Dear brethren,

By God’s grace and providence my 56^th Philippine trip and 6^th New Zealand trip have now been successfully completed.  It seems like only yesterday when Jim McDonald first took me to the Philippines in 1995.  Paul emphasized the necessity of steadfastness in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”  In the Philippines I urged the brethren to be steadfast to produce leadership in the church, and in New Zealand I urged the saints to be persistent in preaching.  All in all 25  lessons were presented, and two precious souls submitted to Christ in baptism.

After a 24 hour trip to Manila December 1-2, I rested, worked on an order for Bibles in Filipino dialects, and made final preparations to teach a series of lessons on “Leadership in the Church.”  At the end of my August trip, Jerry Toreja requested lessons on leadership to help the church at Kapitbahayan, Navotas in Metro Manila work toward appointing additional elders as well as deacons.  My new workbook on this theme was about to be published, so I scheduled classes on “Leadership in the Church” using the new workbook December 4-6, with sermons on elders and deacons on Sunday.

In addition to Fred Gonzales and Jerry (the local elders) and other local members, brethren from other islands and provinces attended.  Sixty registered the first day and many more came Saturday. Two lessons on “Leadership in the Home” emphasized that personal spiritual growth is the foundation of true leadership.  A man who wants to be a good husband and a good father must grow spiritually to succeed.  Next we studied two lessons on how leaders establish and exert leadership by first becoming good examples, thus gaining the moral character and capital to lead.

Friday we focused on leaders having a holy character as set forth in 1 Timothy 2:8.  Additional lessons dealt with such specific roles as leading in public worship, teaching and preaching, and duties of elders. Saturday covered qualifications of elders, duties and qualifications of deacons, various problems in applying certain qualifications, the importance of the woman’s role, and difficult challenges faced by leaders. The sermon at the 7:30 A.M. Sunday Bible study was devoted to “Deacons in God’s Plan for the Church,” followed by “Elders Guide and Guard Souls” during worship.  Over 100 attended the Sunday services.

The workbook is formatted to generate class participation.  I called on the men attending to read the passages and drew them into discussing various applications. The participation was excellent.

Sunday night I dodged typhoon Ruby and flew to Auckland, New Zealand.  The Meadowood church began there in 2009 when Ronnie Salunga gave up on a two year effort to influence the liberal church.  In addition to his family of five, Randy Cabillas’s family soon added three more.  They have been diligent and effective in inviting visitors, so that many have heard the gospel, but progress has been slow.  I preached a mixture of lessons to edify the saints and teach many visitors who came again December 8-16.

Catholics, various denominational folks, and some with no religion came.  We conduct an open forum after the sermon and at times this results in lengthy sessions.  It is encouraging to see how open people are to come and to ask questions but discouraging to see how slow they are to learn and obey the gospel.  I spent time urging the brethren to be persistent in their good efforts to spread the gospel.

We drove five hours on Friday to teach another small house church in Ohope, Whakatane.  About 15 meet in the home of Abner Salanguit and about 20 gathered for the lesson “Back to the Bible.”

The Meadowood church had a breakthrough on the 15^th when Louneill and Cecilla Erasmus from South Africa were baptized into Christ.  They had been taught in S.A. by Fred Liggin, and Louneill had been raised in a godly home.  Their sincerity was evident.  This opens new doors to spread the gospel!

I flew back to Manila on the 17^th and spent Thursday at the Philippine Bible Society finalizing an order for 2,447 Bibles in various dialects to be shipped throughout the Philippines.

My faith, hope, and love grow by working with saints in the Philippines and New Zealand, seeing their dedication and sacrifices in serving the Lord.  They also asked me to relay expressions of gratitude to all who donate funds to make these trips possible.  God knows each one by name and will reward you.

In Christian love, Ron Halbrook