The Heritage of the Lord & A Heart Like a Burning Fire

Terry & Mama's Ministry

We are ever mindful that life is but a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. But from time to time God shows us just how fragile the silver cord of life is through the experience of death. It seems all too often, here in Kenya, we are attending funerals and burying precious little children as was the case this week. I was asked to preach the message of a little three year girl named Michelle who lived near Mt. Elgon. It is heart wrenching to watch the mother and father grieve over the loss of their child and had it not been for the Lord Jesus and the Word of God it could have been unbearable. We do mourn, but not as those who have no hope. There was great strength and comfort knowing that the Word of God teaches us that Children are the Heritage of the Lord. It is this thought that I shared with the family as well as hundreds of village residents who attended the funeral. While the burial methods and procedures are very different from our country, the faith in our risen Savior brings us back to common ground in which we find comfort. The attachment Terry and I have to these villages are growing well beyond the visitor realm and our relationship to them is becoming more like residents after laboring in them for what is turning into years instead of a day, a week or month. Sharing these types of experiences with the people God has called us to minister to opens so many doors of opportunity to share the love of God through the gospel. Please pray for this young family during the weeks and months to come as there is a huge hole in their heart from a little empty chair at the dinner table. Most of the time we share and document our work through pictures but we just did not have peace to take pictures during the funeral service out of respect for these two young mourning parents.

Our travels also took us to the village of Mawe Tatu/Nzoia to deliver the new sign to Pastor Shadrach and the members of the Landmark Baptist Church (LBC) in preparation for building.  New Sign for Landmark Baptist Church

It had rained all night so the interior roads were nearly impassable but we thank God for four wheel drive as I do not believe it is possible or wise to travel anywhere into the interior of Africa without it. This church was our first Church plant and it is going exceptionally well.

The members and their young Pastor have really grown in the Lord and it was a blessing to be reunited for the cause of Christ with both old and new members alike. It seems as if they are not sure if missionaries will ever return when they go home for furlough so needless to say, the people were so happy to see us again.
                    Terry and Women Ministry

We brought two young men with us who have been attending our Eldoret men’s bible study. Since LBC Mawe Tatu is our closest church to Eldoret it is here that we baptized those who are saved through the Bible Study and it is here that we take these young men for additional training under the leadership of one of our finest National Pastors (Shadrach).
One of the young men whom I led to Christ over two years ago has surrendered his life to the ministry and is asking the LBC at Mawe Tatu to send him to his home region near Lake Victoria to reach his tribe with gospel of Jesus Christ.
While I taught on the early church, Kennedy preached a very powerful and personal message from Exodus 4 where God called Moses to bring forth the Children of Israel out of bondage.    Kennedy Preaching 

I have seen and experienced this type of very personal call by God Himself to go and preach the gospel. It was clearly apparent through the preaching of God’s word that Kennedy has within him what Jeremiah described as a burning fire; Jer. 20:9 But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.

Please pray for this brother as he will be traveling to Lake Victoria the first week of August to continue a work that we started in a fishing village called Wichlum back in 2009. There are a group of fishermen there whom we led to Christ and are now assembling themselves on a weekly basis for Bibles studies. They have grown in numbers and now are in real need of some leadership. We have taught, discipled and mentored Brother Kennedy and now God has called him to reach his people. Terry and I are truly blessed to see what is described in the book of Acts as
 "God’s hand with us, many believing and being turned to the Lord." While on furlough I was somewhat challenged at a mission conference that we should be working in large cities rather than villages, however, after seeing what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of many others I am certain we are exactly where God wants us. For it could be out of one of these villages that God can call the next apostle Paul.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
                 Bike Tow Kenya Style

Kenya

Phil. 4:13

“On the Hook” and “In the Valley”

                                 Young Preacher Thomas

 Keep in mind we are from Florida, and in boating terms, “On the Hook” might mean to be anchored somewhere in a body of water but in automotive terms it means to be broke down and being towed in by the tow truck. That is precisely what happened this week as we traveled to a village in Western, Kenya known as Mawe Tatu. Our plans were to secure trees to be cut and processed for the new sanctuary there but about half way into the trip the front driveshaft came apart ripping out the main wire harness as well as severing the fuel lines. Needless to say, it was a huge mess that left us stranded for hours while waiting for the tow truck.

                                  Waiting For Tow Truck                   

Then when the tow truck arrived it left us wondering if it was capable of towing the Rover back to Eldoret. (Refer to Pics)

In any case, we made it back safely but had no transportation for several days.

As always God knows what we need and this set back actually forced us to take a few days to rest our bodies and particularly our backs after the rigors of moving back into the country again. Once the Rover was repaired it was immediately back on the road carrying us deep into the Kerio Valley to visit the Pokot village called Chepsabei.

We thoroughly enjoy working in this hot and rugged land and we praise God for leading us to work there. Every trip there has moments of sheer joy. For example there is the descent into the valley from an elevation of approx. 6000’ to desert semi-arrid elevation below 1000’. Just at the peak of this descent we can look miles out into the valley with great anticipation knowing that God has called us to this region to reach the lost and He is doing a work in the lives of many people who live there. There is also great joy in seeing these young believers and followers of Christ praising, learning and growing in their faith. 

                                     Terry With Old Mama 

The work with the Pokot tribe was the last work we started before we left for furlough. Needless to say, we were anxious to worship with these new believers and to see how they were progressing in their walk with the Lord. A young Kenyan national preacher from the Mt. Elgon region named Timothy has been leading this work in our absence and has done a great job of teaching these young believers the Word of God. He loves them dearly and they love him so much they have given him a Pokot name. His Pokot name is “Loquardo” which means: LIGHT.           Tim & Tom....Pokot Tribe

Not only has he done a great job of continuing the work but God has blessed him with two young men from that village who have surrendered to the gospel ministry. This is an answer to our prayers. As I have explained to Timothy, our mission with the Pokot is to bring them to Christ and to train up leaders and God called preachers from Chepsabei so they will eventually have a Pokot Pastor and Pokot Missionaries to carry the gospel further and deeper into areas which are inaccessible to us. It was a thing of beauty to see these two young preachers inter act as they led the people in singing and teaching the Word of God. There is something special about two young men purposing in the heart to be living sacrifices for our Savior as they fulfill God’s will for their lives. What a powerful team God has formed as it is apparent that their souls have been knitted together to do God’s Work as they minister to the Pokot tribe. God is an awesome God!

I preached from the book of Acts on Why and Where they were first called Christians.

 

Over the next few month’s we will teach on baptism and basic discipleship to prepare those who have professed Christ to be baptized and organized into a New Testament Church. While the numbers were down due to a large village wedding, this village is being transformed by the love of God through the gospel one person at a time.

                                    People of  Chepsabei

We were able to supply the most recent converts the Word of God by giving them solar powered audio Bibles thanks to the special offerings given by our brethren in the USA. Your sacrificial gift has blessed these new Pokot believers.
     Asante Sana = Thank You Very Much.

We always depart with great joy in our hearts over what the Lord is doing in this large somewhat obscure village in the Kerio Valley known to us, the residents and God.

                                  Circle of Prayer

The climb out of the valley is very hard as the mountainous road is rough and rocky but at the peak of the climb we are always rewarded with a blast of cold air from this high elevation. It is so refreshing after working in the 100 degree heat.

We say thank you Lord. 

Please keep us in your prayers this coming week as we do have trials ahead of us but we know God’s grace is sufficient.

  2 Co 12:9 And He said unto me,

 " My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. "

God Bless You,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

     PS: Special Thanks to First Baptist Church of Eastbay and Anchor Baptist Church for supplying 100 Solar powered audio Bibles.

Foreign but Familiar...Hitting the Ground Running

  Landmark Baptist Church of Namarambi

located at the base of Mt. Elgon.

International travel always leaves something to be desired unless you enjoy being crammed into a plane with a couple hundred people and basically unable to get comfortable for sixteen hours of flying. However as bad as it is, our flights from Orlando to London and then from London to Nairobi went smoother than ever. Even with having to switch airports in London, from Gatwick to Hethrow with ten pieces of luggage worked out better than planned. I say all that to say that God really blessed our travels as we returned to Kenya this week.

There is a strange feeling after leaving family

                               Grandson Chuckie

and country to do God’s work on the foreign field for without a doubt you know you are on foreign soil but you also have great peace in your heart that you are at home in the perfect will of God. It is also comforting to have familiarity with the place God has called us to. While we do not consider ourselves veterans we are also not new to Kenya. The sights, the sounds and the smells had become so common place to us that we hardly notice that we are foreigners in a familiar land.                         Namarambi Youth Choir

Getting settled back in Eldoret has had its challenges but nothing that is unusual with the re-entry process. With jet lag trying to hold us back and with a heart of desire to see our brethren pushing us forward we hit the road to two village Churches in the interior on the Lord’s Day. One thing I learned while in the USA from feedback given by our American brethren was that people who read our reports really have a hard time getting a handle on what villages and churches we are working in. That is perfectly understandable because who could possibly place the village churches in the interior of Kenya on a continent as large as Africa. With that said, I will attempt to be a little more descriptive so people can follow our work when writing my journal blog. Probably more important than the location are the beautiful people God has called us to minister to. We visited the Landmark Baptist Church of Namarambi and the Landmark Baptist Church of Ndivisi both located at the base of Mt. Elgon.

             Ndivisi Baptist Church located at the base of Mt. Elgon.

It was exciting for us to see their continued growth of both churches spiritually and physically in our absence. There were many new faces of people who have been saved and baptized while we were in the states as well as those faithful members whom we led to Christ during our first term which is a solid indication of Churches built on God rather than man. When our life’s work is over we want to leave something behind that God continues to get glory from. During Sunday services we were also reminded how much we love worshipping with our brethren in Kenya.

God’s presence was felt as He was worshipped

from the heart.

After services I was able to spend time with Pastor Peter who I consider my right hand and the best soul-winner I have ever known to make ministry plans for the remainder of this year. Those plans include upcoming evangelism crusades, training seminars, buildings and outreaches. Working with six Churches, training twenty-one preachers with three new preaching points while pushing the gospel into unreached areas provides more ministry opportunities and challenges than we could have ever dreamed or expected. We believe and know that God is with us as He has shown Himself faithful by providing the necessary partners and workers to fulfill His calling on our lives.

Thank you to all who regularly pray and financially support our ministry as it would not be possible without either.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa            Terry & Beatrice

Phil. 4:13

National Meeting, Remembering Joplin and War Hero’s



                                         Pastor Tim & Crystal            

We have logged over 5000 miles during the last two weeks of travel while attending the national meeting of the American Baptist Association in St. Louis, Missouri. We also visited Churches in Alabama and Arkansas on the way up and back. These meetings were kind of the grand finale to our deputation efforts to promote our mission work in Kenya. With over two thousand in attendance it was great to reconnect with our supporting Churches, make contact with new Pastors and Churches as well as have fellowship with other missionaries. We are so thankful for all those who share our vision and burden to reach the lost and are willing to partner with us through prayers and offerings.  

We were also encouraged by the feedback we received regarding work and we know God is going to do great things if we continue to follow His leadership and put Jesus first in all things. On our way back from St. Louis our GPS routed us through Joplin, Missouri which afforded us to see the destruction left in the wake of an F5 tornado.

Our hearts were truly broken as we traveled through neighborhoods which were leveled by what can only be compared to a huge explosion which took out a third of the city. I have attached two photos, one taken the day after the tornado hit and one taken thirty days later in which cleanup is still currently on going.

It was amazing anyone survived the utter destruction brought by the massive storm. Please continue to pray for those who lost loved ones and for those rebuilding their lives as they will never be the same. Words cannot describe the scene as we never have seen anything close to that kind of power and destruction before.

During the course of our travels I also had the opportunity to visit with some real war hero’s. The first one I met was a War World II Veteran named Johnny Bell, who by way of recent marriage to my sister-in-law Karen is now my brother-in-law. Never thought I would ever have a brother-in-law who landed at the Sicily, Angio and Salerno invasions but I do now and I am thankful for His service.   

To sit and listen to the war stories against great odds is a reminder that great men made great sacrifices to make this a great nation. During our time in St. Louis we met some other war hero’s near the Mississippi river who were there for “Marine Week”.  

The young Marines we met were veterans of the Afghanistan War and have also made a great sacrifice for our country. Marines have a special place in our hearts because our son Chuck III is an “Iraqi Freedom” war hero. 

From the time of the Revolutionary War men have been fighting for the many freedoms that we have a tendency to take for granted. Thank God for men that believe enough in a cause that they are willing to fight for with their very lives. 

      Our son, Chuck III, sees his new son, Chuck IV, for the first

time upon his return from war....

On this Fourth of July weekend I need to wish my Mother Happy Birthday!

  She has influenced my life in so ways and is currently instrumental in getting our blog published so others can share our journey of faith.

Lord willing, our next journal will be from Kenya as we fly back on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Please pray for traveling mercies, our children/grandchildren and our mission work. We say goodbye to our children & grandchildren with heavy hearts but we are excited to see what God is going to do during our second term.  

We have laid a foundation on which we will continue to build and we are looking forward to going further in our faith as well. May God Keep you and Bless You and to God be the glory.

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Phil. 4:13

---

Wonder Working Power, Tea with Terry & A Book of Stamps

Mission Conference

Nursing Home Ministry

Our time in the USA is drawing to a close and as our July 5^th departure date approaches we are making a short list of items we need and want to take back to Kenya. Coming home on furlough gives us a unique opportunity to carry back a small quantity (less than 50# per tote) of items which are not available in Kenya. We also still have two mission conferences to preach over the next month in Alabama, Arkansas and attend the National ABA Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Since our last report we have visited as many Churches in Florida as possible to share our hearts burden for the people of Kenya and to raise funds for our second term. God has continued to bless in a great way by providing the funds needed for the work we have started on Mt. Elgon and the Kerio Valley and we also have we raised the needed funds to build two more sanctuaries.

We also thank the Lord for Churches like: First Baptist Church of Eastbay, Anchor Baptist Church, Springhill MBC and Baumhauer Road MBC who have partnered with us to purchase over one hundred Solar Powered Audio Bibles for the Pokot tribe we are working with in the Kerio Valley.

We can clearly see God’s provision to get the gospel and the Word of God to those who need it.

Nursing Home  Ministry ***CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE FOR BETTER VIEW

Not only have we been blessed by God’s provision through our furlough/deputation time but we have experienced His power while home. While it seems we see the Lord’s power manifested on a regular basis in Kenya, it has blessed our hearts and encouraged our faith to see God still moving in the hearts of people in our great nation as well. His power has been made known through the salvation of dozens during our revivals, mission conferences, prisons, nursing homes, Christian schools and regular services. We have also seen many people rededicate their lives to the Lord Jesus, surrender to the ministry, to the mission field, for baptism and make commitments to sacrificially give to God’s work. We say praise the Lord for His " power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb."

 Last month the Ladies of our Church showered Terry with gifts of love during an event they called “Tea with Terry”.   

It was a great encouragement for them to recognize her work in Kenya as she labors by my side. She gave them a short devotion and left knowing our Church appreciates her as a missionary’s wife on the foreign field.   

It has been our desire that while home on furlough or traveling the country on deputation God would use us to exhort and encourage His people. But most importantly we pray God will be glorified in our lives. “Let others see Jesus” in me is more than just a song but rather the purpose of our lives.

This month I have also had the privilege of preaching two more prison revivals at Cross City Correctional institute. We had great services with men that have a hunger for God. I preached on “Abiding in Christ” and “Finishing the Course”.

Kenya has changed us in the sense that we have learned from a culture in which relationships with others are placed above all things. We have adopted this mentality and it has help deepen our relationships with those we come in contact with over time. There were two things that really touched my heart during these meetings. One was a young man that came forward at the end of the service and said that he wanted to support our ministry but did not have any money. He wanted to give the most valuable possession he owned while in prison, a book of stamps. Like many of the offerings we receive in Kenya, they would appear to the common person of little value, however, in the sight of the Lord they are of great value like the widow: Luke 21:3

And He said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: Luke 21:4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.  

Not only did we receive this great offering but I also received great encouragement from a letter written by one of the men I have been ministering to for years. These are His words: “Dear Brother Fernandez, Please know that you are in my prayers and thoughts and I thank you for being such an example to me and the men of what we are suppose to be as a follower of Christ and as a minister to others. I thank God every time I think of you because of the inspiration and encouragement you have been to me. I am certain the Lord Jesus smiles down at you and your wife as you both serve him. Please pray for me that I may be all our Master (Jesus) wants us to be for His honor and glory. Thank you for giving to the Lord as we are lives being changed.”

Please continue to pray for us and our family as we make our final appointments and final preparations to return to the work God has called us to in Kenya. Thank you for allowing us to share our lives with you. We covet your continued prayers.

May God Keep You and Bless You,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Phil. 4:13

T-Ball, Inverness Christian Academy and Revival

ince I am used to writing weekly journals these monthly journals are proving to be difficult given the fact that we are busy trying to maximize and balance our time between our family and ministry needs.   With 90 days left in country our schedule is absolutely crammed full of activities.   We are visiting as many as three different churches per week, attending mission conferences and preaching revivals.    While we count it a privilege to serve the Lord and continue to push towards the mark of our high calling we are also enjoying those simple but precious moments in life that God allows us to experience while home on furlough.   It has been a blessing to share quality time with our children: Chuck, Carla, Son in law Kevin, Vinny and grandsons:  Little Chucky & Kason. 

We have been able to attend several T-ball games of our grandson Chucky

 and have enjoyed special moments like taking our little grandson Kason on a tractor ride. 

What every Grandpa lives for! 

   Terry and I also enjoyed a morning with the students of Inverness Christian Academy when our school Administrator Dan Riley, who has visited us in Kenya, ask me to preach chapel.  We showered the kids with small souvenirs from Kenya and taught them about our mission work.

It was a blessing to be able to teach them about the great commission but it was also a great blessing to see how Inverness Christian Academy has grown into a God honoring Christian School. 

Bro. Riley has built on our vision and efforts to start a Christian School ten years ago and taken it to a whole new level.   Last week we were in Broken Bow, Oklahoma preaching a revival with Pastor Jimmy Jones and the Members of Eastside Missionary Baptist Church. 

We saw evidence of revival break out in so many ways.    Not only was there Godly sorrow seen in the alter every night with God’s people praying and weeping for the Lord but we also saw the revival break out in our visit to the local jail. 

Our original plan was to baptize seven men who had accepted Christ however while I was teaching these seven men about the deeper meaning of scriptural baptism from Romans 6 there were three more men who came under conviction about being lost without Jesus and came asking us how to be saved.

                           Jail Baptism Candidates

Much like the Phillipian jailer but these were inmates.

Acts 16:29

"Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, Acts 16:30 and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 

Those three received Christ and we ended up baptizing ten inmates.

                                  Public Profession of Faith

       Amazing Grace how sweet the sound!

(Buired In His Likeness)  

Pastor Jimmy also used the revival as an opportunity to help us raise funds to  build two more sanctuaries in Kenya.  He sponsored an event called “Kans for Kenya” in which three other local ABA Churches participated.   The “can crush” was awesome

                              Can Crush

and when added to the offerings each Church brought there was over $7,000.00 raised to help Pastor Shadrach build the sanctuary at Mawe Tatu and for Pastor Alex to build the sanctuary at Cheptabrubru on Mt. Elgon.

                                  Terry helping in 'Can Crush'.....

                                                                To God Be the Glory! 

It amazing to see what God can do when God’s people pray and give.   It definitely is a sacrificial offering that touched our hearts.    Please continue to pray for our upcoming revivals and meetings as we are currently in Arkansas.  Thank you to all who support this great cause through both prayer and finances and thank you for taking time to share this journey of faith with us.

God Bless You and Keep You,

Bro.Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

Currently in Little Rock, Arkansas

Phil. 4:13