Happy Father's Day, Pulpits and Kapkateny Evangelism

While Kenya does not recognize Father’s Day we certainly cannot forget the impact our fathers have had on our lives. We are thankful for our Fathers and pray they had a great day.

Looking back at the week in review we can see that we were extremely busy. But more importantly than being busy we pray we have honored the Lord as another week of our lives has passed never to be regained. With three days of language classes, two weekly Bible studies as well as (2) trips to Western Kenya and a trip to Mt. Elgon, we are definitely ready and in need of a couple of days of down time. Unfortunately for my wonderful wife, she is going to spend them recovering from what looks to be another hard bout of food poisoning. While I write this journal entry she is violently sick from what I believe came from the village we visited on Saturday. My heart and prayers go out to her because she is in terrible shape. If she does not improve tomorrow I will take her to the clinic to get heavy doses of antibiotics. Within the last year and a half she has had to contend with food poisoning four times while I have yet to experience it. Please pray for her.

One of the trips we took this week was to buy and deliver a bale of youth clothes which was given by the Wednesday night Challengers Children’s Class from our Home/Sending Church, Ft. Cooper BC.
The bale was divided between the Churches we are currently working with. God’s people were truly touched by the generosity and the fact that children across the world would care so much about them.

In addition to delivering the bale of cloths we also made and delivered four wooden pulpits for each of the Churches.
The book of Nehemiah says in Chapter 8:4
"And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose".

The knowledge that God’s Word will be preached from behind these humble pulpits not only gives me purpose and passion for the work God has called us to but also reminds us of our primary mission here in Kenya.
While we help with basic humanitarian and medical aide our primary focus must continue to be the preaching of the Gospel to bring honor and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus through transformed lives.
The picture painted in Nehemiah of God’s people worshiping the Lord God is both awesome and precious. It says: Neh 8:5
...."And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:" Neh 8:6 ..."And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground..."

The true end result of missions is eternal.

Saturday we traveled to a new village which was supposed to be at the base of Mt. Elgon called Kapkateny. One thing I have learned about our Kenyan brethren is they cannot judge distances and they are not a good judge of drivable terrain because they do not drive.

The village turned out to be on the side of one of the steepest parts of the Mountain.
I had to unload the truck to make it to a place where we could hike up the mountain to the evangelism area. We were met and welcomed by a man named Mafredi.
I made the mistake of calling him 'Fred' which he did not care for. The story of Mafredi is very compelling. He is a convert of Pastor Peter who led him to Christ last year while climbing through this rocky area to get to the top of the Mountain. It is hard for me to believe when I climbed to the top and look out over God’s beautiful creation that we are working in one of the bloodiest areas of the 2007/08 tribal clashes where over six hundred people were killed.

Mafredi is a highly respected and honored warrior as it is known by the villagers that he single handedly defended his home with a shield made from a steel drum and a machete.
He says that hundreds of his family and friends were slaughtered like chickens.
Now he is a born again believer leading evangelists through his village house to house. If there is ever a place that serves as a reminder of the total depravity of man and the need for the Gospel it is Mt. Elgon.

I, also, gained a whole new level of respect for Pastor Peter who climbs Mt. Elgon weekly by foot which takes him three hours one way.
Now I am not sure what the definition of technical climbing is but I know we climbed steep rocky areas where we had to stop every fifty yards or so to catch our breath. That is technical enough for a novice climber and his wife who are grandparents.

There were eleven precious souls who trusted Christ on Saturday. With hundreds of village evangelism trips behind us it is getting easier to evaluate and discern God’s leading in all this.
Above all things we want to be working in the center of God’s will.

Kapkateny is one of the places that I believe is truly in need of a gospel witness.

Not only were we welcomed by the Village Chief and the Administrative Police but it is a place where there are no scriptural churches and it is a place where you can sense a true hunger for God and righteousness. Thank you for allowing us to share this journey of faith. We covet your continued prayers.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Mt. Elgon and Western Kenya