Halbrook Philippine Trip July 3-9, 2018
The preaching trip planned for July 3-August 2 is now well underway by the grace of God. Zach and Taya Martin, a young couple from the Hebron Lane church of Christ in Shepherdsville, KY, left Louisville with me Tuesday morning on Delta Airlines flights flying through Detroit and Tokyo, Japan, reaching Manila about 7:30 P.M. Wednesday. (The Philippine time zone is 12 hours ahead of the U.S.) The flights were smooth except for a little turbulence getting in and out of Tokyo, which is normal this time of year. Our flight landed early in Manila after about 22 hours of travel, the shortest travel time I can remember. This allowed me to go to the hotel exercise room for an hour before bed, which boosts my stamina after the long weary trip. Zach and Taya did well though they were not able to sleep until the last leg from Japan to the Philippines. They had no trouble at all resting after getting to our hotel.
After a good night of rest, we were met Thursday at the hotel by Elias Cruz, Sammy Paet, and Jhun Gumpad to rearrange the 10 boxes of Bibles and study materials we brought so they could be forwarded to our various venues by bus and by air cargo. This was a busy day as we ran several errands preparing for the days ahead. Zach annd Taya were real troopers and hit the ground running.
The first two days of preaching were scheduled for Kapitbahayan, Navotas, Metro Manila on Friday and Saturday. This congregation was established by Ben Cruz back in the early 1970’s and now has a good meeting house and a full program of work spreading the gospel under the oversight of two elders, Fred Gonzales and Jerry Toreja. The theme for these two days was “The Bible Is the Word of God.” I presented six lessons showing that the 66 books of the Bible were given by God’s miraculous inspiration and guidance. No books have been added and none lost in spite of spurious claims made for the apocryphal books (meaning doubtful, not measuring to the standard or canon of true Scripture), the pseudepigraphal books (“false writings” uniformly rejected from ancient times except by false teachers pushing false agendas), and so-called “lost books” (flagrant frauds).
Zach is a first-year medical student, so he took advantage of some time with Dr. Teresa Toreja, daughter of Ben Cruz and wife of Jerry Toreja. She has practiced medicine for many years and she was very willing to share her wisdom and insight with Zach.
Though this was his first time to present full-length sermons, Zach did an excellent job preaching lessons on stress and on the unique nature of the church of Christ. Likewise Taya taught a three hour ladies class on Saturday attended by 60 and I was told she did a topnotch job – no surprise to those who know her.
I conducted two open forums and we had good participation with questions ranging from alleged contradictions in the Bible to how and why people make false prophecies, to references in the Bible to writings which have not been preserved, to several other assorted subjects.
There were 55 present the first day and 109 present on Saturday, with 60 attending Taya’s afternoon class. Our lessons were well received as always and it is encouraging to see how much brethren attending such sessions through the years demonstrate their love of the truth.
July 8 was the Lord’s Day and Jhun Gumpad picked us up at the hotel to bring us to the Edsa-Pasay church where 52 precious souls gathered for worship. Sammy Paet and Jhun work together here and the congregation continues to thrive. It is necessary to climb four flights of stairs to reach the room rented by the saints in an old commercial building, but the saints have prepared the room well to accommodate their Bible study and worship sessions.
Zach preached on the conversion of the Ethiopian official and I followed with a sermon on “The Tree of Life: Lost and Found” (Rev. 22:1-4). Everyone was attentive. Jhun and his wife Faylin prepared a delicious lunch, then we left at 1:30 P.M. just as Sammy was beginning the afternoon service and we traveled to Paranaque City to meet with the saints who worship at the home of Jimmy Battung. Our number was 20-25 and Zach taught a very encouraging and uplifting lesson on 1 Timothy 4:12, emphasizing the importance of young people not being ashamed to serve the Lord. There are many young people in this congregation and everyone really appreciated this sermon. I spoke again to a very attentive audience on “The Tree of Life.”
A rare treat was planned for Monday: We spent the day with Jerry and Teresa Toreja visiting a few historic sites in Manila. First, we spent the morning at the Manila American Cemetery where about 21,000 servicemen are buried from WW II covering 152 acres. At the center, huge limestone rock walls are arranged in two semi-circles as the Tablets of the Missing inscribed with 36,286 names. To be surrounded by memorials to so many dead is sobering indeed. By God’s providence much American blood and treasure was sacrificed to free the Philippines from the cruelty of the Japanese Imperial Army. Thus doors were opened for our brethren to preach the gospel of Christ among Filipinos hungering to hear it.
Our next visit was to the old Spanish fort at Santiago originally built in 1571, rebuilt of stronger materials 1590-93, then renovated in 1733. Jose Rizal, national hero of the Philippines, was detained at Fort Santiago until his execution by the Spanish in 1896 on flimsy charges of being a revolutionary. Scathing speeches about errors and abuses perpetrated by Catholicism put him in ill stead with church officials which played a role in his execution. A national monument to Rizal is now guarded by honor guards.
The Philippines became a U.S. territory as a result of the Spanish-American War of 1898 and was granted independence in 1946 after WW II. During WW II Filipino and American POWs were imprisoned in dungeons at Fort Santiago and were executed as the Japanese army withdrew from Manila in the face of American forces.
As visitors in this nation, it is helpful to learn about Philippine history and culture, realizing God rules all nations in order to give men who seek Him open doors to find him (Acts 17:26-27).
An added benefit of the day was the opportunity to spend time with Jerry and Teresa. Since Teresa is a medical doctor and Zach is a medical student, they have enjoyed sharing their common interests and all of us enjoyed the fellowship of God’s family.
Someone must be praying for us! Not only have we been safe and healthy during this first week of travel and teaching God’s Word, but also we have been blessed with moderate heat and humidity rather than the extremes typical of summer here. In addition, a super-typhoon headed toward the Philippines turned north today! We thank everyone for your prayers and thank God for His providential care.
I have not seen the moon but am looking for its waning crescent, confident it is sending the love of dear ones far away!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
To see good Bible study material, go to:
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http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.CEIbooks.com