Wednesday, May 2, 2018

God's People Returning to Mt. Elgpm, Rebuilding Homes and Harrowing Stories


God's People Returning To Mt. Elgon


With security and stability returning to Mt. Elgon, our brethren are starting to return to pick up the pieces of their lives and ministries in the wake of recent destruction.   Over two hundred people lost their lives during the latest round of violence.   Pictures are hard to come by but I have included a couple of the Pastors whose lives were affected by this tragedy.   Five of our Landmark Baptist Pastors have been displaced and forced to flee to the base of the mountain where they have found temporary relief and safety.  Three of them lost Church members as well as family members.   After nearly a month, they are ready to return to rebuild their homes.   The specific Churches affected by the violence are the Landmark Baptist Church at Huruma, The Landmark Baptist Church of Cheptandan, the Landmark Baptist Church at Cheptkururu, the Landmark Baptist Church at Chemta and the Landmark Baptist Church at Panadeka.   These Churches represent one fourth of the Churches on Mt. Elgon where God has done an amazing work.  In ten years, God has planted twenty Missionary Baptist Churches in villages about every five kilometers apart on what we call the Chweli side of the mountain.   Dozens have been saved and Bible studies have been started by these faithful Men of God during this time of personal tribulation.  It is a sobering reminder that God is faithful and worthy to be praised and what man meant for evil, God has used for good. 
The Above picture is a file pic of homes that have been recently burned on Mt. Elgon.

The picture Below is of Pst. Alex Cheriembee's three children who had just returned to find their home burned.  (sorry for the poor quality.)
The Picture (Below) is one of the largest Landmark Baptist Churches on Mt. Elgon which is located at the village of Cheptkurukuru.    Again, these pictures are the first I have received and very hard to come by, but as you can see, much of the tin has been stolen from the roof and sides.  Some of the structural part of the sanctuary has actually been burned.   We thank God that the Church is not the building but with daily rains (about 2pm) we understand the necessity to rebuild as soon as possible.   This Church had over one hundred and fifty members before the violence.   Please pray for them as they return home  and try to put the pieces of their lives and ministry back together.

 Below from left to right):  Pastor Robin, LBC Chemta,  Pastor Victor, LBC Chepetandan & Pastor Alex Cherembee (in blue), LBC Cheptkurukuru.  These are the only three Men of God who were able to attend our recent Pastors seminar at the base of Mt. Elgon. The other two Pastors affected  were not able to attend due to curfew and check point obstacles.  They are Pastor Benard, LBC Panadeka and Pastor Moses, LBC Huruma.  
 Harrowing Stories From Our Pastors

Our recent trip afforded me the opportunity to sit down and hear the first hand accounts of the tragedy our Pastors experienced on Mt. Elgon.   Both Pastor Robin and Pastor Alex lost three brothers in the violence and they were all still very much in shock at the time of our meeting.  We grieve together with these men, their families and Churches.  The most harrowing story came from Pastor Robin who narrowly escaped with his life after being confronted by the killers in his home.   Pastor Robin evacuated His family when word first spread thru the village that the violence had begun.  He said that he stayed behind and it would be at 1am in the morning the killers entered his house to kill him.  Pastor Robin (who is very small in stature) said he hid under a table and was repeatedly asked by the killers, "where is your father"?   They thought he was a child, so he answered them in a child's voice, "my father is away".   He said they left him alone as they were only killing the men of the village.   He would flee down the mountain after they departed with His life spared.    

 Our Plan to Help

Many have asked how they can help.  The most immediate and pressing need is to help the Pastors rebuild their homes.  Before they can help anyone else, they need to insure their family has a roof over their head.    Our plan is to purchase 25 sheets of tin roofing for each of the five Pastors whose homes were destroyed.  One piece of tin roofing is only $8.00.  The family will do the mud construction but they need help with the most expensive part which is the tin roofing.

The cost to repair the Churches are as follows:  Landmark Baptist Church at Cheptkurukuru needs $1600.00 to replace the roof and sides with tin and $700.00 to replace the burnt sections of wood.   The Landmark Baptist Church at Cheptandan needs $1500.00 to replace the stolen tin roofing and sides and $650.00 to replace the wood.    Everything was stolen at the Landmark Baptist Church at Chemta which needs the steel poles and trusses, wood and tin sheeting.   The approximate cost to replace all of this is $4000.00.   Our folks at the Florida Plant feel led to lead the way by taking special offerings over the next thirty days to help our brethren on Mt. Elgon.   Your prayers would be greatly appreciated and if you or your Church are looking for VBS project or just want to be a blessing to those who have lost so much, please designate special offerings, "Mt. Elgon".   

 Terry and I praise the Lord for each of our ministry partners and for all who allow us the opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives and multiple mission points.   We covet your continued prayers.

 In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda/Florida Plant