Dear family, brethren, and friends,

I made it back home safely by God’s good grace.  The flight from Manila to Tokyo went fine, and from Tokyo to Detroit we encountered turbulence, but I arrived in Louisville, KY about 5:30 PM Thursday as planned.

This has been another heart warming and uplifting trip working with Filipino saints who serve the Lord by faith, hope, and love.  They are an inspiration.

It was also uplifting to have Zach and Taya Martin join with us in the work of the Lord on Luzon.  They were greatly blessed in meeting so many Filipino brethren
and they will never forget them.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,

On the Lord’s Day we worshiped with Ben Canada in the small newly constructed church building at Kiblawan, Davao del Sur.  My morning sermon was on “Salvation: Amazing, Astonishing” (Isa. 52:13-15).  We were blessed with visitors from denominations who are retired school teachers, servicemen, and policemen who have been studying with Ben and were very attentive all day.  One man took notes constantly.

The weather is quite hot again and I was soaked in sweat before lunch time – a small price for such a wonderful privilege.  After the lunch break I preached on “How Sinners Receive Salvation” (Rom. 10:1-17).   Comparing this passage with Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2, Acts 8:35-39, and Acts 22:16 proves that men “call on the name of the Lord” to receive salvation when they submit by faith to Christ in water baptism.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,
                                                            
Wednesday morning we drove from Davao City to Kitakal, Malungon in the province of Sraangani.  Our trip of 2 ½ hours took us from the heavy traffic of Davao to winding roads in the edge of the mountains.  The morning gathering was set aside for me to conduct a wedding ceremony for Dondon Dacayona and Sel Sandoval (they previously had a simple ceremony to satisfy legal requirements, but our purpose was to focus on God’s Word).  My lesson on “Marital Love” summarized the Song of Solomon and made applications showing how to cultivate love in the home.  They have a custom of pinning a light veil over the bride’s head, indicating husband will lead, protect, and provide for her.  To stress the indissoluble nature of the union, a light cord encircles the necks of both parties and connects them.

After lunch I preached “When Peter Confessed Christ” (Matt. 16:13-19), showing that Christ gathers souls as his church based on his divine nature and authority as the Son of God, not based on Peter as the first Pope.  The role of Peter with all of the Apostles was to simply preach the gospel of Christ, thus bringing them to Christ the Savior, the Rock of our salvation.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,
                                                            
Zach and Taya flew back home on Saturday, July 21, and I received word the next day of their safe arrival, with much thanksgiving.  After their departure I took a flight to Davao City, arriving at 3:30 P.M.  I contacted brother and sister Juanito Balbin and Connie and his family, and they joined me for a pizza supper along with Happy Mae, Connie’s sister.  After exercising and preparing for the next day, I got to bed about 12:30 A.M.

I joined the worship assembly on the Lord’s Day at Lower Madapo in Davao City with Robert Agsao.  This church is located in a squatters’ community right next to a huge Catholic cemetery.  There was a good rain last night and the little path into the community had standing water and mud, but we made our way to the church building.  Including children and seven visitors, there were over 60 in attendance as I preached on “Trust God Till the Danger Passes” (Ps. 57).  Everyone was very attentive.  Robert gave a short summary in the Cebuano dialect.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,

Our Tuesday, July 17, started in a leisurely way because the morning was free and we did not fly from Laoag City to Manila until 2:10 P.M. – then we were supposed to change planes and arrive in Cebu City on Cebu Island by 7:30 P.M.  Oh, well!  As it turned out our day lasted about 19 hours because the heavy evening rains delayed and backed up so many flights waiting to leave Manila.  By God’s grace, we finally arrived in Cebu City and were met by Jonathan and Kristopher Carino who took us to our hotel.  I got to bed about 2:00 A.M. Wednesday.  To say we all slept well is an understatement, but all is well that ends well.

Two days of lessons on “The Bible Is the Word of God” were planned for Cebu City, beginning Wednesday.  We slept a little late because the classes did not begin until 10:00 A.M. to allow time for brethren coming from distant places to arrive.  Zach got us off to a great start with his study in Acts 8 of Philip and the Ethiopian official.  At the same time Taya conducted morning classes for 36 ladies.  And meanwhile my first lesson was on “The Glory of God” proclaimed in the creation and in Scripture, based on Psalm 19.  There were 30 men in attendance as we taught.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends around the world,

We were blessed when a typhoon headed for the Philippines turned north out at sea, but Luzon has received a lot of rain.  We were worried that our Tuesday, July 10,  flight from Manila to Tuguegarao, Cagayan in northern Luzon might be cancelled, but instead the flight left Manila on time and arrived in Tuguegarao 25 minutes ahead of schedule.  Rody, Tessie, and Jay Gumpad along with Jerome Forelo warmly welcomed us.

After checking in at the hotel, we shared a late lunch, then rested.  Zach and I made our way on foot through the congested traffic and thick clouds of fumes to the track and field stadium of Cagayan State University where we walked for an hour. The heat should have been unbearable at this time of day, but dark clouds and strong winds moved in to cool the atmosphere, though it never rained.
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