Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Early Saturday morning (Apr. 22) Rody and Tessie Gumpad picked up David, Joel, and me to take us from the Cagayan region to the Ilocos region in northwest Luzon.  First, we drove three hours to reach Magacan, Pamplona in the Province of Cagayan to preach to the Negritos, one of the poorest of all the tribal groups.  They live in little huts made of native materials with the ground as the floor and cook over open fires.  In spite of their deep poverty, they are intelligent and humble people.  Danilo Bautista is a Negrito and works among them proclaiming the gospel.

More than 120 attended as David preached from Psalms 145-146 about putting our trust in God who alone can give us true happiness.  I spoke from Psalm 23 on “The Lord Is Our Shepherd King.”  Robinson Pulveras translated in the dialect.  Ten souls responded to the gospel call and were immediately baptized into Christ with great rejoicing all around.

When we gathered the young children to have their picture taken with Joel, he quoted one of his memory verses from Exodus 12 to them.  Let us hope this is a precursor of the work he may do in the Philippines in years to come!

There is a sad note to this good news, which I hesitate to mention, but even Paul spoke of false brethren who can be a thorn to the work of the Lord.  There is a group of brethren in this area who were once very devoted to the work but who in recent years try to control it like a Catholic bishop over a diocese.  They have tried to intimidate us in past years to prevent us from preaching.  Their threats of physical harm alarmed our local brethren to the point that they informed the civil authorities that guests visiting the Negritos to preach the gospel were under threat of harm.  The authorities gave every assurance that such conduct would not be tolerated and they posted themselves at our meeting as a guarantee of our safety.

No incident occurred, thank God.  Most such threats are simply designed to strike fear in our hearts to prevent us from preaching, but it is also true that rabble can be hired at a minimum cost in the Philippines to assassinate people.  I once baptized a man who admitted he had committed 14 murders for hire – it was just a way to make a living.

After the baptism at the river, we resumed our journey and arrived in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte about 5:30 P.M., exhausted but thankful for a safe and fruitful trip.  A contingent of loving brethren were waiting for us at the hotel’s entrance.  The South China Sea is nearby, so David, Joel, and I spent an hour in the ocean before eating supper because there is no better therapy after spending a day sitting and riding in a vehicle.  Joel loves the water and greatly enjoyed this swim in the ocean.  The moon shone in its waning crescent phase with one very bright star in the sky (possibly the north star).

On the Lord’s Day Efren Ramos brought David and Joel to the church at Poblacion, Nueva Era where Kelvin Molines and Christian Agapay labor in the gospel and one was baptized.  Efren took me to Banna, Binacag where the attendance was over 100 including many young people.  I especially appealed to those young people in the sermon on “Marriage: Joined by God” (Gen. 2:24).

We all met for a good lunch at Efren’s house, including a lawyer who was visiting the church of Christ for the first time.  Since he is Catholic, I was able to explain a few things which are different about his religion and the true church in the Bible such as Matthew 23:8-10 and 1 Timothy 3:1-5.  He was very interested and Efren gave him a Bible and several good tracts.  He also took my email address to contact me later.

After lunch David and Joel went with Condrado Daulla, Jr. to preach at Caray where the church meets under an extension at the side of a house.  Meanwhile, I preached on “Young in Age, Strong in Faith” at Bariker where about 50 gathered and two young men responded to the gospel invitation to be baptized.  In an open forum I answered several questions including some regarding the book of Revelation and the false doctrines of premillennialism.

Next, we rushed to Caray to join the tail end of their service and I spoke on “The Lord Is Our Shepherd King.”  At the invitation, another seven came forward asking to be baptized for the remission of their sins.  That brought to total who submitted to Christ today to ten.  Our cup runs over with joy and thanksgiving for the power of the gospel to save these precious souls for whom Christ died!

Joel is making many new friends and seems to enjoy every minute of all the travel and activities.

David went to Camundingan, Batac to work with Hernando Ramos on Monday, where three were baptized into Christ with great joy.  In the afternoon he preached at Salbang Paoay with Nestor Doroni where the audience included a denominational pastor who is interested in learning more about the true gospel.  My appointment was with Mat Sibayan, Jr. who brought me to the Laoag City church of Christ.  Joel came with me and took good notes as I preached two lessons on “The Threat of Pornography” followed by an open forum.  In the afternoon Junior’s son John gave a lesson on abiding in the light which was filled with Scripture and well presented.  Since Joel and I were near our hotel and David was several miles away, we returned to the hotel well ahead of him.  I took Joel walking on the beach where he hunted for beautiful shells and rocks.

Our Tuesday schedule took us in different directions.  Rex Bayaca picked us up and brought us to the church at Escoda, Marcus which is far out in the countryside.  Rex is the local preacher.  I greeted these dear brethren, then David preached to them as I proceeded about 30 minutes into the foothills of the mountains at Cacafean where Angel Pascua, Jr. labors.  This area was a hotbed of communist rebels 28 years ago when I first came to the Philippines, but our brethren have patiently preached the gospel to these people and converted many of them to Christ, convincing them to lay down their arms.

A world of good has been done for years in this region by three ladies who devote their time, attention, and talents to teaching the children. They are Maxima “Lingling” Bangi, Myrna Abella, and Lolita Pascua.  They live on shoestrings and it would be wonderful if some good hearted saint would provide them some expense money for this great work.

The little church building here was made of light materials which did not withstand natural disasters well, but as donated funds allow they are slowly constructing a building of concrete and steel.  There are no side walls yet.  We will continue looking for donations until the project is completed.

Since there are many young people in this remote area, I preached the sermon “Marriage: Joined by God.”  Roger Borja translated in their dialect and they were very attentive.

In the afternoon David preached at Crispina where Jensen Pascua serves as an evangelist while I spoke at Mabuti where Anselmo Esteban is laboring in the gospel.  In view of the many young people, my subject was “Young in Age, Strong in Faith.”  Before the service began, twin 12-year-old girls notified Anselmo they were considering obeying the gospel and he told them to listen to the sermon and then make up their minds.  They came forward at the invitation song and we baptized them in a nearby river, knowing there is great joy in heaven and great consternation in Satan’s camp!

David and I had separate schedules again on Wednesday.  Rolly Salvador took David and Joel to the church at Baoa East, Batac City where 70 or more were gathered to hear the sermon.  In the afternoon Rolly brought David to the church at Calayab in Laoag City where Renier Allado preaches.  Rolly had led this church out of institutional liberalism.  They had a full house in attendance.

Meanwhile, Rex Bayaca brought me to Cabugao, Ilocos Sur where Egdon Sabio has been preaching for many years.  This was an all-day meeting with 35-40 in attendance.  After two lessons on “The Threat of Pornography,” time was given for an open forum.  Several good questions were posed, including whether repentance requires restitution.  Yes, the very nature of true repentance includes a burning desire to right the effects of the wrongs we have done to the best of our ability.  Both John the baptizer and Paul the Apostle of Christ emphasized that when people profess to repent, they must produce works reflecting that change of heart and conduct (Matt. 3:8; Acts
26:20).   After lunch my subject was “God Created Us Male and Female,” countering the transgender agenda.

Our time in the Ilocos region has been productive and it is always a privilege to work with these brethren.  I hope the lessons we have taught will help our dear brethren go to heaven, and I am very sure their good influence in our lives will help us go to heaven!

The moon is growing larger and brighter as it transitions to new phases, reflecting the glory of God.  I hope you can see it where you are as we can here.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

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