Dear family, brethren, and friends,

My first work in Digos City, Davao del Sur was back in 1997 with Jim McDonald.  Julie Notarte has concentrated in this area and reached out to remote tribal and mountain regions of southern Mindanao.  His father established a congregation here in Digos City and a church building was constructed in 1973.  Julie’s sons (Joshua, Joseph, Jonathan, and CB) have matured and share in the tremendous workload this successful work has created. Literally thousands of people have obeyed the gospel through the years in these surrounding areas and mountains.  

Tuesday, 97 souls joined us here in Digos City to begin exploring the theme “Life, Death, and Beyond.”  In the morning two sessions covered the subject “Why We Live” and in the afternoon “Man as Body, Soul, and Spirit” and “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God.”  

Someone asked in the open forum exactly when does the immortal soul come into existence?  In the beginning, the souls of Adam and Eve came into existence by a direct miracle from the hands of God.  Since then, the soul is given in the process of conception (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 1:36).  A real person grows in the womb of its mother (Ps. 139:13-16).  This is why abortion is sinful – it involves the murder of a person made in God’s image.

Another question was why are some lives short and tragic while others are long and full?  Why do some people die peacefully while others suffer greatly at death?  Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 shows that “time and chance happen” to all and we cannot explain why a certain fish was caught in a net but another one escaped.  Job did not know Satan working behind the scenes caused his intense suffering.  Jesus explained that people born with handicaps are not sinners, nor are their parents (Jn.9:2-3).  On the other hand, there are cases where people bring horrible suffering on themselves and on innocent people by committing such sins as fornication, homosexual practices, and intoxication (Rom. 1:27; 1 Cor. 6:18).  There are times God removes the thorn of suffering and at other times He gives His strength and grace in order for us to endure and manage our suffering while always trusting in God (2 Cor. 12:7-10).  

150 attended the Wednesday sessions studying “Finish the Race,” “Why and How We Die,” “After Death: Hades,” and “After the Resurrection: Heaven and Hell.”   Next came the open forum with several questions about our existence in hades.  Do the souls in hades worship God?  Yes, in Revelation 5:13 even those who are “under the earth” praise God, a phrase referring to the realm of the dead, and 6:9-11 pictures the souls of martyred saints praying to God.  Since hades is in the unseen realm, many questions about that realm fall into the category of the secret things that belong to God because we who live in the physical realm cannot fully grasp existence in the unseen spiritual world (Deut. 29:29).

Someone asked if “Power” is used as a name for God, but the nearest thing I can think of is God being called Almighty – He is omnipotent.  To whom does the word Jehovah refer?  Jehovah is a translation of the Hebrew term Yahweh, meaning essentially “I Am,” the eternal and all powerful One.  Hebrews 1:8, quoting Psalms 45:6-7, refers to Jesus as “God” and then Hebrews 1:10-12 quotes Psalm 102:25-26 where Jehovah is the Creator of all things and applies it to Jesus as the Creator.  Jehovah like the word God may apply to any or all of the persons of the Godhead, depending on the context in each case.

Eleven precious souls including men and women, young and old, were saved by the blood of the Lamb today when they were baptized into Christ!

Here is more wonderful news, for which we praise God!  Jack Jaco had follow-up studies with Hernane Epiquado from Oton, Iloilo City, Panay Island where we have invested a lot of time and effort proclaiming the gospel for the past couple of years.  Hernane not only has invited us to teach in the denominational church where he preaches but also has opened doors in other venues to gather preachers and other people from a variety of backgrounds to hear the true gospel.  Jack has now baptized Hernane into the one body of Christ, creating a strong beach hold for the gospel in Iloilo City.  There will be more conversions to follow as our new brother shares what he has learned with his home congregation and throughout the area where he has a wide influence.

Since Thursday was scheduled for a day of rest, I asked Julie to take me to his wife’s grave.  Estrella passed away on May 15 after an extended illness and after many devoted years serving the cause of Christ with Julie and their whole family.  I did not preach there at the graveside but offered a few reflections on this godly woman’s life.  First, she illustrates God’s amazing providence in helping saints find the right person to marry, if we seek God’s help.  Not every faithful Christian woman is equipped spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically to serve as a preacher’s wife and we desperately need God’s help to find that suitable person.  I most emphatically see that lesson in my own life in how God brought Donna into my life. 

Second, Estrella embodies the high value of the service of a preacher’s wife who faces unique challenges standing at her husband’s side for the cause of Christ.  In this case, she has quietly but effectively served behind the scenes while her husband has taught and baptized literally thousands of souls bound for eternity.  Most brethren cannot grasp the sacrifices such a wife makes because they have not walked in her shoes.  But, for now, she has finished her labors and is at rest in the paradise world of hades, waiting for us to join her, and waiting for our Lord’s return to bring us all to heaven where we will serve, worship, and praise Him for all eternity. 

We thank God for all of the Estrella’s (and Donna’s) who are so valuable and effective in their roles.  Of course, the same principle applies to all Christian wives, not only wives of evangelists.

I keep looking for the moon and it keeps hiding behind the overcast skies, but this is actually a blessing because it protects us from the extreme heat typical at this time of year. Sooner or later I will see the moon which sees thee and me!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook