Halbrook Philippine Report May 7-12, 2013
May 7-12, 2013th Year of Our Lord
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
I hope and pray all of you are well physically and spiritually – and busy serving the Lord, thus enjoying the highest blessings of fellowship with God. You are always in my thoughts and prayers.
On my birthday, May 7, I flew from Cagayan de Oro City on Mindanao to Manila on Luzon, arriving at the hotel about 6:00 P.M. I was surprised when shortly someone knocked at the door: The hotel sent a small delicious chocolate birthday cake to my room. I assume they noticed my birth date on my passport. To include all of you in the celebration, I ate an extra bite in memory of you! I hope you enjoyed it!
Wednesday was spent answering backlogged email (as a result of poor internet connections for two weeks in Mindanao), studying and preparing and reviewing lessons, taking exercise, and squeezing in a short rest.
The next day, May 9, Rody Gumpad, Atoy Franco, and Ely Ebuenga picked me up at the hotel and took me to meet Kenneth Pastor so that we could teach in the Medium Security sector of the New Bilibid Prison, the Philippines’ national prison. Willie Pastor has been incarcerated for about three years as a result of killing someone in self-defense many years ago. Through the joint efforts of Willie and Kenneth, over 200 souls have obeyed the gospel in the prison. Willie has not been sitting down feeling sorry for himself but has been proclaiming the gospel of Christ! Saints now meet in various sections of the prison.
Willie is in the Receiving and Diagnostics Center (RDC) where all new inmates are processed for a couple of months. He begins teaching them as soon as they arrive. Since he is in RDC, he could not join us today.
My morning lesson on “Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost” was translated by Kenneth, which slows the process but clarifies the lesson for these disadvantaged men, many of whom have had only minimal schooling. Rody then gave an overview of Bible history and God’s plan of salvation. After lunch Rody translated as I spoke on “Attitudes Essential in God’s Kingdom,” a verse by verse study of Matthew 5, dealing with principles all of these men have violated during their journeys to prison life. Five precious souls responded to the Lord’s invitation today. The prison harvest continues!
Friday was a good day at the RDC sector of the prison with Kenneth and Willie, Ely, Rody, and Atoy. 100 souls attended and heard my lessons on “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God” (translated by Willie) and “True Repentance” (translated by Ely). Rody taught two lessons summarizing Bible history and the plan of salvation. In spite of the heat, the audience showed exceptionally good attention. Three souls responded to the gospel invitation.
The weather has been mid-90’s for these two days and, of course, Philippine prisons have no air conditioning except nature itself. Though soaked in sweat, we rejoice for these opportunities. In fact, we preached today in a Catholic chapel with several images watching over us as we explained the difference between New Testament Christianity and the false doctrines of Catholicism and denominationalism!
A two-day gospel meeting was conducted Saturday and Sunday with the new Edsa-Pasay church of Christ in Manila where Rody Gumpad is preaching with the help of faithful co-laborers. Rody travels 8-10 hours from Tuguegarao a couple of weekends each month to work with this church, as do his sons and sons-in-laws in alternating. The church meets in the CYA Building which is located at a central point easily accessible to many Filipinos who come from the provinces to work in Manila. This work is off to an excellent start.
Saturday I began with a sermon on “The Purpose of Our Lives.” This was followed by three parts of a series on “The Authority of Christ” discussing the Bible plan of salvation including the New Testament church and various departures which resulted in the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. The rented room was full with 78 in attendance. There was a good Q & A session at the day’s end with a wide range of subjects from instrumental music to the dangers of anger to soul and spirit.
Steven Deaton arrived safely late Friday night. After a day of study and rest, he joined us on Sunday and presented an excellent study of the life and faith of Joseph. I then presented three additional studies on “The Authority of Christ” tracing the development of the Protestant Reformation and subsequent efforts to restore New Testament Christianity, and closing with a study of the danger of apostasy again today. Our attendance was 57.
A family of four is very near to the kingdom of God and we expect to see them obey the gospel within a short time. Actually, we have been studying with this family for several years. They commented that this series of studies clarified some things which confirmed the truth in their minds.
Thank you one and all for your love, your support, your prayers, and your encouragement in this great harvest of Philippine souls!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
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