Last Report

After three hours of teaching this morning, I am writing this last report from the hotel in Manila. After posting this update, my plan is to go out and eat away from the hotel because the meals here are way too expensive. Once I am done, the Lord willing, I plan to return to the room where there is a comfortable bed that is calling my name -- I intend to take full advantage of it.

My first classes started at 8am and went back-to-back for three hours. First, we finished the last of the Old Testament Prophets – Malachi. We saw the didactic style of the prophet where God made His charge against Israel, Israel responded in denial and God details the fact of His charge against them. We also looked at the messianic points in the book. It took about 30 minutes to cover that material, then we moved on to Revelation. Another brownout as we were about to start gave me great concern as we were on a tight schedule, but it passed in less than 5 minutes. I have a presentation showing pictures with a likeness to the characters and actions of John’s vision that I show as I tell the story of the Apocalypse as recorder in Revelation 12 – 22 in order to get the students to see the point of the vision. In essence, it is given to comfort and assure God’s people that the Lord will emerge victorious in the end and the must continue in His service faithfully in order to join in that victory in time and eternity.

After a very short break of 2 or 3 minutes, we continued on with the last lesson in the Church History course. We looked at the concept of Restoration as seen in America, the Philippines or wherever it might take place. The main point was that restoration is a result of taking the word of God as the complete and final authority, without addition or subtraction, for all things in religious matters. I ended with an appeal for each one to commit himself to that purpose because every generation must face digression that can only be fought by committing oneself to an uncompromising stand for the purity of the gospel.

The last subject for the day was on Islam and I had 45 minutes to cover the material. Since we had already overviewed the history of Islam, I spent the time on the teaching of Islam. We examined the Koran to see that it has no claim to verbal inspiration or complete revelation, but clearly denies such. The contrast to the Bible in this point is stark. We saw that the Koran has numerous contradictions and mistakes in fact. We ended by noting a sampling of the many statements in the Koran calling for killing opponents of Islam as well as carnal warfare and terrorism in support of Islam. Those who say that Islam is a peace loving religion are either ignorant of the Koran’s teaching or deliberately deceptive.

When I completed my classes, Ron started teaching his classes while I ate a quick lunch. We then had a short picture taking session and I was off to the airport with Rody and Lordy. At my insistence, they dropped me off and went back to teach their classes. The flight to Manila went fine and I am looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow before flying home on Friday. This report will not be sent by e-mail because my provider has changed my service against my will to an affiliate of Google’s gmail and I cannot send a large volume as before. When I tried last night, all were rejected. So, if you know someone who reads the report by e-mail, please help them get on the blog to see it. May God bless and keep you all. Please keep me in your prayers as I fly home on Friday, the Lord willing.

Brotherly, Harry O.

The End Is in Sight!

With the final focus on completing the classes and getting all material covered, I stayed up until after 2am this morning getting ready for classes. Even when I try to get to sleep, I find it difficult to get any rest. I think the accumulation of over three week’s worth of travel, preaching and preparation has finally caught up with me and I am pushing harder and harder to make it through the day. Starting this effort after getting sick during the work in the Visayas has made it even more difficult, but the added energy from the end being in sight helps a great deal.

My Old Testament Prophets class covered the book of Zechariah today. We dealt with the apocalyptic style of writing seen in the book and several others (Ezekiel, Daniel & Revelation). Attention was given to the night visions to understand the main point of the picture being drawn for the readers. We also examined the historical sections showing the condition of the people and their need to be restored from the heart. Lastly, we looked at the clear and unmistakable messianic references in this prophetic book. This leaves me with only Malachi to overview tomorrow which can easily be done in 30 minutes.

The New Testament Survey class began with a 15 to 20 minute section showing the cessation of spiritual gifts as declared in 1st Corinthians 13 and when that occurred. We saw both the immediate context and other related passage refute the idea that spiritual gifts will continue until the second coming of Christ. Instead, the Scriptures plainly teach that those spiritual gifts were to cease when the completed revelation was both given and confirmed. After dealing with those points, we shifted to a general introduction for the book of Revelation. Building on the points from the class on Zechariah, it was easier to get the point across about the nature and purpose of apocalyptic literature. I got even further than I thought would be possible, leaving me a 30 minute section tomorrow to complete the book.

In Church History, we covered the English Reformation and set up the section on Restoration History that will be taught tomorrow. Though the English Reformation had its visible beginning with Henry VIII’s separation from Catholicism due to his desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon, it aided the development of a more spiritual effect. Though Henry VIII had no intent to change Catholic doctrine or practice, his ouster of priest sympathetic to the pope had the effect of purging a great number of power-hungry and wicked men from continuing their morally corrupt influence. Despite Henry’s lack of spiritual or moral concern, the religious leaders that remained in England came to show a great deal of moral strength and character that fueled the flames towards greater reform. The most significant help for the movement back towards God came from the fact that England led the way among nations in printing Bibles in the vernacular, thus giving access to the Bible for the common people. Where the people have access to God’s word and use that to learn what is His true will, restoration is the sure and certain result!

The class on Premillennialism finished all of the material on that subject today. After we completed our study guided by the outline, we had time for an open forum where the students could ask questions on the subject. Premillennialism is a hot topic over here as in most parts of our country since most of the denominations advocate the doctrine. They seemed glad to have the material in hand to use in studying with others. With that subject done, I have a one-hour class on Islam left to complete the Denominational Doctrines course.

Yesterday and today, we discussed how to allocate the remaining time for the classes. Since the books just arrived to us on Monday, Ron is needing all of the time he can get to teach the students how to use them. So, Lordy and I have finished our classes a day early to give Ron extra time. Since I will not be teaching Thursday, I decided to fly to Manila a day early to run several errands including a trip to the US Embassy to seek help with our book importing problem. I am also hoping to get some sleep before taking the long trip back home. As it turned out, that decision to fly back early to Manila was a very fortunate or providential decision. When I rebooked for tomorrow, the agent told me the airline had changed their schedule for the afternoon flight from 4:15pm to 1:20pm. Of course, they had not informed the passengers of that change. Had I not changed my flight, Ron and I would have missed our flight from here to Manila as well as our respective flights to New Zealand and home to the US. So, tonight I must pack up and get ready to leave after teaching my final 3 hours tomorrow and completing my part in this effort.

Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers, support and every form of encouragement in this effort. I am only able to take part in these opportunities to teach the gospel in this part of the world due to the kindness and love for souls that you have shown. I believe that there is much good that has been accomplished on this trip, and even more doors opened for future efforts to spread the seed of God’s word to places where it has not gone before. Without you, that would be impossible. To every one that has helped teach and preach while I am away, given of your time to pray for these efforts, provided funds to make the efforts possible and every action to help as we carry the gospel into all the world, thank you from the bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul. I wish that I could find words to tell you how much your fellowship with me in this work means to me. May God bless you that you may prosper even as your soul prospers.

Brotherly, Harry O.

Trying to Finish

My morning got off to a very bad start. I awoke feeling something creeping up my leg, only to find out it was a roach-like creature. Having dispatched its smashed carcass to the trash, I went to my table and discovered that I had an ant invasion. With those two wonderful experiences, I needed things to improve and they did as I turned on the TV and found that the Super Bowl was being carried live on TV in our hotel. It came on early this morning, our time, so I watched it as I got ready and ate breakfast. The game was carried by the Asian ESPN channel. It was unique to be watching a football game and then, during the commercial breaks, have soccer and cricket updates. The game helped ease a little of my homesickness, though I definitely remain ready to be home!

The Prophets class went well as we studied Obadiah and Haggai. God judgment against Edom for their un-brotherly conduct towards Israel and Judah was shown from Obadiah. We also noted the false security that Edom had in its geographical location as a fortress of natural defense and how they were brought to full destruction. Haggai presented a picture of a people returned from captivity who finished their own houses, but left God’s house (the temple) in ruins. God both cursed them and challenged them. He cursed them for their lack of spiritual concern and challenged them to change their ways and watch the blessing He would pour out on them as they repented.

The New Testament Survey class was on the subject of spiritual gifts as presented 1st Corinthians. We covered the purpose of the spiritual gifts as well as noting the instructions given to Corinth about the use of the spiritual gifts. The Lord willing, we will cover the issue of their duration in the first part of tomorrow’s class.

The Church History class dealt with the Swiss Reformation and the spread of the Reformation teaching throughout mainland Europe. We focused on the teaching of Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin. We noted that Zwingli came much closer to the truth than the other major reformers. He affirmed that our faith and practice must be limited to those things expressly authorized in the Bible. However, he continued to hold on to the state church concept that ultimately led to his death as he went with an army in battle for defense of his religion. John Calvin was far more radical in his reform because of his mistaken ideas of God’s sovereignty. Most of you are very aware of the systematic theology of Calvinism that came from these mistaken concepts. I took some time discussing free will as it is taught in the Scripture. Calvin also evidenced an arrogant use of power in bringing the force of the state to execute or banish all who opposed him.

The next hour was spent in beginning the study of Premillennialism. Each student was given a full outline that thoroughly examines and refutes the major tenets of Premillennialism. We discussed the land promise given to Abraham and noted numerous Bible passages showing that it was fulfilled in OT times. Tomorrow, we will cover the remainder of the subject. I ended the class early to give Ron Halbrook time to work with the students on the reference books provided to the students (Strong’s Concordance, Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary, a reference Bible, etc.). After a totally ridiculous set of delays by officials openly seeking bribes, the books were finally released from Customs in Manila on Friday and delivered today. This leaves very little time for Ron to help them in 3 days with what normally takes 2 weeks to accomplish. We are all trying to adjust our schedules to give Ron as much time as possible to use in helping the students with the books.

Only a few students are left to introduce, so these men will complete the group. Jhunie Samontina, 20 from Cabarruguis, Quirino, is a late addition to the students. He attended the PTP in 2008 and has been working with Otey Pastor. When Otey had to leave the classes, Jhunie asked to take his place in order to learn more by a second exposure to the material. He is now the youngest and the only unmarried student in this group. Fred Banao, 58, is from Salcedo, Ilocos Sur. He was a former Pentecostal preacher and a classmate of Rody and Tessie Gumpad in the Pentecostal seminary. Fred was converted in the early 1990’s. He has been a very attentive and hard working student in these classes. Mark Bayado, 41, is from Baguio City. He is a member of the Botbot tribe, formerly the “headhunter” tribe of the indigenous people of the islands. We are certainly glad he does not retain that ancestral practice. He was a Baptist before his conversion, but obeyed the Lord about 20 years ago. Mariano Datul, 63, also of Baguio City, is a co-laborer of Mark Bayado as they work together in the same congregation in Baguio City. Mariano is a former Catholic, but I do not know when he was converted. Jaime Battung, 68, is from Metro Manila. He only arrived at the classes on Friday.

Tessie is now calling us to supper, so I will end this post. Tessie and her helpers have provided wonderful meals each day and have done all humanly possible to make us feel comfortable. They have asked us what we want to eat and have fixed anything requested. Just as in years past, Tessie’s kitchen remains our 4-star restaurant in the Philippines!

May the Lord bless you as you honor and serve Him.

Brotherly, Harry O.

Lord's Day Worship - One Baptized

It has been a very busy and enjoyable Lord’s day here in Tuguegarao. We started the Bible class this morning at 8:30 where Ron taught on “Because Christ Came, We Must Go.” It was a lesson encouraging all to increased efforts in evangelism. The lesson was very good to encourage the students who are preaching to work harder as well as helping each Christian realize the opportunities that we have to teach others the gospel as doors of opportunity are opened to us.

During the second hour, we partook of the Lord’s Supper and had the collection as brethren are doing across the globe on this same day. Rody led the singing while some of the students read Scripture and led prayers. I preached on “God Satisfies the Longing Heart” from Psalm 107. No one responded to the invitation when it was extended.

After lunch, Dennis Yuson took Lordy and I to a congregation started by Robert Rances. At least one family at 84th Street had helped that congregation buy land and erect a building. The building is not finished, but it has a roof and most of the walls up. They are very happy to have the place as they were previously meeting in a home where only a few could fit inside while most had to sit outside. I preached from 2nd Timothy 1:8-13 on “Passing the Gospel on to Others.” The lesson focused on the kind of heart one must have to see the necessity of passing on the pure gospel to others. At the invitation, one young mother with an infant in arms came forward to be baptized. After the service, we took her back to the church building at Tuguegarao which has a baptistery and baptized her into Christ. We rejoiced with her at her decision to obey the Lord.

Whenever I ride very far in a car here in the Philippines, I always see things that amuse me. This afternoon, we passed several buildings with unique combinations of businesses inside. Over one set of double doors were two signs side-by-side. One was an “all-u-can-eat” place and the other was for kidney dialysis. A little farther out from town was another building that looked like a garage with one sign announcing it as a place to eat noodles and rice as well as change your car’s oil. Crisco or Pennzoil?

Another interesting thing has come to my attention over here on this trip. Since I have never cared much for the breakfast at the hotel café, Lordy and I decided to try getting McDonald’s to deliver breakfast, as I noted earlier. It has been an improvement and it has cost less. Now for the interesting discovery. Every single day, without exception, the breakfast order from McDonald’s has arrived exactly on time and with exactly the correct items as ordered. What are the chances of that in the US? I think the US fast-food industry needs to send their employees over here for training because they evidently know how to do it here. If they make the trainees come over in the middle of the very hot summers, they could increase productivity by threatening to send them back if they messed up.

Thanks again for reading these reports and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We hope and pray that you will have a great day to worship and praise our Lord on that side of the globe as well. May God guide your hearts and actions as you serve Him whole-heartedly according to His will.

Brotherly, Harry O.

Shorter Schedule

Being Saturday, it was our shorter schedule today. We started earlier, abbreviated each class by 5 to 10 minutes and eliminated the Denominational Doctrines class for today. Several of the preachers in this area needed to leave by 3:40pm to get transportation back to their homes where they will preach tomorrow.

The Old Testament Prophets class overviewed Zephaniah and Habakkuk this morning. We discussed Zephaniah’s pronouncement of judgment and destruction on Judah, as well as his message of the hope for the faithful to be found therein. We then examined the book of Habakkuk which has always been one of my favorites. We talked about the prophet’s questions of God and His workings in judgment. We saw how Habakkuk learned to be quiet and accept God’s way with a faith of full trust that God knows best. The statement that “the righteous shall live by his faith” was a point we closely studied in its context. We close the study of each prophet by noting some practical points learned from each book.

The New Testament Survey class met as the last class of the morning today and examined the book of 1st Corinthians. We covered an introduction and overview to the book by showing its historical setting and then studying an outline of its teaching. On Monday, the Lord willing, we will focus on chapters 12-14 to show the nature and use of the spiritual gifts present with some of the Christians Corinth.

My only afternoon class on this schedule was Church History. We studied the German Reformation and the work of Martin Luther. We noted that Luther rightly rejected the authority of the Catholic Church and hierarchy, saying the Scripture was the final authority. Yet, he violated his own principles by making a human creed to define faith and practice (the Augsburg Confession) and turning to civil powers to help settle and direct religious matters. Indeed, Luther’s urging of princes and civil power to take leadership in religious matters ultimately led to the state churches that divided Europe for centuries and led to numerous wars.

Though it was a short schedule for today, I have a great deal of work to do tonight in preparing to preach tomorrow as well as getting ready for next week’s classes. Thank you again for your interest in this work. May God bless you as you seek to spread His truth wherever you are.

Brotherly, Harry O.

It Is Hot!!!

We are continuing our efforts in the classes and trying to make sure we finish the material by the end of our allotted time. As long as the power stays on, the PowerPoint presentations make it easy to cover the material in the time schedule while being understandable. However, the frequent brownouts that last for anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour make meeting our schedule more of a challenge. Our battery backup will keep things going for about ten minutes, but beyond that we lose the projector and we are back to the white board. As the heat increases, the brownouts seem to increase as well. This picture from my digital thermometer is not a fake. It was set on a retaining wall in front of Rody’s house and beside of the building. It registered 122 F! To see if it was significantly different off of the hot concrete, I held it in the air by a non-heat sensing part of the clock/thermometer and it registered 112.4 F – confirming that it is, in fact, hot!

The morning class on the Prophets covered Micah and Nahum. I begin each class by reminding them of the prophetic model seen repeatedly in these books. To evidence the fact that he speaks of God, the prophet includes in his message of instruction a foretelling of events to be fulfilled in the relatively near future. When those come to pass, God shows to the people that they can have confidence in all of the prophet’s teaching, including the events foretold of the more distant, and often Messianic, future. This is seen in Micah as the prophet tells of the imminent destruction of Samaria (Israel), the more distant judgment on Judah (if they also fail to repent), as well as the distant blessings of the Messiah to the remnant of the faithful. Micah tells by inspiration about the coming Messiah “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” that would come out of Bethlehem in Judah (Micah 5:2). The total accuracy of prophecy regarding the nations and the Messiah is compelling evidence for the inspiration of the Scripture. We also looked at the corruption of the leaders which was singled out for special rebuke. These students are very familiar with the concept of corrupt leaders as they see it in abundance in their government. In fact, the books for these classes are still being held up in Manila by corrupt customs officials who want a bribe in order to release them. We talkeded about the only effective way to change corruption – from the bottom up, as honesty is taught and exemplified in their lives, their families and their community. The truth is that honesty has always been a “grassroots movement.” In Nahum, God again shows that he gave the Gentiles an opportunity to know His will, though we are not given many details about such opportunities. The same Nineveh (Assyria) that Jonah had brought to repentance had increased in wickedness again to the point that God would destroy them. He gave them the time and opportunity to repent, but they would not. The same principle holds true for any nation or individual. As Nahum describes the overthrowing of Nineveh, their vain attempts to flee and their ultimate destruction, it is like reading the historical account of their demise. The prophet shows such detailed accuracy that the prophecy could only come from God. When wicked Assyria fell, no one mourned their fall. Such is the epitaph of evil.

Our New Testament Survey class took a closer look at Romans 4 – 5 to examine what the text means by Abraham being accounted righteous by faith that it might be by grace. We saw that it cannot be referring to the popular doctrine of salvation by “faith only” (the point of mental acceptance of certain facts) because that would go against both the context of Romans and the facts about the life of Abraham as seen in the book of Genesis. We noted that Abraham is pronounced “righteous” by God in Genesis 15:6. This was not the first time he had mentally accepted as fact all that God said, nor was it the first time he showed a reverence and commitment to God. Before this point, chapters 12 through 14 of Genesis show that Abraham’s faith was active in obeying all that God said. He left Ur and Haran as God directed. He journeyed to a land he did not know as God directed. He built altars to worship God and called on the name of the Lord, obeying God each step of the way. When Abraham was told of the coming child of promise, he believed God and acted in readiness to receive the promise though he knew it was impossible by physical means. In other words, the saving faith of Abraham involved obedience.

In the Church History class, we looked closely at the work of those who prepared the way for reformation and restoration efforts that followed them and often depended on their previous work. Special emphasis was given to the early work done by John Wycliffe, often called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” He was truly an amazing character whose scholarship and zeal for making known the message of the Bible helped many people to seek God’s will by returning to the Bible. His work in England as a teacher at Oxford influenced many student, some of them carrying that teaching back to mainland Europe. We also noted the life of John Huss and his effect on the people of mainland Europe. His thinking was first challenged by former students of Wycliffe who had returned to Prague. Through Huss, the idea spread of going back to the Bible for authority in religious matters, rather than to the Catholic Church. In Florence, Italy, a Dominican monk named Girolamo Savonarola also had a profound influence towards reform from within the Catholic Church. As a serious student and pious man, Savonarola saw the ungodly lifestyle of the pope and the priests and was appalled. He spoke out against such. Aided by the protection of Charles VIII of France who had invaded Italy, Savonarola spoke out even more boldly. He condemned the extravagance of the wealthy in Florence including the very rich and powerful De Medici family. His call for a true reform of character from top to bottom was not received with joy by the rich and powerful. Eventually, the corrupt religious leaders joined hands with the materialistic people of wealth to kill Savonarola by hanging and then burning his body. It is not the last time that morally corrupt people of false religion and wealth have joined to silence a principled teacher of truth. We then began examining the German Reformation and the work of Martin Luther and will finish that tomorrow, the Lord willing.

As in previous days, I will continue to introduce you to some of the students each day. Sammy Gamit, 59, is from Saguday, Quirino. His father was one of the pioneer preachers in that area and Sammy is faithfully following in those footsteps. He has been an excellent student in attitude and in diligence of study. Julian Ramil, 60, is from Ballesteros, Cagayan. He is another former Pentecostal preacher converted by Rody during the 1980’s. His wife was initially an impediment to his conversion as she was a “pastora” and resisted the fact that women were not preachers or those who took oversight in the New Testament church. In the end, both submitted to the gospel and are now working in the Lord’s service according to His pattern. Robert Pader, 36, is from Tuguegarao City. He was one of those converted in the 1990’s from the Solana area. There is much good and fruitful work continuing to take place in that area which is very near Tuguegarao. Mamerto Leoncion, 30, is the youngest of the students in this training. He comes from Abra De Ilog on the island of Mindoro where I earlier noted that we have received invitations to come and preach to those desiring to hear the pure message of the gospel. Mamerto was a Mormon for 12 years before his conversion which I believe was about two years ago.

Thank you again for reading these reports and showing you interest in the work being done. The students and teachers continue to voice our thanks for your help and support in this training program because we know it would not be possible without you. Many of the prayers include words of thanks for your generosity and concern. Please know that I am continually thankful for every assistance and encouragement that you have given to this effort and me personally. May God bless and prosper you as you have done to us.

Brotherly, Harry O.

It's Hot Here!

The temperature here in Tuguegarao continues to increase. It has been from the high 90’s to about 100 degrees, far above the normal for this time of year. The tropical sun was out in full force today, unimpeded by any clouds. Though the humidity has not been as bad as in April, temperatures of near 100 are still very uncomfortable. The reason we moved these classes to this time of year was to escape the heat and then cost of greater electrical use, but it has not worked.

The Old Testament Prophets class surveyed Amos and Hosea showing the sins of Israel and the reasons for their destruction. We spent some time on the emphasis made in Amos of God’s rebuke of the materialism in that society. The book depicts a people so corrupt and self-indulgent that even the women (“cows of Bashan”) were depicted as being given to immorality, laziness and luxury rather than having concern for God or others. We also noted Israel’s foolish reliance on political alliances, rather than upon God for their protection. In Hosea, we discussed the tender picture of God’s grace presented by the parallel with the family life of the prophet. Though he took a woman to wife from a surrounding of whoredom and loved her as his wife, she rejected his love and turned to harlotry. Despite such ungodliness, Hosea was told to take her back and love her again. Though he did so, she rejected his love again and returned to harlotry. This is the picture of God’s love and mercy for Israel and her rejection of Him. Much the same picture is presented of God’s love for us and our rejection of Him when we turn to sin.

The New Testament Survey class started the book of Romans today and we will continue it tomorrow. We introduced the book and gave an outline of it. We then started to discuss Paul’s basic argument by breaking down the theme statement of Romans 1:16-17 and showing the full concept and meaning of “faith” as Paul uses it in Romans. When people say Romans teaches salvation by “faith only” (meaning a mental acceptance of certain truths) before and without any action of obedience, they have never read the book of Romans. One cannot read the book with any reflection or thought as to the overall teaching and come to that conclusion. The book of Romans clearly presents saving faith as not only something we receive from the gospel, but also a life guided by that trust (obedience – Rom. 1:17; 6:15-23; 12:1-2; 16:25-26; etc.). A brownout during the class made me revert to the whiteboard and markers to teach most of the period, but I think they were able to decipher my hieroglyphics enough to get the point J.

The Church History class covered the Crusades, persecution of groups opposing the papacy, the Inquisition and introduced the early reformers. We looked in some detail at what happened in each of the Crusades so as to emphasize that nothing really was gained by the tremendous loss of life. It was a result of the foolish quest for power sought by kings and popes that brought horrible tragedy and loss to the masses. Maybe the saddest point of the whole thing was seen in the Children’s Crusade where two young boys were convinced by pious sounding hypocrites that their purity might cause them to victorious in the carnal battles With the encouragement of the Catholic hierarchy, these boys gathered children throughout Germany and France to go ill-equipped into battle, leading only to the massive slaughter of most and slavery of the rest. In the end, the Crusades helped bring an end to feudalism and spark nationalism which combined to decrease the hold of Catholicism. A pattern of thirst for blood can be traced from efforts to kill the Moslem enemy in the Crusades, to killing the enemy groups (Catherists, Paulicans, Abigenses, Waldenses, etc.) opposing the papacy, to torturing and killing of individuals suspected as heretics in the Inquisition. In short, the Catholic Church has more blood on its hands than any organization in history. It is history’s greatest mass murderer and we should recognize it as such!

As in previous days, I want to continue giving you an introduction to the students. Lorenzo Lazaro, 72, is our second oldest student and comes from San Agustin, Isabela. He was formerly a Pentecostal preacher. He is very accomplished in playing the piano and organ, so was used as lead man to some of the American Pentecostal missionary crusades. Bernardo Quibina, Sr., 58, is from Sison,Pangasinan which is near the place Lordy lives. He came from an institutional background, but came out from them long ago. Rosendo Gumpad, Jr., 41, is from Baguio City and is Rody’s youngest brother. I have worked with him several times in Baguio City as he strives to build a strong congregation in that vital city. Many young Christians from across the Philippines go to that city for college and other business purposes. It has been a hard area in which to work, but Rosendo is committed to continue in that effort. Rodel Baagin, 40, is from Abra De Ilog on the island of Mindoro. He at one time worked with the “one cup” (binding the use of one container in the Lord’s Supper) groups and also the mutual edification faction. He has begun to see their errors and has invited us to come teach in his area to help teach others. We will be looking into that possibility in the near future. We have also had contact from others in the same general area that were under the influence of other teachers of error and some denominations. They have expressed a desire to hear further teaching as well. We hope and pray that there will be doors opened to the truth in this area as well for a number to hear the purity and simplicity of the true gospel message.

Tessie is calling for supper, so I will close. Please keep us in your prayers that we will speak as we ought and God will be glorified. May the Lord help and strengthen you each day as you serve Him.

Brotherly, Harry O.