January 9

Preparations For Upcoming – Trip February 2012

Dear brethren,

God willing, my wife Donna, David and Starla Halbrook (Quail Valley church of Christ, Batesville, AR), and I will travel and teach in the Philippines February 7-27.  This is my 45th trip after Jim McDonald first took me in 1995.  The fields are white, the doors are open, and Filipino souls are searching for the old paths.  Jeremiah pled in his day,

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein” (Jer. 6:16).

Many Filipinos respond, “We will walk therein!”
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January 9

New Building in Cabanatuan City

Brother Celestino “Jhun” Bautista is a sound stable steady saint and longtime gospel preacher who lives at 128 BRIONES VILLAGE, SAN ISIDRO, CABANATUAN CITY, NUEVA ECIJA 3100 in the Philippines.  Jim McDonald, faithful preacher in Lufkin, TX, has known Jhun for many years and has full confidence in him.  I have visited Jhun and the brethren meeting in his home in Cabanatuan City, and we have worked together.  They have outgrown his house and sacrificed to start a church building, but their efforts have been stalled by lack of funds.  These pictures show the present state of the construction as of January 2012.  We hope to find funds to help these brethren, a prime example of helping those who first help themselves.

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January 8

Update on Funds

Dear brethren and friends,

Thank you for the very good response on behalf of saints suffering from the killer typhoon which hit northern Mindanao. We have raised well over $10,000 which is being sent to targeted needs. For instance, I sent Jonathan Carino to survey the situation and to help create a list of the needs so we can target the most needy saints and most pressing needs of these saints. He is doing this right now, so please pray for his safety and that God will bless him to be successful on this mission. We will share more information later.

In Christian love,

Ron

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January 8

Halbrook Report:Philippine Trip Nov. 29 – Dec. 19, 2011

Dear brethren,

By God’s grace and providence my 44th preaching trip to the Philippines (5th to New Zealand) was successfully completed November 29-December 19, 2011. I am forever indebted to Jim McDonald for taking me with him in 1995. It was a joy to work with Steven Deaton (Hebron Ln. church of Christ, Shepherdsville, KY) and Jesse Flowers (Pruett & Lobit Sts. chuch of Christ, Baytown, TX). Filipino brethren expressed appreciation for their good work. In addition to their lessons, I presented 38 lessons, and 15 were baptized by our joint efforts (most when Steven and Jesse worked with Rody Gumpad).

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January 4

How Help A Neighbor Helps Neighbors

Help A Neighbor represents individuals acting on the moral and ethical principle stated by Jesus in Matthew 22:39, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  There are many ways and means for people to express that love.  Help A Neighbor is one way to facilitate that ethical principle within perimeters set by the I.R.S. of the federal government allowing donations to be tax deductible.

Some charity funds are set up by people who have large amounts of money to distribute to various worthy causes, but that is not the case with Help A Neighbor.  The Help A Neighbor fund depends purely on donations of individuals and is not based on any reserve resources or nest egg.  I have no independent or personal means for generating funds.  Furthermore, I cannot divert time from my duties as an evangelist to become a charity director who constantly travels and contacts wealthy donors.  How then does this fund have resources?

Help A Neighbor is simply a legal mechanism under U.S. law which allows individuals who donate funds to my Philippine work to file a legal tax deduction for the amount given.  While some need here at home in the U.S. may occasionally be included, that represents a small fraction of the work being done.  For instance, a child had cancer and some folks wanted to donate funds for medical expenses, which fit within our perimeters.  Church funds are never requested or accepted because Help A Neighbor facilitates individual action not local church action.

Here again is the main point:  Help A Neighbor is nothing more or less than a means to facilitate individual donations reaching worthy Christians in need under guidelines defining a legal charity by the I.R.S. for tax purposes.

Occasionally, someone asks me to consider some additional project or need beyond the scope of my Philippine work, and I am willing to help in proportion to available time and funds (if someone is able to donate such funds).  Therefore, if anyone wishes to write an appeal explaining a project, stating what has been done and how much spent, and outlining the cost of the remaining work, it may be possible to circulate this report to see if there are people who have available funds for this purpose.  Even this possibility depends on other factors such as time constraints and legal guidelines.  In cases where it is possible to circulate a reported need, there is nothing I can do beyond sharing information with individuals who may or may not be able to help.

Help A Neighbor concentrates on the Philippines because I go there often enough to know the men and observe the work personally.  This makes it possible to form some reasonable assessment of needs and to assure U.S. brethren that their funds are being used exactly as requested and intended.

Yet, the requests for help from the Philippines alone far outstrips my ability to find needed funds, not to mention appeals from other nations.  In other words, sad to say, I am so overwhelmed with requests that funds can be found for only few of them.  I have worshiped with saints in the banana grove and under the mango tree, as well as in homes, without having resources to help solve their problem.  In one case, I visited a church on the Philippine island of Negros about five years ago where brethren had been sacrificing for seven years building their meeting place little by little, and I have not been able to provide funds to help these saints complete their building.

My heart is willing to help worthy brethren in any place, but I have no sufficient means to meet the vast needs on every hand.  Only when there are able donors, Help A Neighbor can do something within the limitations of moral, ethical, and legal guidelines.  No one person can do it all in reaching out to neighbors in need, but each of us can find ways to do what we can, whether utilizing Help A Neighbor or other avenues at our disposal.

I only know to depend on the grace and guidance of God’s good providence as we try one day at a time to do our best in serving Him.

 

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December 21

Home from Philippines

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

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November 27

New Building in Barangay Alegria, Alabel

These are pictures of a new church building in an area where brother Nestor Francisco and other saints have planted a new congregation which is growing.  It is being constructed in Barangay Alegria, Alabel near General Santos City in Sarangani Province in southern Mindanao.  The work is temporarily halted for lack of funds.


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Dear Brother Ron,

Greetings in Jesus name;Thanks for your great effort of finding funds to help us here we count this as great privileged of being part of Christ Body. As you will see the pictures that was the development of our new building for worship but the carpenter’s labor was not yet paid; my collateral to them to pay, was your letter to me, that you are finding funds for it and then send it to us.

We hope and pray that you are always in a good health upon doing God’s work there, Brother please pray also my mother who is now 78 years old suffer heart failure and diabetes. We are always praying for you we love you.

Your Brother in Christ,

Nestor

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November 26

New Building for worship

These are the 1st pictures of the newly planted church.

The first two pictures show brother Nestor Francisco with U.S. brethren Kurt Jones and Jerry Parks in General Santos City, southern Mindanao, where Nestor lives. The next scene is the church which meets in an extension of Nestor’s home. When they outgrew this place, a group was encouraged to start a new congregation in their area and subsequent pictures show the beginning efforts to build a new church building.

This makes a good sequence of pictures, & the other message I forwarded shows the progress.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook


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Dear Brother Ron,

 Greetings in Jesus name; Thanks for your great endeavor of spreading the pure Gospel not only here in the Philippines but also to other countries, Sorry that I was not able to went in Davao City to hear your lectureship because my wife also needs my help as she was hospitalized cause of -Bell’s Palsy- like Brother Juanito Balben’s face, also my wife now is recovering step by step, I know that someday we will meet again -To God be the Glory. Thanks also for your  great effort and generosity of helping us financial and spiritual, may the Lord God would bless you more together with your loving family and all the Saints out there.

Last August 15, Monday- we had started our new building for worship but before that date, August 14 the Brethren here at Sarangani Homes Phase 2 and I had a prayer that God would help us for making the way possible. ( I attached some Photos) Picture #1 were Brother  Kurt and Jerry Parks. Brother Jerry yearly visited us also and he stayed in our house while he was in General Santos City.  Picture #2 was our Sunday Worship and Brother Toto Revilla -one of our elders- was the one served the Lord Supper. I know you remember him last time you went here  in Sarangani Homes Phase 2 Congregation you met him. We are so crowded that some of them were standing outside that’s the reason why we decided to establish a new building for worship. Picture #3 and #5, I and Brother Toto Revilla got the point for the standing point of the building. The size of our new meeting place is 20ft x40ft. Picture #6 and #7 carpenters were doing there job, and Picture#8 and #9 was my wife and I standing at the side of the building, you will notice that no roof yet. This is our concern now.

 Brother we need 40 pcs of GI Corr sheet for roofing 26×12 tower the price is (P264.00) each x 40 pcs.= (P10,560.00) plus GI Plain 26x3x6 3pcs, (P192.00) each =(P586.00) these are to be use at the center of the roof for cover,  plus 3 kls. of umbrella head nails, each kilo is (P64.00)=(P128.00) the Total is (P11,274.00). Please Brother help us on this matter we need it so much, -We are the fruits of your labor- and we are very proud if you will visit us here.  In behalf of all the Saints here we are always praying for you we love you.

 Your Brother in Christ,

Nestor
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September 30

Preparations For Upcoming Trip

Dear brethren,

Plans for a 44th preaching trip to the Philippines are well underway, scheduled for November 29-December 19, 2011.  In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus spoke of men who learn the great value of the kingdom of God sacrificing everything in order to enter or obtain it:

 

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. – Mat. 13:44-46

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