Back to the Buses and Back on the Road

It has been several weeks since I have posted a journal entry, however, so much has transpired over the last two weeks I felt it was time to record some events that I want to remember but also want to share with others to encourage them in the Lord as a reminder of how good God is to us.

With vacation and family time over our return trip home for a brief break has been extended for a few weeks to give us the opportunity to share what God has done in Kenya and also given us the opportunity to be encouraging many others in the Lords work. We are currently preaching at Churches in Florida and Arkansas. Some of the work in Florida has included: mission conferences, preaching at the Baptist College, a bus seminar and visiting supporting Churches. One of our favorite ministries over the years has been the bus ministry. Terry and I have worked in the bus ministry for some 10 years trying to bring as many children to Christ as we could. When our Associate Youth Pastor Francisco Garcia invited me to come to a Saturday visitation to encourage the workers and to go on visitation I was more than happy. It reminded me of the many Saturday mornings I would meet with our faithful workers to go into the many areas of Inverness, Floral City, Hernando, Brooksville, Nobelton and Springhill. I shared my heart to the dedicated workers who sacrificed their Saturday to be a witness for Christ and I taught them the three main Characteristics of a faithful bus worker was to have compassion for the lost, to be consistent in our service and to glorify Christ. After teaching and visiting bus families I was reminded of the pitiful spiritual condition of the American family and the need to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. While we are thousands of miles away sharing God’s love in Kenya our hearts are broken from what we see taking place in the USA. We are praying for God to raise up more Christians who will be missionaries to America. After the Missions/Faith Promise conference at our church we attended the Missions Conference at Lighthouse Baptist in Springhill, Florida. I was also given a great opportunity to preach at my college, Emmaus Baptist College. Then we hit the road for the longest leg our trip traveling to Oklahoma to visit my friend, Jimmy Jones, who is the new Pastor at Eastside Baptist in Broken Bow and then on to Arkansas to visit two Churches and attend the Pastors/Missionaries conference in Texarkana.

Sunday morning we attended Dean Springs MBC in Alma, Arkansas. These wonderful folks lead by their fine young Pastor, Jason Rutherford have purchased a plot and a tent on Mt. Elgon and been a great encouragement to us over the last year. The men of the Church also purchased safety glasses and reading glasses for us to distribute to the welders, mechanics and fabricators we work with on a weekly basis in Eldoret. We attended evening services at Olive Branch Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The evening service was very special as we were able to meet with Geoffrey Keospy who is the young Kenyan National and is the nephew to the Olympic Gold medalist, Noah Nygny, who is our landlord in Eldoret. Kind of a long story about how God brought us together but he is attending the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff on a full scholarship as a long distance runner. I put him together with Pastor Roger Stuart of Olive Branch Baptist Church so Geoffrey would have someone to care for his soul while living in America. Pastor Roger and Church have whole heartily embraced Geoffrey and meet every Spiritual and Physical need this precious young man has had. It was a blessing to hear how much they love him and to see the Love of Christ in Action.                                              

 Geoffrey Keospy, the young Kenyan & I... 

I shudder to think of how difficult it would have been for Geoffrey to go through the culture shock and adjusting to life from a village in Kenya to the urban life of America without a Church family like Olive Branch. These pieces of the puzzle where put in place by God Himself long ago to insure that Geoffrey could be saved, scripturally baptized and become a member of a local New Testament Church in America that loves him dearly. Thank you, Lord, for loving us so much that you intervene in our lves on a daily and personal basis.

Please continue to pray for us as we travel to other Churches, conferences and retreats in order to encourage God’s people and to raise support for the work in Kenya.
We return April 5th. May God keep you and bless you.
                                         Geoffrey explains his culture...

Chuck and Terry Fernandez     
Kenya, East Africa

Missions Conference & Cross City Correctional Institute

After being home for three weeks now we are definitely starting to acclimate to life in our great country.

The pace of life here has seemed to return to a daily  “on the run” and “on the move” mentality that doesn’t allow much time for the little things in life which we have grown to cherish in Kenya with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a priority where they make time to sit around a table with hot tea to share each other’s life and hearts. We have become so goal and task oriented that we are missing that quality time with each other. Both Terry and I have had a difficult time adjusting to the food. That is something that we did not anticipate with our return. When you radically change your diet for one year and then radically change it again it takes some time to know what you can and can’t eat again. We are picking our food battles very carefully. Sunday we opened the Mission Conference at Fort Cooper Baptist with a great crowd and a great spirit. We are so thankful for a Pastor and church that has a burden for the lost and a heart for missions. The theme of the conference is “there cometh a night when no man will work”. God blessed both services and it was so good to see our friends and family attend with us. Each time we return to our home Church we are so encouraged by our Pastor and the members.

This year the church was decorated in the usual flags of various countries but in addition to the flags were little dresses hanging from the ceiling that were made from pillow cases. We thank the ladies of the Church who participated in this endeavor to provide the little girls that we work with in various villages, what will be in most cases, their first new dress. I sat on the platform Sunday looking at those little dresses hanging there and  knowing how happy the little girls are going to be to receive something that is made from a heart of love. One of the things that we love about coming home to Ft. Cooper is the precious memories that we have there. God reminds us of His grace upon our lives as we have seen the  Lord bless our church and family over the last twenty years.

This week we also preached a prison revival at Cross City Correctional Institute for Chaplin Herman Rivera. This year revival was the best that we have had over the last 5 or 6 years I have been preaching there.
 #1. The Chapel was full both days and the guards where actually pulling men off the compound telling them that they needed to attend. The second day we had to put out chairs.
 #2. There was a freedom and liberty of the Holy Spirit with alters full of men weeping and calling out to God.
 #3. There is a maturity and growth in a handful of men that have become a core of mighty men of God at CCCI. I have watched them grow in their faith and walk with God over the last five years that has brought them to a place in their walk where they are winning and discipling others inmates.
 #4. There were 8 who made professions and many rededicated their life to Christ. These meetings were very powerful and these men have become an extension of my ministry. I have a love and heart for them like I have for the people we are working with in Kenya. Please remember our Brothers in Christ who are paying their debt to society and growing in grace and truth through the power of the cross. From this point on we will be preaching at various churches throughout Florida and Arkansas until we return back to Kenya.
Thank you for your prayers.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa
Currently in Florida

Graduation in Georgia, the Sunshine State & First Impressions

Much has happened over the last two weeks and I have come to realize that those who are part of our ministry are as much a part of our life so I feel compelled to continue to keep a journal from time to time while we are states side as well. Our flights from Kenya to Atlanta went well with all of our luggage arriving intact. We were greeted by all three children as well as their spouses and/or significant others. Additionally, our grandchildren were waiting at the last check point. As we came up the escaltor our four year old grandson Chucky burst past the security check point when he saw us to jump into our arms. No national alert was issued but we have never been happier to see someone pass security. While our children are grown adults now it meant so much for us for them to take time out of their lives and drive to Atlanta to meet us. Our son-in-law Kevin put all of us up at one of the most posh hotels in downtown Atlanta.

We can’t thank him enough for making our first night back in country so special. Our first week has been spent in Georgia and we were able to attend our daughter’s graduation in Thomasville, Georgia. We are very proud of her accomplishment graduating as a surgical nurse while being a wife, a mother as well as helping her husband runs a very successful business.
After spending a week in Georgia we traveled back to our home state of Florida for some needed R & R. While we know our bodies are adjusting to the change in time zones there is definitely some reverse culture shock involved after living abroad for one year. I wanted to record the following
impressions of our first week back in country for the sake of remembrance and to share what it is like to transition back to our great country for a short break.
#1. The first noticeable differences are the roads. We have grown so accustomed to roads that are in total disrepair or no roads at all that we can’t believe how incredibly smooth, organized and well marked our roads are here in America.

 #2. After being on an African diet it is like being a child in a candy store with the choices we have in restaurants and at food stores. There are so many choices that it is hard to choose and you just want to try one of everything. It is also weird not to have to worry about bleaching vegetables or the meats that you eat. #3. There is a real adjustment after being around Africans the entire year and with limited contact with other white folks from time to time. We love the people that God has united us in Kenya to Work with. We Pray with them, We worship with them, We Cry with them , we laugh with them and we have become so much like them in many ways and now we find ourselves almost feeling like an outsider among our own people. It is something that is very hard to explain.

#4. I realize that our country is in the worst recession since the great depression but even though we are going through difficult times we are still a most blessed nation. Today my son Chucky dropped me off at Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things and proceeded to Lowes. I told him I would walk to Lowes instead of him having to drive back to pick me up as we have grown accustomed to walking in Kenya.
As I walked the quarter mile to Lowes I was taken aback by the number of vehicles on the road. It is rare to see people in our country walking unless it is for pleasure or exercise while in Kenya 90% of the population do not own cars and have to walk everywhere. These are just a few of our first impressions after being gone for a year but in any case we are glad to be back for a break. This weekend we will start visiting and preaching in local Churches again to continue raising funds for the ministry. As always we ask you to pray that God will bless our meetings and that we will be a blessing to the people we worship with. Thanks for allowing us to be a part of your life as well.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa
Currently In Brooksville, Florida

Eldoret Evangelism, Stolen Generator & Mawe Tatu Baptisms

          Baptism of a young Muslim man, named Mganda, who was saved at our Bible Study...

The word “busy” would be an understatement if you used it to describe the week that we have had. With our return to the USA growing closer we used this last week in country to finish on a strong note. Tuesday we did street evangelism in Eldoret. Pastor Peter and Pastor Shadrach have been wanting to travel to Eldoret for some time to do Street Evangelism and attend the weekly Bible Study we have with the Welders, Mechanics and Fabricators. We spent much of the day sharing God’s Word in areas that are somewhat removed from the mainstream of the town.

                   STREET EVANGELISM                                                                

                                                                  BIBLE STUDY  

Most of the time was spent sharing the gospel one on one although there were times when  large crowds gathered to hear God’s Word proclaimed. In the end there were eight who made professions of faith. They were invited to the Bible study where Pastor Peter taught at one and Pastor Shadrach taught at the other. Remember these preachers are farmers from Western Kenya who live in very rural areas. Now they have come to the city to preach. They kept on saying the whole time, “I can’t believe how many people there are here”. After a great day of street evangelism and Bible study we returned to the truck only to find that the truck had been broken into and the small generator we had planned to use to build pews the next day was stolen. Now keep in mind the truck was locked and was parked in the middle of town in broad daylight. The guys were really bummed out after a great day in the city. So to cheer them up I shared with them, II Cor. 4:8 "we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed but not in despair".

Wednesday we traveled to Mawe Tatu (3 Stones) to build pews. After Pastor Shadrach help build pews at Namarambi last week he begged me to build them at Mawe Tatu before we left. We spent the day building pews with a chainsaw instead of a circular saw because we were missing our generator. God always provides and the pews turned out very nice. It was a good thing we built those new pews at Mawe Tatu because Sunday services was the biggest crowd since the Church was started last year. Sunday services were also one that really helped me leave with a cup that was running over. To start with, the young Muslim man named Mganda who was saved at our Bible Study a couple of weeks ago wanted to be scripturally baptized.

He traveled with us to Mawe Tatu and it was such a blessing to see him with a Bible in hand and singing praises unto Jesus. What a testimony to the power of God through the preaching of the cross. Sitting next to him was a very old man who we had witnessed to over 9 months ago. He finally decided to attend and has been attending faithfully for the last 4 weeks.
                                                                                                                         YOUNG BUILDERS

He is part of the reason for the record crowd as he brought his wife, children and many grandchildren. He was a joyful reminder that God grants the increase in His time.

CLICK ON PICTURE BELOW TO ENLARGE....

In addition to Mganda coming for baptism and the old man coming with his family, I sat on the sidelines and watched Kennedy who was saved only a few months ago give the teenagers a devotion for Sunday school. Lastly, the Lord reminded me during services today that Jeffet who directs the service and is Pastor Shadrach’s right hand man was one of the first people we lead to Christ at Mawe Tatu evangelism last year. He was a man before salvation whose life could be equated to the prodigal son. A man who lived a riotous life without God. Since this will be our last service in Kenya for a while I believe that God through His infinite grace and mercy gave me a real lift by reminding me that our first year in country was time well spent. We know that the Lord Jesus makes a difference in the lives of people but from time to time it is awesome when He shows you that He is making a difference in their lives through us.

What a privilege and what a blessing. We ask you to pray for the Churches and Bible studies while we are gone but I can assure you these folks are so totally sold out and surrendered to God that they will continue with or without us. Terry and I leave for Nairobi tomorrow to start a month vacation as well attending our daughter Carla’s graduation in Georgia. Our plans also include two mission conferences and a prison revival at Cross City Correctional Institute. We are so looking forward to seeing our Children and holding our Grandchildren whom we have not seen in one year. Please continue to pray for us.
On a parting note, I do not plan on making journal entries while at home but I will resume them after our conferences and revival. Thank you and may God keep you and bless you.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Happy New Year! Building Pews and Sunday Services

As I write this weekly journal entry it is hard to believe that the New Year 2010 is here and that Terry and I have completed our first year of mission work here in Kenya. So before I forget, let me wish everyone who reads this a Happy & Blessed New Year! With our return to the USA planned in just 11 days we are trying to accomplished as much as possible before we leave. Attendance was down a little for our weekly Bible Study here in Eldoret due to the fact that many have traveled to their home villages to spend Christmas and New Years with their family. However, we had two good meetings that resulted in another young man, named Kennedy, getting saved by God’s grace. This young man visited last week and had no idea what it meant to receive Christ as Lord and Savior or to be born again. After the meeting I spent time with him explaining the gospel step by step then sent him home with a Bible and a gospel tract. I asked him to study God’s Word for himself and then ask God what he needed to do. He came back this week and told those in attendance that he made a decision to receive Christ and follow the Lord’s teachings. Praise the Lord!

Also, one of our first time visitors named Sammy asked us to pray for his boss to allow him to attend these meetings. The only reason he was able to meet with us this week was because his boss was out of town. We united in praying that God would soften his boss’s heart to allow this sharp young man the opportunity to study his Bible and fellowship with us. Yesterday, Terry and I traveled to Western Kenya to build pews for the Church plant at Namarmabi. Three weeks ago they were able to purchase a plot, last week they were provided with a tent and I could not leave the country knowing that these precious folks were either standing or sitting in the dirt the entire service. With that said we purchased enough lumber to build seven pews.

It rained all day but thanks to the tent we set up we were able to build the pews so God’s people would have something to sit on. We enjoyed a great time of fellowship with the three Pastors who came to help build as well as Missionary John Wanyonyi from Sudan who was visiting his family in Western. As you look at the pictures be thankful for the padded high back pews God has provided for you at your Church but also keep in mind it was the best we could give them with the limited finances we have to work with. Today we traveled back to Western to attend Church with Pastor Peter and the Landmark Baptist of Ndivisi. God has truly knitted our souls together with this Pastor and His Church. While we will miss these dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ during our break it was comforting to know that

 we are only going to be gone for short period of time. During the service our hearts were truly touched when they presented Terry with homemade cards and two necklaces for our daughter Carla who is graduating as a Surgical Nurse in Three weeks. The people we have worked with over the last year are some of the most wonderful Christian folks we have ever met. They truly love the Lord and others with a Love that I can hardly explain. We praise God for his plan to unite us with such Godly people to carry out the Great Commission. Before we departed for Eldoret we had the opportunity to visit Terry’s Translator Mary who gave birth to a baby girl on New Year’s Eve.

It was a foregone conclusion that her last born would be named after Terry which is the fourth child named Terry or Teresa this year.

Terry and Mary have teamed up over the last year to share God’s love through his Son Jesus Christ in hundreds of homes, even when Mary was 9 months pregnant. They have developed a bond through a kindred spirit with a burden to reach the Lost. This connection while very rare in this day and age it is one of the strongest bonds because they experience one the most powerful moments in an individual’s life, that being when a person believes by faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing I know of short of the band of brothers in combat that produces that kind of unity. We covet your daily prayers and we also want to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to all those who have partnered with us in prayer and finances over the last year. God Bless you all!


Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Christmas in the Desert, H2O & Logistics

Road To Turkana

Terry and I enjoyed Christmas this year on the road by traveling to the desert of Turkana to transfer medical supplies and to close down the house we rented in Lodwar when we first arrived in country. With our primary ministry focus being Western Kenya we felt it prudent to maintain only one household until such a time as the Lord allows us to return to Turkana in more of full time situation. We don’t feel like the Lord is done with us there yet because we have some friends that have offered us a studio apartment free of charge anytime we are there. So after the weekly Bible study on Tuesday we loaded up the truck with medicines for the Turkana people and traveled on Wednesday. Before we left, the men of the weekly Bible study gave us two laying hens as a Christmas gift. Each time we receive a hen it is a humbling experience as we know the amount of food and the quality of food this represents to the average family here. God gave us traveling grace again with no break downs and safety on what is probably the worst road in the world. We thank him for his grace especially when we found out upon arrival that two people who work with the catholic diocese where shot on the same road on the same day we traveled. One was shot in the neck and the other was shot in the thigh while traveling the opposite direction as we were. Security on that road is increasingly becoming a regular problem. This being the first Christmas away from our family it was good for us to stay busy working on moving and closing up the house. Poor Terry had to do all the packing while I did all the lifting and moving.

Delivering Water                                                                                                   

We spent Christmas day having dinner at our missionary friends Kishule and Ali’s house in Lodwar which is the couple where we are storing our household items in their studio apartment. Some of the larger items we shipped via truck back to Eldoret. While Terry and I did not exchange gifts this year we were able to give a few. The most humbling gift we gave this year was the gift of water. One of the guards from the house we employed called and said that he and his family had been without water for three days. He asked if we could bring some from the house.
 So Christmas day we delivered 250 liters of water and some small toys for his Children. With temperatures that range from 100’ to 120’ water is the most valuable resource in the desert. After three days of packing and cleaning we were able to be free of the liabilities that come with maintaining a home which we have not been able to utilize as much as we had hoped. Before we returned to Eldoret we were blessed with some Turkana Christmas carolers

dressed in traditional Turkana attire. After a few songs we gave them bread and a small amount of money for a Christmas gift. It was a great experience. The holiday season here in Kenya takes on quit a different meaning as there is not the materialism that has seemed to overtaken our country because of the abundance of blessings. People here are unable to buy gifts as they are more concerned with daily survival. This being the case the focus seems to be more on the birth and life of the Lord Jesus Christ which is what Christmas is really all about. As I write this entry we have now safely returned to Eldoret and await a truck loaded with household items we can use here. We have had a unique Christmas experience with camels, sand, H2O and moving. Thanks for allowing us to share our life with you all. May God Bless you this Holiday Season and Have a Happy New Year.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa               

Children of Turkana

We Wish You A Merry Christmas....

Muslim Convert, Tabernacle in the Wilderness and Namarambi Tent Raising

                                              

With time running short we are desperately trying to achieve our year end goals as we will be returning to the United States early next month for our daughters graduation, missions conferences and a prison revival. This week we had a record high eighteen men attend the welders, fabricators and mechanics weekly Bible study here in Eldoret. These meetings continue to be fruitful and now the original 4 men are inviting fellow WFM’s to attend and to come to Christ. One such young man who attended this week is named Mganda who is a Muslim from Uganda. Some of the men in this group have been praying for this man as his life has been spiraling out of control in more ways than I can mention.

However, at the urging of his co-workers he attended this week’s meeting to learn more about what it means to be a Christian and how to become a Christian. At the end of the teachings he came forward to express his desire to follow Christ. This is God’s    amazing love and grace in action. The prayer and the burden that these men have for their lost coworkers are being answered one by one.              

There is true hope for those that are heading down the wrong path as this is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What impresses me through this bible study and outreach is that while I initiated the bible study with a few friends it has continued to grow each week and I have not made the first visit to invite these newcomers. They have all come through the invitation of their friends and coworkers who have been attending. What an impact this small group is having on the community as these men truly want to live for God. Praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever! This week we also completed the construction of the last of three tents we will have put in place this year. With Terry’s help I fitted and finalized the construction here at the house before we took it out to Western Kenya to set up. Setting up these temporary tents reminded me that it was a tent that God commanded the Children of Israel to set up as a temporary tabernacle for their worship. This first mentioned principle is found in Exodus 26.

                                                                                                                                         SURVEYING

In addition to the children of Israel utilizing a tent for worship I find we are also in good company with the Apostle Paul who was a tent maker Acts 18:3. So while we are somewhat forced to use these temporary tents due to simple economics we are following a Bible precedence that was affective for a given period. This step will also allow these young churches to grow until such time as God allows them to build a permanent building. Yesterday Terry and I traveled to a village called Namarambi to help Pastor Daniel set up the tent for Sunday services. Pastor Daniel was so happy to have a plot that is paid for and now a tent to worship under. Their faith has truly been tested over the last six months as they

have had to move from house to house to worship but now they are praising the Lord for providing a place that is paid for and they cannot lose. As a handful of believers we held hands in prayer        Happy Pastor

asking God to bless the plot and tent. Our prayer was that the small plot and tent would be a place of prayer, a place of power, a place of preaching and a place that God Almighty would fill with His presence. It is a place that we prayed would bring Jesus honor and glory through the surrendered lives of individuals. It is a most humbling experience to stand in the center of what is Holy ground because as we have sought God’s will and we have obeyed Jesus commandment to be witnesses unto Him as well as teach all nations. There is no fancy building, no padded pews, no steeple or sign but what a privilege to allowed to be a small part of a great work. This week we ask you to pray for this young work at Namarambi and also remember Terry and me as we                       TENT CREW

will be traveling to the desert to bring back supplies from Turkana.

Merry Christmas to all because Christ is what Christmas is about.

In His Service,

Chuck and Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

TERRY & MOMMA'S