It was a true privilege to work in the gospel efforts undertaken in the Philippines with Ron Halbrook, Jonathan Carino, Steve Wallace, Cipriano Carpentero, Chris Reeves, Rody Gumpad, Ramon Carino, Rick Baughn, Jack Jaco and numerous Filipino brethren who helped in so many different ways. Each time I return from the Philippines, I feel like a part of my heart is left behind upon departure. For anyone who has the pleasure of going to work with the Filipino brethren, your life will be changed by the sacrifice and commitment you see as an every day part of their diligent service to the Lord. I am thankful to each one who has helped make it possible for me join in these efforts. Your love for the Lord, His truth, brethren unknown to you, and lost souls has made our efforts possible. I know this has been done at sacrifice on your part, and I am very grateful for your dedication as well.
As a result of the combined preaching efforts in the recent trip, there were 112 people baptized into Christ. Though I do not have an exact total, many of them were preachers from denominational groups. In several places, continued studies are on-going with denominational preachers and other people who heard the gospel preached and are reacting favorably. I am especially hopeful for two Baptist preachers in Bacolod City on Negros and one Pentecostal preacher in Dipolog City on Mindanao. All are very talented men who aggressively challenged the truth at first, but began to change as they saw their long-held beliefs challenged by the word of God. Jonathan Carino and Jack Jaco are having follow-up studies with those men.
Though space limitations prevent a full report of the various groups' work, the following is a brief synopsis of work done in the areas I personally visited.
Much good was accomplished in the three venues on the island of Negros (Bacolod City, Victorias City and Dumaguete City). The lectures at Bacolod and Victorias were both arranged by Jack Jaco who lives in Victorias City. Jack was converted out of a Baptist church in the mid-1990's and has done a great job spreading the truth since that time. He did a marvelous job contacting denominational preachers to attend at Bacolod and inviting interested people to the lectures in Victorias. Five were baptized in Bacolod City and three more were baptized in Victorias City. Since Bacolod City was the home of our beloved sister Cora Vlk, Rick Baughn and I took a couple of hours one morning to visit with Cora's mother and other family members. Cora worked hard in order to send assistance to her family and their extreme need was obvious in our visit. The lectures in Dumaguete City were not well prepared and did not bear visible fruit in baptisms, but we trust the word will accomplish good yet unseen (Isa.55:11). Though the number of sectarian preachers attending was small, there were an unusually large number of very vocally antagonistic ones, more so than I have seen in any other lectures. Despite the problems, the lessons preached and the clarity of the truth so apparent in the open forums had an impact on several of the denominational preachers who expressed a desire to study with us further. Cipriano Carpentero split the preaching responsibilities with me at Dumaguete and I was again amazed by his ability to present the gospel in its simplicity with all boldness. Jack Jaco did an excellent job in preaching there as well.
As a result of the efforts in Dipolog City, twelve were baptized into Christ. To the best of my knowledge, none of the twelve were denominational preachers. A dedicated man, brother Dalman, obeyed the gospel there several years ago and has succeeded in bringing his children to the truth as well. They all do their best to spread the truth, but none have any experience in preaching. Both trips to Dipolog have convinced me that the field is white to harvest there and we continue to pray that God will open more doors to reach others who can help the work of the Lord in that city progress even more. From Dipolog City, we drove to Clarin and joined Chris Reeves for one day of lectures. We had to leave for the next stop that afternoon, but Chris Reeves continued to preach and four were baptized that evening.
Efforts in preaching around the Pagadian City area concentrated on edifying the saints and assisting in efforts to train preachers. Unfortunately, I missed the first night preaching in that area due to the onset of my illness. Steve Wallace and Rick Baughn did the preaching that night and I was able to preach the next day as well as having an open forum for questions and answers. We were asked to deal with the subject of "Fellowship" extensively there. Jim Puterbaugh and his associates have had some influence in that area, but the Filipino brethren are rising to oppose both the "One Covenant Doctrine" and attempts to compromise with such due to false concepts on "Fellowship" and Romans 14. While in the area, I was asked to travel some distance into a remote area and preach to three congregations that met together at Vincenzo Sagun. That area has been a focal point of controversy over the "One Covenant Doctrine" and erroneous concepts of "Fellowship." We were encouraged by their understanding of the truth and readiness to apply it. The Lord willing, I am planning to return in the spring or summer.
The work in the General Santos City (GenSan) area has seen both joys and tragedies in recent years. Both were again seen in our time there. As a result of preaching done in Polomolok, eight were baptized. The lectures at Lanton were mainly designed for edifying and admonishing brethren. Before leaving on the trip, brother Ron Halbrook and I became aware of problems concerning dishonest actions on the part of some preachers in that area. Ron wrote letters to brethren named in one false report distributed calling on those responsible to repent. We gave several lessons on the matter and had some very late sessions attempting to deal with those involved. Several acknowledged their wrongdoing and we hope that changes will be made in their conduct. After leaving GenSan, we drove to Digos and then Davao. Nine were baptized in Digos in the two days of lectures there. Rody Gumpad and I were unable to take part in that effort as planned because of the emergency situation with Julie Notarte. We did rejoin the others in Davao where eleven were baptized at two different venues.
Many have asked about the condition of brother Julie Notarte whom we found very ill upon arrival to Digos. There is no doubt that he would have died within days had he not gone to the hospital in Davao. Even after arriving at the hospital, his condition remained very tenuous for the first 48 hours or so. It is with great joy and thankfulness to God that we can report Julie is doing very well in his recovery. Doctors found that he had an abscess on a kidney and his condition was critical. They began treating him with antibiotics and he responded very well. However, it was then determined that there were abscesses on both kidneys and that further IV antibiotic treatments were necessary. For those who may not be familiar with the medical system in the Philippines, one does not receive any care unless there is payment in hand for it. If the patient cannot pay for the treatment needed to sustain life, he merely dies. Near the beginning of his hospital stay, Julie required oxygen to breathe and a transfusion of blood, but could not have received them if payment had not been present at that time. As you might guess, the medical care needed was not cheap. Though I had received support in excess of projected costs for the lectures due in large part to the generosity of the Largo congregation, I did not have sufficient funds to fully meet the need. Steve Wallace, Ron Halbrook and Rick Baughn did not have funds to fully meet the need by themselves either. Even when we pooled our funds, more money was needed to get the treatment required. Jonathan Carino generously provided for immediate funds needed and brother Jim McDonald quickly responded with funds wired from the U.S. After it was found that further treatment would be necessary, the Parkway congregation in Bowling Green, Kentucky graciously agreed to provide the amount still needed. My purpose in giving these details is to make a point -- each one who helped make this trip possible should understand that, without your help, we may well have lost one of the most faithful, diligent and effective preachers I know. It is not an overstatement to say such of Julie Notarte. He is a tireless and talented preacher who travels widely and in dangerous areas to spread the precious gospel message. Every dime was needed to meet his emergency need and all who helped in the trip should feel a part in this good work. Of course, most of all, we thank God for His providence and care that made it possible and for the many prayers He heard and answered with Julie's recovery.
In all, the trip was very fruitful as the gospel was widely preached and well-received. My thanks are again given to all those who made the trip possible.