50th Wedding Anniv., Graduation Day, Baby Carlos, New Village(Sikhendu), 16 Profess Christ

This week has brought so much activity I am not sure where to start. Well maybe I do. My hope is that you give me the liberty to wish my Mom and Dad a Happy 50th Anniversary. Words cannot begin to express

how proud I am of my parents for both enjoying the many years in Holy Matrimony as well as enduring the trials that occur during 5 decades of life. They are a great example to our generation of what God’s plan is for a husband and a wife to love each other till “death do us part”.

As I write this they are on a cruise ship somewhere in the Caribbean with many of our family members celebrating this joyous occasion. We wish them a Happy 50th Anniversary and we wish we were there but we know that we are where the Lord wants us.

This week we completed our scheduled 6 months of language school.
It has been a blessing to learn the language as well as the culture.

While we still have a long ways to go with regard to hearing and fluency we have achieved what is known as conversational Swahili. It has been well worth the investment of time and money as we have connected with the people and the culture in a way that is only possible when you learn their language. Our teacher, Wycliffe, has done a great job of teaching us Swahili

as well helping us understand his culture. Over the last six months we have grown to know each other and to love each other through him teaching us Swahili and us teaching him the Bible. His wife, Eunice, had a baby boy on Wednesday that they named “Carlos”, which is my given name. That is one of the highest honors you can give a person here. Needless to say, we have impacted each others life’s in a great way.

With one of our main priorities being Bible education we continue to invest in printing and distributing Bible Study material. Along these lines this week I received an invitation to visit with Bro.Randy Stirwal who is a Bible Baptist Missionary here in Eldoret,. He and his wife Phyllis have been serving in Kenya for over 30 years.

Not only is he a wealth of information from His vast experience here

but he also opened his entire library to us for use in teaching and training. His library is so comprehensive that is takes up an entire room and the best part about the offer is that it is all on computer which he let me download onto my flash drive.... Anything I want and in Swahili and English.... Now I am not sure if you understand the magnitude of this offer but to have someone of like faith and doctrine open us his life’s work to be shared and copied puts us years ahead of where we would be trying to rewrite and translate what has already been done. Having it in English helps us review and verify everything that is in the lessons and having it in Swahili makes it available to those in the interior and remote regions where we are working.

I cannot tell you how big of a blessing this is. Already I have downloaded: Basic Bible Studies in discipleship, doctrine and How to interpret the Bible. Not only is there an extreme shortage of Bibles here in Kenya but there is also an extreme shortage of Bible study material. It is fair to say that now it is only a matter of
reviewing the material and getting it into the hands of the people who are so desperate for it.

Yesterday was the start of new evangelism campaign in a village called Sikhendu. It is located approx. 60 km from Eldoret and approx. 10 km

from Mawe Tatu (3 Stones) which is the first Church plant we have been blessed to be a part of. This new campaign is a result of the Pastor and members of Mawe Tatu, which is still a new Church plant in itself wanting to reach a neighboring village with the gospel. If you are counting, this is the 5th Church plant the Lord has allowed us to be a part of in 8 months. We dare not take credit for what God is doing but it is so awesome to observe what He is doing through His people. It is one of those times where the Lord is moving in the hearts of His people in a mighty way. People are getting burdened, people are getting saved and people are getting right with God in a way that tends to reflect a wildfire spreading throughout the land.

It is one of those times that you just try to hold on to God while He is moving and working in the life’s of so many at one time. The people that God has united us with during our time here in Eldoret are totally: On fire, committed and so in Love with Christ that they want to share it with others.

As I am constantly assessing our role in these works, I can only say , it is a blessing to come along-side of these sold-out and surrendered Christians and to be able to provide transportation to these remote areas, bibles, educational materials, teaching and to participate in what we call
Acts 20:20 Evangelism.
"And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house."
There were 16 who professed Christ as personal Lord and Savior yesterday while visiting in Sikhendu. Before I close I want to personalize one of those visits for you. One of the houses we visited was the home of a man named Daniel. It is very rare to find the men home on visitation

as they are usually away farming or on business. Daniel was an exception to that rule yesterday as he was at home and welcomed us to visit and share God’s Word. After thoroughly sharing the love of Christ through the plan of salvation there was a moment when we asked Daniel, his wife and Sister in-law if they could recall a time and place in their lives when they had trusted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior?

The pause and conviction in that house was overwhelming as they each said a word that has come to break my heart:

“BADO” which means “not yet” in Swahili.

After asking Pastor Peter to pray with them, we rejoiced with them and explained that our efforts there would ultimately result in a new Church planted in their village. As we walked back to our rally site Daniel walked with us an explained that he has been wanting to know the Lord and was so excited about the prospect of a Church being planted in his village and that he wanted to be first to offer the Land for it to be built on.

We explained that it will be some time after the start of a weekly Bible study to build a church but he let us know that he and his family will be followers of Christ and faithful members. As we parted ways he said that after living in that same house for over 40 years he had never had a preacher visit his home and he said that God has not only given him salvation but the start of new life. We are truly humbled and blessed when we think of those converted and born again.

Since we traveled yesterday we stayed local and attended Bro. Randy’s Church at Kapsoya Baptist here in Eldoret. We brought along the young man named Kennedy and his nephew who is the young fabricator I recently lead to Christ, baptized and is doing a Bible study. While our commitment to preaching the gospel is first and foremost we also want to make every effort to disciple and mentor those that are saved.

Sorry I have been a bit long winded, but just had so much on my heart

I want to remember and share. I also apologize for the poor quality of the pictures but my Pastor has said that our Sunday school class at Ft. Cooper Baptist Church has bought us another camera and it will be here soon.

Thanks for all who take time to allow us to share this priceless experience with you.

Chuck and Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

School and Saying Good-bye

We have completed another week of school and it is hard to believe we have almost finished six months of language schooling with only one more week left. PTL!!
With Terry feeling under the weather we stayed local in Eldoret this week.
We made more progress on printing and distributing a Bible study program to some of the folks we are working with and actually had material translated into Swahili by our language teacher Wycliffe.
Since next week will be our last week with Wycliffe, we are looking to use him to help translate some more Bible study material for students and Pastors who are wanting to continue their education. Again ,none of the materials are intended to take the place of seminary training but instead intended to help those that have a desire to learn and cannot attend a seminary. This week we also said goodbye to a couple of young folks that the Lord has brought our way. The first one was a young lady named Sarah who is a housekeeper at the mansion that we live next door to in their guesthouse. Sarah has become friends with Terry over the last six months. During that time Terry lead her to Christ, we baptized her at Mawe Tatu (3 Stones) and Terry has been mentoring her as well.

She has decided to return to her village to help her parents with their family farm. Sarah always has a smile on her face and she was so happy to be saved and start her new walk as a Christian. She will be missed here in Eldoret but we know we will see her again one day if not here in heaven.

The other person we said goodbye this week to was young man named Geoffrey. He is the brother- in -law to our landlord Noah Ngeny who is the Olympic Gold Medalist and current world record holder in the 1500m. Geoffrey showed up at our compound while waiting to leave for the USA.
He introduced himself as a born again believer who was going to the USA on a four year track scholarship to the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff.
He said he knew nothing about the USA and did not know anyone but his track coach.
After discussing his spiritual condition I told him I knew of a Pastor in Pine Bluff that would welcome him to his Church. The Pastor is Roger Stewart of Olive Branch Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansans who we met on our deputation tour.
To make a long story short I put the two in touch with each other.
Bro. Roger was so glad that Geoffrey was coming to America for the first time and was willing to meet him, bring him to Church and become his friend.
Geoffrey could not believe he already had a Church home and Pastor waiting for him.
He was so grateful to have someone in America that would look out for his Spiritual welfare.
I asked Pastor Roger, What are the chances of me meeting a young Kenyan National that would be traveling to Pine Bluff, Arkansas looking for a good Church?
I have to agree with Bro. Roger that it is surely a “God Thing”.
Late last night I received an email from Bro. Roger who said that they were so pleased to have Geoffrey attend church with them and feed him his first Big Mac and Pizza.
Please pray for Geoffrey as he adjusts to the Land of Opportunity and for Bro. Roger as he teaches and disciples Geoffrey. I am looking forward to hearing of the great things that God is going to do through this relationship which was started thousands of miles away. Thank you for the many prayers and for allowing us to be a part of your life.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa
PS: Terry sends a sincere thank you for all that made her birthday special with cards, emails and calls

Bible Study Materials and 36 Baptized on Mt. Elgon

Over the last eight months we have put much effort into getting the Word of God into the hands of the Pastors and people we have been working with. These efforts have included printing Swahili gospel tracts, buying and distributing English and Swahili Bibles, giving out solar audio Bibles for those that cannot read and this week we started printing Bible Study material for those in leadership positions so they can be better equipped and educated to teach their people. We have met only a select few that have been able to attend a seminary so that leaves the vast majority of Pastors, Preachers and Leaders without any formal Bible training and education. This week we put together a comprehensive Bible study comprised of old material that we shipped and have used over the years.

To people that have nothing for study materials it was more precious than silver and gold.

Many said that they have been praying for years that God would provide them with the needed materials so that they may teach others. In the USA we certainly take it for granted that you can go to any Church on any Sunday and be handed a Sunday school lesson and/or a Bible devotion book. These materials or rare here in Kenya. So it was a blessing to see people so hungry and happy to receive teachings from God’s Word. A big part of our mission work here is to help the Pastors and leaders reach their potential through education so that they may reach others. These materials are not intended to take the place of a seminary but simply intended to help those who are unable to attend.
2 Tim. 2:2 "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. "

Yesterday we met with the Landmark Baptist Church of Mt. Eglon. I was asked to teach on scriptural Baptism as there were 36 new converts who were ready for Baptism. While we have been assisting in the evangelism efforts there for several months this was our first opportunity to worship with the Mosaai’s of Mt. Elgon. We meet under a make shift building covered with tarps, tin and corn stalks.

There must have been around 100 in attendance and we had a great service of worship and preaching. We have been blessed to work with three different tribes thus far: The Luua, The Turkana and now the Mosaai’s of Mt. Elgon. All three have a very distinct and different ways of worshipping through singing and praising but these folks really sang very well.

After services we probably walked several Kilometers down a steep trail to the stream of very cold water coming from the top of the mountain. Among the many new converts baptized was a man named Simeon who is the husband of Terry’s translator Mary. She had been praying for over five years for her husband to trust Christ and become a Christian and now he has been saved and scripturally baptized. They both were so happy about becoming a Christian couple with a Christian home. After a long hard trek back up the Mountain accompanied by drums and singing we had to leave before it rained. This will be our last trip up Mt. Elgon for some time as it starting to rain daily and is impossible to drive to the top when it is the least bit wet. It is amazing to see what God is doing there now

with two simultaneous Church plants taking place on each side of the Mountain. We have been privileged to be a small part of the work there while attending language school. We thank God and give Him all the praise for what He is doing. Each week our language studies are paying off as we are able to speak, hear and communicate a little more. Thanks for allowing us to share our ministry with you and to be able to share the blessings of God’s work.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa Children of Landmark Baptist, Mt. Elgon

Slippery Slopes on Other Side of the Mountain, Police Garrison & Accident

This week we traveled back from Lodwar without any problems and resumed the home stretch of language school. While we are getting more comfortable in conversation and able to hear much more it is going to take considerably more time than 6 months to be at a level of fluency that we need to achieve. Nevertheless we are learning everyday and are very happy with where we are. Yesterday we returned to Mt. Elgon to contribute to the Church planting efforts there. The trip up the mountain was no problem but when got to the top it was very wet from a late evening rain the night before. It was so muddy that we were slipping and sliding off the road in 4 wheel drive. The area we visited was on the other side of the mountain from where we have done all the previous evangelism. Word has spread throughout the region that we have been visiting and there was a group of 30 believers who have been meeting without a Pastor or Church.

They had gotten word back to Pastor Peter that they wanted us to visit. Just getting to the site where those folks have been meeting was a chore as the steep slopes where like ice from the mud. On the way there I saw a donkey loaded with beans sitting on the trail unable to walk because of the mud.

I knew we were in for a tough day of trekking. We arrived at a site covered with two tarps where the group had been meeting. Their leader, a man named Alex was one that had lost his home and many members of his family during the clashes. Alex said that he had been praying that God would help him reach his people in his village for Christ. He has no denominational association and asked Pastor Peter to lead him and teach him Baptist doctrine. So what has started as a Church plant on Mt. Elgon could potentially turn into two Churches, one on each side of the mountain God willing. I know I have said it before but I don’t know that I have ever seen people who are so hungry and desperate for God.

Last week when we were in Turkana they baptized 22 where we started the original efforts on the mountain. I think it could be summarized best by a man who said: “After what people saw last year with the clashes how can people say we do not need God”? So after meeting with Alex and his people we divided up into 6 teams and started hiking, slipping and sliding. There were 19 people who made decisions to receive Christ as Savior and many that were encouraged in the Lord. I constantly have to thank God for a wife that is willing to go into intense hiking areas and be covered with mud to share God’s Word. Her heart and dedication to God never s ceases to amaze me. Before leaving I needed to find a police officer named Fred who is stationed at the Police Garrison on top of the mountain as I had promised Him a KJV English Bible when I meet him several weeks back. Upon visiting at the garrison we received a request from the base commander to come back and share God’s word. What a blessing to have the police welcoming God’s Word. So after another amazing day we started home. As we approached a small town a man on a bike came off a side road without stopping and ran into the side of the truck. I did all I could do to avoid him by braking and swerving but I could not leave the road because of pedestrians. Bro. Eddie Williams gave me some good advice before returning to the USA for this situation. He said no matter what the condition of the person; take them person strait to the Police Station. So that is what we did. Fortunately the hospital was located next to the police station so the man could get aid but he was hurting for sure. Nobody was injured in the vehicle and the only damage was a broken mirror and a scratch on the door. The police did their investigation and said I was not at fault and could not have avoided him hitting the truck but you still hate to see people hurt. We ask you to pray that the man will have a full and speedy recovery for people do not get good medical care here at all.

As I prayed this morning, I made a commitment to the Lord that I would not let Satan discourage or distract us from doing His will in our life. Today we attended Church locally here in Eldoret so we could get some rest from mountain climbing and the moving the previous week. Thank you for your prayers and for traveling this journey with us.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Mission Accomplished, Stolen Camera and Happy Birthday!

We have accomplished our objectives by traveling to Turkana this week. The house is secure: we have installed over 400 ft. of barb wire, chain link fence covered with mabati (palms leaves) and security lighting. We also installed the steel door and window we brought from Eldoret and have guards 24/7.

In addition to all the security measures we moved our household items into the house so when we finish our last month of language school we have everything in Turkana to begin our ministry work here. During all of the moving, construction and cleaning the replacement camera has come up missing. I told Terry, digital cameras must be the hottest ticket on the black market here in Africa. Fortunately, we bought a very inexpensive replacement for the first one that was stolen but still it is very discouraging. So the pictures that are attached were taken from my phone camera again and not good quality but better than nothing. Needless to say we are exhausted from the physical work and heat but we are glad we took this opportunity to make preparations for our move.
Today we celebrated my birthday by visiting a village called Nakechichok.
By the way, Thank you for all the warm birthday wishes!
We had great services and enjoyed teaching, preaching and worshiping with God’s people.

As with virtually every trip to remote areas we usually return with the sick from the village to bring them to Lodwar for medical treatment. Today we hauled coal for some of the Church members to sell in town and also brought back a baby who has been severely sick for almost two weeks now. Before we made it to town we stopped at an old Momma’s house named Mama Samson. We delivered meds to her in February as she was suffering from TB. She wanted to greet the missionaries who brought her the medicine that helped cure her. She has made a full recovery thanks to the great physician, the Lord. She asked for special prayers as they have lost their entire herd of goats due to the drought they are experiencing here in Turkana. It has not rained here since March and they only get around 10 inches per year. Prayer is important no matter what the subject is or where you are in the world but when it involves the life and death of people with very basic survival needs it tends to get your fullest attention. The people are really suffering here and are in desperate need of rain and relief. Before we left, the old Mama offered us some camel meat in appreciation for us stopping by to greet her and for bringing her medicine. Keep in mind that these are people who are starving wanting to give very healthy Americans food.
What a humbling experience.
You may be wondering if I accepted the gift?
It would be extremely disrespectful and offensive to decline something that is intended to be a blessing so we traveled back to Lodwar with a bag of camel meat.
God will bless the giving spirit of those that are in need.
The Bible says give and it shall be given unto you.

We will be traveling back this week with a different vehicle as I need to be bring the radiator from the Land Cruiser to Eldoret to be repaired. The Discovery Land Rover is much newer than the Toyota but has been sitting for a year.

So we covet your continued prayers for protection and provision. Special thanks to the Eddie Williams INN of Lodwar and thank you for taking time to remember us in prayer as we continue what is truly an journey of faith.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

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.