Dear brethren in many places,

By God’s grace, I am safely home after completing the work planned for the Philippines and New Zealand Nov. 29-Dec. 19. It is almost midnight on Monday (equivalent to 12:00 PM Tuesday in the Philippines, 6:00 PM in N.Z.). I am exhausted but thankful all three flights between Manila and Louisville went well. Thank you for your concern and prayers. I will send a report as soon as possible.

Some of you have inquired as to whether I was in danger of the typhoon Sendong which hit the northern coast of Mindanao including Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, and Dipolog City Saturday night. We have many brethren in those areas. The death toll keeps climbing and has reached almost 1,000 with many more missing. Steven Deaton, Jesse Flowers, and I were in Dipolog City Dec. 1-8. Steven and Jesse arrived home Dec. 15. Fortunately, we were not in the danger zone when the typhoon hit.

Hundreds of email messages arrived while I was out of town. Please forbear with me if I am delayed in giving attention to all the messages any time soon.

May God bless each of you to have safe and enjoyable holidays with your family.

In Christian love,

Ron Halbrook