Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The appointment to preach on Monday, August 8, was with the Phase 6 church in Caloocan City in Metro Manila   where Andrew Romero labors in the gospel.  After we drove two hours to reach the place, ninety-four souls were present to hear sermons entitled “From Wretched Man to More Than Conquerors” and “Work While It Is Day (Jn. 9:4)” in the morning session.  After lunch by request I taught “Navigating the Present Distress (1 Cor. 7:26),” followed by “I Will Sing unto the Lord (Ex. 15:1).”  The open forum covered a variety of good questions.  When we sang the invitation song, four young ladies stepped forward to confess Christ and submit to him in baptism.

Overcast skies and rain mitigated the heat again today, but at the end of the day my clothes were wringing wet with sweat.  Monsoon rains and a low pressure system east of the Philippines are keeping much of Luzon and Mindanao covered with thunder storms and showers.  While it mitigates the heat, it raises the potential for flooding and landslides.

We went to the home of brother and sister Simple Castro on Tuesday in Tondo, another part of Metro Manila.  In late 2021 they escaped the clutches of the International Christian Church, one of several spinoff groups from the Crossroads movement which began among some institutional churches in Gainesville, Florida in 1967.  These groups zealously seek to convert young people but created centralized systems of control reaching beyond the local church and use psychological manipulation to control their disciples.

The Castros grieve because their grown children are still victims of this movement, but they themselves are trying to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ while putting the past in the past.  They invited neighbors to join our all-day studies and four of them heard the original gospel of Christ today.  Our topics were “From Wretched Man to More Than Conquerors,” “Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost,” and “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God,” plus time for open forum. As a result of our studies today, the Simples plan to become members of a local church in the area and to learn to be better equipped to spread the true gospel of Christ.

For the first time since I arrived last week, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and warmed the atmosphere.  I returned to the hotel in wet clothes again today, but it has been a very profitable day and that is all the matters.

Late Tuesday night Trey Torno and Mark Mayberry arrived safely in Manila on separate flights by God’s good grace.  On Wednesday James Paet and I took them to a moneychanger and to buy some necessary supplies – it was a busy day – they hit the ground running.. Thursday afternoon Mark, Trey, and I flew south to General Santos City on the island of Mindanao where we were met by General Santos brethren, Julie Notarte and his family, and Jonathan Carino who always provides valuable assistance for my travels and preaching appointments.  We arrived at 5:00 P.M. and went to our hotel to catch our breath before launching out to preach on the morrow.

I still have not seen the moon but will be watching for it on Mindanao.  Meanwhile, thank you for your prayers and encouraging notes!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.hebronlanechurchofchrist.com
https://biblework.congregateclients.com
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com