Dear brethren,

There are many saints who live on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines including the province of Lanao del Norte where this battle is occurring.  Marawi is near Iligan City which I visited on my April trip.  Let us pray for all of the innocent people who are suffering in Marawi and let us pray that God will protect and comfort our brethren in this region.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

I hope this note finds all of you well with your family and loved ones.

By God’s grace I had a safe return from the Philippines to my home in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.  My total travel time was about 30 hours.

In recent years I have had a few floaters especially in my left eye (for more information on floaters, see http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/benign-eye-floaters#1).  Floaters are often small fragments, dots, or lines which appear for a time in the field of vision and gradually disappear.  They are called floaters because they are in constant motion.  This comes with the aging process for some people and is not generally dangerous.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

During my last lesson yesterday I had another large floater (substance behind the retina which breaks off or pulls away and appears to float in the field of vision).  These are often harmless but can tear the edge of the retina and do serious damage.  That happened shortly before this trip, but it was corrected by laser surgery.  The doctor said if I had another large one, it is critical to get an examination to see whether the retina was damaged.  Severe damage untreated can result in the loss of sight.  Attempts were made to contact three retina specialists here in the Philippines, but they are all away (Labor Day is a long weekend holiday here extending through Monday).  Dr. Teresa Toreja urged me to end my trip and go home immediately to see a specialist rather than risk losing my sight in my left eye.

I must express regret to Ely Ebuenga who made a full schedule of preaching for me covering Sunday and Monday including a visit to the inmates at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.  Also, I express regret to the brethren needing Bibles.  I was scheduled to visit the Philippine Bible Society on Tuesday to purchase those Bibles to be shipped to various locations.  While I truly regret postponing these plans, I am so very thankful for God’s providence which allowed me to complete all of the other appointments through this month before the floater developed.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Lordy Salunga and the saints at the Southside church of Christ in Angeles City, Pampanga have been preparing for the Vacation Bible School (VBS) classes which started today, Monday, April 24.  Fifty were present for the first day.  The workbooks on How to Study the Bible by Cecil Willis were distributed.  My lessons discussed the need for Bible study, our expectation to understand the Bible, and some improper attitudes and methods of Bible study.  Lordy taught reasons we study the Bible and Jonathan taught the necessity of preparing the heart.

I called on every student to read passages of Scripture – all were attentive and all participated well.  What a great blessing it is for young people to learn to study God’s Word so that it can guide their lives in a way that honors God, brings personal fulfillment, and defeats the devices of Satan which poison and destroy souls.  The Psalmist wisely said, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:9-11).
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Shortly after 5:00 A.M. on Thursday Rody, Tessie, and Junior Gumpad met Jonathan and me at our hotel in Tuguegarao to begin a 12 hour trip to Angeles City (Jerome Forelo was not able to join us as expected).  While traveling we discussed the Lord’s work, viewed the scenery, and napped at times – except for Rody, our driver, who knows how to negotiate Filipino highways like a racedriver! Or a bus driver.  Actually, there is no difference between the two over here.

On a sad note, as we made our way through the Caraballo Mountains in the Province of Nueva Ecija we stopped at the site of a terrible accident.  Tuesday a bus lost control coming down the steep winding highway and plunged through a barrier 100 feet into a deep ravine.  Thirty-four people died and 44 survived, most of whom suffered severe injuries.  We prayed for God to comfort the injured and the grieving families, and that His providence might open doors for them to seek and find the true gospel of Christ.  Such incidents make me so very thankful for all of you who pray for us during these Philippine trips!
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On Monday, April 17, I woke up at 2:15 A.M. and joined Jonathan Carino in going to the airport in Cebu City to catch our flight to Manila, where we boarded another plane to Tuguegarao, Cagayan.  Arriving at 11:00 A.M., we rushed to attend the wedding of Robert and Aiza Paet, where I led prayer on their behalf.

After a good lunch with the wedding party, Rody and I went to his vehicle to use a cell phone connection in conducting a 30 minute radio program.  Listeners had requested discussion about how the thief on the cross was saved and why it is wrong to use instrumental music in worship.  The thief lived and died under the Law of Moses.  Hebrews 9:15-17 clearly teaches that the new covenant of Christ did not go into effect until after his death.  The thief never heard the Great Commission which was given after Jesus arose and before he ascended to heaven: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk. 16:15-16).
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On Thursday, April 13, it was necessary to get up at 4:45 A.M. to catch a plane from Davao City in southern Mindanao to Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao.  Cipriano Carpentero and Edgar Samodal met us with a multipurpose cab and a pickup truck to carry our bags and packages of Bible study material I would distribute.

We drove a couple of hours to reach the church meeting at Eslon in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte where Edgar preaches.  Area brethren joined us and the little meeting house was full and overflowing with additional people listening outside, probably a total of 50 or more.  My topic was “Rejoice in the Lord Always” (Phil. 4:4), a lesson of encouragement.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

I think I have seen the moon every night since arriving in the Philippines, reminding me of God’s love and of your love and prayers as well.

My first appointments to preach and teach were at the Downtown church of Christ in New Matina, Davao City in southern Mindanao.  Juanito Balbin began this work in the late 1960’s and it has been fruitful and stable through the years.  His sons Dudley, Sonni, and Connie have been assets to the church for many years.  The church has an excellent location except there is nowhere to park.  Juanito has been working to secure another prime location with plenty of room for parking and we hope this will materialize in his lifetime.

On the Lord’s Day, April 9, my time was divided into the Bible class period and the worship hour on the subject “Parents, Hold Fast!” (Eph. 6:1-4).  Our attendance was 92.  Few Filipino churches are able to conduct an evening service, but this church has done so for many years because some members can attend only in the morning and some only in the evening.  At the evening service I spoke on “Make Something of Your Life: Serve God” (Eccl. 12:13-14) because many young people were arriving for the week’s vacation Bible school.  90 souls were present.
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Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The excitement started right away when my early morning Wednesday flight to Atlanta was diverted to Greenville, S.C. because of severe storms and tornadoes moving through the Southeast.  I had skipped breakfast thinking there would be plenty of time in Atlanta, then stayed near the gate in Greenville as Delta kept changing the status of the flight from “on” to “off.”  Finally about 3:00 P.M. we flew to Atlanta where thousands of people were stranded by cancelled flights.  It took 2-3 hours for me to re-book new flights. I finally had a soup-and-salad supper, the only meal of the day, then waited to catch an 11:00 P.M. plane with a new convoluted schedule.  It would take me to Detroit to spend the night in the airport before making connections which included a Japanese airline en route to the Philippines.

Alas, that Atlanta flight was cancelled too and I stood in line again two hours to get a new schedule for the next day.  At 1:30 A.M. I crawled under a row of seats in a waiting area, put my head on my little blue travel pillow, and covered up with a light jacket to sleep 5 ½ hours.  Thursday morning I ate breakfast and worked a few hours before boarding my new Delta flights to Japan and on to Manila about noon.
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