PLEASE PASS THIS LETTER TO ELDERS, CHURCHES, & BRETHREN INTERESTED IN SPREADING THE GOSPEL IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Feb. 20, 1999th Year of Our Lord
Dear brethren,

Since August of 1997 I have been working with the Hebron Lane church of Christ in a two-preacher arrangement with Andy Alexander. The evangelistic spirit of this church is seen not only in supporting the two of us, but also in encouraging us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mk. 16:15). In addition to our local and meeting work, Andy has preached in Lithuania and the Philippines and I have preached in the Philippines.

My work in the Philippines began in 1995 and continued with two trips in 1998. The Lord willing, I plan to preach in the Philippines this year March 24-April 29. I need your help. I had planned to begin raising money for this trip in late December, but my mother died December 30 and it was necessary for me to spend almost a month in Mobile, AL dealing with the aftermath. From then until now, much of my time has been devoted to settling my parents' affairs. My father's health was declining and it was necessary for him to enter a nursing home about 15 minutes from my house so we can attend to his needs. Now that he is settled into his new home, I am making a belated effort to raise the funds to preach in the Philippines. I must be ready to go about a month from now, so the time is short!

Earl Mitchell (elder in Rogers, AR) and I plan to visit the islands of Luzon, Mindanao, and Negros. Lessons will be presented to better equip the preachers in each area. Also, we will spend time traveling with some of these men to visit local churches and places where churches are not yet established in order to do a lot of first principles preaching. About 300 obeyed the gospel during my first trip of 1998 and the fields remain ripe unto harvest. Many denominational preachers have been baptized. They are busy teaching the truth to souls to whom they once taught error and we will make a special effort to help in that work. We shall counteract error among brethren (unity-in-doctrinal-diversity, one covenant theory, divorce-remarriage error, etc.).

On the second trip last year, Jim McDonald and I delivered nearly $400,000 in benevolence to about 15,000 Christians who were suffering and in some cases dying from a severe drought. This overwhelming response by U.S. brethren was an outpouring of love. Since then, some areas have been blessed with relief, but others have suffered from devastating storms and other disasters. If you wish to designate funds for benevolence, I will be glad to act as your messenger in delivering them. Both churches and individuals may wish to help with funds for travel, evangelism, and benevolence. Also, individuals may wish to provide money which can be used to help with such things as meeting houses. If you wish to designate money to buy Bibles and other literature for distribution, let me know. If any money remains at the end of the trip, I request your permission to use it for Bibles and study materials.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for considering this request. All who help will receive a report and
acounting for the funds used. May God bless you.

In Christian love, Ron Halbrook, 3505 Horse Run Ct., Shepherdsville, KY 40165-6954
(Phone 502-955-1748; e-mail ronhalbrook@compuserve.com)

[Editor's note: note the similarity between this plea and the 2000 plea]