Can You Say Tostones? & Full House?

 The House of God was very full on Sunday at LBC Ndivisi 

My help met, ministry partner and beautiful wife has started a rotational women’s fellowship among the churches we are working as part of her personal ministry to the ladies.

          Terry and  Ladies Fellowship LBC Ndivisi 

  

These types of events are great opportunities to build stronger relationships with the women while teaching them the Word of God. She also continues to use these intimate teaching sessions to teach them how to cook different dishes for their families with the items that they have available in their villages. This week she taught the ladies of LBC Ndivisi about five Godly women of the Bible and five ungodly women of the Bible.   

Terry has really matured into a great teacher who is dearly loved and respected among the women of these Churches.                     Students

From my perspective, these types of events remind me just how blessed I am to have a wife that is plugged into my ministry in a great way and is able to enhance everything that we are trying to accomplish while planting New Testament Churches. She has helped these women mature into Godly women that are now mentoring and teaching the younger women of the Church. Every time she teaches I feel like I am not carrying the entire weight of the ministry but have someone who is really supporting me in a great way.

What a blessing and what an encouragement!

After giving them food from the Word of God she taught them how to make a very traditional Spanish dish that is one of our family favorites, can you say tostones?

It is hilarious to listen to Kenyan’s attempt to pronounce these Spanish words as we share some of our culture with them.   

The recipe for this entrée is so easy, as you only need green bananas (which they have), oil and salt. In the end they were amazed how easy the tostones were to make and how tasty they were. Terry has taught them to bake various types of breads and now tostones.  

 

Here they are, surrounded with the ingredients and the ability to offer their families some variety, yet without the knowledge of how to cook it. Very similar to where they have come from with their ability to use the Word of God. The parallel to the Bible is very interesting as they have it and Terry is teaching them how to apply it to their lives and families.

I say, AMEN!

By the way, we have already received preliminary reports out of the village from those Mama’s who have cooked the tostones for their husbands and children and they simply love them.

One man said he could eat an entire plate of them, me too.  

                           Ummm Good!  

We spent the Lord ’s Day at the Landmark Baptist Church of Mayanja which is located at the base of Mt. Elgon. I taught about the grace of God during Sunday School and preached on the invitation to the Great Supper found in Luke 14.
The house of God was very full on Sunday.
As we pour our hearts and souls into these young Christians and Churches we are seeing our efforts bear much fruit by the grace of God.
Words cannot describe how encouraged we are to see what God is doing in the lives of so many as we labor for His honor and glory.
LBC of Mayanja is really growing as they reach their village for Christ.
Every time we visit Mayanja I am also greatly encouraged by two brothers named Fred and Moses whom I led to Christ on our first evangelism campaign into Mayanja three years ago.  

                Fred, Moses and Missionary Chuck  

These two men have been totally transformed by the grace of God into fine Christian men who are faithfully serving the Lord and have become Church leaders at LBC Mayanja. I will never forget the privilege of bringing them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and I will never forget the day that we marched them down to a pond for baptism.
Maybe I should say that I will never forget the reaction of their neighbors who were standing outside of their huts cheering with gratitude that these two reprobate drunkards and thieves had been saved.
Now Moses leads music and Fred is the secretary of the Church. Friends, family and brethren, that is a work that only God almighty can do.
My old Arkansas pastor, Brother Robert Brumfield use to say, instead of putting a new suit on an old man, God puts a new man in an old suit. Praise the Lord for His love, grace and mercy as He transforms us all thru his Word and His Spirit.
Thank you for tuning into this amazing journey of faith.

God Speed,

Bro. Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya

Broken Arm, Broken Hearts & Harvest Time

                      Terry's Evangelistic Team in Netima

This week brought one of those phone calls in the middle of the night that every parent or in our case, Grandparents, dreads to receive.

It was 3 am and our first born Son, Chucky, called from the back of an ambulance on his way to Arnold Palmer’s All Children’s hospital with our Grandson Chuck IV who had fallen from a tree and broken his arm at the Elbow.

These types of events in the life of a foreign Missionary continue to be the hardest days that leave you feeling helpless because of the great distance and if it was not for our faith in the Lord, it can almost be intolerable.

We can say it is absolutely heart breaking when your children or grandchildren are going through the trials of life and you are so far away that you cannot be there for them. We know that we can do the most important thing, which is pray, and we know that 'all things work together for God for those who love the Lord' but there is still a longing in our hearts to hug and comfort our children and grandchildren.

Make no mistake about it, it is not Malaria, Bilharzia or culture adaptation that is the hardest part of mission work, it is the separation from your loved one’s that never goes away and does not seem to get any better with time.

Jesus knows the depth of this pain and struggle and it would be impetuous Peter who would ask him what they would receive because they had forsaken all to follow him. Jesus compassionately answered, Matt. 19:29 "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

It was especially hard for Terry as she had to fight back tears all day during evangelism when she received multiple phone calls and pictures of our little guy in the hospital.

From time to time we must all continue to push forward and work with and through the pain during the trials of our faith. The reports we received indicated the surgery went well as they installed two long pins in Little Chucky’s elbow, however, we ask you to pray for a complete and total healing as he has experienced some nerve damage.

We also found comfort from our evangelism team of 14 brothers in sisters in Christ who prayed for Little Chucky as we preached the gospel in the village of Netima. 

We have been praying for this village for over a year now as there are several members of the Landmark Baptist Church of Mayanja who walk as much as ten kilometers from Netima to attend Church and have a huge burden for their families and neighbor to know Christ. It is harvest time in Netima and as we trekked in fields of the farms with heavy hearts as the people were out reaping and preparing the harvest. We have somewhat of an unwritten rule that we will not interrupt people who are hard at work but many of those in the fields dropped what they were doing and begged us to come and give them something from God’s word.
    ***click on picture to enlarge for better viewing....

Harvest and Teaching  from the Bible

Terry's  Evangelism

Terry Teaching

The harvest time is a great reminder of our work as witnesses for the Lord Jesus for we simply plant, water and then wait for God to give the increase. We would see an increase of ten folks who would profess Christ during Netima evangelism for the harvest is truly plenteous.

 

God continues to answers our prayers for the lost that;

A. That God will bless them,

B. That His Spirit will prick their hearts,

C. That God will open their hearts and minds to His word and His Son,

D. That God will save them.   

We will not leave the folks who professed Christ without discipleship as they were invited to attend services at Mayanja and we have started a new Bible study in their village with a young man who will travel weekly to Netima to teach these new converts.

                        Evangelism Team in Netima...

Chester Moore's Evangelism Team in Netima

 

The Lord ’s Day was spent at the village of Soysambu which is one of our newest outreaches that is developing quit well. In nine month’s they have outgrown the house where the Bible study was started and they are now filling up the tent one by one. 

Each church or outreach has its own personality and character. Some have members who are primarily women, some are primarily made of men and in the case of Soysambu, the majority of those who attend the weekly Bible study and service are seniors. Seniors in this culture are respected and revered in a great way as they make up the leadership and elders within a village. This is seen as a tremendous blessing for this new outreach for they will have many that will follow them.

Thank you for allowing us to share our hearts and lives with you as we preach the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world.

We covet your continued prayers.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez`                                                                                              
Kenya
Phil. 4:13

Ordination Service in Kerio Valley

Welcome Committee

Video

Let me preface this journal entry by saying thank you for your faithful prayers of healing as we are seeing and feeling the results in my back. I have been able to stop taking muscle relaxers and pain medicine for the first time in some time and I am just using heat and anointment's to continue the healing process.

James 5:15 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." 

 Much of this week was spent preparing for an ordination service at our first Pokot Church located in the Kerio Valley. There are many lessons I try to teach the men we work with and one of them is to be prepared and organized in everything they do.

I have found the art of this teaching is to give the right amount of input at the right time so that they might have the ability to carry out these big events without me and so they can develop their planning and preparation skills to do what God has called them to do. God has called me to lead these young Men of God, however, I have found that the best leaders and teachers are those who are able to do so in an almost obscure style so that the people are learning and growing without hardly knowing they are being led.

It is important for us to trust our people enough to gently guide them and let them make mistakes along the way while helping them learn from their mistakes.

I have no claim to fame with regard to leadership, but I have been mentored by some fine Godly men that I have learned much from over the years. So while the Ordination for Pastor Timothy Loquardo was not what I call picture perfect logistical planning, everything went off in fine fashion and was Biblical as well as God honoring.

We had distinguished guests along with all of our ordained Pastors attend the service. 

Our honored guests included two missionaries from Southern Sudan, one from Turkana, the Chief and Sub Chief as well as many of our local friends.

Chief & Pastor Loquardo

Both Pastor Timothy and Sarah had family travel from great distances to partake in this powerful and solemn occasion to ordain this special young man into the Gospel ministry.

             Certificate of Ordaination

God's Man & His Wife

Ordination continues to be a great tradition that began two thousand years ago with our Lord’s Apostles. After the presbytery met to question the candidate, the charge was preached and we gathered around and laid our hands on our Christian brother, a man called of God to carry His Word to a lost and dying generation.

                                         presbytery prayer

Laying On Of Hands 

Older Pokot Church Members

In doing so, we publicly acknowledged our own confidence in Brother Timothy Loquardo; in his calling into the ministry and in his ability to carry out that ministry,

                              with the help of the Holy Ghost.

 For over three years now, we have worked closely with Timothy and have seen great growth and maturity beyond his years. We have watched him seek God's will and then follow God’s leading as he has proven himself to be a man of God that loves the Lord and the Pokot people of Chepsosabei.

 Showers of Blessings

As the apostle Paul told his young Timothy:
2Ti 3:10 " But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose & faith."
We can say this same thing with confidence about Timothy Loquardo.

As we watch these men get called by God, one by one and then watch them mature into stable Men of God we can clearly see God’s hand upon them and at work sculpting them. God started preparing Timothy for this work long ago as his father and all five of his elder brothers are Pastors, Missionaries and Preachers.

What a family legacy that he is continuing.

                                    Father & Son Legacy

Terry and I continue to find out the existent of our testimony and influence through small events that take place during each trip to Pokot.

As we traveled into the Kerio Valley, the van of Pastors family and guests that followed us was stopped at a police check point near the Uganda Border and questioned about where they were going and what they were doing.

After a few minutes of questioning, Pastor told them they were going with Missionary Carlos to attend an ordination service. They said at the mention of my name they were welcomed and treated in a nice way because they knew that I had given them water, Bibles and tracts on every occasion we had to meet with them.

It goes to show that we need to keep a good Christian testimony with everyone we meet. 

I had no idea they knew me by name, but then again we are the only white missionaries working in this area.

Traditional Hunters Pokot Tribe Cheposabei  and Missionary Carlos

The ordination service itself lasted five hours but because it was so powerful and spirit filled, it felt more like an hour or two.

God blessed us with His presence in such a great way that everyone left with cups overflowing.

From the goats that were slaughtered along with the massive amount of food I would also venture to say that everyone left with bellies overflowing in addition to their cups.

There so many special things about the ordination that I would like to share, however, my heart was continually drawn back to the impact that this service would have on this young Pastor and this young group of believers. It was yet another opportunity for the members of this church and their Pastor to be unified in Christ.

At the close of the service, Pastor and His wife were showered with gifts of goats, chickens, eggs and traditional Pokot clothing.

Terry Congrats

They have truly won the peoples hearts and have really assimilated with the Pokot tribe. Please pray for Pastor Timothy Loquardo, Sarah and their children, Jill and Joy as they minister to the people of Cheposabei. It is yet another marriage made in heaven.  

Timothy & Sarah

(Before) Sacrifices of Missionary Wife...6am on way to ordaination...

(After).......Terry Love

God Bless,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya

Phil. 4:13.  

Grounded, The Ndivisi Study Part II & Sunday Service

Terry & Moma Rosyln

This week we were somewhat grounded by a reoccurring thorn in the flesh that had become so prevalent and persistent that I was forced to seek medical treatment. Fortunately, God blessed us with a very qualified Kenyan Doctor who graduated from Medical school in Germany and is a born again believer.

The area of concern is located below my kidney and above my pelvic bone in the left lower lumbar region which has been a source of sharp constant pain over the last couple months.

We take such a beating on the roads or lack thereof,  that back pain is a normal part of life here, however this was different. To make a long story short, after a battery of tests and even a sonogram of the area, it is believed to be a damaged lymph node that has become swollen due to the constant battering of the roads and a fall that took place a couple of months ago while I was loading benches on top of the Rover during a rain, (I know, not too smart).

For six days I have been on muscle relaxers and pain medicine which has helped but I am still experiencing pain when the medicine wears off.

Please continue to pray for our health needs as well as our spiritual needs.

The Ndivisi Study presented to our Pastors and Preachers at the seminar last week has become such a source of interest that I thought I needed to include a little more commentary this week.

Through ten years of statics we recreated the ministry and faith of Pastor Peter who God called to plant a church in what seemed to be the most remote and unlikely locations, the village of Ndivisi.  Pastor Peter doing what he does best!

The study revealed that this young National Pastor walked ten kilometers, four times per week to do evangelism, a bible study, a fellowship and Sunday service.

It also revealed that during the first three years of ministry there were only three members including Pastor Peter and that the end of the third year, one of those members died leaving only two members in the Church.

I taught our men that this was a crucial and defining moment in Pastor Peter’s ministry at Ndivisi which could have left him defeated and discouraged... or a test of his perseverance and calling that would propel his ministry forward.

Fortunately it was the latter of the two.

It would be at this critical juncture and during the funeral of the deceased church member that over forty would profess Christ and nearly half would be baptized and unite with the Church.

God always blesses faithfulness because faithfulness blesses God.

The statistical study also revealed the heart of a young man of God who would receive combined total of offerings that equated to $58.22 over the first four years.

This study proved to be invaluable to our group of young Pastors and Preachers as they were able to look in detail at what can be one of the greatest challenges or rewards of their calling.   

Today Landmark Baptist Church of Ndivisi is the strongest church in our fellowship, it has sent out more preachers and gives more than all others combined because one young preacher had enough faith and fortitude to believe and fulfill God’s calling on His life.  

We thank God for pairing us with Pastor Peter to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, to plant New Testament Churches and to train National Pastors for the work of the ministry.

In closing, we did manage to travel to the Landmark Baptist Church of Namarambi for Sunday worship service.                           Children of Namarambi

This church was planted early in our ministry during 2009 and is continuing to mature into a healthy lighthouse that is reaching their village for Christ. 

                                      Terry & Rita

  

Thank you for allowing us to share what God is doing in our lives and ministry. We covet your continue prayers.

God Bless,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya