2009 Transition, Three Stones & The Welch Revival

We are in somewhat of a transition and holding pattern while we are waiting for a visitor to come next week from the USA and we will be working in Turkana for a while. So this week we have been around Eldoret doing maintenance to the truck to prepare for our upcoming extended travels to Nairobi, Eldoret, Turkana and then back again. Tires, belts, lights and fluid changes have been serviced this week with still more needed next week. Your truck here is one of your most valuable friends and I do not spare any expense in making sure it is going to get us to our destinations.
Yesterday we visited Mawe Tatu (3) Stones as it is our closet Church to Eldoret. God continues to bless Pastor Shadrach and that congregation in a great way.

They have outgrown the house they started worshiping in and they will meet under tarps until they are able to mature to a point where they can think about building a Church. Until then they are united and content to have what they have, the blessings of God. Many visitors attended church with us yesterday. There were new converts from the neighboring village called Sekhindu who walked 10kms to attend Church at Mawe Tatu. The young lady named Sarah traveled one hour to meet us on the Uganda road going to go to Mawe Tatu. Also the young fabricator named Kennedy from Eldoret wanted to attend Church there.

That is a pretty good testimony for Pastor Shadrach and his Church that these young folks who could attend Church anywhere would rather attend a little bush Church in Western were they have grown to love the people, preaching and blessings of God. It is a good thing that Kennedy came as he speaks and reads English very well and there was nobody else to translate for us yesterday. So God is already using Kennedy to do his work. While I am attempting to teach in Swahili it is still necessary to have a translator on hand. We had a great day of worship with these wonderful people.

With no school this week and some extra time I spent a lot time studying the Welsh revival of 1904. Needless to say God has used this study to really touch my heart. I found myself with tears in my eyes while reading about the people who loved God and wanted God more than anything else in this world. I have recorded in my journal some of the facts and words from the Welsh revival as to remember what God did.

Words from the Welsh revival:
The Welsh revival was described as God visiting His Garden-
"A visitation of God’s power," they said ,
"we have His presence but we need His power." The people would testify:
“I love Jesus Christ with all my heart”!
In services they would sing 'Crown Him Lord of All' 17 X’s, they could not stop singing it. 3 young men prayed on a mountain top everyday for a month for God to move on Whales....
Evan Roberts, the leader of the Welsh revival prayed before the revival for God to “Bend me, bend me, all all all!”
He was called a lunatic by many and accused of lowering the tone of the denomination for preaching in the streets and trying to reach the lost with the gospel.
Wed November 2, 1904 Evan Roberts closed his letters with: "Onward fire divine!"

Revival meetings were prepared by Prayer- People walked 12 miles in rainstorms to pray.
Entire congregations would spend 2 hours singing praises to Jesus, by the time they were done people were weeping and praising.
Sunday Mornings: People were urged to pray: “Send the Spirit now for Jesus Sake,
“Send the Spirit now more powerfully for Jesus Sake.”
Services continued long into the night with a supernatural move of the Holy Spirit of God.
Churches were overflowing: they opened at 6 am and people stayed late into the night, one pastor said he tried to close the service 3 times but people stayed and experience the move of God and did not want to leave: God was everywhere.
All Churches were open every day till late night: Preaching was impassioned, people testified, people prayed, people weep, people ask for mercy.
Solos could be heard throughout the day and vast numbers of people would be singing inside and outside of the church with great passion.
Miners got saved and would be singing praises in the Streets to Jesus and would have tears running down their black faces. People confessing Christ all over Whales, people rejoicing, every church was affected by the revival in Whales, praise and thanksgiving and people enjoying God saying: “Glory, Glory, Glory”.
The Welsh word “bendageti” was heard all day which meant: Praises, Praises.
Miners Gave up drinking, gave up smoking brought their bottles and smokes to the altar.
Pubs were forced to close, they offered free drinks, nobody came, Futball games were canceled because everyone was in Church. They said 'we are seeing mercy drops falling but we pray for the showers. '
The power of God came down and in 2 months 70,000 were saved in Whales, worldwide 200,000 were saved. They had to retrain the pit ponies in the mines to listen to a language that was not swearing.
God breathed on Whales and He was gloried.
We need and pray for such a revival!

Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives.
Please continue to pray that Jesus will be glorified in all that we do and that we will continue to put our trust in Him and Him alone.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya, East Africa

Terry with women and children of Mawe Tau (3) Stones