February 24, 2019th Year of Our Lord

Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,

After the series was completed at Diffun, Quirino with Willie Pastor and all the brethren there on  Wednesday, Rody and Tessie Gumpad brought me to Tuguegarao City, Cagayan for the Wednesday evening service.  Thursday, February 21, I enjoyed their hospitality as Tessie served a delicious pancake breakfast, and then I flew to Manila.  Fortunately, the Manila-Tuguegarao flight was not cancelled this time!

After getting to the hotel in Manila I visited the moneychanger, took a short rest, and divided the remainder of the day between lesson preparation and exercise because I will need plenty of stamina.  Tomorrow I begin teaching the book of Revelation to the deaf mute church which now meets in a better location thanks to God’s providence working through Elias Cruz with TonyBoy Hornado.  I always look forward to my time with these saints.

The deaf mute church in Manila has finally been able to move to a new location after many years: 3rd Floor, 964 J. Fajardo Ext., Corner M.T. Halili St., Sampaloc, Metro Manila.  The wall overlooking the street is actually open and covered with metal grillwork.  This allows air to enter but will not be helpful during rainstorms.  Tony continues his longtime work serving this congregation.

On Friday 16 souls gathered here to begin a study of the book of Revelation.  Normal attendance is about 25 but not everyone was available to join us.  Two visitors were present.  Lordy Salunga and I were schedule to teach together but he is suffering from a severe ear and sinus infection and needs our prayers.  I got to bed last night at 1:00 A.M. after preparing seven lessons in Dan King’s workbook which is used as a guide.  Today I managed to cover only six of them because of a late start, typical of the first day.  We covered introductory material and the first seven chapters of Revelation.

Revelation was written to fortify the faith of saints entering an era of severe persecution by the Roman Empire.  It teaches God is in control and would defeat Satan’s use of Rome in His own time and way.  It fortifies our faith also and lets us know the same God is in control today!

Rody Gumpad, Jr. and James Paet drove me to the venue and Elias Cruz met us there to help.  Elias is responsible for locating the new room to rent on the third floor of an old building.  It rents for $170 per month and is the cheapest place by far he could find.  The deaf mute church can cover about $20 per month from their meager treasury after they meet a few other expenses.  I committed myself to locating donors who will help meet this need.  Anyone interested in participating can let me know.

Those of us who can speak and hear commented after the study that it is inspiring to see how closely these saints pay attention and communicate with each other as the lessons unfold.    I was exhausted after being on my feet for 5 ½ hours, but Junior helped by erasing the white board each time I used it.  As I showed several hundred Power Point slides, I quickly wrote additional notes on a white board – my hand and arm were very thankful for his help!  We are off to a good start.  Everyone came around shaking our hands and thanking us, but I think we are really the ones getting the greatest blessing!

James and Junior picked me up again at 8:30 A.M. to continue the study of Revelation with the deaf mute church on Saturday.  After waiting for several to arrive, we had another late start, which is not unusual in the Philippines where most people depend on public transportation (jeepneys and tricycles).  Still we managed to cover Revelation 8-16, which is three lessons in the workbook regarding God’s judgments upon the Roman Empire for its merciless persecution and execution of the saints.

Our attendance of 16 included two new visitors, and everyone was again very attentive.  During the open forum, I was asked to clarify again the meaning of 666 in Revelation 13:18: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”  This is said to be the number of a man in a text where the context speaks of the Roman government enforcing emperor worship.  Throughout the Bible the number seven is associated with God in numerous ways beginning with the seven days of creation.  The emperor may aspire to the stature of God but will never reach beyond six – he is merely a mortal man.

James preached at Edsa-Pasay on the Lord’s Day and Rody Junior took me to the deaf mute church. Today I taught four lessons covering the last six chapters of Revelation.  For the sake of a very attentive visitor who returned I taught one additional lesson entitled “To Seek and Save the Lost” (Lk. 19:1-10).  In the open forum there were questions and comments about keeping a Christian attitude when despised, about spreading the gospel, and about the plan of salvation.

We started about 9:45 A.M. and finished at 3:00 P.M., with a short lunch break 12:30-1:00.  Once again Junior saved my life by erasing the white board after each use.  Our attendance was 17.

When I discussed Revelation 20:4, I pointed out that in heaven they will no longer be deaf mute but will speak and hear.  It gave me goose bumps to think about it.  There were many signs and sounds of joy from the brethren at that point!  While I teach, some of them are in constant motion signing back and forth – they expend a lot of energy in worship and Bible study.

I have known for a long time that God brought me to the Philippines not only to teach His Word but also to learn, learn, learn – I have so much to learn from Filipino saints!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.CEIbooks.com