Our Friday was a very long day! It began at midnight as we set sail on the ship from Dumaguete to Cebu. After waiting on the ticket checker to come by, I finally fell asleep about 1am. We were scheduled to arrive in Cebu at 6am, but I started to hear an announcement at 4:20am. By a little before 5am, we were already docked. Jonathan’s wife and son picked us up and took us to their house where we had some coffee and dropped off several bags. We then went to the airport and flew to Ozamis where we also arrived early. After eating lunch, we started on our way to the meeting place of the church in Aloran.
I will discuss the trip in a moment, but the meeting with the church in Aloran was very uplifting! When we arrived, Diosdado Tual (the preacher) greeted us outside and brought us into the very basic building with a tin roof and half-walled sides made of concrete block. It was hot and the humidity was high, but all were happy to be there to hear the gospel. To my great surprise, among those present was Cyrus Gesulga, formerly the leading preacher among premillennial churches of Christ in the Philippines who recently renounced that doctrine and began working with faithful brethren as a result of studies with Ron Halbrook and Jonathan Carino. I did not think I would be able to meet him on this trip, but it was a joy to be with him and talk for a long period after the meeting.
Since it was after 2:30pm when we arrived at Aloran, we only had time for one sermon. I preached on “Who Is a Christian?” The lesson covered basic points on the plan of salvation, the identity of the church and several points on common errors of denominationalism. Brother James Armada with whom I have worked on previous trips gave a summary of the sermon in the native dialect of Cebuano and did his usual, excellent job. When the invitation was extended, three people (one married couple and an older woman) came to confess their faith in Christ and be baptized for the remission of sins.
Though I thought Aloran was to be on the outskirts of Ozamis, I found out it was the dreaded “30 minutes” away. In the Philippines, when you are told it is “30 minutes” away, it actually means at least one hour and possibly two. In this case, it was over an hour away and in the opposite direction of the place we needed to go for our hotel tonight. The roads were rough and congested with the full assortment of wheeled vehicles found in the Philippines from animal to pedal to motor driven. It never ceases to amaze me how all these vehicles travel on the same road at the same time – most of them without lights after dark! As we traveled towards Pagadian at night, the road was among the roughest that I have ever been on and it was raining the whole time. It was a jarring trip. I am looking forward to the sleep tonight!
Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement in our efforts.
Brotherly, Harry O.
