What About Bob?

Home Safely

By the grace of God, I have safely returned from my ninth trip to Zimbabwe. I have truly grown to love these brethren over the years and appreciate their steadfast stand for Truth. I’m happy to report that a few things are better than what I found in the country last November, but it still has a long way to go before things are restored to normal.

My Travel Companion

I invited Robin Bauer to accompany me on this trip. He is a native of Zimbabwe, but has been living in Cape Town, South Africa, for many years. He had been anxious to return to his homeland and to assist in Bible teaching. I’ve worked with Robin on several occasions in South Africa, so it was a double treat to work with him again and to be with him as he returned “home” for a few days. He drove from Cape Town to Johannesburg, in order to visit with some of the brethren he hadn’t seen there for a while.

With the recent merger of Northwest and Delta Airlines, there is now a non-stop flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg. It is a long and tiring 15-hour flight. It was good to finally get off the plane and stretch my legs. My luggage arrived safely and I was met in the airport by Fred Liggin and Robin Bauer. Fred is an American who is married to a South African lady. They live in Johannesburg and work with two churches in the city. I’ve grown to love them and appreciate their labors in the kingdom. We drove to Fred and Pearl’s house, had a wonderful meal, and was able to visit for a while before getting into bed at about midnight.

Entering Zimbabwe

On Friday morning, we departed Johannesburg at 6:15. We stopped in the town of Louis Trichardt to fill up the car and all of our gasoline cans, not knowing whether or not gasoline would be available in Zim. We also bought lots of groceries and bottled water. We arrived at Beit Bridge at 2:15. We completed the check points on the South Africa side in thirty minutes. We then entered the Zimbabwe side and things were much slower. I had to buy a visa; Robin gets in free. We then had to pay for the toll across the bridge, something they call a carbon tax, and then to buy third-party insurance. All of this took us about 1½ hours, but we were eventually on our way.

Current Conditions in Zim

Shortly after entering Zim, we stopped at a rest area that had a gas station, grocery store, restaurant, and toilets. I immediately noticed so many changes from when I was here last November. The highways are now busy with lots of traffic, something that was missing last year because of no gasoline. The shelves in the grocery store are now full of food.  Last year, these same shelves were empty. The major difference, however, is that there is no longer any Zimbabwe money. The government took their currency out of circulation. Everything must now be purchased with foreign currency, either South Africa rand or the U.S. dollar. Now how is someone in a rural village going to get their hands on foreign currency?  Yes, food is available, but it is usually being purchased by the higher class on the economic scale.

Benevolence

When I was here last November, I helped many brethren buy seed corn. Les Maydell, a preacher in South Africa, has been handling some benevolent funds from America and has worked with many churches to help supply their needs. Most regions were blessed with good rains in November and December and the crops have done well. Even before I arrived in Zimbabwe, I had received an e-mail to inform me that 19 churches were stating that they were now sufficiently being taken care and the benevolent help that has been sent to them the past year could stop. Shortly after arriving in Bulawayo, two good sisters came to me and wanted to express their thanks for the food parcels they have received from U.S. brethren this past year. One of the widow ladies said, “Those boxes helped to keep us alive during the days that we had nothing. There was no food on the supermarket shelves and we had nowhere to turn. The parcels we received from our American brothers and sisters helped to feed us during these destitute times. The markets now have food and we can now take care of ourselves. We want you to send our deep, deep THANKS to the brethren who helped us, but ask them to now turn their benevolence to other areas.” I feel safe in now recommending that the aid going to addresses in Binga, Victoria Falls, and/or Bulawayo can either stop or at least slow down. Some may want to continue some of the parcels going to these addresses, but I feel we can now start weaning them from the regular shipments. The only exception to this would be those brethren in south Gwanda. Just as their crops were getting large, a herd of elephants came into their area and destroyed everything they had planted. It will now take several months to replant and get the vegetation up and growing for future harvest. These brethren will still need aid for several more months.

Arriving in Bulawayo

We arrived in Bulawayo at about 8:15 in the evening. We stopped at a restaurant to get something to eat and called Bruce Mtigwe. He came to the restaurant to direct us to his house. When we arrived at his house, there was no electricity. We soon learned that this is the norm for Zimbabwe. One never knows when you will have power. One day it may be on for the whole day, the next day it may be for half the day, the next day it may be for two hours, and the next day it may never be turned on. The government is rationing the electricity and the citizens never know when they will have the power. It is sometimes only turned on from 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.  Many of the ladies told me they go to bed with their bedroom light turn on. If the power comes on during the night, they will get up in order to cook some food, do the laundry, and iron their clothes. It’s a sad way to live, but they are adjusting to it.

We spent Saturday with Bruce, Nancy and the children. We had many things to discuss and had a wonderful visit with all of them. That evening, we moved to home of George and Jennie Edy. One could not find a more loving, congenial and hospital couple than this couple. When we arrived, their house was without electricity. We were able to visit by candle light and the power came on after about an hour. We were able to hurriedly work together and prepare our meal before the power went off again.

Three Churches on Sunday

We woke up to a very beautiful Lord’s Day morning. We got our showers at about 6:30 and had breakfast at about 7:30. George and Jennie went to their services at Hillside at 9:00, while Robin and I drove to the south end of town to meet Bruce, Nancy and the children at the Queen’s Park Church. Newman Gumpo preaches for these brethren every Sunday morning. He then goes to his “home” congregation at Kensington for afternoon services. The brethren at Queen’s Park had asked Robin to teach the Bible class and for me to deliver the sermon. There were about sixty in attendance. I taught a lesson, asking the question, “What Are You Worth?”  It seems that too many people determine “worth” by your education, your finances, the color of skin, or some other irrelevant issue. I tried to show that we are made in God’s image and when we become Christians that God adopts us into His family. The great Creator of the world is our Father and we should hold our head up high and understand our true worth. I felt the lesson was well received.

The building at Queen’s Park is really starting to show its age. The baptistery has several large cracks, so the brethren have had to drain the water. The roof has many leaks and several windows have been broken. On some trip in the future, I’d like to take a few good carpenters, plumbers and electricians with me and turn it into as much of a benevolent trip as an evangelistic trip. I’ve seen many buildings that need lots of repair.

After our worship at Queen’s Park, we went back to Bruce and Nancy’s for lunch. We then drove to Kensington for their afternoon services. They have just recently knocked out a wall and extended the size of their auditorium in order to accommodate some extra pews. They now need to patch many holes in the roof and they’ll be in pretty good shape. Attendance was 86. Robin preached a lesson from Romans 12:1-2. Both of these churches have a tradition that I really love. At the end of services, after the final prayer and announcements, one of the men will start leading a song. As everyone joins in the singing, he will then walk down the aisle and exit the building. One by one, the members will exit the building, continuing to sing this song. The song leader stands right next to the door. The first person out the door will shake his hand and then stand beside him. The next person out will shake the hands of both of them and then stand next to the last one in the line. One by one, they continue this until everyone has exited the building and shaken hands with everyone who was at worship. No one will leave the property until they have greeted everyone in attendance. These brethren have come to realize that it is very possible that someone present today may be dead before the assembly next week. They really understand the words, “May God be with you until we meet again.” After services at both place, we visited with the brethren for a few minutes, talked about the food boxes many of them were receiving from American Christians, and made a few photographs.

At 5:00 p.m., we attended the evening worship with the Hillside Church. There are two churches that use the same building. For lack of better terms, we simply refer to them as the Hillside Morning Church and the Hillside Afternoon Church. The morning group conducts their services in English. The afternoon church conducts their services in their native tongue. There is seldom electricity, so both groups try to set times to allow them to see their Bibles and songbooks with the sunlight coming through the windows. The morning church then assembles again in the evening. I was asked to preach for them, so I gave a lesson on “Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?”  With so many horrible things that have happened in their country in the past year, many of the brethren have been wrestling with this question.  I hope the sermon helped to settle their minds. A bad thing happening to them does not mean that they have done something wrong. After worship, we went back to Bruce and Nancy’s for tea and then made it “home” the Edy’s house for a hot bowl of spinach soup.

Preacher-Training Classes

On my previous trips, I did lots of driving in order to visit as many churches as possible. Not knowing for sure whether or not gasoline would be available for us in Zim this year, we planned things completely different this year. Robin and I decided to invite the preachers to come to one central location for extensive classes, rather than us going to all of the various congregations.  We felt that if we could teach special classes for the preachers and give them books and study materials to take home with them, then we could cover more material in a shorter period of time. I was given a few donations from individuals, not churches, to help me with many of the expenses. I sent out many invitations to preachers (young and old) that I’ve worked with in the past. I explained that I was renting a guest house, where we could have a large class room, a dining room, and sleeping quarters. I explained that I would provide their lodging and meals, but they were responsible for their own transportation.  The lack of transportation money prohibited some from being able to attend the classes, but I simply didn’t have enough money to pay for everything. Robin and I stayed at the guest house with the students. Some came only for the classes during the day and then returned to their home for the evening.  Others came from some great distances, so they accepted our invitation to sleep at the guest house. We placed 4-6 students per room for the sleeping arrangements. We all shared a common bathroom down the hall. I also took some of the funds that had been donated and hired a local lady to help with the cooking and cleaning. I would often teach the earlier classes and when I turned it over to Robin, I would then run to the kitchen to help prepare lunch.

We provided a bowl of porridge, with bread and tea, for breakfast. For lunch, we provided chicken, cabbage, and mealie meal. For supper, we provided beef stew, bitter greens, and mealie meal. The men expressed their appreciation for the meals on many occasions. We had 35 students in our classes. They came from Harare, Gwanda, Binga, Victoria Falls, plus many churches all around Bulawayo. My invitation had explained that this was going to be conducted like a school. I warned them that they should not attend unless they were prepared to work hard. We had classes from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. We would then eat our supper and the students would then do their homework for the night. In five days, we conducted 28 classes. We taught Bible History. Bible Geography, Prison Epistles, 1 Corinthians, Study Methods, Acts of the Apostles, Life of Paul, James, Jude, and several topical studies. In the evenings, they would gather in the large room and work together on various projects. Since there was no heat in the building, many of them would wear their coats, hats and gloves in the evening. Understand that July is there winter month. It is warm during the day, but it gets very cool in the evening. On a couple of the evenings, after all homework was finished, we would have a hymn singing. This had to be done by candlelight.

During one of our afternoon breaks, one of the young preachers asked if it would be permissible to ask my age. When I told him that I was 62 years old, he expressed his shock. The average life span for a man in Zimbabwe is between 45-50.

Sad News

At the start of classes on Monday morning, Bigboy Dube arrived with several students from Gwanda. He explained that he was going to be unable to stay for the classes. His mother was removing a pot of boiling water from the fire in the yard and the handle broke, spilling all of the boiling water on her leg. Bigboy explained that he needed to return to care for his mother. He didn’t have the money to take her to the doctor or get the ointment needed for severe burns.  I gave him some money from the funds that had been given to me from American brethren, with the instructions that I use this at my own discretion. I was thrilled to be able to help in this emergency.

Working in Binga

We ended our classes in Bulawayo at noon on Friday. After eating their lunch, the students took off in their different directions. One of the older preachers said, “I’ve always tried to be a good teacher, but I’ve had few chances where I get to be the student. I have really enjoyed these classes. I’ve learned much. I hope you will do this again for all of us next year.”

After the students left, we went with Peter Mudenda to the vegetable market in order to buy supplies for our meetings in Binga, one of the poorer regions of Zimbabwe. We tried to get a discount by buying in bulk. We filled up the trailer with heads of cabbage. We then loaded the back of the van with tomatoes, onions, cooking oil and salt. The drive from Bulawayo to Binga is about 4½ hours. It was dark by the time we got to the lodge where we would sleep. The lodge is next to a large lake and one can hear the grunts of the hippo at night. The registration cottage has a sign that warns: “Beware of Hippos.” The sky above us was lovely and filled with stars, more stars than we normally get to see in the areas where we have several lights around us. It was lovely. All three of us shared one cottage. We were able to get checked in, get a shower, and get a good night’s sleep.

On Saturday morning, we got up at 6:30 and had our breakfast at the lodge at 7:00. We then drove to the site where the brethren had planned our classes. Many of them had walked 4-5 hours to get to the site. They all slept on the sand, some with blankets and some just sleeping in their clothes. There was no church building. The brethren were assembling under a large tree. They had cut many branches and made some crude pews for the men. Most of the ladies preferred to sit on mats on the ground. The scrap wood from the pews was used for building cooking fires. Many of them had gathered on Friday night and had their first Bible study and prayer meeting. The attendance for the first session, without any special teachers being present, was 305. Peter worked as translator for Robin and me both. He always does an excellent job. The brethren are there to study, so they don’t limit us on our time. Each class is generally 1½ to 2 hours long. We conducted four classes and then stopped for lunch. I used some of the American funds and bought a cow from one of the neighbors. We slaughtered the cow and cut it into pieces, knowing how much could be used for each meal. Refrigeration was not an option, so the men just hung the slabs of beef in the trees. After a couple of days, it was really starting to get tender from the heat. That’s when I stopped eating beef. We continued classes in the afternoon until just an hour or so before dark. The preachers wanted to eat their supper before it got dark. We learned last year that if we wait until it gets dark to eat that we can’t tell who is getting in line. Last year, many of the neighbors snuck into the lines to eat, although they didn’t attend any of the Bible classes.

Our Sunday in Binga was an awesome day. We had been told that we would not have our worship and eat the Lord’s Supper until the afternoon, but we would have many classes during the morning. Robin started the day with a class on “Consider the Ant, Thou Sluggard.” I followed with a lesson on “Open Rebuke is Better Than Secret Love.” Robin taught the next class on “Fruit of the Spirit.” While he was teaching this class, I had to take the corn to the mill to have it ground. I took three men with me to help with the grinding. Things were going great for the first hour and then the machine broke. We had to get a man to make some repairs before we could finish our grinding. By the time we finished and got back to the site, it was time to begin our worship. Robin and I both taught a lesson during our worship period. The good news is that our attendance was 365. The sad news is that we didn’t have enough grape juice for everyone to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Everyone was able to break the break, but Peter gave an apology for running out of juice. Some of the churches are used to this, but I’m not. It absolutely brought me to tears. One man said, “For some of us, it’s been two months since we’ve had the Lord’s Supper. We simply can’t afford to buy grape juice.” Before we left, we worked with Peter on securing more grape juice and having the brethren to divide it amongst the numerous churches. I pray that this never happens again.

The temperatures dropped a lot during the night. On Monday morning, it was very windy and much cooler. Several men had built small fires in different locations near the tree. We followed the same routine of having several classes in the morning, breaking for lunch, and then having more classes until dark. At the end of the day, Robin and I were ready to distribute several things for the brethren. I have the habit of wearing my clothing only once and then giving it away. I save one outfit to wear on the plane back home and give away everything else in my suitcase. We distributed the clothing, plus vitamins, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and school supplies. We gave so many pieces to each preacher. The preachers then had members of their respective congregation to meet at a certain tree and he then divided it among the saints. There were many happy brethren.

Back to Bulawayo

On Tuesday morning, we said our good-bye to Peter and were ready for our journey back to Bulawayo. Word had spread fast that we were traveling to Bulawayo. We picked up two ladies at the lodge who needed a ride. One of these ladies was a Christian. We hadn’t traveled very far and then saw two police ladies who were hitchhiking, so we stopped to give them a right, too. The five-hour ride was quite interesting. The ladies were “trapped” in the back seat and couldn’t avoid our Bible discussions. The one rider who was a Christian then suggested that we sing. I wish I had been able to tape the singing. It was beautiful.

We deposited the ladies on the street in front of the court house in Bulawayo. They were very appreciative. Robin and I observed that the electricity was working, so we went to the store to buy some groceries. I had volunteered to cook dinner for Robin, George & Jennie, and Bruce, Nancy, and the children. I was really looking forward to fixing them some foods they’ve never tried. I made out my menu for peach mango pork chops, cheesy mashed potatoes, hot pickled beets, pinto beans, pineapple casserole, and a good salad. Just as the potatoes started boiling and the oven was getting hot and ready for the pineapple casserole, the electricity went off. I didn’t know what to do. We finally borrowed two gas grills. Dinner was delayed, but we enjoyed it when we were finally able to eat.

Last Day in Zimbabwe

On Wednesday morning, we had breakfast and 6:00 and departed at 6:30. We met Bigboy Dube in Gwanda and then traveled south. We drove about 40 km. south of town and then turned off the highway on a rough, dirt road. The travel was really slow on this road. We drove about another 30 km. to reach the West Saphila Church. I always enjoy meeting with these brethren, because they always have such interest in the Bible lessons and their singing is always so great. Attendance was 125. We had several classes and then shared lunch with them before we had to start our journey back to South Africa. It was very late in the evening before we got back to the home of Fred and Pearl Liggin. I felt embarrassed about arriving at such a late hour, but they had assured us that it would be okay to awaken them.

Heading Home

We got a good night’s sleep and prepared ourselves for our journeys home. Robin took off for South Africa. Fred and Pearl took me to the airport for my flight. After getting checked in, there was enough time to enjoy breakfast with Fred and Pearl before I had to board the plane. As I eventually got on the plane and reflected on this trip, I felt that much good was accomplished. I hope the Lord was pleased. It was a joy to travel with Robin and to see many brethren that we’ve grown to love over the years.

Other Benevolent Funds

I was happy to play “delivery boy” for some brethren who sent aid to some of our needy brethren. Two new churches were started in recent years among the San people, what we might call cultural minorities. They have not been receiving any benevolent help. Working with Mountbatten Brewer, we distributed sacks of 12.5 kg. each (27.5 pounds) to 67 families, 30 at Mtshina and 37 at Butabubili.  We also helped four churches in the area where the elephants had destroyed the crops. This amounted to 151 sacks at Mlachsa, 58 at Sikhali, 42 at Tshajathole, and 100 at Majabane. The total cost for the corn was $2508 and the cost for gasoline to deliver this to six churches was $300, making a total of $2808. I want to express my deep thanks to those brethren who were involved in this benevolent work.

Wednesday, June 3 – Drive to Banaue

   Having ended our classes in Baguio, we started our journey to another destination today. We drove to Banaue, the area of the famous rice terraces. These 2000-year-old terraces are carved into the mountains by ancestors of the Batad indigenous people. They extend 5,000 feet above sea level and cover about 4,000 square miles of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe. It is reported that the terraces were built largely by hand. These terraces are commonly referred to by the Filipinos as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The roads seem to be just one curve after another. We could look below and see the road winding around the mountains two or three times. This proved to be more twisting than Casey could handle. She got motion sickness and had to stick her head out the window. She didn’t even have time to tell us to stop.

   The rice fields are amazing.  We made hundreds of photographs.  This is one of those areas that is impossible to describe. We can only hope that our pictures will allow our folks to appreciate the beauty of the area.

   We got settled into our little guest house and then went to a resort for a nice meal.  We had a big glass window next to our table, overlooking one of the rice terraces. We watched as a large cloud starting moving directly toward us.  In less than thirty minutes, we could no longer see the mountain out the window. We could only see the cloud. It soon started raining, making a relaxing sound for our good night’s sleep.

Thursday, June 4 – Burgos

   Since our guest house had no restaurant, I got up early and tried to find us something to eat. I walked into town and found a lady that prepared egg sandwiches for us. We spent a few more hours during the morning visiting some new areas of the rice terraces. We then started our drive to Burgos. I’ve worked in many regions of the Philippines on previous trips, but this was my first time to be in this area.  Reggie has been supporting one of the young preachers, Willie Pastor. We didn’t know the directions to his house, so we arrived in the city and gave Willie a call.  He told us to wait and he would come to fetch us. We then drove to his house and got settled in for the night. He recently constructed a new house, so he invited us to stay at his place. It was equipped with electricity and running water, so we enjoyed his hospitality. He also built a little bamboo shelter to the side of his house. We ate our dinner under the shelter.

   That evening we had two Bible classes. Reggie had a lesson on “Miracles Recorded in John.”  I then gave a lesson on “Which Church in the New Testament Is Your Congregation Like?”

Friday, June 5 – Morning lectures

   After a good night’s sleep, we had a nice breakfast with Willie and his family. Willie had arranged for us to have a couple of lessons with the brethren before we started our journey. Branden gave a lesson on “Rejoice” and Reggie delivered another lesson on “Just Say No!”  After three classes, we then had lunch with the brethren and started the long drive to Calumpit. We left at about 10:00 and arrived in Calumpit at about 6:00 p.m.  We drove to the home of Mel Tacbad. Mel is the son-in-law of Ben Cruz in Manila. For the past two years, Mel has been battling with a large tumor on his spine that is in a location that forbids being operated on. He is totally bedfast, suffering from many sores all over his body. He often screams out at night from the pain that he feels. His family has erected a hospital bed in the living room and cares for him there. Everyone enjoyed spending some time with him before going to bed.

Saturday, June 6 – Classes with Mel

   Cristina fixed a nice breakfast for us. We especially loved the watermelon, pineapple and mango. We started classes at Calumpit at 9:00. Reggie taught a lesson from Ephesians 5. While the adult class was in progress, Branden had a class for the teen boys on “The Thief on the Cross.”

   We then drove about thirty minutes to the congregation at Meysulao. JoJo Tacbad, Mel’s cousin, drove us to the location. Mel, along with his father and son, have tried to work with about four different congregations. Jonas Tacbad, Mel’s son, is now taking over many of the responsibilities. Branden delivered a lesson on “Love They Neighbor as Thyself.” After class and a short visit with the brethren, we then drove back to Mel’s house for lunch. It was then time to drive to the radio station in Angeles City. The station is very near the old entrance to the Clark Air Force Base. This weekly broadcast is a call-in program. Since the station is not modern enough to have a telephone wired into their system, the listeners are encouraged to text their questions on their cell phones. JoJo did an introduction and explained that he would read the questions and then ask Reggie and I to alternate in answering them. We really had great interest and lots of questions. JoJo later told us that this was the most calls they had ever received in one day. We were thrilled to be a part of it.

   The drive from Angeles City back to B-01 was almost four hours. It was good to see all of the brethren and share with them the stories of our trip. While we were away, there had been many heavy rains in Manila. The fourth floor, where Branden and I had been sleeping, had heavy water coming through the roof. We had to vacate that room and move to the third floor. With Tom and Machala no longer being with, we moved into the rooms they had used.

Sunday, June 7 – Working with Three Congregations

   Breakfast had to be at 6:00, since worship starts at 7:00. While Reggie and I were teaching & preaching downstairs, Iva had classes for the children upstairs. She taught several stories about David. Reggie had a lesson on “Moses Struck the Rock” and I had a lesson on “Teens, You Have the Power to Change.” After the Lord’s Supper, we divided everyone again. Branden taught the men on the first floor, a lesson on “Faith in Hebrews 11.” Iva taught the ladies on the second floor, a lesson on “Hidden Treasures.” Casey taught the children the story of “Feeding the 5,000.”

   We had a quick lunch at B-01 and then loaded about 15 people into the Kia to make our journey to Sta. Mesa. This is one of the congregations where Abram Cruz works. It is one of the poorest congregations around Metro Manila. It proved to be a very difficult and emotional visit for Casey. One of the young mothers allowed Casey to hold her three-week-old girl during worship. Before worship started, Dr. Tess explained that many of the children in this region never reach their first birthday. The area has the highest toll of infant death, most of it due to poor hygiene and improper diet. Branden delivered a lesson on “How Can I Be Sure I’m Saved.” Reggie gave a lesson on “Why Should I Pray?” I couldn’t help but look over at Casey and the little baby a few times. She seemed to enjoy holding the baby. The infant only weighed about four pounds and appeared to be so very weak. When I looked over during Reggie’s lesson, I could see that Casey was crying. I mean tears were streaming down her face and dripping onto the blanket of the baby. She had allowed her mind to think about the environment and the strong possibility that this child would reach her first birthday. It was more than she could take and the tears started flowing. It made her feel some better when we gave the mother three bottles of multiple vitamins after the worship period.

   We then drove to Marilao Bulacan, another very poor congregation. The brethren had erected a large tarpaulin to be used for the children’s Bible classes. The adults would assemble in a small make-shift room. There were probably fifty children from the neighborhood in the classes. Many of them come every week, without any encouragement from their parents. Abram and his good wife do a great  job working with these children week after week. Casey’s emotions kicked in once again and she started crying at the sight of one of the little girls. This beautiful little child was covered with horrible sores all over his face, with a few of them on her eyes. When we inquired of Dr. Tess, she explained that it was a bacterial infection caused again from improper hygiene. This little girl didn’t have such simple things as a bar of soap or a bottle of shampoo. She bathes in the street water, which is often filled with urine. Having been given some extra funds from some American Christians and told to use it at my discretion, I had Dr. Tess to write a prescription for some antibiotics for the little girl. We also gave her a month’s supply of soap and shampoo. She was so thrilled to receive such simple items. In order to answer some questions that had been raised previously by some of the men, I taught a lesson on “The Church’s Standard of Authority.” We then had a good question-answer session. Three folks expressed their desire to be baptized after the services. The water nearby was too filthy to be used, so they had to be taken to a swimming pool at a Catholic school.

      I had explained to Dolores and Tess that it was to be too busy of a day to come home and prepare dinner, so I would use some of the funds provided by the American donations and take everyone out to eat. We went to the food court in a mall. They all sat a long, long table and I went to the different stalls to order. I didn’t know half of the things that I was buying. I would just point and say, “Give me one of those, two or those, or six of those.” I would take these to the table, ask them to start eating, and I’d move on to another stall. It was something certainly different for me, but the brethren seemed to love the wide variety of foods. After we ate, I bought tickets for 8 of the little children to enjoy one of the little rides in the carnival area. It wouldn’t seem like much to an American child, but they jumped and shouted and seemed thrilled. I know they must have said “Thank you” at least a dozen times after they rode. Everyone was tired by the time we got back to B-01, but I think everyone had a wonderful Lord’s day.

Monday, June 8 – Visiting with two churches

   We had an early breakfast, in order to start our journey by 7:00.  We arrived in Bikas Camarin, where Ely Ebuenga preaches, at about 8:30. While Reggie taught a lesson on “Ephesians 1,” Casey taught a children’s class on “Creation.” While Branden taught a class on “Salvation,” Iva taught a women’s class on “Sowing the Seed.” I then taught a class on “What Every Church Needs.” Reggie taught another lesson on “Ephesians 2.” We finished at about 11:45.  The brethren wanted us to eat lunch with them, but I explained that we must travel on to Jimmy’s place, because his wife had prepared lunch for us there.

   We arrived at Bayugo, one of the five churches where Jimmy Bobis preaches. Jimmy is another one of the sons-in-law of Ben Cruz. We enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Maria and her daughters. Jimmy had suffered a stroke earlier in the week and had to stop preaching for several weeks. It was great to see him back at the work that he loves, although he still doesn’t have full use on one arm. After lunch, I gave a lesson that had been requested, on “Duties and Qualifications of Elders.” There was a lively discussion and question-answer period afterwards. Branden gave a lesson on “Noah’s Faith.” Reggie gave a lesson on “Ephesians 3.” Iva taught classes for the children on “Noah and the Flood.”

   We ended our classes at Bayugo at about 5:45 and then started the drive back to B-01. We had a good dinner, a nice cold shower, and then sat around and visited with several of the brethren before we went to bed.

Tuesday, June 9 – Working with Jhun

   Breakfast was from 6:00 to 6:30.  We then traveled from 6:30 to 9:00, in order to reach the home of Jhun Layusa. He had planned classes with the congregation at Phase 6, Camarin. This is one of the congregations that he works with each week. Reggie did a lesson on “Ephesians 4” and I did a lesson on “Counting the Cost.” Iva taught a children’s class on “Footsteps of Jesus.” Since all of the children are in their bare feet, she had them to stand on a colorful sheet of paper and she traced their foot for a visual for the lesson. The kids loved these papers and came running to me after class to show me what they had done.

   Jhun’s wife and mother prepared lunch for us. After eating, we then traveled to Salacot to visit the congregation there. Branden taught a class on “Love.” Reggie had a class on “Ephesians 5.” Iva taught a class for the ladies on “Kindness and Goodness.” Casey had a children’s class on “Creation.” I did the last class for the day on “How Could Peter Sleep?” We ended at about 5:00 and then drove back to B-01. We arrived a little after 8:00.

Wednesday, June 10 – Working with Vicente

   We had a breakfast and then started our long journey to the area where Vicente Cay lives and preaches. It took over three hours to get to the church. This congregation is just a few years ago and there are far more female members than male members. After Vicente and Mona Lisa were married, they took an old pig sty and remodeled it into their house. They worked hard to establish the congregation here. Nearly 40 were in attendance today. I taught the first lesson on “Can We Understand the Bible Alike?” Branden then had a lesson on “Faith.” We took a break for lunch and enjoyed Mona Lisa’s delicious cooking. After lunch, Reggie gave a lesson on “Speaking as the Oracles of God.”

   We drove back to Manila and had to fight the heavy afternoon traffic. We finally got back to B-01 at about 6:00. Tess prepared a delicious mango shake for us. It was so refreshing.

Thursday, June 11 – Our Last Day of Classes

   We had agreed to return to Sta. Mesa for another day of classes with the brethren here. I feared that this would be hard on Casey, since this is where the little child she fell in love with Sunday was located. She felt much better, since we had given the mother vitamins and food.

   I taught a class on “The Book of Philippians.” Branden taught a class on “David, a Man After God’s Own Heart.” Casey taught a children’s class on “Creation” and then Iva taught one on “Noah and the Flood.” We took a short break and then start classes again.” Reggie taught a class on “That Lamp That Shines Forever.” Branden then had a class on “Tell Me the Story of Jesus.” Casey had a children’s class on “Birth of Jesus.”  We ate lunch, small boxed lunches that we brought with us to share with the brethren, and then had one more lesson. Reggie did a lesson on “The Ten Virgins.”

   We ended our classes at 4:00 and drove back to B-01, arriving at about 6:00.  We had enough time for quick cold shower and then walked to the chapel for our final classes with the brethren. Reggie taught a class on “Why I Am A Member of the Church of Christ.” Iva taught a class for the children upstairs on “Kindness and Goodness.” I taught the final class on “I’ve Never Passed This Way Before.” Casey taught the last children’s class upstairs on “The Key to Pleasing God.”

   Ben Cruz gave a farewell speech and thanked all of us for coming and helping in the work in the Philippines.  He asked each of us to say a final farewell and then he invited us to return again as soon as we could.

   I continued my tradition of providing a “farewell” party for the brethren. They do so much to wait on us for the duration of the trip that I started this tradition of giving them a party on our last night. I tried to fix several foods that they are not familiar with. They devoured the cheese & bacon deviled eggs! We fixed several types of sandwiches and snacks, plus a big pot of pinto beans and mashed potatoes. After eating, we played several games and gave away used clothing, neckties, toys, school supplies, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and anything else in the suitcase that we didn’t want to take back to America.  The brethren had a great time and it was a joy to share these items with them.

Friday, June 12 – Heading Home

   We left B-01 at about 2:30 and drove to the airport. It is always very time consuming to go through the checkpoints and security in order to even get on the airport property. The brethren are not allowed to enter the airport. No one goes through the door without a passport and a plane ticket. We said our good-byes on the sidewalk and went inside. We were able to get the luggage checked in, go through two more security checks, and get to the gate in plenty of time. For those who still had a few pesos, they bought their last Filipino souvenirs. We departed Manila at 6:45 and arrived in Nagoya, Japan, at 11:40 a.m.  We left there about two hours later and made the successful flight into Detroit. It was here that we had to say our “Good-byes” and make our separations. This was a great team. Everyone worked well together and I feel that much good was accomplished.

   Casey Richardson is from Paducah, Kentucky. She just finished her second year of college in Bowling Green, studying New Testament and religions of Asia. Her parents are faithful Christians and they have brought Casey up to love God, His Word, and the Lord’s church. They are all members of the Sutton Lane Church of Christ in Mayfield, Kentucky.

   Branden Lewis is from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He just finished his third year of studies in mathematics. Branden worships with the Lord's church in Appleton. His grandpa is the preacher for the church in Antigo and his Dad is the song leader there. Branden is the third generation of Christians on both sides of the family. Both of his grandfathers started the congregations where they are currenly worshipping.

   Reggie Ross is from Greencastle, Indiana. He owns and operates an embroidery business. He and Beveraly were blessed with two daughters, Leah and Heidi. Sadly, Heidi died of a disease when she was 17 years old, but the family can rejoice that she was a faithful Christian and died in the Lord. Reggie has been teaching teen or adult Bible classes for nearly 25 years.

   Tom Wells is from Shelbyville, Kentucky, where he serves as an eldr. He has been married for 25 years and has one daughter, Machala. Tom has made two trips to preach the gospel in Jamaica.  Tom has great musical talents and loves to lead singing.

   Machala Wells is 16 years old and just completed the 10th grade of high school, with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She would like to become eithr a veterinarian, bioligist, or zoologist. Machala has battled with diabetes, so she has learned how to discipline herself by watching what she eats and properly taking her shots. She is very gifted and especially loves music, having been in the band for six years and also in several choirs.

   Iva Baker is from Williams, Indiana. As an energetic 73 year old, she is our senior team members. She has lived in the same house for 64 years. so everyone in Williams knows her well. Iva has a very large extended family. She has 26 nieces and nephews, many cousins, four sisters and two brothers.

Our Trip from U.S. to Philippines -- We all flew from different cities, but met up in Detroit. We got settled in for the long journey to Japan.  We arrived in Tokyo at 4:45 p.m. As we were taxing toward the terminal, the captain made the announcement that we must remain seated until the medical team came on board. We soon learned that they were paranoid about the swine flu. Six men entered the plane, wearing a complete HazMad uniform. They had full-body uniforms, rubber gloves, hoods, and eye goggles. One man pointed a special machine that looked like a camera at each passenger. It registered your body temperature. Anyone entering the country with a fever would be quarantined. The process took over an hour.  Once we were finally able to depart the plane, we had little time before our next plane was to depart.  It was now getting dark, the first we had seen since Monday night.  We departed Tokyo at 7:30 p.m.  We arrived in Manila at 11:20 p.m.  Ben Cruz and six other preachers were waiting for us in the parking lot. We loaded all of the luggage into the Kia and made our way to the Cruz house, arriving there at nearly 1:00 a.m. We were assigned our sleeping rooms. Machala, Iva & Casey shared a room on the second floor; Tom and Reggie had separate rooms on the third floor; Branden and I shared a room on the fourth floor. I had to explain some of the “house rules” before we went to bed: (1) Don’t attempt to put toilet paper in the commode, because it will clog the pipes, (2) The shower consists of a 5-gallon bucket of water and a dipper, so you should refill the bucket when you are finished with your shower, (3) Turn off all lights when you leave the room, because electricity is very expensive. We finally were ready for bed at about 2:00 a.m. I told everyone they could sleep in until 8:00.