August 7

Halbrook’s Update on the Cause of Christ in the Philippines

Dear brethren,

Greetings to everyone in the royal and majestic name of Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings!

I need to give an update on the situation among Filipino saints and also ongoing plans to help them, as well as my plans for future preaching trips to the Philippines.

Coronavirus Update

After a period during which the Philippines seemed to be making progress in overcoming the covid pandemic, another upsurge of cases set them back and the delta variant has worsened their woes.  Various government entities have again imposed some degree of the lockdown policy, which generally means our brethren cannot leave their houses except for once a week to get essentials.  The problem is that they need to work today in order to have money to buy food for tomorrow.  Government programs to provide food have been largely ineffective.

Only about 3 percent of the population have been vaccinated and brethren report that so far it is primarily front line workers who have received the vaccine (medical workers, public servants, government officials, etc.).  I am just beginning to get reports that a few of our brethren are able to get vaccinated.

Eleven members of Rody Gumpad’s family were infected with coronavirus, and several were hospitalized in serious condition, but finally all of them are out of the hospital and out of quarantine.  Rody went home on Saturday, July 24.  Several of them are still being treated at home and Rody is still plagued with a hard cough.  His lungs are scarred from previous bouts with TB which is prolonging his recovery process.  He is not yet strong enough to resume his preaching activities.
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July 12

COVID in the Philippines

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Greetings to all in the royal name of Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings.

There has been another upsurge of coronavirus infections in the Philippines.  Thousands of our brethren are suffering from hunger because of the government enforced lockdown in many areas.  Some of you have sent benevolence funds and asked me to serve as your messenger in relaying the benevolence to our brethren, which has been a great blessing, but I cannot begin to scratch the surface of the vast needs.

Some of our brethren feel neglected, not understanding that I have no flowing fund to resolve this ongoing disaster coupled with earthquake victims living in tents, rat infestations destroying crops, flash floods, and typical pleas for medical help, support for evangelists, funds for church buildings, lack of Bibles, etc., etc.  It grieves our hearts, but we continue to encourage all of them to trust in God who has many ways to care for His saints when we do not know what to do.
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November 9

Remember the Poor in the Philippines

Dear brethren,

When early leaders among Christians met in Jerusalem, they stood shoulder to shoulder in upholding the truth of the gospel and they agreed it was imperative to remember the poor.  “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.  All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do” (Gal. 2:9-10, NIV).  I need to provide an update on the situation among the poor saints in the Philippines and our efforts to help them.

Toward the end of my February preaching trip in the Philippines, coronavirus was becoming a national concern and President Rodrigo Duterte forbad flights from the infected area of China to land in the Philippines.  By mid-March the rising danger of a pandemic led to a government enforced lockdown.  Citizens were given a pass to leave their homes once a week to get food and other essentials.  This has been most consistently and forcefully enforced in more populated areas such as larger cities, and it has been partially relaxed in some areas which have made progress in the battle against covid, but a more recent rise of cases in some areas has resulted in renewed restrictions.  Many of our brethren have been battling hunger in these conditions.
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July 27

Please Help Provide Bibles & Songbooks for Filipino Saints

Wade Holt has been so kind as to initiate a GoFundMe drive to raise funds for Bibles and songbooks to be distributed in the Philippines Islands.  Please see his message below and consider helping.  Perhaps you can help by sharing and spreading this information.  For more information or to donate funds, click on the link Wade provided below.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

I am raising money to purchase song books and Bibles for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Philippines.  These are extremely poor people that struggle daily just to survive.  Yet the church continues to grow thanks to the work of zealous Filipino evangelists and U.S. preachers who visit to help them labor in that field. The churches there are in dire need of song books and Bibles.  The Filipino people love to sing and study God’s Word.  They do not have enough books to go around and often must share with others.  We are so blessed to live in this great nation, and we take so much for granted.  Most of us do not think about God’s people in other countries that are starving for the Word and want only to go to Heaven when they die.  We all must and can do our part to spread God’s Word and evangelize the world.
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July 24

Philippine Updates: Pandemic, Earthquake Victims, Ely Ebuenga, Jonathan Carino

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Thank you for your inquiries about conditions in the Philippines during the pandemic and especially regarding brethren Jonathan Carino (Cebu City, Cebu) and Ely Ebuenga (North Caloocan City, Metro Manila) who have been suffering from coronavirus.  Here are the latest updates.

I regret to report that brother Rody Gumpad said Ely passed away on Friday, July 17, at 12:45 P.M. after a difficult battle with the virus.  He had been on a ventilator but was not able to survive.  Underlying health problems weakened him as is so often the case of people who die from this virus.  We extend our love and sympathy to his wife and children.  This is a serious blow to the churches he has been serving and to the saints in the Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa where he has labored for many years.  He will be greatly missed, but we know he died in faith and hope of eternal life in heaven with God.

The medical bills were absolutely staggering for the family, and Ely had lost some of his support in recent years.  Rody said that President Duterte has admonished hospitals to accommodate coronavirus victims without crushing them with debt or turning them away.  Ely’s hospital finally offered to settle the bill for about $1,300.  Rody had contacted saints throughout the Philippines asking for any possible help and it turned out that so many brethren chipped in to help that the bill was paid in cash in full.
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July 24

Jonathan Carino Coronavirus Update

UPDATE: July 23, 2020
Dear brethren,

It was a joy to report that Jonathan Carino went home from the hospital to continue recovering from coronavirus.  In response to the appeal for help with his medical bills, several generous donations have been made and those basic expenses will now be covered — and likely also medicines and follow-up visits to the doctor.

The bad news is that his son Kristoffer tested positive and will be quarantined for 14 days in a special section of the hospital where he works.  We do not yet know what Kris’s expenses will be, but so far he has no symptoms and perhaps the costs will be minimal.

If it is agreeable to those of you who have donated to help Jonathan, any excess funds donated for his expenses will be applied to Kris’s expenses (or to medical needs of other Filipinos until the funds are exhausted).
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July 13

Update on Philippine Preaching: August Trip Postponed

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Greetings to all in our sovereign Savior’s holy name.

I regret to say that reports from the Philippines make it inadvisable for me to make my August preaching trip.  The pandemic is not yet under full control in spite of some progress and various regulations are uneven from one area to another.  Domestic airlines do not yet have regular and dependable schedules.  It would be tragic for me to get to Manila and then be trapped and unable to follow the itinerary.  If a spike in coronavirus cases occurred, I might be quarantined and unable to travel in the Philippines or even to return home.

My plan was to visit Mindanao and to present lessons of encouragement to our brethren who have suffered a double dose of massive natural disasters.  Southern Mindanao suffered widespread devastation from a series of 13 earthquakes with thousands of aftershocks beginning in mid-October, and then the whole nation suffered the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic beginning in mid-March.  In a third-world economy, many of our brethren can barely manage to feed their families in the best of times.  Now many in southern Mindanao are living in dilapidated tents and saints throughout the Philippines can hardly find sufficient food.  I have been doing my best to relay funds to them to build small houses in southern Mindanao and buy food in scattered areas throughout the Philippines.  Similar efforts are being made by other brethren such as Michael & Donna Glaesemann (michael@butw.org).  Many brethren have already sacrificed to help meet these needs, but there is still much to be done and resources are limited as donations arrive little by little.
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July 1

Update on Philippine Relief Efforts

Dear brethren,

I do not have adequate words to express my gratitude to all of you who have prayed for our Filipino brethren and donated funds to help them during the last several months.  In addition to a wide range of needs typical in third-world nations, southern Mindanao has suffered 13 major earthquakes with thousands of aftershocks since October 16, leaving hundreds of our brethren homeless.  Many are not permitted to return to their devastated areas and houses because the land continues to be unstable.  Your ongoing donations have made it possible to build small houses for dozens of our brethren, but dozens more still live in dilapidated tents which are being shredded by the weather.  They struggle to have adequate food and water.

We would do well to try to imagine living under such conditions with our own families for months on end.  Sanitation.  Attempting to sleep.  Huddling together during wind, thunder, lightning, and downpouring rain.  Surrounded by hundreds of other such tents.  I feel ashamed of my feeble efforts when I think of all this!

Just when we thought conditions could not get worse for them, the coronavirus pandemic hit and the Philippine government imposed a national lockdown in mid-March which has been only partly relaxed during the last few days.  They have been allowed to exit their houses once a week for essential needs, and officials methodically examine anyone found away from their home.  Most of the saints are poor day laborers.  If they cannot work today, they cannot feed their families tomorrow.  Your ongoing donations have provided benevolence to feed thousands of these saints, but what we are able to send to various locations provides food for only a few days.
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June 30

Please Help Provide Bibles & Songbooks for Filipino Saints

Wade Holt has been so kind as to initiate a GoFundMe drive to raise funds for Bibles and songbooks to be distributed in the Philippines Islands.  Please see his message below and consider helping.  Perhaps you can help by sharing and spreading this information.  For more information or to donate funds, click on the link Wade provided below.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

Wade Holt is organizing this fundraiser.

I am raising money to purchase song books and Bibles for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Philippines.  These are extremely poor people that struggle daily just to survive.  Yet the church continues to grow thanks to the work of zealous Filipino evangelists and U.S. preachers who visit to help them labor in that field. The churches there are in dire need of song books and Bibles.  The Filipino people love to sing and study God’s Word.  They do not have enough books to go around and often must share with others.  We are so blessed to live in this great nation, and we take so much for granted.  Most of us do not think about God’s people in other countries that are starving for the Word and want only to go to Heaven when they die.  We all must and can do our part to spread God’s Word and evangelize the world.
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May 29

Thank you for Helping Saints who Suffer in the Philippines: Update

Dear brethren,

I wanted to update the situation in the Philippines regarding the effects of coronavirus regulations on Christians there.  This nation is near China.  When I was in the Philippines in February, the news hit about the rise of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China and the Philippine President immediately shut down flights coming from that area.  March 16 he put Luzon under a lockdown and soon the whole nation was included.  It was extended to April 30 and now again to May 15.  Though this is a third world country, this aggressive policy of containing the disease has resulted in less than 10,000 cases and only 637 deaths.  Most of our brethren are day laborers, meaning “no work, no eat,” and they have been suffering hunger because they cannot go to their jobs.  There are thousands of Christians scattered throughout the Philippines.

Many of you have already responded to this vast ongoing need, and also to the needs of saints stranded in tent cities in southern Mindanao as a result of 11 earthquakes with over 4,000 aftershocks.  As previously stated, I feel like a pygmy trying to sweep back the ocean with a small toothbrush because these emergency needs are so vast.  Yet, I also trust in God who feeds billions of birds and clothes untold billions of flowers every day (Matt. 6:24-34).  It is a privilege to do what we can and by faith leave all the results in God’s hands.  Your donations have made it possible to relay well over $100,000 to our brethren and help has been distributed to hundreds of congregations with thousands of saints.  Truly, as Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
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