Area for Next Preaching Trip

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Preaching efforts for the next trip (Oct. 22 - Nov. 16) will be centered around:

• Bacolod and areas on the north side of Negros Island
• Leyte (Tacloban, Ormoc and Baybay)
• Cebu
• Dumaguete (at the SE of Negros Island)
• General Santos City (in southern Mindanao)
• Ozamis City (in northern Mindanao - west of Iligan on the map above)
• Manila area and Muntinlupa prison (SE of Manila)

As the trip gets closer, further updates will be posted. The full amount of support needed for this trip has not been completed at this time. If you know of those willing to help, please let them know about this effort to continue work in this very fruitful field. Thanks again for your interest!

Final Days in Auckland

Tuesday night’s class had two visitors, members of two different institutional churches. Both of them, like a number of others we have met, were formerly members of the International Churches of Christ (the “Boston Church” group of the “Discipling Movement”). They were from the Philippines as well. I presented a lesson on “How Do We Know Whether a Religious Practice Is Right or Wrong?” It was a basic lesson covering the fundamentals of establishing Bible authority. The two ladies were attentive, but did not seem to be moving towards the truth. We will continue to pray that their hearts may become receptive to truth rather than the social circles that have their present preoccupation.

Tonight, only the members of the local church were present, so we had another open forum of questions that were of concern to them. Again, the questions were very good and showed that they have been engaged in study with friends, family and other associates as they try to bring others to Christ. I hope that we were able to help them in their efforts as well as encourage them to continue planting the gospel seed and trusting that God will give the increase in due season. They show every evidence of being committed to this effort of planting a sound work in New Zealand. Please keep Lordy in your prayers as he will stay on with daily classes for the next week.

It has been a joy to work with these brethren. Ronnie and Nina Salunga have been more than gracious hosts seeing to our every need and making my stay here so very pleasant. Randy and Myla Cabrillas have also been with us for every service and actively participating in every aspect of the work. All have expressed their deep thanks to brethren in the U.S. who have made this effort possible for both Lordy and me. They have asked that I return in the future to help them whenever possible and I have said we will leave it in the Lord’s hands to see what doors He might open by His providence.

When we arrived early last week, the group took us to eat at a local restaurant and immediately made us feel welcome. Father’s Day in New Zealand had been the previous week and they told us that they had delayed their celebration of it until we arrived. They gave us Father’s Day cards with personal greetings from each one. It was especially touching to me! Tonight, they gave me another card with notes of thanks from each member along with several mementos of my time in New Zealand. I will cherish them and think of these good brethren often. Please keep them and this work in your prayers.

What is being done here is the same thing I believe can be done throughout the world as an outgrowth of the work ongoing in the Philippines. The brethren forming the nucleus of this church are Filipino brethren who have left the Philippines to work in another country. The same thing is happening as Filipinos are going as overseas workers across the globe. If we can help strengthen these brethren in the Philippines and encourage a zeal for truth, there is no limit to the spread of the gospel that is possible as these brethren are scattered through the world by economic necessity and carry the gospel with them. I believe Filipino workers can go to many parts of the world that we cannot reach and they can plant faithful congregations wherever they go. Again, I want to thank each of you for providing the financial means and support in prayers that made this work possible. Thank you for having fellowship with me in this work that I believe to be so vital and urgent as we labor in fields truly white unto harvest!

Sunday & Monday in Auckland

For our Sunday services, we had only the members making up the Meadowood congregation plus Lordy and myself – ten in number. I brought the lesson for the first hour which was aimed at encouraging the brethren to continue standing for the truth and depending on the Lord to help them overcome opposition and trials. Lordy brought a lesson on modesty in dress and conduct for the second hour and I led the singing.

We started at 10am and ended well after 1pm. All of the members stayed together at the Salunga’s house throughout the afternoon as we were able to associate and discuss throughout the day. At 6pm, Lordy and I visited the institutional group that Ronnie and the others left for their evening gathering. After a very casual period of singing and a talk given by the preacher, we were able to visit with many of the people and invited all to come study the Scripture with us. By all appearances, Bible study did not seem high on their agenda, but we hope some might come.

Our Monday night study was a time for the members to ask questions of concern in the work and study. We tried to answer each one from the Scripture and all seemed to benefit from the class. The session lasted over three hours with a good variety of topics that manifested good study and effort by these brethren. They are good examples of the fact that rapid growth in the knowledge of the Scripture comes when we try to teach others. This will be a difficult work and will require patience, but these brethren seem determined to put forth the effort over a long period in order to bring others to the Lord and work together as a sound congregation that upholds the pattern of doctrine and practice authorized by Christ.

Friday & Saturday Studies in Auckland

On Friday night, we had a very good class with about 20 people. I presented a lesson on the salvation of Saul and we had a very good question/answer period afterwards. It appears that some progress may have been made with a few that attended. Though no one responded to the invitation when Ronnie Salunga extended it, several seemed to be giving serious consideration. A family of Koreans that were of an evangelical persuasion heard the points showing Saul was not saved by faith only and left immediately. All of the others were attentive and open to the truth. The study and follow-up period lasted until almost 11pm.

On Saturday afternoon, several of Lordy and Ronnie Salunga’s relatives came over to visit before the study period. Others came early as well, so we had a good opportunity to become acquainted before the class time started at 3pm. I began the session with a lesson on Evidences that appealed to fulfilled prophecy and historical accuracy as compelling evidence for the divine inspiration of Scripture, especially as they are viewed together in their combined effect. Lordy followed with a lesson on “The Gospel and the Seed” from 1 Peter 1:22-25. He did an excellent job as always.

After the second lesson, we opened the floor to another question/answer period and it was the most lively yet. It became very interesting when a former “fortune teller” decided to give her “testimony” about her salvation by faith alone without baptism, appealing, of course, to the most famous thief known to our Baptist friends. It gave us the opportunity to do more teaching on the change of covenants, the purpose of baptism and the errors of the “faith only” doctrine. The added study seemed to clarify the matter for several present, but our former fortune teller decided to switch topics and affirm the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. We dealt with that topic by studying mostly from Hebrews 6:4-6, but also briefly considering Hebrews 3:12-14 and a few other passages. The bulk of the audience seemed to understand and accept those points as well. Again, when the invitation was extended, no one obeyed the gospel, but there was very good feedback from several in the extended time for visiting afterwards. There were a little over 20 present and many were different from the ones present the night before. The session finally broke up well after 6pm.

I continue to be more and more impressed with Ronnie and Nina Salunga. In addition to being such exceptional host to Lordy and me, they have opened their home in hospitality to visitors both before and after each service. The meeting place for the church is a room on the first floor of the Salunga’s home. After every study, they invite people attending upstairs to the portion of their home used as their dwelling where further discussion can continue more privately with individual visitors. They are truly a family that exemplifies a love of the truth and the souls of others. Many contacts have been made in this way and we pray the Lord will richly bless their efforts.

Starting in Auckland, New Zealand

We started our studies Wednesday night by talking with the congregation about what they believe to be most needful to consider. Most wanted to learn more about personal evangelism, so we started by examining what the Bible teaches about the subject. Our focus in the first part of the study was on New Testament cases of people teaching others the gospel. We noted the repeated emphasis given to the fact that our teaching involves both our example and our verbal instruction. We also drew principles to be learned from the different NT examples and discussed them in a class setting. Towards the end, we considered some problems that are encountered as we teach others. It was a very good study with a great deal of participation from all present.

Thursday had much better weather than the day before, so Ronnie took us out to see some of the sights around Auckland. It is a city of a little under 1.4 million people in a country of about 4.4 million people. Though it is New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland is not nearly as congested as most large cities. The countryside just out of the city has beautifully green pastures with many sheep grazing. The plant and animal life all around is very unique and unlike that seen in the U.S. Of course, as we drove through the city, we were on the left side of the road. I sat in what would have been the driver’s seat in the U.S., but the driver was to my right. We enjoyed the tour and returned home to prepare for the night’s studies.

Lordy spoke first tonight on “Identifying the True Church.” It was a very good lesson given in a mix of English and Tagalog because everyone present except for me was Filipino. We had one visitor with us and he listened very attentively. After Lordy’s lesson, I lead a question/answer period with a wide range of topics considered including evidences of the Bible’s divine inspiration, the difference in the hope offered in Christianity versus that of world religions, defining “success” in life, the problems presented by prosperity, and several more. It was an excellent period of study that lasted about 3 hours.

The Lord willing, our studies will continue tomorrow night with the lesson being on the plan of salvation. I am very impressed with the two main families that comprise the church here and their work in inviting many to come hear the gospel. Both are Filipino families who see the great difference in the openness to the gospel found in their country of birth (the Philippines) and their adopted home of New Zealand. Despite the relative disinterest in spiritual things seen here, they continue to expend great effort to reach people with the truth. It is a joy to be with them and they are so very appreciative for the opportunity to have these studies.