Our beloved Sister in Christ, Mama Eklas went home to be with the Lord this week. God’s perspective on death is what we always share when preaching a funeral:
Psalms 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. "
While we rejoice that she is now at peace and perfect rest in the presence of her Lord and God, we will miss her on this side of eternity. The funeral was well attended and the casket we purchased was a beautiful fit for a beautiful person.
We remembered the life of the saint, we claimed the promises from the Word of God and comforted one another with His Word.
In addition to Mama Elkas’s funeral this week, we also dedicated the now completed sanctuary at Landmark Baptist Church of Kipsigon which the first church we planted on Mt. Elgon. Dedication Message
This sanctuary has taken the longest to complete as the special type of sand and rocks needed for building had to be transported up the mountain by trucks. Needless to say, it was also our most expensive sanctuary and it has taught us how to build our next sanctuary on Mt. Elgon which is currently under construction at Cheptabrubru by using iron sheets for the entire building instead of stones.
We live and we learn.
The day was special in so many ways as we dedicated the sanctuary for God’s use, God’s honor and to proclaim the name of Jesus throughout Mt. Elgon. The members did a great job of decorating the interior walls with hand painted murals. It was also a special day for Terry and I to see what God has done through our efforts to reach the lost on Mt. Elgon.
From the beginning to end, the service lasted five hours, that is not a misprint, five hours. However in retrospect it did not seem like more than an hour or so because God’s Spirit was so powerful through all the singing, testimonies, teaching and preaching that it culminated with a full alter and people on their faces before God.
Powerful, Powerful, Powerful.
Part of what also made the day so special is that there were many believers who walked mountain miles to join us in this special service. They came from the neighboring villages of Chepguruguru, Cheptandan, Chemta along with the members of the Landmark Baptist Church of Cheptabrubru which is our second Church plant on Mt. Elgon.
I know these Maasi names are all strange to pronounce but what I want to share is that they are all part of the vision I have tried to share with the Men of God with which we work. Our vision is that if we plant one Church, we pray God will give us at least four more neighboring villages where we can plant Churches that will create a strong fellowship of regional transforming scriptural gospel preaching churches.
For lack of a better slogan and creativity, I have called this our “Five n Five” goal.
That means five Churches planted in five years in one region.
From the looks of the preachers God has called and the bibles studies started, it appears by the end of this year we will be at five Churches in four years on Mt. Elgon which is ahead of the Five n Five goal.
Pastors & Missionary Chuck
Praise the Lord!
There is something to be said for a group of Churches that are like minded and of like faith that can encourage one another through strong fellowship. Needless to say, it did our hearts good to have all these folks join us for service and to see what God is doing all over Mt. Elgon.
Ladies of Mt. Kipsigon
From the foreign Missionary’s perspective, when our life’s work is over here in Kenya we want to leave behind a work that not only doctrinally sound but also one that is strong in faith and fellowship. We realize that there is a certain degree of dependence on us during the early stages as these are young Christians and young Churches but our responsibility is to teach them to have ultimate dependence on the Lord alone. With that said, it is also nice to have other Christians of like faith Churches to depend upon who will be there long after we are gone.
One of the most powerful testimonies during the service was that of the
Chief of Kipsigon.
He recalled our first visits to Kipsigon in 2009 immediately following the tribal clashes on Mt. Elgon where over twelve hundred were slaughtered.
He shared the impact that Terry had on him personally as she visited His Red Cross tent with her team of ladies after his house was burned to the ground. He said that he was also touched by the fact that we were the first Christians who returned to Mt. Elgon bringing the message of hope after the tragedies. He closed his testimony by publicly praising the Lord for the impact the Church has had on His village and His people.
Amen!
Terry's Blessing Squash
This week we also reached the milestone of purchasing our sixth plot in the Pokot village of Chepsobei which is located in the Kerio Valley. We serve an amazing God who is doing an amazing work and we are truly are humbled to be a small part of His great work. We covet your continued prayers as we have so many needs and so many more people to reach.
Psalms 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. "
Mama Elkan's Sister & Terry
We live and we learn.
The day was special in so many ways as we dedicated the sanctuary for God’s use, God’s honor and to proclaim the name of Jesus throughout Mt. Elgon. The members did a great job of decorating the interior walls with hand painted murals. It was also a special day for Terry and I to see what God has done through our efforts to reach the lost on Mt. Elgon.
From the beginning to end, the service lasted five hours, that is not a misprint, five hours. However in retrospect it did not seem like more than an hour or so because God’s Spirit was so powerful through all the singing, testimonies, teaching and preaching that it culminated with a full alter and people on their faces before God.
Part of what also made the day so special is that there were many believers who walked mountain miles to join us in this special service. They came from the neighboring villages of Chepguruguru, Cheptandan, Chemta along with the members of the Landmark Baptist Church of Cheptabrubru which is our second Church plant on Mt. Elgon.
I know these Maasi names are all strange to pronounce but what I want to share is that they are all part of the vision I have tried to share with the Men of God with which we work. Our vision is that if we plant one Church, we pray God will give us at least four more neighboring villages where we can plant Churches that will create a strong fellowship of regional transforming scriptural gospel preaching churches.
For lack of a better slogan and creativity, I have called this our “Five n Five” goal.
That means five Churches planted in five years in one region.
From the looks of the preachers God has called and the bibles studies started, it appears by the end of this year we will be at five Churches in four years on Mt. Elgon which is ahead of the Five n Five goal.
Pastors & Missionary Chuck
There is something to be said for a group of Churches that are like minded and of like faith that can encourage one another through strong fellowship. Needless to say, it did our hearts good to have all these folks join us for service and to see what God is doing all over Mt. Elgon.
Ladies of Mt. Kipsigon
One of the most powerful testimonies during the service was that of the
Chief of Kipsigon.
Amen!
Terry's Blessing Squash
Serving the King of Kings,
Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya
Kenya
Phil. 4:13
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