The Land of Milk & Honey and Church Planting Continues

Greetings from the Land of milk & honey, it has been a tumultuous three weeks but nevertheless we have persevered and Terry is regaining her strength.   We are not able to do a lot of anything until Terry’s immune system is back to normal but perhaps that is God plan for us during for this season of life.   When I recall and retrace the tribulation of her illness which could have easily resulted in her death I can see just how far the grace and goodness of God has brought us from.   The pinnacle of just how bad things were compared to now can best be described by remembering the shear horror on Pastor Peter and Pastor Shadrack’s face when they came by the Eldoret hospital to pray for her.  At the time, Terry was as yellow as a Canary, delirious and I hope this does not gross you out but covered in blood from an extremely low blood platelet count.     At the time, little did we know that not only was she suffering from Cerebral malaria, bacterial infection, dehydration but also Type 2 diabetes.    That was then and this is now, she has had some side effects from all of the trauma but it does not look like she is going to have any long term damage.   It has been comforting for her to see her five grandchildren.

 It has also been comforting to know that we can count on God’s people first and foremost to pray during times of need and then to know that our brethren will sacrificially give hard earned financial resources to meet the financial needs of those serving the Lord.    Thank you for praying and for giving to God’s work and His servants.   Life in America is soooo different from life in East Africa that you actually find yourself going thru a small amount of reverse culture shock each time you re-enter the land that should be most familiar to you.    For example, going to the grocery store here in America not only leaves you with sticker shock but the amount of choices we have is simply unbelievable.   Then there are the more subtle changes like driving on the right side of the road instead of the left.   It is not good to turn into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road.   And finally the water, it takes a few trips to the sink to realize it is ok to rinse your mouth out from the water and Oh, if you do not like the quality or odor of your water, just remember Pastor Jackson who during times of drought has to retrieve water from the same mud holes that the cows and goats drink from.   Folks, we are truly blessed to live in a land flowing with milk and honey.    In closing, you may be wondering about the work in Kenya and Uganda while we are in the USA, glad you asked!    While our work has been Missionary led it is not Missionary sustained.  We have trained our people that our work as Missionaries is temporary and the permanence of the work depends on their ability to continue the work that we have facilitated through teaching them from house to house and in public as the great Apostle Paul said.   We have led by example and showed them a Biblical pattern for Church planting which they can follow with success.   To that end, I receive pictures from Mt. Elgon this week and the Landmark Baptist Church at Cheptandan where they have completed the roof on what is our fifth new sanctuary this year.   Praise the Lord that they have such an industrious heart to see the Lord’s work continue.   This Church is so isolated and without any means to the transport the materials that each board and piece of tin had to be carried five kilometers on their backs by the members of the Church.

Church Sign

Purlins

Roof

Roof going on...

 We should remember them the next time Pastor calls for a “Church Work Day”.   One of the photo’s that blessed my heart is a group of men gathered around a video tablet watching one of our video lessons while we are 8000 miles away. 

 I love it when God blesses our plans and I love when a plan comes together.   We will be home for an undetermined length of time but rest assured we will be visiting Churches when Terry is able.   We thank you for your continued prayers and support. 

A Turn for the Worse: Part II and Making Decisions 'on the Fly'...

It has been two weeks since my last journal entry and we are weary and battered from the sequence of emergency events that has brought us back to the USA.   My mind is foggy so please forgive me if I am unable to express myself in a good way.

With that said, our last journal left us at a place where Terry had fallen sick to what we believed was Malaria. 

It turns out that she had malaria which went cerebral and combined with a very bad bacterial infection which ultimately produced a total shut down of her liver and kidneys.

She spent five days in serious to critical condition in a private hospital in Eldoret where they successfully treated her for both. 

It was recommended that we fly her to the USA to insure that there was no permanent damage.

So to make a long story short we managed to hire a company called Global Med out of Tampa to make all the arrangements to expedite her back to the USA.

http://www.globalmedservices.com/

We have spent the last several days in Tampa General Hospital thoroughly re-evaluating her.   She is malaria free but seems to have other complications as a result of the trauma.  We have experienced malaria alone and we have experienced many bacterial infections but combining the two along with dehydration was a nearly deadly combination.   In all of this, God continues to show himself faithful with His grace and favor each and every step of the way.   He would show up at the most critical times to direct, to provide, to bless and to meet the most pressing needs while going thru deep valleys.

I don’t have the desire to share all the details but God has overshadowed what has been the most trying two weeks of our ministry.  We have prayed for wisdom each and every step of the way as some of these agonizing decisions had to be made within the heat of battle. 

We don’t know what the future holds at this time but we do know who holds the future.

In addition to your prayers we need your financial support.  The cost to get her back to the USA was nearly $18K, so if God puts it on your heart,  any and all special offerings would be greatly appreciated at this time.

You can give through the link below or through our Sending Church: Ft. Cooper Baptist Church, 4222 S. Florida Ave., Inverness Florida, 34450. 

PAY PAL SECURITY & Credit Cards:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=DVMPV47K5HGUA

Thank you to all of you who have been so faithfully praying for Terry for we know that without your prayers we would not have made it this far.

       Best Rx yet! 

Kason, one of 5 Grandchildren (two more girls on the way) loving on his 'GiGi' at arrival in Tampa General Hospital trauma ward. 

Please keep her in your prayers as she is still very weak and may take up to a month to fully recover.  She is far from being out of the woods so to speak.

We will keep you posted and let you know how things progress over the next couple of weeks.   God keep you and bless you.

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda