Three Day Preachers Seminar, The Ndivisi Study and Grocery Bag Purses

***Click on Picture to Enlarge For Better Viewing....

Teaching

This week we held our third quarterly Pastor’s/Preachers seminar for the men that God has assembled to proclaim His word. For the sake of the record, our team of three, Pastor Peter, Pastor Shadrach and I have now grown to around seventy men of God in less than four years. In addition to the eleven National Pastors we are currently training, there are also around forty young men of God who have surrendered to the gospel ministry. The remaining men were made of key Church leaders whom we invited for the first time so they might understand and support the teachings their Pastors are receiving.

Everything we are doing involves building strong relationships while forming strong leadership teams and unity within the churches and the associated fellowship.

Many of these men are men whom we have personally led to Christ over the last several years during village evangelism and our hearts simply swells with joy at the sight of this great team of God’s men that continues to grow each year.

As the men arrived at the village of Ndivisi for the seminar on bicycles, motorcycles or trekking, the village residents could be seen standing outside their homes and businesses asking everyone what is going on with all these preachers coming to their village.

They traveled from Mt. Elgon, Lake Victoria, the Kerio Valley and we even had a first time visitor from Turkana.  
                                      LBC Chepkurkuru

LBC Cheposabei Pokot

LBC Cheptabrubru

LBC Cheptandin

LBC Kispigon

LBC Mawetatu & Soysambu Outreach

LBC Mayanja

LBC Namarambi

LBC Wichlum & LBC Got Lake Victoria

Pastor Stephen

While all these men have such a special place in my heart, we were especially encouraged to see the men arrive from the Manafwa District of Uganda. 

                                 Uganda Outreach Brothers

 

This was their first seminar and they were well received by the rest of the team.

It is funny because we have spent four years learning and practicing Swahili and our Uganda brethren only speak English.

This diverse group of men comes from three different regions, five different tribes and now two different countries.

Make no mistake about it, only the power of God through His infinite grace and mercy could do a work such as this.  

We give our God all the honor, all the glory and all the praise.

For three days they received teachings on Apologetics and Doctrine as well as a study that I refer to as the “Ndivisi Study”.

In addition to the daily lessons we send them all home with books and literature for their personal library as well as Bibles for their congregations.

This week they received the Book, Bible Analysis and studies on the Lord’s Supper and Missions. While all of these studies are designed to help the men of God rightly divide His word, the “Ndivisi Study” was probably one of the most practical faith building lessons presented to them.

In short, we did a ten year study of one of our local Indigenous Landmark Baptist Churches planted and built to the best of my knowledge without any Missionary assistance.   

The study included annual professions, baptisms, offerings, members, outreaches, seminars and fellowships. It also included detailed information on how they were able to raise funds, purchase the plot and build their sanctuary.

You might be wondering why the Missionary would want to present such a study while planting and building churches?

Glad you asked, the answer is simple, I wanted to give them a realistic and practical example of a successful Indigenous Church plant without foreign involvement or funding so that they too might have the faith to fulfill God’s will without the Missionary.

To me it is yet another important stepping stone in the process of raising up children that are able to stand on their own when the time comes to leave their parents home.

3 Jn 1:4" I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

By the way, if anyone is interested in this in depth study of an Indigenous Church plant, let me know and I will email a copy.

While I am sure that many of our men have never seen graphs and charts I am confident by the end of the session on the Indivisi Study they had a clear understanding of the work and faith involved over ten years of Pastor Peter’s ministry at LBC Indivisi.  

We also did a study of another Baptist Church in Tanzania that supports and sends out four Church planters and Missionaries without outside assistance.

As I work with the men, Terry continues to teach and encourage the women of these villages.

Not only did she help with cooking but she also helped the women learn how to nit purses made of plastic shopping bags. Terry working with Wamama

Plastic Bag Purses

 Everything we do while working with God’s people is very much a team effort.

Please continue to pray for these young Churches and outreaches so that many more will be saved and discipled for the glory of God.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya
Phil. 4:13

Note: Sorry for the many attachments but I have also attached a copy of our ministry grow chart since 2009 if you are interested.

      (Click on Chart To Enlarge For Better Viewing)

 

 

                                   Charts and Graphs

 

 

Joy of The Lord Pictures Speak a Thousand Words!

  Landmark Baptist Church of Cheposabei....

see post below for the 'reason' for this JOY!

Terry & Mtoto 

Koco 

Future Preacher 

Happy & Praising God! 

Engine Parts, Firewood & Desert Corn?

                                Terry's Troops with Desert Corn in Back

Much of this week was spent chasing engine parts for the Rover.

The engine is out of the truck and list of parts includes: cylinder sleeves, pistons, rings, main bearings, oil pump and turbo.                Rover Pistons

It was for sure one tired puppy with severely grooved cylinder walls, broken rings and a wore out turbo.

My good friend, Philip Shemwell, used to sing the song “Wore Out” by Jake Hess, which would be most appropriate at this time with regard to the Rover, LOL.

Come on, you have to keep your sense of humor during trying times!  

They say, “When you cry, you cry alone, but when you laugh, the whole world laughs with you.”

Besides the Bible teaches us that trial of our faith is more precious than gold.

1Pe 1:7 "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

 Needless to say, we will be traveling to Nairobi on Thursday to have the old turbo re-built as they are hard to come by.

We rented another Land Cruiser this weekend to travel to the Kerio Valley to cut firewood for the Landmark Baptist Church of Cheposabei, so they can start firing bricks within the next month for the new sanctuary.

The brick count is now close to 4000. They could have taken days using axes to cut extremely hard wood trees for firewood or we could use my small chainsaw which took a couple of hours and provided a great day of fellowship in the village.

                                 Chainsaw

The Pokot outreach and particularly the village of Cheposabei where we have planted our first Pokot Church has provided much joy for Terry and I as we feel very connected to these people and village which was totally void of the gospel. They now are experiencing a pure and undefiled religion as born again children of God. Praises to the name of Jesus can now be heard ringing throughout the village through prayers, singing and preaching. It is a beautiful thing, praise the Lord!             Praising God!

Prayers of Gratitude and Praise

There is also something else very special that is taking place in this village.

                                   LBC Cheposabei

Baptismal Pool

If you were able to visit Cheposabei, one of the first things that would draw your attention besides the new sanctuary are the fields of corn. In order to appreciate this, you must remember that Cheposabei is located in a semi-arid valley with temperatures that can run up to 110’ and very little rainfall. We are definitely having a wet year here in Kenya, however God’s people can see His blessing and favor on their lives through what is the first and only crop of desert corn in Cheposabei. The Pokots are traditionally pastoralists raising goats & camels; however their young Pastor from Western has now taught them how to farm. By the way, God’s favor can be seen for miles as there is not another village within 50 km’s that is growing desert corn like Cheposabei.

Desert Corn Miracle 

Please continue to pray for us brethren.

God Bless,

 Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya

                                                                  Flood Area

Phil. 4:13                  

A Pastor’s Vision, Up In Smoke & Tent Meeting

This week we traveled to the Landmark Baptist Church of Mayanja to install doors and to check on the progress of the brick making.

The members of the Church have made around 3000 bricks leaving another 3000 that need to be made. The bricks will still need to be baked for three days but they are making slow but steady progress.    Side Door

Work Crew

Spending quality time together with our people in settings other than evangelism and worship really helps build stronger relationships and also gives our people the opportunity to share their hearts with us. During our work time, Pastor Nixon gave me some great insight into his heart and particularly the vision he has for the work he is doing in Mayanja. I was totally impressed with his vision for the LBC Mayanja to be a soul winning conduit used to reach the four neighboring villages with the gospel as well as the work which is now taking place in Uganda.

It is one thing to have a great vision and it is yet another thing to have a plan to fulfill that vision.

Pastor Nixon has both and in great detail.

It is so exciting to work with people who share our passion to reach the lost as well as New Testament Church planting. He is indicative of the type of men we are currently working with whom are all of like faith, like minded and like hearted. God has really blessed us with a team of great men and women.

On the way back from Mayanja the truck lost power and started bellowing white and blue smoke like a chimney. A trip that should have taken an hour and a half ended up taking three hours. By the time we limped back to Eldoret the truck was barely able to maintain twenty kilometers per hour.  

We have seen this coming over the last several months as it has been losing power and the engine has been consuming three to four quarts of oil with each trip. The irony of this situation is that we are so close with our vehicle fund to replace the Rover but now find ourselves having to buy another engine as well as trying to purchase a newer vehicle.                 Blown Motor                                     

We know nothing takes God by surprise and he knows our needs before we even ask and we also believe by faith he will continue to provide for us in a great way. Let me also say that through this fund raising process for what is our largest and probably most important need, Terry and I have been truly humbled by the faithful sacrificial offerings given towards our vehicle fund.  

Thank you, to every individual and Church who prayerfully and financially partner with us as we try to preach the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world.

In closing, we rented a Toyota Land Cruiser this weekend to travel to Soysambu in order to worship with Pastor Japheth and the newly baptized believers there, they were meeting under their new tent for the first time.   

                           Rental Land Cruiser and new tent

This outreach is less than nine months old and is already bearing much fruit. 

                                            Tent Set Up

Soysambu Tent

These young Christians are growing with every lesson, every prayer and with every sermon, we are seeing lives being transformed before our very eyes.

By the way, there is something very different and special about preaching outdoors with God’s creation tugging upon your heart.

I realize that Jesus had to preach outdoors in part because of the size of the multitudes but I also have to believe He must have been equally inspired while preaching in plain view of His beautiful creation. 

God is so good to us and worthy to be praised, please keep lifting us up before the throne of grace so that He might be glorified in all that we do.

God Bless,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya