract which I gave him.  He is from Tabuk in the Province of Kalinga where I have visited through the years.  Perhaps it will be possible to visit him in the future and, meantime, I can put him in touch with gospel preachers who can help him begin to study the Bible.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Saturday morning, we drove an hour into the foothills of the mountains to reach the saints at Baliuag, Penablanca where Alfonso Danao preaches.  An audience of 55 was waiting and we arrived as a gospel caravan with three vehicles and 14 motorcycles including brethren from Manila, the Bicol region, and Davao City on Mindanao.  The weather was extremely hot and humid again, but everyone was very attentive to the study of “The Resurrection of Christ” in Mark 16.  Rody Gumpad then summarized the sermon in the local dialect.

When the invitation of Christ was extended, five people came forward to submit to Christ in baptism from ages 54 down to 8.  Normally, Rody is able to convince an 8 year old that they need to wait and mature more in understanding, and we all waited several minutes while he tried to convince this young man.  But, he answered every question and could not be dissuaded from his decision.  Rody finally explained that if at a future time he concludes he was too young to make this decision, he should be baptized again at that point.  We rejoice with the angels of heaven for this harvest of souls.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On the Lord’s Day I visited three congregations introduced to me by Domie Jacob about 25 years ago where his son Frankie still labors.  In the morning Willie Pastor drove me to the Cordon church where 47 souls assembled to worship and to consider sermons on “The Prison of Sin” and “Finish the Race.”  The one who decided to obey the gospel did not bring a change of clothes, so the baptism was postponed.

Next, we drove out into the countryside to meet with 31 people in the congregation at Der-an.  My topic here was “The Lord’s Supper: Memorial to Christ.”

After taking lunch, we proceeded another half hour to Villaros where 39 attended and I preached from Psalm 23, “God is Our Shepherd-King.”
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Our appointment for Monday was with the saints at Betis, Guagua, Pampanga where Jojo Tacbad labors in the gospel.  This was originally planned as a two-day lectureship, but Jojo learned that the whole area will be without electricity all day Tuesday.  This would leave us simmering and sweltering in severe summer heat, cooped up in a building without the AC unit and fans.

Today’s theme was “Life, Death, and Beyond,” with lessons covering “Why We Live,” “Why and How We Die,” “After Death, Hades,” and  “After the Resurrection, Heaven and Hell.”  Fifty-one souls joined today’s studies, and two precious souls decided to submit to Christ in water baptism for the remission of their sins.  Heaven and earth rejoice with them!
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

By the grace of God, my flights Wednesday-Thursday from Louisville, Kentucky to Atlanta, Georgia to Inchon, South Korea to Manila in the Philippines were safe.  To avoid a terrible huge storm working its way across the U.S., our plane flew around it by going southwest when we would normally fly northwest.  This extended our time in the air from 15 hours to about 17 hours, with only brief periods of bumpy travel.

Four Filipino brethren met me at the hotel Friday morning to unpack the six boxes of Bibles and study materials I brought on the airplane and to reorganize them in order to ship some of them ahead.  James Paet, my driver, will accompany me on Luzon as we deliver other packages at various venue along the way.  Running errands today involved time at a huge mall which required a lot of walking, but sunlight and exercise are good remedies for jet lag and the 12-hour time change.
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February 28, 2025^th Year of Our Lord
HALBROOK REPORT: 89^th PHILIPPINE TRIP FEBRUARY 3-28, 2025                             

Dear brethren,                               

The loving providence of God made it possible to complete my 89^th preaching trip to the Philippines and 8^th Australian trip, all of which began in 1995 when Jim McDonald brought me to the Philippines.  This trip concentrated on edifying saints and equipping preachers.  49 lessons were presented and 15 souls exercised their faith in Christ by repenting of their sins, confessing his name, and submitting to him in baptism for the remission of their sins.

Knowing that we are in a never-ending battle for our salvation, Paul admonished the Philippians,  “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).  In the same spirit, a lot of teaching was done on this trip admonishing Christians to stand back-to-back and side-by-side as we battle for our salvation!
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

By the grace of God, I have now completed the 89^th Philippine trip and returned to my beloved Donna and the saints here at the Hebron Lane church of Christ in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.  I arrived home shortly before midnight Friday after safely traveling from Manila to Soule, South Korea and then to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the final flight to Louisville, Kentucky, about 24 hours in total.

My heart is always overflows with joy and thanksgiving when God opens doors for our labors together in the Philippine Islands, and also in Australia again.  I thank God for the saints in those places who are willing to work with me and the many saints in many places who make it possible by prayers and financial support.  It was a privilege to preach for the first time at Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, and to meet brethren there who have been proclaiming the gospel and worshiping our Lord for many years.

By God’s merciful provision through the power of the gospel and through His saints on both sides of the ocean, another 15 precious souls submitted to Christ by faith, repentance, and baptism, and another 756 Bibles in various Filipino dialects were purchased to be shipped to brethren throughout the Philippines.   Thank you, thank you, thank you to all brethren who have helped in any way!

May God be glorified as we together press forward serving Him on our journeys to heaven!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On the Lord’s Day James Paet drove me about an hour to the Taytay church in the Province of Rizal to worship with Sammy Medrano.  My first sermon was on “The Prison of Sin” during the Bible study period, followed by “When Peter Confessed Christ” during the worship service.  Out of our audience of 51 people, a man and a woman stepped forward to confess Christ and to be buried in water baptism for the remission of their sins.  This was not their first time to visit the church, and they were fully convinced they needed to obey the original gospel of Christ and leave their sins and false religions behind.

After lunch we drove an hour and a half in Rizal to reach the fledgling church at Binangonan where Jhun Abueva labors in the gospel.  Twenty-three people heard the sermon “When Peter Confessed Christ” and there were several questions during the open forum.

Why do Catholic priest ask money to baptize people, to offer prayers, and to do other services?  This practice is not taught in the Bible but results from men making their own rules to conduct their false religions.  Next, will people be lost who sincerely practice false religions?  Many passages such as Matthew 7:21-23, Mark 16:15-16, and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 teach they will be lost, and this is why we must zealously spread the gospel to everyone we know.  Someone asked if we obey the gospel and continue participating in false religious practices passed down by traditions of men, do we commit sin?  Yes, Jesus teaches that such practices violate God’s authority and God’s Word and are vain and futile.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Daryl and Rosalie Johnson brought me to the Rockhampton airport Wednesday where I flew at 1:15 PM to Brisbane and caught the next flight to Manila, arriving about 1:00 AM Thursday.  James Paet kindly met me and brought me to the hotel where I had a reservation.

When I made that reservation last month, I paid attention to the date of my arrival but not to the time.  I needed a reservation for the 19^th in order to have the room ready at 2:00 AM on the 20^th.  And, the hotel was fully booked.  They let me sleep on a padded bench in the arrival area, even providing a pillow and a blanket, until a room was available about 5:00 AM.  So, this time, I created my own adventure which allowed a trifold sleeping experience in one night:  sleeping on the plane, on the bench, and on the bed!  Definitely, the last was the best!  Otherwise, I believe this is called shooting myself in the foot.

James took me to the airport Thursday about noon to meet Professor (that is his name, not a title) Mashoko from Zimbabwe, Africa who was finishing his third preaching trip to the Philippines, made possible by the help of U.S. brethren.  As often happens when Christian first meet, we learned we know a lot of the same brethren.  Having heard good things about his preaching from Filipino saints, I was thankful we could finally get acquainted.  Filipinos appreciate his good work teaching God’s Word.  He was to fly home within a few hours of our meeting.
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