Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The last night in the Bicol Region was Tuesday, April 11, and a low pressure cell brought steady rain and some high winds.  The weak internet prevented me from working on email, so I swam 50 laps in the very deserted pool and went to bed at 10:30.  I am almost ashamed to admit I slept 10 ½ hours, but maybe my body was sending a message about needing to catch up on rest.

Wednesday I walked and took a short swim but also talked with Donna on the phone, as I do morning and evening each day.  There were also several calls with David about last minute details preparing for his coming with Joel. Jhun Layusa with a contingent of dear saints took me to the airport that afternoon to catch a plane back to Manila.  After arriving about 7:00 P.M., getting checked in at the hotel, and eating supper, I dove into the backlog of emails and also worked on sermon charts before sleeping at midnight.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Jhun Layusa brought us from Naga to Pulanglupa Pasacao, Camarines Sur on Saturday to labor with Rico and Rocky Ruado.  The audience of 44 people were crammed into a house with some listening on the outside as I taught on “Selecting a Mate: The Lord Builds the House” (Ps. 127:1).  Before lunch the focus was on what God does to help us find the right mate and after lunch what God teaches us to do to find the right mate.  The key on our side is to be the right kind of person in order to find and attract the right kind of person.

Since I touched on avoiding dances in order to maintain moral purity, someone during the open forum asked if folk dances are appropriate for Christians. If the dance does not involve males and females in inappropriate touching and sexual moves, it may be innocent.  This led into a more detailed discussion about the dangers of temptation involved in most dancing.  The dangers center around lasciviousness or conduct which stirs the desire for fornication.
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Philippine trip Apr. 4-6

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The April 4-May 2 Philippine trip got off to a very good start Tuesday and Wednesday.  First, I got to sleep almost 3 hours Monday night (often it is only 15 minutes to an hour the last night at home).  Second, the flights from Louisville to Detroit to Tokyo to Manila were on time and encountered very little turbulence, allowing me to get a lot of work done between naps.

Third, we arrived in Manila about 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, much earlier than normal.  This gave me time to get to the hotel before bedtime to work out for 40 minutes in the fitness room plus to swim 30 minutes (only a few young boys swimming, no women in the pool).  That combination really loosens cramping muscles and builds stamina for the next day.

And, to top it off, a beautiful moon was smiling down on the scene with greetings from many loved ones and friends!  I got to bed at a decent hour and slept over 8 hours.
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HALBROOK REPORT: 80^th PHILIPPINE TRIP FEB. 1-MAR. 2, 2023

Dear brethren,                               

My 81^st trip to preach in the Philippines, 10^th to New Zealand, and 6^th to Australia has now been completed February 1-March 2 by the grace of God.  I am forever indebted to Jim McDonald for introducing the Philippine work to me.  Fifty opportunities were afforded for public teaching, 1 person was baptized into Christ, and 709 Bibles in Filipino dialects were purchased to be shipped throughout the islands.


Time is rapidly passing as we prepare to appear before our Lord to hear his final pronouncement of our eternal destiny.  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Cor. 5:10-11).  While reaching out to sinners, this trip especially urged saints to be steady and steadfast in view of the trials of the past 2-3 years!
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Early Tuesday morning I caught a flight from Rockhampton to Brisbane on Australia’s well-known Qantas Airlines.  There were only a couple of hours’ time to transfer from the Domestic Terminal to the International Terminal, find the Philippine Airlines (PAL) check-in counter, get a boarding pass for my PAL flight to Manila, go through immigration and security checks, and get to the gate to board. PAL gave me a breakfast voucher to use in the terminal but there was no time to use it – boarding started about 15 minutes after I got to the gate.

The flight time was 8 hours, but we had smooth sailing and I took some rest.  The earlier PAL flight from Manila to Australia did not require passengers to wear masks, but this return flight did.  Perhaps there has been an increase in covid cases or a new variant (I have been out of touch with the news), but also I could not get a boarding pass until producing my vaccine record.  Upon arriving in Manila, it was necessary to show an eTravel document on the cell phone generated by the Philippine government upon application for it, which includes questions about covid and vaccines.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

My last Tuesday in Auckland I rested, caught up on a few emails, and spent the afternoon answering questions posed by Kyle Halnas about how a young man should proceed to continue developing into a mature Christian in the years ahead.  That evening Ric, Kyle’s father, and Kyle took me to a nice restaurant for corn and crab soup (one of my favorites in the Philippines), sweet and sour fried fish (about the best I have tasted), and fried rice for our dinner – a superb meal.

I had first known the Halnas family in Metro Manila many years ago and we are close and dear friends.  Ric is working to get his wife Malaine and their daughter Claire to New Zealand possibly by 2024, but one of the immigration officials has moved slowly because he does not see why Ric does not just get another wife now that he does not live in the Philippines any longer!  Our world is so twisted by sin that many people do not know up from down or left from right!
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On Friday, February 17, I flew on a small commuter from Auckland to Whakatane, Bay of Plenty Region, North Island, New Zealand – a beautiful day for flying and I slept the whole way.  Abner Salanguit had arrived back in town just yesterday after being with his wife Lani in the Philippines where her mother is in failing health.  He brought me to their house where the church meets.  There are 25 members now because some have moved away and some fallen away.  The church is composed of Filipinos, though they welcome anyone and everyone.  They are very evangelistic minded.

13 were present tonight and, in addition, many people joined our studies via Zoom (at least 9) and also Face Book (at least 12), and they participated in the open forum.

Our service started about 6:15 P.M. and finished about 9:30.  I preached “From Wretched Man to More Than Conqueror” and “Trust God Till the Danger Passes.”  In the open forum there was a good discussion of repentance – its meaning, its necessity, and its evidence.  This included some discussion of how much a person must understand in order to truly obey the gospel – he must know he is lost in sin, Christ died as the perfect sacrifice and arose, the steps by which we receive pardon, and he will be added to the undenominational body of Christ which is distinct from false religions.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On Wednesday the temperature was moderating after the cool air generated by the cyclone.  A dozen people met after work here at the Salunga’s home in Auckland for our study with another 8 we could see online, but Ronnie reminded me the 8 may actually be another 10 or 12 or more because multiple people are participating in the session at some of those places.

Our international audience studied “What God Joined” by surveying God’s marriage law in the Patriarchal Age, in the Mosaic Age, and in the Gospel Age.  It is clear from the beginning of time that God’s intention for marriage has always been one man for one woman for a lifetime.  Jesus gave only one exception: When a marriage partner commits fornication, the innocent mate may divorce the fornicator and marry a new person without sin.  People in both ancient and modern cultures have defied this norm with horrendous consequences for time and eternity.  Even preachers in churches of Christ have accommodated this sin because of its widespread prevalence, teaching that all divorced people are freed by God to marry new mates.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Thank you for praying for us during this cyclone (hurricane and typhoon also are synonyms).  Cyclone Gabrielle was expected to hit the North Island where Auckland is located about 10:00 A.M. Monday, but it weakened and slowed down.  It is just north of us and is expected to intensify as it approaches Tuesday morning.  It is already having an impact because some places in the area are losing electric power today.

We met at 6:30 P.M. with 7 in attendance and another 6 joining us online.  Our study focused on the husband’s role as “Head of the Wife” with concentration on Ephesians 5:22-33 and 1 Peter 3:7.  As happened yesterday, the open forum continued longer than the sermon as we discussed how husbands must conduct themselves if our wives are to be convinced that we truly want to lead in love.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The flight from Manila to Brisbane, Australia scheduled for 11:35 P.M. Friday flew at 12:30 A.M. Saturday and landed about 7 hours later.  Fortunately, I slept several of those hours.  Two hours later I boarded the plane for Auckland, New Zealand, which landed about 5:30 P.M. local time.  Ric and Kyle Halnas met me and brought me to the house of Ronnie and Nina Salunga who are always gracious hosts.  Seeing these brethren and other saints here on Sunday was indeed a family reunion!

The Lord’s Day brought together 14 worshipers at the Meadowood church of Christ meeting in the Salunga’s home in Auckland with 7 more joining us online from various places who could not be here.  Our theme through Thursday is “Family Life: A Biblical Perspective,” following the general outline of 7 chapters in L.A. Stauffer’s workbook by that title.  Everyone was provided a copy of the workbook to facilitate further personal study of all 13 chapters.  Today’s topics were “Family Life: A Biblical Perspective,” “God’s Design in Marriage,” and “Love Your Wives.”
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