Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Thursday-Friday (Aug. 21-22), a lot of saints must have been praying for me as I tried to manage the cancellation of a flight from Cagayan de Oro City which was replaced by a flight requiring an all-night stay in the Manila airport to wait for a connection at 4:00 A.M.  Stephen Carpentero faithfully drove me to the airport in CDO in a rainstorm.  When I checked in for my flight, I was told I could not check my suitcase through to General Santos City but would have to pick it up in Manila and check it in again there, but they could not give me a reason.  

When I got to Manila, retrieved my suitcase, and tried to check it in again, I had a long wait and finally they said my 4:00 A.M. flight was cancelled, and I was booked to fly at 10:45 A.M. Meanwhile, the airline would pay for my overnight stay in a hotel about 20-30 minutes from the airport.  After getting 6 ½ hours of sleep, Friday morning I was in a van in another torrential downpour headed for the airport where I finally made the flight to General Santos City in southern Mindanao together with James Paet who graciously came as a helper.

So, thank you for all of your prayers, which have been wonderfully answered.  In one sense I lost the day of rest planned for Friday, but I was blessed in another way because this did not require me to cancel any preaching appointments.  Did the Lord foresee these bumps in the road and providentially work out the solutions in this way?  We do not know what goes on behind the scenes, but we know to trust in Him in all situations.  The Apostle Paul would have gladly traded the problems I encounter traveling and preaching for the ones he encountered!  “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.”

By the way, I keep noticing a cultural change in transportation during the last few years.  During my earlier years, Filipinos typically traveled by bus to distant places because they could not afford to fly.  Over the years, airlines have built their business by offering promo rates and, obviously, some citizens have been blessed by better income (most of our brethren are too poor to take advantage of such blessings).  Today, a plane equipped for international travel was filled with about 500 people traveling from Manila to General Santos City.  I do not think there was a single vacant seat on the plane.  And, apparently because the seating was designed for international travel, my knees had sufficient room and were not jammed up against the seat in front of me as often happens here.  

I plan to get a good night’s rest and be ready to go into the fields which are ripe to harvest tomorrow, God willing.  

Saturday morning Salvador Parbo drove us two hours to reach the church at Telehek, Lake Sebu, a tribal area in the mountains where Caesar (Zacchaeus) Lungkay preaches.  He was converted last year.  Though he is short in stature (the top of his head does not reach my arm pits), he is talented, zealous, and very influential in his community and we had 150 in attendance, overflowing to the yard of the meeting house.  My lessons were “Seek and Save the Lost” and “Back to the Bible.”  When we extended the Lord’s invitation, 11 people came forward to submit to Christ in baptism.  When we dismissed, Salvador and I met with three preachers for the faction which enforces using a single container to serve the Lord’s Supper.  I thought they possibly were scripturally baptized and simply needed to repent of the sin of factionalism, but in reviewing the steps to receive forgiveness of sins, we learned they had not understood the purpose of baptism.  We clarified this and made sure they understood, bringing the total baptized to 14.

We traveled immediately less than an hour to reach the Manunboy church in the countryside of the city of Surallah where 50 souls were vigorously singing praises to God while awaiting our arrival.  Danny Calis labors as an effective evangelist with these saints.  I preached “Victory in Christ,” a verse-by-verse study of Romans 8:28-39, to a very attentive audience. 

When traveling in this part of Mindanao, there are military check points where we must briefly stop for a spot check by the soldiers because of dangers posed by radical Muslims and the NPA (New Peoples Army, communist rebels).  We thank God because there have been no violent incidents recently, but, thank you for your prayers for our safety.

We returned to General Santos City by dark.  After supper, exercise, making notes for this report, and studying for Sunday lessons, I am trying to get to bed by midnight, which is usually a challenge when I am in the Philippines.  What a great privilege and joy it is to worship and proclaim the gospel with these dear Filipino saints who serve God without complaint in spite of many trials!

On the Lord’s Day, James Paet preached for the Balite church in General Santos City and I preached at Lanton where Jolly Julom serves as an evangelist.  We were blessed to have 65 in attendance as I preached on “Simon Samaritan Sorcerer Saved,” followed by “Work While It Is Day.”  Jolly made some good follow-up observations to our attentive audience.

After lunch we visited the church in the nearby community of Glamang where Toto Samson preaches.  We studied “Ethiopian Official Submits to Christ” and “Work While It Is Day.”  Thirty were gathered and our meeting produced two solid leads.  A male nurse from a Baptist background engaged with me in a short study after we dismissed and I was able to explain the difference between the Bible plan of salvation which requires baptism for the remission of sins and the Baptist doctrine of salvation by faith alone.  He finally understood the difference and got my email address so that we can continue the conversation.  Also, Toto’s daughter is married to an American who has no certain religious commitment but is searching for the truth.  She introduced me to him in the U.S. over the phone and he is also interested in our studying together.  

There are still souls searching for God, truth, and salvation and we cannot stop searching to find them.  God can use each one of us to open the door for someone to learn God’s plan of salvation and to receive God’s grace!

Our Monday appointment was very profitable at the Jumbo Site church of Christ, Matanao, Davao Del Sur where Leonilo Villar preaches.  We drove over two hours out into the countryside and over 80 people were gathered in this rural place including 25 denominational preachers.  The lessons were “The Prison of Sin,” “When Peter Confessed Christ,” and “Back to the Bible.”  

The open forum generated good questions regarding such topics as instrumental music, how to educate young people about the dangers of homosexuality, and why we have no women preachers in the churches of Christ, but no one was fighting against the truth.  One of the denominational preachers approached me after we dismissed to say he was greatly intrigued by the concept of going back to the Bible and escaping denominational systems, and he wanted to study this principle to learn more.  

Two women submitted to Christ in baptism, being saved by grace through faith.  We rejoice with the angels of heaven!

After driving a couple of hours, we reached Digos City and checked in at our hotel.  James Paet and I walked for an hour after supper, then I studied in preparation for the two days lectureship planned for the church here.  After making these notes, I will get to bed before 12:30 A.M., tired physically but uplifted spiritually.  We had a good brisk wind while walking because a strong typhoon is headed into Manila, which is quite far away but will generate rain here tomorrow.  

I looked for the moon, but it was hiding somewhere tonight!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook