Chuck & Terry Fernandez Kenya/Uganda 2014 Year End Review

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New Additions, New Tents & New Hope

Greetings friends, family and brethren,

As of this posting we are in Florida with tickets in hand to return to Kenya January 5^th.  Please keep us in your prayers as I will be traveling with a team from Florida and Arkansas. 

We need your earnest prayers as this will be the first time since we took our initial survey trip in 2006 that I will be traveling to Kenya without my dear wife Terry. 

Even though God has faithfully answered our prayers by saving her life, her Doctors are advising her not to return.  And while most of her strength and faculties have returned, the risk of a reoccurrence would be high given her medical history.  Not only are the heavy doses of meds damaging her organs, there is a greater than normal chance that she may not survive the next bout of malaria or bacterial infections and it is fair to say that what is curing her is also killing her.

With all that said, this forced break from the rigors of bush ministry in East Africa has been good for us and the folks in Kenya.  It has given us the opportunity to reconnect with our sending Church, Ft. Cooper Baptist Church in Florida as well as our Co-Sponsoring Church, Dean Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Alma Arkansas.  

                                Ft. Cooper Baptist Church

Pastor Tim of Dean Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Alma Arkansas.

 Our return has also afforded me the opportunity to attend several mission conferences as well as state and local meetings.

On a more personal note, Terry and I were able to be home for the birth of our 6^th grandchild, Kelbee who was born on November 26^th.   Additionally, we had the blessing of seeing Kelbee attend her first Church service this last week as Pawpa (Me) preached the Word.

What a blessing!

            Daughter Carla with Kelbee, Dad, Kevin & Big Brother, Kason

While we have been on home on medical leave, our Kenyan and Ugandan brethren continue to press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.

Over the last month,(without the Missionary), they have placed another tent on Mt. Elgon at the village of Huruma and organized them into another New Testament Bible preaching Church.  This is a third generation Church birthed from our first Church on Mt. Elgon in the village of Kipsigon and the 16^th in our work.        New Tent

New Tent In Fog 

Praise God our Kenyan brethren have a vision for the work, a will to work and a burden for their own people as well as the training and capability to carry out the great commission. 

Modern communication allows me the opportunity to call them weekly, to email them weekly and also to transfer funds for tents, buildings and training seminars. 

They have also started a new outreach/preaching point at the village of Chelekei which located at the base of Mt. Elgon.    New Convert Chelekei

                            Peter Baptizing

Peter Praying

Pastor Bernard

They need our prayers and they are worthy of our support. 

In closing, Terry and I want to wish all of you a Blessed and Merry Christmas and we thank our God upon the remembrance of you all. 

 Your continued prayers for Terry’s health are needed and as we look forward to 2015, God is giving us new hope and new vision for our lives and ministry. 

May God continue to keep you and bless you.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda/USA

Health Update & Succeeding Generations

Greetings Friends, Family and Brethren,

We are still currently in the Sunshine State and will remain there until the end of the year allowing Terry the necessary time for her to regain strength and overall health.   While her future ministry in East Africa is unknown at this time we know God knows all things and does all things well.  Her current overall health is good and much improved with each passing day.   She has the strength to do many of the daily tasks required just to live life but still remains with many side effects directly related to her bout with malaria and the infections.   Her recovery up to this point is somewhat miraculous in itself given the fact that she could barely walk four weeks ago.    She is receiving excellent medical care and we trust God for a full recovery in His perfect time.   In the mean time, we have been slowed down by this entire episode but I am staying busy preaching at Faith Promise Conferences and this week also had the opportunity to preach to and challenge Pastors at the West Central Missionary Baptist Association annual meeting.

West Central Missionary Baptist Association Meeting

It is always good to fellowship with those of like faith and to reconnect with people who love us and support our ministry.   Blogs and newsletters keep people updated but a handshake, a hug and cup of coffee together is what is needed from time to time.     Modern technology allows us the opportunity to effectively communicate with our brethren in Kenya.    The work continues in spite of our absence which is exactly what we have labored for over the last six years and what believe is God’s perfect will.    We received news this week that two of our recent outreaches now have God called men who are leading them and will be ready to be organized into Local New Testament Churches within the coming months’.   One is located in the village of Huruma which is on Mt. Elgon and the other is in the Kerio Valley in the village of Morweiris which I refer to as: “the village of killers”, where many known murderers have been converted to Christ.    In addition to this great news, Pastor Shadrack traveled to Lake Victoria this month to help Pastor Jackson complete the walls on the new sanctuary at Landmark Baptist Church at Got.   We will install windows and deliver benches upon our return in January.

In addition to the aforementioned news, fifteen of our Pastors gathered together last week and held a Pastor’s Training Conference led and taught by our Senior National Pastors.   These succeeding generations of Pastors are now capable of teaching the younger and new Pastors how to rightly divide the word of God.   Pastor Peter Barasa taught and reviewed the Main Doctrines of the Bible,  Pastor Shadrack Mabili taught on Stewardship and Personal Finances and Pastor Daniel Wekesa taught on Missions.   

                                          Pastor Shadrack Teaching Stewerdship

Pastor Daniel Teaching on Missions

Lunch Time

Ndivisi Landmark Baptist Church

So as you can see, the work of the Lord continues to move forward as our brethren are led and motivated by His Spirit and His Word. 

Continue to pray for Terry’s health and for the work that God continues to do in Kenya and Uganda.  

Thank You for allowing us to share what God continues to do in our lives and the work He has allowed us to be a part of. 

 Also,thank you to each individual and Church who have given towards Terry’s medical expenses.

God Be With You,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda & America

Women of Landmark Baptist Church on Mt. Elgon carrying tin for the roof on their new sanctuary.    Rise Up and Build!

August/September 2014                Newsletter   Thank you for taking time to read our August/September Newsletter.  We thank our God for each ministry partner who prayerfully and financially supports our ministry as we preach the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.  Please find the attached link below to view our latest newsletter.   Rom.10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? In His Service,

The Land of Milk & Honey and Church Planting Continues

Greetings from the Land of milk & honey, it has been a tumultuous three weeks but nevertheless we have persevered and Terry is regaining her strength.   We are not able to do a lot of anything until Terry’s immune system is back to normal but perhaps that is God plan for us during for this season of life.   When I recall and retrace the tribulation of her illness which could have easily resulted in her death I can see just how far the grace and goodness of God has brought us from.   The pinnacle of just how bad things were compared to now can best be described by remembering the shear horror on Pastor Peter and Pastor Shadrack’s face when they came by the Eldoret hospital to pray for her.  At the time, Terry was as yellow as a Canary, delirious and I hope this does not gross you out but covered in blood from an extremely low blood platelet count.     At the time, little did we know that not only was she suffering from Cerebral malaria, bacterial infection, dehydration but also Type 2 diabetes.    That was then and this is now, she has had some side effects from all of the trauma but it does not look like she is going to have any long term damage.   It has been comforting for her to see her five grandchildren.

 It has also been comforting to know that we can count on God’s people first and foremost to pray during times of need and then to know that our brethren will sacrificially give hard earned financial resources to meet the financial needs of those serving the Lord.    Thank you for praying and for giving to God’s work and His servants.   Life in America is soooo different from life in East Africa that you actually find yourself going thru a small amount of reverse culture shock each time you re-enter the land that should be most familiar to you.    For example, going to the grocery store here in America not only leaves you with sticker shock but the amount of choices we have is simply unbelievable.   Then there are the more subtle changes like driving on the right side of the road instead of the left.   It is not good to turn into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road.   And finally the water, it takes a few trips to the sink to realize it is ok to rinse your mouth out from the water and Oh, if you do not like the quality or odor of your water, just remember Pastor Jackson who during times of drought has to retrieve water from the same mud holes that the cows and goats drink from.   Folks, we are truly blessed to live in a land flowing with milk and honey.    In closing, you may be wondering about the work in Kenya and Uganda while we are in the USA, glad you asked!    While our work has been Missionary led it is not Missionary sustained.  We have trained our people that our work as Missionaries is temporary and the permanence of the work depends on their ability to continue the work that we have facilitated through teaching them from house to house and in public as the great Apostle Paul said.   We have led by example and showed them a Biblical pattern for Church planting which they can follow with success.   To that end, I receive pictures from Mt. Elgon this week and the Landmark Baptist Church at Cheptandan where they have completed the roof on what is our fifth new sanctuary this year.   Praise the Lord that they have such an industrious heart to see the Lord’s work continue.   This Church is so isolated and without any means to the transport the materials that each board and piece of tin had to be carried five kilometers on their backs by the members of the Church.

Church Sign

Purlins

Roof

Roof going on...

 We should remember them the next time Pastor calls for a “Church Work Day”.   One of the photo’s that blessed my heart is a group of men gathered around a video tablet watching one of our video lessons while we are 8000 miles away. 

 I love it when God blesses our plans and I love when a plan comes together.   We will be home for an undetermined length of time but rest assured we will be visiting Churches when Terry is able.   We thank you for your continued prayers and support. 

A Turn for the Worse: Part II and Making Decisions 'on the Fly'...

It has been two weeks since my last journal entry and we are weary and battered from the sequence of emergency events that has brought us back to the USA.   My mind is foggy so please forgive me if I am unable to express myself in a good way.

With that said, our last journal left us at a place where Terry had fallen sick to what we believed was Malaria. 

It turns out that she had malaria which went cerebral and combined with a very bad bacterial infection which ultimately produced a total shut down of her liver and kidneys.

She spent five days in serious to critical condition in a private hospital in Eldoret where they successfully treated her for both. 

It was recommended that we fly her to the USA to insure that there was no permanent damage.

So to make a long story short we managed to hire a company called Global Med out of Tampa to make all the arrangements to expedite her back to the USA.

http://www.globalmedservices.com/

We have spent the last several days in Tampa General Hospital thoroughly re-evaluating her.   She is malaria free but seems to have other complications as a result of the trauma.  We have experienced malaria alone and we have experienced many bacterial infections but combining the two along with dehydration was a nearly deadly combination.   In all of this, God continues to show himself faithful with His grace and favor each and every step of the way.   He would show up at the most critical times to direct, to provide, to bless and to meet the most pressing needs while going thru deep valleys.

I don’t have the desire to share all the details but God has overshadowed what has been the most trying two weeks of our ministry.  We have prayed for wisdom each and every step of the way as some of these agonizing decisions had to be made within the heat of battle. 

We don’t know what the future holds at this time but we do know who holds the future.

In addition to your prayers we need your financial support.  The cost to get her back to the USA was nearly $18K, so if God puts it on your heart,  any and all special offerings would be greatly appreciated at this time.

You can give through the link below or through our Sending Church: Ft. Cooper Baptist Church, 4222 S. Florida Ave., Inverness Florida, 34450. 

PAY PAL SECURITY & Credit Cards:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=DVMPV47K5HGUA

Thank you to all of you who have been so faithfully praying for Terry for we know that without your prayers we would not have made it this far.

       Best Rx yet! 

Kason, one of 5 Grandchildren (two more girls on the way) loving on his 'GiGi' at arrival in Tampa General Hospital trauma ward. 

Please keep her in your prayers as she is still very weak and may take up to a month to fully recover.  She is far from being out of the woods so to speak.

We will keep you posted and let you know how things progress over the next couple of weeks.   God keep you and bless you.

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda

A Turn for the Worse, The Value of a Soul & Another Milestone

As I write this journal entry, my heart and prayers are continually going up Terry who has been in bed for three days now, unable to eat and in a significant amount of pain.  I ask you to join me in prayer for this faithful servant of God who has sacrificed greatly for the cause of Christ.   Our Churches here are praying for her as well.   We celebrated her birthday on Monday of this last week and after visiting a new village she took a turn for the worse during the later part of the week.
 
We have followed our normal routine of self evaluation and self medicating when we regularly experience bacterial infections of various types, she had not responded well to the meds so we will head to a clinic in the morning for testing and treatment.  Since our attempts have not produced results she could possible have something else like Malaria from sleeping out in the interior, we just don’t know at this point.  Remember there is no emergency room here but we do have a Western trained Doctor in Eldoret and we do know and work for the great Physician.   This brings me to my next thought, and that is the value of a soul.    As Terry lies suffering from whatever she has contracted while doing evangelism,
                                        Landmark Baptist Mayanja Evangelism Team
                                                                                             Prayers at the new village of Chenjeni

 God continually reminds me of the value of a soul.   In Terry’s case, she and her group of servants led ten people to Christ this week before she fell sick.    The Bible says that God would have spared an entire city if Abraham would have been able to find ten righteous souls and of course we know that there is great joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repentance.  Luke 15:7  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.   God help us to remain conscious of the fact that we will give an account for every idle word, deed and thought and help us to continue to set our affections on the things above.    To that end, this week we had the blessed opportunity to meet with the Landmark Baptist Church of Mayanja which is located at the base of Mt. Elgon for village evangelism.
The Church invited Terry and I to participate in what is now the third neighboring village they have reached for Christ.   They have been sending their Associate Pastor Moses to the village of Chenjeni over the last year and have now established a weekly preaching point for these new converts.   We had a great day going hut to hut (Acts 20:20) evangelism and saw forty people bow their heads and receive Christ by faith.

The Testament pattern for Church planting being repeated again and again here in Kenya and Uganda.   Our cups are overflowing to see people that love God enough to obey his commandments and love their neighbors enough to teach them the Word of God.    The book of Hebrews says that the world is not worthy of such, but praise be to God he is raising up servants and sending them out.   For our part, we remember the struggles, the barriers and challenges starting in 2009 searching and seeking God’s will to find the village of Mayanja, a village ripe and ready with people who would received Christ.   It is hard to convey the joy of seeing our early converts follow Jesus in scriptural baptism, unite and assemble themselves to keep the Lord’s commandments and then see Men of God called and sent out is more than we deserve.   In addition to village evangelism we delivered and assembled the pews for the newly completed sanctuary.   The entire Church family pitched in for assembly and they were very excited to receive this new blessing.

As we reach the milestone of the new pews, which signifies the completion of our joint building efforts, many of the Churches are giving their old pews to the new outreaches.    These are the growth lessons they have learned for they know where much is given, much is required and that it is better to give than to receive.  The unity and continuity of the work the Lord has allowed Terry and I to be a part of is a beautiful thing. Thank you for allowing us to share our journey of faith and please remember my dear wife this week in prayer.

God Bless,

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya

The Joy of the Lord IS Our Strength!

 TO THE BETTER HALF OF OUR MISSION TEAM...TERRY!

Terry and Moma Rosyln

Terry & Children

This week has been one of those painful weeks for Terry and I both have significant back pain resulting from the intense schedule we have run over the last two weeks.  Normally, we will travel into interior regions for a day or two and then have a day or two to let our bodies recover from what can only be described as a “beat down” from the roads, trails and paths we travel to deliver the word of God to the lost and the saints.    From the looks of all that is on our plate over the next few weeks, it does not look like we will have much opportunity to allow for healing.    In any case, we learned a long time ago that from time to time an athlete must play with pain and so do Missionaries.   God has blessed us with such great health over the last ten years and we are ever mindful that we wake up and live each day by His grace.   Please continue to pray for God’s overshadowing and favor with regard to our health.
                                                       Construction

New Sign Namarambi

In addition to building pews, delivering signs and of course the never ending task of studying and translating God’s word we visited one of our first Church plants, Landmark Baptist Church of Namarambi which is located at the base of Mt. Elgon for Sunday worship service.    This Church continues to grow and mature under the leadership of Pastor Daniel and the Christian school is busting at the seams.    The growth is so significant that they have bought three plots of land since we help start the Church in 2009. 

                                                               Preaching

                                                                          Nanaranbi

In addition to passionate singing, teaching and praise, we had the privilege to worship with Missionary Stephen Lobolia who is a Kenyan national now serving the Lord in Southern Sudan. 

By the way, it gives us great joy to see our Churches supporting global missions!

                                             Missionary Stephan (left) and Pastor Daniel

It was awesome to recreate the trail of faith that started with Pastor Daniel leading his son John to Christ, God then called John to reach the Turkana tribe located in northwest Kenya where he led Stephan to Christ, who has now led a Sudanese man named Aurelio to Christ and has surrendered to preach God’s word in Sudan as well.   Three generations of preachers who have literally led thousands to Christ and still going strong preaching the gospel where Christ has not been named. 

 Our final task this week was to get two more solar powered video tablets in the hands of our Pastor Daniel and Pastor Peter.  These two men are our most mature Pastors and Preachers, however they reminded me that while they are long in tooth they are not too old to continue to grow and learn God’s word.
                                                Pastor Daniel and Solar Video Tablet

Video Tablet

They are excited to continue their seminary education in the setting of their own home.   In addition to the video lessons, the solar panel and battery will provide these families with enough power to light their home with solar lighting.   This is a significant savings as they no longer have to buy kerosene on a weekly basis.   Special thanks to those of you who have given offerings to include your special VBS offerings given by the kids towards this worthy cause.  God is using you all to the uttermost parts of the earth.   We covet your continued prayers as we press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.