Back to the Desert #3....Hurting Home...Revival

Before I enter my journal comments I ask you to pray for the family of my Aunt Liz Fernandez who went home to be with the Lord this week. We thank our Lord and Savior she was saved over the last couple of years and was very special to Terry and I. One of the hardest thing about being a foreign missionary is there are times when you cannot be with the ones you love to laugh, to cry and to mourn with.

We left Eldoret at 5am on Tuesday morning for the long hard journey to Turkana. We were making excellent time until we were around 80KM (48 mi.) from Lodwar when I noticed the battery light came on and the engine starting to get hot. When I pulled over and I found that we had broke the fan belt and the radiator was leaking. So as any good boy scout would do, I had prepared for such a time as this. Within 15 minutes I had the new belt on and a can of stop leak in the radiator. After driving about 20 Kms(12 mi.) we saw a young white man and girl with two Kenyans broke down in the middle of nowhere. So being good Samaritans we stopped to help them fix a broken tie rod with some spare rods I carried. They were tourists from New York and Switzerland. While our journey was not without incident we arrived safely in Lodwar only one hour behind schedule. We spent the next 2 days putting up 400 ft of fence and preparing the house for our household goods. The house has never had electricity so you can imagine how happy we were when our neighbor, who is from the Netherlands and goes by the name of Mama Mzungu, had her guards run electricity to the house for us. We have been praying about the electricity situation since we came into country and rented the house knowing God was going to provide somehow. So needless to say, we have gone from the 18th century to the 21st century in one day and a prayer.
Yesterday we attended an evangelism/revival campaign in a fishing village called Kalakol on Lake Turkana. There were five Pastors from Bro. Eddies work here present with their Church members to support the efforts and a total of 14 who went out on Saturday’s evangelism.
Now keep in mind that this is a rough fishing village made up of many different tribes and backgrounds who have come to the Lake Turkana to make a living. It reminds Terry and me of our bus ministry days of working the fishing camps in Hernando and Floral City only these are Kenyans.
But fishermen make great disciples eventually.
My first visit was one that was a divine appointment from the Lord as it was a walled compound 200yds from the Church. As we entered the compound there was 3 men, 2 women and 8 children sitting under a small shade tree. After introductions the man (Peter Juma Ekot) immediately started pouring his heart out to us about how his family: (2) wives and children were having a terrible time with life because of all the strife, fighting and conflict that has consumed his family. He said that things were so bad that he had travel 100kms the day before to have a friend pray for him and his family. This is how God works! Here we are the next day visiting his home trying to be a blessing to him. After 30 minutes of listening and talking with Peter it was revealed that he was a saved man who was backslidden and living with two lost wives. He described the younger of his two wives as a devil and I am not exaggerating when I say she looked like a wild-eyed wild woman. That is surely formula for conflict and strife. He said for years he has wanted to go the Church where he could see God’ s people assemble and could hear the singing but he felt something had blocked him from going. He was ashamed to say he had not been in Church in years. So I spent the next 30 minutes teaching them on having a Christ centered home using the top from a opened can I found laying on the ground to illustrate how Jesus should be the center of the home and how everything should revolve around him.
Matt. 6:33. After sharing the plan of salvation Pastor Steven lead both of Peters wives to the Lord.
I taught them for another 30 minutes on baptism, Christian growth and the Christian home.
Peter was so happy that before we left he nailed that top from the can I used to illustrate a Christ Centered home to his door to remind his family that they are now a Christian Home.
I will send the picture next week as I did not bring the cable to the camera to download it.
It is priceless.
The only way this could be any better was to see that family come to Church this morning and that is exactly what happened. Now I was not exaggerating about his younger wife looking like a wild woman but today in Church she was truly a woman that looked like she had been set free and at great peace.
I know they will have many trials ahead of them but I also know that if they will keep Christ in the center of that home they can have peace.
Many of our other visits were not an easy but as important.
We met with a tough crowd of market women under a small shade tree and shared the love of God with them as they scoffed and were disrespectful. But as with other visits we have made, many of those same ones who mock Jesus and laugh at Christians may be the same ones running to be saved at a later time.
So in the end we were planting and watering. Over all there were 14 professions of faith and 4 were baptized today at the Lake. When we get back to Eldoret I will send pics from this week’s activities.
We will be finishing house repairs this week, moving our household goods and returning to Eldoret next week for our last month of language school.
We praise are praising the Lord for His continued blessings and we thank you for keeping us before His throne in prayer.
Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Answered Prayers, Preparation for Travel & Ordination Service

While we did not do evangelism this weekend but we received a great report from Mt. Elgon that there were 32 present at the weekly Bible Study and 3 Soldiers of the Kenyan Army stationed on Mt. Elgon were saved yesterday.

That is an answer to prayers as many of the villagers told us that the soldiers were taking young girls from their homes and raping them on a regular basis. When this was revealed we started praying for the soldiers to receive Christ as well as those that live in the area and now God is answering that prayer one by one. Much time was spent this week preparing for our trip to Lodwar. When I took the truck to the shop to replace the shock bushings they found that the emergency brake cable was broke and that one of the axle seals was wore out allowing axle grease to pour into the hub. It is no wonder that the brakes did not work last week when we were rolling backwards down the mountain.

It is also another reminder of how God has protected us from dangers that we were not even aware of. Aside from getting the “green camel” ready for a pounding on the rough Turkana roads and the extreme heat we picked up a steel door and window I had made here in Eldoret for the house in Lodwar. As you can see in the attached pics it will look like Ft. Knox.

The night guard in Lodwar said that someone tried to break into the house last week so I am beefing up security at the two weakest points. We asked for your continued prayers as there is nothing normal about the journey from Eldoret to Turkana. We will leave on Tuesday and will stay for about 10 days to finish repairs to the house, fence and to move our household goods into the house. We will also be attending a revival campaign with Bro. Eddies Pastors. We are looking forward to practicing what we have learned in language school with those that cannot speak any English. Today we traveled back to Western Kenya to attend the ordination service for a young Pastor named Shadrach. We took him and 12 of his church members from Mawe Tatu (3 stones) back to the Church where he was disciplined and served as an Assistant Pastor for 6 years. The members were so glad to see Shadrach return and they were so proud of what God is doing in his life and at his new Church home.

I taught on the qualifications of a Pastor and attempted to preach in Swahili for the first time. It was very difficult and I ended up reading most of the message as well as reverting back to English from time to time. I have to keep reminding myself we are not going to be able to hear and speak Swahili after barely 5 months of Language school.

The laying on of the hands from the presbytery is always a special part of any ordination service but at one point all the members were allowed to come forward and give Pastor Shadrach a gift.

Most place coins into an offering basket but a representative from His sending Church came forward and presented him with a Kerosene lamp.

At the time I was a little slow on the uptake as I thought well that is a nice gift but there was a deep symbolic meaning with that Lamp as it was to be used to study God’s Word in the evening (no electricity) and was symbolic of passing the torch to Him. It was another exciting day in the life of two people who continued to be humbled that God allows us the privilege to be missionaries. Every time we visit this village we are showered with blessings: One Chicken, 6 eggs and a bag of beans. We were also blessed to see both of the infant girls named after Terry (Teresa). Now I appreciate the gifts but I told Terry on the way home it is way easier for them to name their kids after us as we now have a live Chicken in the storage room and we are debating what to do with it?

Oh well if that is our biggest problem God has truly been good to us. Thanks for looking and listening. Please pray for our trip this week back to the desert.

God Bless,

Chuck & Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

Close Call on Mt. Elgon, 1st Service at Landmark Baptist, Mt. Elgon, 9 Baptized 3 Stones

Saturday was our third evangelistic campaign to Mt. Elgon. With Terry under the weather I left Eldoret around 6:30am by myself to pickup our team of 12. These are folks from 4 different Churches in Western Kenya who have a burden for the people of Mt. Elgon. From ours previous trips to Mt. Elgon I was fully aware of the dangers associated with traveling up steep mountainous terrain in an old truck loaded with people. But Saturday would be a trip that will be one for the record books for sure as we had a very close call on the way up the mountain. It was the result of two vehicles out of control on a narrow rocky road that could have ended with disastrous results. Just as we started our ascent up the steepest part of the Mountain on a curve I spotted a Kenyan Army Truck coming down the narrow rough road at a very fast pace. Now keep in mind that there was nowhere to pull over and let the truck loaded with soldiers pass. When I first spotted the truck I stopped. We are on about a 33 degree slope and when I stopped the truck died. Not only did the truck die but we started rolling backwards very quickly. Before I could do anything the Army truck was 10 yards in front of us and closing. The (wet drum brakes were not holding), I grabbed a handful of the emergency brake and it did not make a difference. So if you can picture this, the green land cruiser fully loaded rolling backwards down a very steep narrow rough path/road with a Kenyan Army truck pushing us. It was a formula for disaster. He could not stop and I could not stop. The only thing I could think of was all of us going over the edge of the mountain. We must have rolled backwards around 100 yds when I notice a gully that had washout so I steered the truck towards it. All I could do was dump the clutch and let the compression from the engine slow us down to hit the ditch. The Army truck narrowly missed us and we came to rest in the gully. It was a reminder of how dangerous it is climbing the mountain and also a reminder of the grace of God through his protection. You know that feeling that you get when you have just experienced something that could have been tragic. Well it was one of those moments and I guarantee that there were a dozen frighten Kenyans who were praying the whole time as well as one shaken American. Good thing Terry was not in the truck! After rolling backwards another 100 yard or so to a place where I could get a run up the Mountain we made it to the top without any further problems. By the way it does pay to pray for traveling mercy before every trip. We divided up into five teams and started out into the countryside. We were blessed with so many great visits. The people of Mt. Elgon are so ready for a relationship with Christ and to be taught the word of God.

My team traveled for miles up and down peaks and valleys to a place that borders the forest which divides Kenya and Uganda. We met and witnessed to people that have never heard of Jesus. I am still amazed when we meet people that have never heard of Jesus or the gospel. After hours of hiking, sharing God’s Word and praying with people we saw 35 invite Christ to be there personal Savior. The work there has just exploded as people are looking for hope after the clashes. It is so sad to hear the heartbreaking stories of those that were slaughtered. As we were loading to leave a young preacher boy named Geoffrey said he could not go. He shared with the group that God had put on his heart to stay behind to preach Sunday morning to the folks so hungry for God. He is the same young man whose wife had a baby girl last week and named Teresa.

Pastor Peter is already holding a weekly Bible study every Tuesday and now there will be 3 young preachers rotating to make the 6 hr trip every Sunday to share God’s Word as there is so many people eager for teaching and worship. What an awesome testimony for Geoffrey to leave his wife and newborn baby for what will end up being 3 days away because he could not leave the people without a Shepard. Praise God for men who answer that call. Today we visited Mawe Tatu (3 Stones) for another Baptismal service.

However this time we brought the two housekeepers Terry lead to Christ in Eldoret named Sarah and Erika as well as the fabricator named Kennedy who was saved a couple of weeks ago.

They all wanted to follow the Lord in scriptural baptism so we took them to Mawe Tatu to be baptized.

We are in process of helping them find a good scriptural Church home here in Eldoret where they can grow and serve. Please pray for these new converts. Beside the joy of seeing 9 baptized today we were thrilled to see Pastor Shadrachs home overflowing with new members and visitors. There were about 20 inside the house and another dozen that had to sit outside under a tarp, all adults.

For a new church literally planted in the middle of a corn field God is blessing and adding to their number each week. Oh what God can do if we will just be faithful!

The enthusiasm, joy and excitement to know God here is so contagious.

You can’t help but be overwhelmed with what God is doing in the life’s of people. What a great God we serve and what a privilege! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your life and especially for your prayers. I believe that God has answered them this weekend.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Stolen Camera, Baby Named Teresa & Sunday Services

One of the many things that you grow to appreciate when you live in another country is your home country, the United States of America. As I travel throughout Kenya I see the hand print of the USA everywhere. It is usually in the form of compassion and help from the USA to Kenya. You can see it in the markets, in the villages and in the attire of the Kenyan people. Our country gives more to Africa than all other countries combined. So living here and ministering here makes you proud to be an American. Even though our Nation is daily being eroded and stripped of our Christian heritage and values it is still the greatest nation in the world. And even though we live far from our homeland we had the opportunity to celebrate the fourth of July with some missionary friends who live here in Eldoret. However while visiting their home on Saturday we had our camera stolen from the Land cruiser. It is a sobering reminder that you cannot let your guard down for one minute and that everything must be lockup and accounted for at all times. So we live and learn but we will not make the same mistake twice. Sunday we visited a Church called Namawanga. My only task was to teach Sunday school. I brought a lesson from Psalm 119 & Titus 2 on personal purity. What started out as a 30 minute Sunday school lesson ended up a three hour doctrinal class. The Pastor opened up the end of class for questions and I answered questions on everything from eternal security of the believer to selective rapture vs general rapture. It was great to see people hungry for the knowledge of God’s word for people perish without it. After church services we traveled to the home of young preacher boy that is a member of one our churches in the area whose wife had just had a baby girl at 6am Sunday morning. The baby was beautiful and the momma was not in too good of shape but we were honored when we found out they had named her Teresa.

I can foresee many little Teresa’s running around as we also met a little Eddie yesterday named after Bro. Eddie Williams from his days of working in Western. Before we left I took a picture of Baby Teresa with my phone camera and we gave the husband some Meds for Momma to help her with pain and fever. Please keep Geoffrey, Mary and Baby Teresa in your prayers. They generally travel to Mt. Elgon and Mawe Tatu for evangelism almost every week. We also ask you to pray for next week’s evangelism, #3 to Mt. Elgon. This week while doing the Bible study there Pastor Peter was told of rumors of another clash. That region needs our prayers.
Thanks for allowing us to share our life’s with you.
Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Namarambi Evangelism, Funeral & Sunday Services

This past week the Lord gave us great week of school and evangelism here in El Doret. Terry has been praying for and mentoring a young housekeeper, Sarah, here that works for Noah Ngeny, the Olympic Gold medalist who lives next door to us and who is our landlord. They have been doing a Bible study together and after sharing the gospel with her Terry gave Sarah her a Bible and a gospel tract to read and to study. Sarah said after much reading and studying she prayed alone in her room to receive Christ.

Recently I had a problem with the tailgate on the “Green Camel” as it had sharp metal that had become fatigued and was protruding in areas.
I was worried as much we carry so many people in the back that someone was going to cut themselves while getting in. So I took the truck to a fabricator to buy a piece of aluminum diamond plate to cover it. Like many things here in Kenya it was not available so I had to settle for a piece of diamond plate steel. The fabricator talked me into letting him cover the inside of the tailgate which was my first mistake. What started as something simple that I should have done turned out to be a 4 hour job of rebuilding the entire tailgate. It was so painful for me to sit and watch because if I had my welder and grinder I could have done the job (better) in about an hour. I say that to say this: That while I was waiting a young man named Kennedy took a break from fabricating and struck up a conversation about why I was in Kenya. It opened the door for me to talk to him about his salvation for he was not saved.

The conversation was cut short by his boss and upon leaving I gave him a Bible and a gospel tract. He called me this week and said that he had read all four gospels as well as the tract and like Sarah he knelt down in his room and ask Jesus to save him. What an awesome testimony to the grace of God. People read the Word, the Holy Spirit Convicts them and they pray without anyone else leading them. That is exciting and we praise God!
Evangelistic Team

Every weekend that we do evangelism and visit the Churches in Western Kenya we know it is going to be long and labor intensive for several reasons.
#1 there is the journey itself which often starts at 6:30 am and ranges from one and half hours to two hours of travel time through great elevation changes on roads that absolutely batter the vehicle and occupants.
#2. When we do evangelism we do not set up a loud speaker in the middle of town and ask for show of hands of those that got saved but rather we prefer to go house to house and person to person so we can effectively communicate the Love of Christ through the gospel.
#3. On both Saturday and Sunday’s we generally don’t return home until 6pm-7pm, after work and fellowship and it is easy to put in two twelve hour days of ministry.
So this weekend when I was asked to preach a funeral on Saturday as well as our regular scheduled evangelism, teaching and preaching I knew it was going to be an exceptionally long weekend. While this weekend was very busy it was truly blessed by the Lord. God gave us traveling grace both days and not the first problem with the truck. On Saturday’s evangelism we had a total of 18 people that went out into the village countryside to share God’s love and there were seven professions of faith. During my Morning Prayer time the Lord reminded me that we will encounter many people that are hurting with broken hearts. I shared that thought with the visitation team and for sure it was a sobering reminder of the need for God’s people to have a genuine Godly love for others. My first visit was at the house of young Christian couple that was having marital problems and was on the verge of divorce. Over the years I have seen God intervene in the marriage of His people to bring repentance, restoration and reconciliation. We have a great God who gives hope to those that are in the middle of what looks like a hopeless situation. After counseling and prayer I feel in my heart that God did something in that marriage. The husband (Ben) who admitted to being backslidden followed us the rest of the day from house to house and said that God had truly blessed him. Terry and her team met more orphan kids from Mt. Elgon who lost both parents in the clashes and a Momma who lost her baby in a fire when she went down to the river to get some water. You see while primary purpose in evangelism is to fulfill the great commission and to see people receive Christ as personal Savior we also go to remind people that God loves, cares and comforts. What an incredible opportunity and responsibility: to share the Love of Christ with others. After visitation we hustled to the funeral of a man named Timothy Matefwe. I had no idea who he was until his nephew told me I had met him the road after a church service in Ndivisi. He died of a heart attack last week while walking in town. It was no mistake that I was able to meet him before he died because when I asked him if he was born again he gave me a great testimony of salvation and told me that he love Americans because he had trained with the American military and felt a great appreciation for our country as they were good to him in his words. Little did I know I would be preaching his funeral within 30 days of that meeting. Our trip would proved to be interesting as it had rained several inches and when traveling off road onto trails and paths we went through extremely muddy terrain. I have to admit that there was a time in my life where I spent good money to go mud boggin in a 4X4 while living in Florida but this time I had 15 people crammed into the Landcruiser and we were behind schedule for the funeral. So after 30 minutes of slipping, sliding and mudslinging we rolled into the site of the funeral covered with mud and to a crowd of several hundred people waiting. I thank God for the divine appointment on the trail that day when I met Timothy as God gave me great peace while I preached about remembering a man that Loved God, His Family and Americans. The gospel was preached to the crowd of over 300 through 1 Cor. 15, John 14 and 1Thess. 4. I have no idea how many were saved but God has given me peace about not knowing because it is His work to bring salvation to the soul and one day we may meet people in heaven that were at that funeral and received Christ by faith.

The burial was somewhat different as the entire crowd gathered around the graveside with the Pastors and myself in front. There was singing, then they placed a white net grave cloth over the coffin and prayed as each family member came by and placed a scoop of dirt onto the coffin. As the songs were sang and the soil was dropped onto the coffin in my mind I placed myself in that grave. My only thought and prayer was: God when my life’s journey here on earth is finished may I have given you my all, my best for your honor and glory. For I know in whom I believe and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

After the grave was filled carefully and methodically there was more prayers and singing. Then there was something I have never experienced, a funeral march around the grave three times.

I did not know what to think but as I marched I did recall the time of victory in the Old Testament when Joshua lead the children of Israel to march around Jericho seven times and God gave them a miraculous one sided victory over the enemy. The family was so grateful for a good service to honor Timothy and to have God’s Word proclaimed to their neighbors, friends and family.

Sunday we attended the Ndivisi Landmark Baptist Church. Before the service we stopped at the house of a lady named Mary who is Terry’s translator and has been with her through all the evangelistic campaigns of Ndivisi, Namarambi, Mawe Tatu and Mt. Elgon. She leaves her husband and five children to do evangelism almost every Saturday. Her house was pitiful as it was leaning to one side and had a tarp for the roof but she dearly loves the Lord. Her husband (Simeon) is lost and had never been in church before. After tea, bread, boiled eggs Simeon followed us to church. Mary was so happy to have her husband come to church with her for the first time. I taught on “Knowing the will of God” and preached on “Making a difference”. It was one of the simplest messages I have ever preached but the Lord moved in the hearts of the people and we all ended up on our knees including Simeon. I heard Pastor Peter leading him in a prayer of Salvation. What a blessing for Mary who has been praying for him for many years. For all that was accomplished this weekend in service to our Lord and Savior our heart’s desire is that people would know Jesus above all things and that His name is exalted above all others. Thanks for taking this weekly journey with us. We hope that somehow the Lord will use it in your life to strengthen your faith in Almighty God.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Wittness Dolls & New Bike

While we are continuing our daily language schooling we took a much needed break from preaching, teaching and evangelism this weekend. After three hard weeks of school and ministry including a trip to Turkana we rested and attended a Bible Baptist Church here in Eldoret for Sunday services. However on Friday we took a brief trip back to western to enjoy giving some gifts to needy people. The first gift we delivered was a new bike to Pastor Peter who is traveling weekly around six hours one way to Mt. Elgon to conduct a Bible study on Tuesday and Wednesday with new believers and those waiting for the new Church plant. He has had to borrow a bike to make this weekly trip.
We explained to him it is no different from God ‘ s people in the USA who have given towards the purchase of our Land cruiser so it may be used to spread the gospel.

He has never owned a new bike in his life and he could not thank us enough. I reminded him that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord and for us $60.00 was a small investment to make in His ministry with a huge return.

Afterward we visited a small orphanage and handed out “witness dolls” to the children. These were dolls that were hand made by the Mommas of Scrub Creek Baptist Church in Cross City, Florida. They were shipped on our container to Turkana and we finally had the opportunity to bring some back to Eldoret to distribute here in western. The orphan kids have never had a doll before so they were exceedingly happy to have something that was theirs to keep. Every doll has a witness bracelet which is used like the wordless book to share the gospel.

We explained that the dolls were made and given by Momma’s in the USA because they love them and the Lord. It was a priceless opportunity to see the joy on the faces of the little ones who have lost their parents at an early age and also to be reminded of God’s giving people who care about others that are less fortunate and located thousands of miles from Cross City, Florida.

Baby Grace gets first doll....

Thank you, Pastor Archie Knowles and your precious caring, loving and giving ladies. This Saturday we will be traveling back to western to start a new evangelistic campaign in a village named Namarambi. I have also been asked to preach a funeral for a man that was recently saved. We appreciate your prayerful support.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Mt. Elgon, In The Shadow of the Almighty

Evangelistic Team at Mt. Elgon...Refugee Tents in Back

After a short break from language school to visit Turkana we returned back to the Western providence to start a new evangelism campaign at Mt. Elgon and help encourage a new Church plant at a village called Namarambi. Before I get into the details of the evangelism efforts on Saturday I feel the need to give some you insight into the history of Mt. Elgon so you can better understand how the Lord is moving there and so you can better understand the range of emotions we went through before, during and after our visit. In brief, Mt. Elgon has a horrifying past over the last two years with some of the worst tribal clashes that have taken place in Kenya. There were over 600 killed there as well as many other atrocities that I don’t want to mention. These clashes occurred at the same time as the post-election violence here in Kenya but were not a direct result of the election. It was a time of opportunity for two clans within the Mosai tribe to fight for land. To make the matter worse a corrupt Army Colonel was sent in with a battalion of men to stop the fighting and ended up committing as bad or worse atrocities than the clans themselves. In addition the clans and the Army was a gang from bordering Uganda that came across to take advantage of the weakened tribe. There were four principle groups involved in some of the bloodiest and ruthless fighting that took place over the last two years. With that as the backdrop and news of a Canadian missionary couple being beaten and left for dead as well as a Belgium lady shot and killed there last year I had serious concerns. However much pray and after Pastor Peter Wanyonyi visited the Chiefs and District Commissioners we were given assurance that it was safe to return again with an evangelism team. So this is the bloody history of Mt. Elgon. You also need to understand that yesterday’s evangelism efforts was God’s answer to a young man’s prayer from over five years ago. God gave Pastor Peter Wanyonyi a burden for Mt. Elgon over five years ago at a Pastors conference. He has been praying during that time that God would allow him to reach the Mosai tribe there and to plant a church. Little did he know all that would take place before God would answer that prayer. So with that as the backdrop Terry and I left El Doret at 6:30 am on Saturday to travel to Western.
We meet Pastor Peter and seven others from various areas to start our journey to Mt. Elgon. The Lord gave us traveling grace to Mt. Elgon and we started to climb the Mountain. Now keep in mind we are a group of 10 piled into the green camel (Landcruiser). The road up the Mountain was at least 33 degrees and maybe more in certain places. Mt. Elgon at its peak is around 13,000 ft. The dirt road/path without any guardrails closely resembled a trail with rocks and what we call Georgia clay. It was for sure a 4x4 low range climb that took around 45 minutes to make. When we arrived at the top Pastor Peter tells me that we were only about the 3rd vehicle that he has ever seen make it that high. He said most never make it up the mountain, I am thinking to myself and we did it with 10 people on board? So just getting up the Mountain was a major accomplishment and getting down would be just as interesting. As we made it to the top we arrived at an area that could only be described as a refugee camp with an Army garrison located at the top of the mountain to separate the clans. The typical Kenyan housing of mud with thatch or tins roofs were very limited and the predominant housing was tents given by the Red Cross. Many people are scared to rebuild their homes until they feel it is safe again. You see the first thing that the rival clan did was burn the houses down, then they burned the storehouse and then proceeded to kill the men. After they killed the men, the Army arrived and did more of the same and actually hauled off all the sheet metal to be sold. We found many homes with widows and many women in the field working without a husband.

We divided up into five visitation teams and we started out into the village that is a farming community on the side of the mountain. Terry went with her translator Mary and I went with Pastor Peter. As we shared the love of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ I was constantly reminded of Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We met people that lost loved ones who were put to death in unspeakable ways, people that were in need of a touch from God. People living in land that needed healing. We met men who were struggling with life, hope and love. We met mommas that were still traumatized by the past. The message of the gospel is what is needed in the life’s of the lost not only to give them eternal life but to give them hope and a reason to live. We assured them that God had not forgotten them and Jesus is also the source of comfort and strength. There is a place in the shadow of the Almighty that we can dwell knowing the fullness of God here on earth. It is in that place that we encouraged those affected by the recent violence to dwell and know that He is God and that He never leaves nor forsakes us. He loves us with an everlasting love and His grace is sufficient for us no matter what life brings our way. Not only did we see 27 professions of faith on Saturday but we also had a chance to minster to many hurting people. We lead entire families to Christ, many taking a break from weeding in rows of corn, digging up potatoes and picking green beans. The word of God was planted, watered and for some God gave the increase. We were also able to give medical aid to several very sick babies. The day with filled with sadness from the losses and joy from the additions to the kingdom of God but in the end we believe the name of Jesus was exalted and God was glorified. The people were definitely ready and in need of the Love of God.

Please continue to pray for Mt. Elgon as we will return again next weekend to continue the evangelism. On Sunday we visited a small group of believers that meet in a home in a village called Namarambi. We had a great time of worshiping and preaching with these folks.

We have organized an evangelism campaign there as well in three weeks. As we close our weekend our hearts are full of joy and our cups runneth over from the grace God gives us to be privileged enough to do His work. Nothing is more humbling than to be used by God almighty.
Terry with children of Mt. Elgon

Thank you for your prayers and allowing us to be a part of your life.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa.

Turkana....House Repairs in Lodwar

After a week in the desert heat of Turkana: 100-120 degrees we have started to get acclimated to the environment and yet it almost time to head back to Eldoret to resume our language studies and continue evangelism efforts in the Western providence. We are asking you in advance of our trip on Wednesday ,to pray for our journey. We thank the Lord for His hand of provision and protection we have clearly seen and enjoyed over the last five months. This week we have accomplished every goal we had hope to achieve during this short trip and enjoyed our time here. With regard to the house we were able to repair a gate and fencing that had been eaten up by termites with the help of two of Bro. Eddies Pastors (Michael and David) and the guard we have hired (Marko) to watch over the compound until we move there in August. It was physical work but was very good exercise.
We also had some good laughs during the work which always makes the work
load seem a little lighter. One of the laughs that we enjoyed was as

you can see from the pictures is that when I do a job I bring every tool that I have accessed to at the time. So to make a long story short the Pastors were all laughing at me when I started to unload the

truck: Small generator, circular saw, chainsaw, cordless drill, wire cutters, post hole diggers, termiticide, dry wall screws, gloves, etc… They said all we need is a saw, hammer, nails and machete. However, it did not take me long to convince them that the chainsaw and circular saw was the way to go when we started to build the gate and

clear the overgrown fence line. It also did not take long to convince them that wood screws where better than nails when building a gate. It is amazing what you can do with the right tools but it is also a reminder of what you can do with practically nothing. We had a great day of fellowship and repaired 75% of the fence and gates.

Terry was able to start the cleaning process on a house that has not been lived in for a long time. The weather was not too bad to work in due to the fact that the house is located on the Turquel River and has

many trees. We will have to finish the job when we return in July to move our stuff into the house. You might be asking yourself why we had to secure a house in Lodwar so many months in advance?

The answer is simple: You cannot find any houses here to rent and this one was the only one available.

I learned a long time ago, “A bird in hand is better than two in the bush”. Besides the fact that rent here in

Africa is relative to the country: cheap. On Saturday we had the opportunity to do some evangelism in a village call Longech which is just on the outskirts of Lodwar. Twelve people showed up and we divided up into three groups to teach and preach the gospel. It seems like the theme for the day was baptism as we meet many who said they were saved but had never been scripturally baptized. We did see a total of seven professions of faith on Saturday and for that we give God all the honor and glory. We enjoy the blessing of God every time we share our faith with others. Sometimes planting, sometimes watering and sometimes God just opens the windows of heaven and pours out a blessing on us. Two visits were particularly heart breaking

and heartwarming. One of our visits was with a lady named Christiana who had a very sick baby. She was a born again believer. The baby had been to the doctor and been on the meds for almost a week without

results. So we did what the Bible says to do and that is pray for the sick by faith. Please continue to mention Mama Christina and her baby in your prayers for unless the Lord grants health the baby will probably die. The last visit was one of those moments in ministry that you will never forget. As we were walking some distance back to the church Pastor David said we had to make one more visit to a lady named Lucy who was saved on a Saturday visitation several weeks ago and needed some encouragement. As we approached the compound it was evident that this was not an ordinary Turkana compound in the village. The first thing I noticed was that the walls around this compound were nearly ten feet tall. The second thing I noticed was that it was under the biggest shade trees in the village. That may not mean much to you in America but in the desert big shade trees come at a premium. The third thing I notice as we entered into this large compound was there were people everywhere. Some laying under the trees, some sitting at tables, some in small groups. So being somewhat naive and unsuspecting I thought the setting was strange but I was not alarmed.

We were escorted into a very nice house compared to Turkana standards and waited for Lucy to come for a visit. While standing before the opening prayer one of the Pastors leans over and says: Lucy is the

largest and most famous brewer of beer and Liquor in Lodwar. I asked him in jest if he wanted me to preach from Proverbs 23:30-33?

With panic on his face he said “no, just baptism”. We prayed when Lucy arrived and I taught her on scriptural baptism. She said she was going to follow Christ and be baptized at the next baptismal

service. The entire time I was teaching I am thinking of the circumstance surrounding this lady’s conversion and the road that the Lord is doing to take her down with regard to her faith. Her faith will eventually lead to a place where she will have to give up her lifestyle if she is going to grow and have peace with God. It is

comforting to know that God will bless her when she comes to that place. She seems like she will be able to make that sacrifice as her life has been on a downward spiral before she came to Christ. Her husband has left her and while she is wealthy she was missing the one thing that brings true joy and peace: a relationship with God in heaven through His Son Jesus. We ask you to remember Lucy in the weeks and months ahead as the Lord transforms her life like he has to many of us. Sunday we visited a village around 50km from Lodwar where Bro. Eddie has a church called Nekechechoch. Probably not spelled right but we had a great time of praise, worship and preaching. It is so encouraging and refreshing to meet with God’s people anywhere we are. Thanks for partnering with us through your prayerful support.

God’s Speed.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez

Missionaries, Kenya

Posted in In Lodwar, Turkana Reports

Back to the Desert-Turkana Report

Sorry for the delay but we have not had a good Internet connection since we arrived in Turkana, hence this report is several days old.
We left Eldoret around 4:30 am and arrived in Lodwar, Turkana at 1:15pm without any problems. The truck ran great, the new tires make an unbelievable difference and the brakes held up this trip. Bro.Eddie is able to make this trip in about 7.5 hrs in his Prado so I feel we did very well in the “green camel”. During the trip there are many reminders that we have re-entered a territory that is far removed from the rest of society in Kenya. For example one of the villages we pass through around day break had a large gathered next to the road. As we approached the crowd we could see that they were looking at dead man next to the road who had obviously been beaten with his hands bound behind his back, feet bound and severely beaten or dragged through the streets. That is not something you see every day but serves as a reminder of the harshness and sometimes brutality of the land where God has called us. There is another region known as Polcot country or “no-mans” land that we came through around 9-10am where you see small groups of men on the road with AK-47’s, always a little unnerving but we moved right on past with many waves ,however, I notice my foot gets a little heavier on the gas around those men. As we enter into the South Turkana game park we did not see the elephants as we did last time we came through with Bro. Eddie. The one thing that we immediately notice was the change in temperature. Eldoret is almost 7000ft. above sea level with weather comparable to Seattle, Washington while Turkana is like sub-Sahara and weather comparable to Death Valley, Arizona in the hottest part of the year. So we have transitioned from what they call “smiling weather” in Eldoret to what
we call relentless heat of the Turkana, desert. The only consolation is that the heat reminds us of our home state of Florida where we have lived our entire adult lives and it does not bother us. Special thanks to Bro. Eddie for letting us stay at his place. We are thankful for the blessing but it comes complete with mice (1 Dead), Huge scorpion (1 Dead) and plenty of palmetto bugs as we called them in Florida. While we are here we taking care of some repairs to the fence at the house we have secured for our August move to Lodwar.
Seems that the neighbors goats have taken up residence due to the numerous holes in the fence. We also journeyed this way to make way for Bob Clark who is the missionary we bought all our stuff from in
hopes that he will leave his Discovery Land Rover with us when he is done with it. It is a complex story that is too lengthy and in-depth to cover but there is a possibility that he will let us use his vehicle while he is in the states under the condition we maintain it.
We are praying to that end because it is a much newer vehicle than we are driving. We are thankful for all those that have given to the repairs ($5,000.00) for the “green camel” and it is in so much better shape than when we bought it. So we will see how it all works out.
This also gives us a much needed break from language school and gives us the opportunity to use what we have learned as not many people speak English in Turkana. We will also try to see all of Bro. Eddies
Pastors while here and take care of his needs with the Bible Institute. So while our back’s are sore from the beating yesterday on what is probably the worst road in the world we are glad to back in Turkana. Thanks for taking the time to ride along this journey of faith with us and I will send pictures when we get a good enough Internet connection.
God Bless you all.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

Women At The Well

Baptismal Site

We continued evangelism efforts at Mawe Tatu

(3 Stones) on Saturday in the western province. Much to our surprise and delight the team has grown from 6 people to 8 people. There was a new lady named Florence that joined Terry’s team of ladies and there was a new young man named Moses who is an Associate Pastor at a Church near Pastor Peters home. He had ridden his bike with Pastor Peter and a lady named Mary on the back for 4 hours Friday evening to spend the night in Mawe Tatu to do evangelism Saturday morning. If I ever start thinking of complaining about having to drive a couple of hours to reach Mawe Tatu I am immediately humbled by the thought of having to ride a bike for 4 hours to do evangelism. The kind of increase we saw with new people getting a burden for the lost is typical of the Lord’s faithfulness to his servants. If we will just do our part and be obedient to the Lord’s will he will give the increase. One person can make a difference in the lives of many others when they surrender and yield to the will of God. After Chai (Tea) & Makate (Bread) Pastor Peter shared a great report from his church in Indivisi. The week before Terry had taught the Mama’s in his church on evangelism. He said that because of the teaching there was now a team of Ladies that were going out on Saturday to do evangelism at his home district while he was at Mawe Tatu visiting with us.. He was so excited that those ladies had lead 3 people to Christ last week and they were going again on Saturday. One of our main goals and mission is to train Kenyans to reach Kenyans. We thank God that we are already seeing fruit from our labors in this respect.

As we increased in number we were able to divide up into more teams to cover more area. Terry and the ladies must have walked 10Km to (6 mi.)the forest where hundreds of people were planting crops on this

Saturday morning. I took the men and drove the green camel into the heart of Mawe Tatu where the actual 3 Stones are located. As you can see from pictures the 3 stones are more like 3 small mountains.

We found a good safe location to park the Land cruiser at an old Mama’s house named Violet. She told us she was so glad to see us and that she was a born again Christian. She said she has been praying for many years that her neighbors that live around the stones would come to Christ. With this beginning I knew the Lord had a great day planned for us. While we visited dozens of homes there were seven people who we shared the gospel with that made professions of faith in Christ. The English names of those that trusted Christ were: Rebecca, Wycliffe, Joseph, Martha, Naomi, another Rebecca and a lady named Chribili. Please pray for these that professed Christ as Savior. While I praise the Lord for all those that made decisions there were two very powerful meetings that took place Saturday. Women at the Well...

The first one was when we walked up on older Mama and her two granddaughters who were drawing water from a well out of the ground with a rope and a bucket. It was a moment when the Word of God was so alive in our hearts as we shared the Love of God with them. It was as if we were back in Samaria with Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman. We shared the passage from John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, "Give me to drink." John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. "What a powerful moment in time as Peter prayed with the Grandmother and her granddaughters to receive Christ at that well. I explained to them that God gave them a real blessing because every time they return to the well to draw water they will remember the Lord Jesus and their salvation. Makes you want to cry with joy! There was a second meeting that took place Saturday which had nothing to do with the people we shared the gospel with but rather took place in the hearts of 4 preachers on the top of the largest of the three stones.

What started as an adventure to climb one of the 3 stones ended with Peter, Moses, Shadrach and myself looking out over thousands of shamba’s (farms) each with a mud house. The tin roofs reflected in the sun as

a reminder of the scope of the work at threes stones. We stood at the

edge of the rock looking possibly 1000 ft. into the valley below and

we saw the awesome responsibility the Lord has entrusted to us. The battle is great but as David said “is there not a cause”? The weekend closed with services this morning back at Landmark Baptist Church in Indivisi. Before services we visited a Pastor named David in our work with a small group of believers meeting in a rundown school. What a precious group of God’s people worshiping without the out the trappings of religion, just a pure simple faith in God. Terry and I left the western province with many blessings that included: 1 live Chicken, 6 eggs and a stalk of bananas. God’s people giving out of love for their God.

Thanks for sharing our Journey of Faith,

Chuck & Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

Heavy Hearts and God's Grace

Yesterday started out as normal day. Still being weary from our week-end trip to Nairobi for truck parts we were a little slow moving but back to school to continue our language acquisition. The Lord has given us a great teacher named Wycliffe. He is on staff here at the Indiana University where they have an extensive Doctor training program in conjunction with the Moi Teaching Hospital located here as well in Eldoret. Wycliffe is systematically, patiently and methodically teaching us to speak Swahili. Just towards the end of our morning lesson the phone rang. It was Missionary James Taylor who said he was parked at the front gate of the Indiana University compound with a family who are members of his Church in Melindi (15hrs) away. He had traveled all night with the family to bring them to Western Kenya to bury their infant new born that died the day before. To compound his problems James told me that his daughter, Lydia, has fallen and shattered her elbow the same day this family lost their infant and needed immediate surgery. James dropped his family off in Nairobi in the middle of the night and made his way to Eldoret to see if Terry and I would finish transporting this family to Western Kenya about 3 hrs away. I told him we wanted to help him get through this crisis in any way we could. We cut our language class short and proceeded to the house. As James passed with his van I noticed the red ribbons all over indicating a funeral and in this case a hearse. It was a sobering reminder of the gravity of the situation. We transferred the family with their belongings and the body into our truck. As they loaded the little miniature casket into the back of the “green camel” (as the Turkanan’s affectionately call it) I thought to myself that they deserve better than this. However, this is Africa and you make do with what you have. We prayed with James and put him on his way back to Nairobi so he could be there in time for his daughters surgery. Please pray for a full and speedy recovery for his daughter. Last word was that the surgery went well. They decorated the Landcruiser with red ribbons and we proceeded to Western Kenya. We were a total of 9 packed and with their belongings and the baby. During the 3 hour drive my heart continually went out to the Father (Ricklyn) and Mother (Momma Esther). I watched in my rear view mirror and saw Rickly crying in the back over his Child’s coffin holding it tightly as we drove the rough roads. Momma Esther was in state of shock and appeared to be in post-delivery pain. As we got deep into the interior of Western Kenya we started the (off-road) portion of our journey. While I

get stressed driving the old Landcruiser on the roads it is one of the best off road trucks for Africa. We traveled past many villages on dirt roads until we reached a junction that lead down a trail. As we

proceeded down this rough trail that can best be described as washout where the rain runs I noticed that there were dozens of Momma’s running behind and beside the truck. It took me a few minutes to realize that these were Ricklyn’s and Esther’s family members who had been waiting to accompany the body to the home. By the time we made it to the home, boulders and gullies, there was a large crowd around the truck. The body was immediately taken by the grandmother to the house to prepare for the burial. After greetings and a meal we were prepared to start our trip back to Eldoret when Ricklyn asked if we would stay so I could preach the funeral. I told them I would be honored. After many songs, introductions and testimonies I

stood before a large crowd of people and a small open grave. As Easter Sunday approaches I have been studying all week on the resurrection. It is in the resurrection that we find our hope and power. Jesus conquered death hell and the grave through the power of the resurrection. That is what I preached and will continue to preach for it is the foundation of our faith. The Lord gave me two more passages to share with them about men in the Bible who had lost their children.

King David and Job lost children. Both exhibited great faith in the Lord during the time that Job described as every parents “worst fear”, losing his children. The gospel was presented during the message it started to rain and we hastily made our way back to the truck to start our trip back home. While the day was somewhat stressful to say the least the Lord through His grace gave us great peace as we traveled home. Great peace in the fact the God is able to comfort a mourning family. Great peace that He is faithful and true to his Word. Great peace that those parents will see their child in heaven one glad day. We also had great peace and relief as we looked into the eyes of Ricklyn and Momma Esther when they made it home to have the support and outpouring of love from their family.

While the day is a reminder of the importance of our work here it is also a reminder of how much we miss our family. Please pray for this young couple as they will be mourning for months to come.

Thank you for taking time to share in our ministry.

Bro. Chuck & Sis Terry Fernandez

Kenya, Africa