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.

I got to the hotel by 6:00 P.M. and finished supper at 8:15, hoping to get to bed early tonight.  Tomorrow will be a full day.  I saw the moon shining down on all of us tonight – did you see it?

After 9 hours sleep, Rip Van Winkle II finally woke up to a new day on Wednesday.  Such is the life of the lazy.  After breakfast, James Paet drove us to Navotas, Metro Manila for a joint meeting of saints from the two congregations meeting at Kapitbahayan and at nearby Lapu Lapu because of a division over covid-generated issues in July 2020.  Despite the strict government lockdown which prevented the church from assembling, some brethren at Kapitbahayan regarded brethren worshiping in their homes to be in sin if they included the Lord’s supper unless they formally declared themselves to be new congregations.  This precipitated the division.

On August 5 I was permitted to preach at both locations on the subject “Navigating the Present Distress.”  The sermon urged brethren to maintain mutual love and respect in the face of individual decisions pro and con about family worship without pushing those decisions as a doctrinal basis for division.  The pandemic was temporary, and we should not let Satan manipulate us in a way which results in divisions which become permanent.  The lessons were well received, and the brethren have been gradually communicating with each other.

I requested that brethren from both congregations meet jointly on March 1, today, my last full day in the Philippines for a follow-up discussion with the goal of reuniting.  For about 40 minutes I preached on the subject “Christ Unites Us by the Gospel (Eph. 2:16).”  I emphasized that unity will follow (1) if we maintain proper attitudes about correcting any known sin in our lives, including sins in word or deed against each other; (2) if we maintain the divine wisdom portrayed in James 3:13-18 as opposed to Satan’s work of strife and division; (3) if we clarify the issue dividing us by recognizing no one proposes changing the pattern of worship, but we differ only regarding how to carry it out when some temporary tragedy prevents the church from assembling; and (4) if we trust that Christ is with us when we work to be united (Matt. 28:20; 18:20).

I also pointed out that if someone willfully abandons the assembly while claiming to hold his own isolated worship, he violates Hebrews 10:25.  A few lazy souls are doing this now that the pandemic is past and they like “worshiping” via social media as opposed to coming together in the church.

I was later informed the church at Lapu Lapu will meet for the last time next Sunday and will dismiss to attend the service at Kapitbahayan to formally reunite with them.  What a wonderful day that will be!

By God’s grace, my April trip will include David Halbrook and his son, Joel, who is now 10.  We want to introduce him to foreign work in the gospel.  David and I have been planning to include lessons designed to strengthen the faith of young people.  We have offered to present a concentrated series at Kapitbahayan April 29-May 1 on the theme “Young in Age, Strong in Faith.”

After finishing at Kapitbahayan, James and I followed Jerry and Teresa Toreja to the hospital where Jaime (“Jimmy”) Bobis is in ICU because of complications after suffering a serious stroke.  Jimmy is a talented preacher who has been a dear friend since my first trip in 1995 and only God knows how many times he has translated for me through the years.  It was my privilege to visit him and his family at the hospital today and to pray God will bring him safely through this trial including the financial weight crushing his family.  Before leaving, the doctor gave us the good news that Jimmy will be moved to a regular room since he is showing some improvement.

From the hospital we went to the Philippine Bible Society on United Nations Avenue to purchase 709 Bibles in different dialects to be shipped to various locations at a cost of almost $7,000.00 USD.  This is always one of the highlights of every trip.  I hope to introduce Joel to the P.B.S. in April to let him share in the sheer joy of knowing that hundreds of Christians will have Bibles in their hands and hearts because of the sacrifices of saints at home.

More good news: A brother reported that several preachers on Negros who have argued over whether an unbeliever or a female could baptize someone under the unusual circumstance that no believing male is available have now agreed to drop the subject.  I congratulate and commend them.  It is time to press forward in the good work of spreading the gospel to the lost.  To my knowledge, no one has been pressing the affirmative, but some are so zealous in pressing the negative that they keep stirring up the issue in an effort to line up all the preachers to their viewpoint.  Enough has been said pro and con and it is high time to let the issue rest.  Let us hope and pray that preachers who have been hot under the collar about pressing this issue will take a clue from these Negros preachers and let the matter rest for now.

More good news: While traveling I received word from a sister in the Philippines about visiting her mother who was gravely ill and seemed to be on her deathbed, and she has been teaching her the true gospel of Christ.  Relatives tried to convince the lady to refuse to submit to Christ in baptism for the remission of her sins but to hold onto the Roman Catholic religion with its rituals and images.  Finally, the mother understood the gospel and asked to be baptized.  Her daughter bought a small children’s inflatable swimming pool and baptized her mother into Christ!  We thank God this precious soul submitted to Christ before dying and being lost in hell because her loving daughter did not give up!  We have no sound churches or faithful preachers in that area, but we hope and pray this unusual beginning may open a new door for the gospel to spread.

What a humbling experience it has been to share in these labors in the gospel with Filipino saints through the years and to feel the impact of their faith, hope, and love in my own heart and life.  I am deeply indebted to thousands of saints in the U.S. and other countries at times who have donated funds and offered prayers and words of encouragement to make this work possible.  The Hebron Lane church of Christ has invested much moral and financial support in making all of this possible for the past 25 years – may God reward them as He alone can.

Above all, this work could not have been done without the love, patience, hard work, and devotion of my wife Donna.  God alone knows how much she has sacrificed to support the cause of Christ in her constant quiet service behind the scenes and God alone could reward her faith and faithfulness.

By the time many of you read this report on Thursday I will be high in the sky making my way home to my beautiful wife and to the dear saints at the Hebron Lane church.  It is good to see the moon on this last night in the Philippines and to remember the love we share for each other around the world in serving our great God who hung the moon as another symbol of His loving care for all of us!

To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.hebronlanechurchofchrist.com
https://biblework.congregateclients.com
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com