This week in review is truly one of those weeks that was
somewhat of blur because of the number of days of travel which included a return
trip from Nairobi, (3) trips to Mayanja (located at the base of Mt. Elgon) and a
trip to the village of Namarambi. With the blessings of God’s
grace upon our lives and ministry comes many kilometers of travel to get to the
people and villages where God has led us. In fact, as we near
four years on the field we have logged around 144,000 kilometers of travel and
it seems about half of that is off-road. This is one of the
biggest issues with a vehicle, for the interior roads include: heavy mud, rocks,
rivers, mountain paths and desert sand.
With all of the
aforementioned conditions in mind, we then get on a paved roads and place the
demands of high speed travel on a vehicle designed for off-road.
This creates a maintenance nightmare on the aged Land Rover which
revealed itself on my trip back from Nairobi. The
road from Nairobi is newly paved so you can travel up to 100 kph but can be very
dangerous in the areas climbing in and out of the Rift Valley.
The trip was uneventful, however upon arriving back to Eldoret, while
backing down a rocky alley to collect the posts for LBC Mayanja, the steering
went completely out. It is a very helpless feeling to be turning
the steering wheel and the vehicle not responding.
Keep in mind I
had just traveled for almost five hours at a high speed with what turns out to
be a stripped spline in the steering column which gave out while
backing up at less than 5 kph. Steering Rod
That is why we fervently pray for
traveling mercies every time we get in the truck.
I will let you
draw your own conclusions based on your level of faith and your doctrinal stand
on angels but this Missionary thanks God for His great grace and traveling
mercies upon his life. It is one of those moments
that causes you to really ponder the “what if”? By the way, we
are around 50% of our goal to raise funds for a late model Toyota Land
Cruiser. Thank you to all who have already given to this great
need.
After getting the truck repaired by two of my trustee
mechanic disciples I was back on the road to Mt. Elgon to deliver and start the
construction of the Landmark Baptist Church at Mayanja.
We spent
three days cementing posts as well as constructing and installing
trusses.
Drilling
Level
Truss
Sanctuary
It is a blessing to see the men, women and even children
of the Church come out and do their share in the building process. Work Crew
Little Helpers
Spending three days working and sleeping in the village gives us a great
perspective on village life while creating strong relationships with God’s
people. The downside is that we tend to bring back little visitors
like bedbugs and stomach issues. When you eat, work and sleep in
the village you become very much a part of the village and you are treated more
as a resident than a visitor. We especially enjoyed the close of
each day when we would gather for a season of prayer and the singing of
hymns.
This is something that shamefully has become foreign in
the United States of America which breaks my heart.
In closing, Terry and I proudly now have four
grandchildren. Our first born son, Chucky, has given us another
grandson, Sebastian Aaron Fernandez
while our last born son, Vinny, has given us
our first granddaughter, Ensley Adair Fernandez who was born this week.
African culture describes children and grandchildren with one word =
Blessings.
Please continue to pray for us brethren.
In His Service,
Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya
Phil. 4:13
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please Leave Comments for Chuck & Terry....God Bless