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.

It was my privilege and pleasure to meet Bill and Windi Capehart and two of their children who moved here from Lafayette, IN because Bill took a job teaching special ed in a private school for two years.  We shared our lunch time at a nice small restaurant they had discovered and learned we have many things in common, as Christians typically do.  They are an asset to the work and are even studying the Cebuano dialect spoken in this area.

This Sunday was a full day because I met for an hour in the afternoon with Ben Canada whose wife recently underwent heart surgery and survived.  Dear generous saints far away provided the funds to make it possible and Ben provided an accounting of the bills and the funds received.  He still lacks about $2,000.00 paying these bills.  Providing this kind of thorough documentation builds trust and fulfills 2 Corinthians 8:20-21, “Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us:  Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

That meeting was followed by another meeting with Joel Perigo who provided documentation for benevolence delivered to churches in remote areas where it has been very dangerous to travel because of the ongoing war between the government and communist rebels.  He brought signed documents to certify the safe delivery of the benevolence funds to the churches but did not include pictures because the rebels might suspect he was gathering information to feed to the military.

April 10-12, Monday through Wednesday, I had the privilege of participating in a series of classes for young people since schools are out for the summer, or, as we often say, vacation Bible school.  Juanito and his sons with the help of other brethren have been working hard for weeks to make all the necessary arrangements.  Some of the students traveled 5-6 hours to join us. About 80 young people ranging in ages 10-20 were present on Monday for the start of the classes which meet from 7:00 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. with meal breaks and short breaks between classes.  Each session last 1 ½ hours to allow plenty of time for the presentation and some review and discussion with the students.

The teachers are Jonathan Carino, Lordy Salunga, Archie Alarcon, and Jerry Moral (for singing lessons).  From the start our students have been very attentive and willing to participate.  I was surprised at how good their English is, evidenced by their participation in reading passages and in both asking and answering questions.  Their perceptive questions show that they are listening, understanding, and learning much.

Our theme is “How to Study the Bible.”  Because of the generous help of brethren back home, I was able to provide every student a copy of Cecil Willis’ workbook by that title from the Word in the Heart series.  Monday I taught chapters on why we must study the Bible, how we can expect to understand it, and the importance of avoiding improper attitudes and methods of study.   After each lesson I have been covering the review questions and it is obvious our students are catching on fast.

Tuesday several more students have arrived and the church building is bursting at the seams.  Fortunately, there are a couple of small air conditioners along with fans which make the heat bearable.  They sleep on mats on the floor at night.  Their demeanor is excellent.

First, on Tuesday I covered a topic not in the workbook: “Modest Dress through the Ages” (1 Tim. 2:9-10).  I had the students read most of the verses as we discussed them.  In the workbook my next chapter dealt with the value of word studies and different translations.  Lordy and Connie made short talks at the end to assess translations in Filipino dialects.  Most of this class covered new information for our students, especially those coming from remote places.

My final lesson today was also outside the workbook.  It was a challenge: “Young People, Read the Bible.”  It is the only book given by God to guide our lives, the only book protected by God, the only book revealing God’s plan for our salvation, and the only book full of blessings from God.  I urged each student to make a plan for consistent Bible reading.  Satan has plans to destroy every one of these young people, but God’s Word can guide and protect them, delivering them from hell and leading them to heaven!

There are some who have no Bibles – I cannot express how deeply I appreciate saints who have been providing funds to purchase Bibles for Filipinos who are so anxious to read, learn, and obey God’s Word.

Wednesday my last lesson in the workbook was on interpreting figurative language in the Bible.  More students volunteered to read passages and to answer questions than on previous days, though their participation has been good all along.  It is obvious they have become very comfortable and fluent with our format of study, and I hate to think about leaving them.

In the afternoon I took two sessions to study “Selecting a Mate: The Lord Builds the House” (Ps. 127).  Other than submitting to Christ in baptism, this is the most momentous decision they will ever make.  I emphasized the necessity of putting their trust in God and His good providence to open the right doors at the right time to find a godly mate.  The other main point emphasized and elaborated was that the most important thing a person can do to find the right person to marry is to be the right person by a godly character.  Many seemed to be especially attentive to these two lessons.

Before I left, several young people made it a point to express appreciation for the lessons taught during these three days.  One young lady handed me a handwritten note which says, “Dear brother Ron, I thank God because He used you as an instrument to us, young ones, to know and understand God.  Marmaming Salamat Po [“Thank You Very Much” in Tagalog].  Radilene”

Some of the young ladies do not have modest dresses, a problem often compounded by poverty over here.  I did not want to embarrass them but left enough money for the older ladies to buy some used clothes that are modest to give them.  There plenty of places in the U.S. where the same thing needs to be done, except the problem there is not driven by poverty but by worldly compromise.

Jonathan Carino and I must leave early tomorrow morning for northern Mindanao, but Lordy Salunga, Archie Alarcon, and Jerry Moral will continue teaching through Friday.  It has been a great privilege to work with the Babin family again in teaching so many precious young people!

And to all who help to make these efforts possible and who pray for us, Marmaming Salamat Po!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.CEIbooks.com