Wednesday was a busy day for our classes. We covered 1st and 2nd Kings in the morning OT Survey class. We took more time focusing on the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam of Israel, Ahab of Israel, Hezekiah, Josiah and the work of Elijah. We had to move quickly to get through the overview, but the students seemed very attentive. My first afternoon class covered Jeremiah and Lamentations. We had a brief overview of the books and then looked at some of the highlights of each. This is the students first exposure to the Prophets, so they seem to be especially receptive to this study. In the Church History class, we looked at the growth in apostasy from the third century onward. We focused on the effects of the councils from the fourth to the eighth centuries, starting with the Nicaean council in 325.
On Wednesday evening, the Metro congregation in Tuguegarao has a regular midweek service. After the usual singing and prayer, one of the students, Sonny, brought the lesson, “What Is Sin?” After some discussion of the lesson, I was asked to give a short lesson of encouragement which I took from Hebrews 10:23-25. After an invitation by Rody, a couple of other songs and a prayer, we were dismissed. After eating at the Gumpad’s home, we did not get back to the hotel until after 9pm. Since I needed to study and prepared for the next day’s classes, it was quite late when I finally got to bed.
Thursday turned out to be an easier day for me. When I arrived to teach my first class, I found out that the students were very sleepy. They had an exam to gauge their progress in the training after the Wednesday night service. After the exam, they had told Rody that they were having a hard time sleeping and asked for some over-the-counter sleeping aid which they took about 10:30pm. As it turned out, the effects lasted longer than their wake-up time, so they were dragging. I decided to shorten the morning Old Testament Survey class on 1stand 2nd Chronicles, so we covered the material a bit more briefly than I had planned. I also shortened my late afternoon Church History class that dealt with the rise of Catholicism and papal power so the students could get a little more rest. My early afternoon class on OT Prophets covered the book of Ezekiel.
Willie Otey Pastor and his wife, Kathy, were unable to come for a visit yesterday as they had planned, but were able to come today. It was great to see them and we were able to take several breaks in the schedule to talk and catch up on their work and family. I love both of them dearly and greatly respect them for all they have endured while handling it with faith and steadfast service to the Lord and their brethren.
Thanks again for your interest in this work and your prayers on our behalf. Please continue to pray for this effort.
Brotherly, Harry
