Praying In Swahili, Police Evangelism & Muddy Mess on Mt. Elgon

As part of our commitment to be an effective witness for Christ, Terry and I are closing out our second year of language studies. As we look back we can see how far we have come in achieving a greater level of understanding and fluency of speech. It has taken hundreds of hours of study and repetition but we have arrived at a place where we are starting to feel more comfortable using Swahili to communicate on a daily basis. This is both reflected in prayers and also preaching. It thrills my heart to listen to Terry communicate with those she is witnessing to or to hear her talk with the Momma’s who cannot speak English.
We still have much more to learn but our vocabulary is growing at a swift pace by the grace of God. Yesterday we traveled to Mt. Elgon for our weekly evangelism.

The road up the mountain has deteriorated from the rains to the point that we had to walk the last couple of kilometers to the village of Kispigon where we planted the first Church. The work on Mt. Elgon is far from easy and each drive up is very dangerous and stressful from the slippery, rocky conditions. The window of opportunity is small because you can set your watch by the daily rains which come around 2pm. If it rains while we are on the Mountain then we are stranded there until the next day.
The mud cakes on our shoes as we walk sideways on slippery slopes but with all that said, there is such a peace and presence of God on that Mountain and it is so real and powerful that we don’t want to come down. It is no wonder why Jesus spent much time alone on the mountain.

I am reminded of Peter’s statement on the mountain to Jesus in Matthew 17:4 when he said, “Lord it is good for us to be here”.
Currently we have two churches meeting under tents and looking ahead I can see the great challenge of building on the mountain but we know that all things possible with God’s help and we can do all things through Christ which strengthen us.

Last year a young Policeman named Fred was saved on Mt. Elgon during our evangelism in the village of Kipsigon.

He has been asking us for a year to come to his post and share God’s Word with his fellow officers; however, we just have not had the time with our primary efforts going towards supporting the two new Churches there.

While Terry and the women went to visit and encourage the Mommas of the Churches, I took the Pastor’s to bring God’s Word to Fred and his fellow officers. Kenyan Police officers have quite a reputation of brutality and corruption. And particularly this group who have seen the slaughter of over 600 of their fellow countrymen in 2008 at this very place. With that as their background most Policemen do not believe they can be saved because of their sinfulness. For almost an hour they sat listening intently to what I can best describe as a message prepared by the Lord. Words such as guilt, conviction, advocate, mediator, judge as well as love & grace all came to mind while sharing the Gospel with these Policemen.

I reminded the officers that if a guilty thief could be forgiven by Jesus while dying on the cross then surely God could save them by His grace through faith. There were nine Police officers that trusted Christ on the mountain.

We made a vow to scripturally baptize them through the Landmark Baptist Church of Kisipgon as well as to continue to teach them the Word of God. Kenya really needs Christian Police Officers that will serve the Lord and the people. I also reminded Pastor Peter that God has provided him with additional protection should anything break out while he is teaching or preaching on Mt. Elgon.

Psa 57:9" I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations."

The Lord through his infinite grace and tender mercies has given us another great week of blessings.
Thank you for allowing us to share this awesome journey of faith and for your continued prayers.

God Keep You and Bless You,

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Mt. Elgon & Western Kenya