Greetings Brethren, Family and Friends,

Our small team of servants have arrived in Kenya safe and sound after three days and five flights.  Praise the Lord all of our luggage arrived on schedule! 

            Missionary Chuck, Pastor Tim Johnson  and long time friend, Phil

I  knew at the outset that returning to Kenya without Terry for the first time since our initial survey trip together in 2006 was going to be tough, but the reality is that I had no idea just how tough.   It seemed that each flight was a reminder of the severity of Terry’s plight and how serious her condition was.   Her three week ordeal still haunts my memory and reminds me that I never want to see her suffering like that again.    The house here in Eldoret has her touch everywhere and I almost lost it when I closed the door to our room and saw a scarf  that she would wear to every village and service. 

For sure a large part of me is missing right now but praise God that He literally saved her life and is currently restoring her health.    Additionally, every person I have talked to without exception asks how she is doing and when she is coming back.   I am not sure I have ever known anyone who has touched so many lives in American and Kenya.    People love her because she loves people, but isn’t that the type of Christ like love we are supposed to have?   Our first trip this week would take us deep into the Kerio Valley to teach new believers at the village of Moreweris and to worship with the Landmark Baptist Church at Chepsabei on this Lord’s day.   However, our plans were suddenly altered on Saturday when I got a call that one of our faithful members of LBC Chepsabei named Rose had died and that Pastor needed our assistance to bury her.   Did I mention that it is very rare for things in East Africa to go exactly as you plan and that flexibility is one of the greatest traits a foreign Missionary can have?  So to make a long story short, we ran to the nearest trading town to collect a coffin so that Pastor could transport her body down into the valley.

Descending into the valley for the funeral was very much a picture of our sinking hearts due to the crying and waling coming from Rose’s eight young children who were crying out loud for their Mama.  I preached from I Cor. 15 about the hope we have in Christ and how His death, burial and resurrection comforts us at such a time as this. 

We rejoice that Terry led Rose to Christ several years ago and that she followed salvation with scriptural Baptism and faithful Church membership but it was hard to get over seeing and hearing those precious children with broken hearts. 

 Please pray for this family.

While children of God do not mourn as those who have no hope we still mourn the loss of those who go on before us.   This Lord ’s Day would take us from the valley of the shadow of death to the Mountain top of worshiping God with His people on His day.

In addition to regular worship service, over forty people walked dozens of kilometers from the village of Morweris to be Baptized under the authority of the Landmark Baptist Church at Chepsabei. 

Team

 Morweris is a second generation outreach preaching point that will be organized into a New Testament Church this year.   As they trickled in we took them down to the river Swam and baptized them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of Jesus death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. 

Baptism

This would be Pastor Tim Johnson, From Dean Springs MBC first opportunity to preach while using two translators from English to Swahili and from Swahili to Pokot.   He would also baptize over thirty people from Morweris.   

We are beat from all the travel and we will spend the next couple of days repairing the truck as we experienced several issues from the rough roads that left us limping back into Eldoret on a wing and a prayer as they say. The last few days have been A typical of the mission work Terry and I have done over the last six years and our hearts continue to be blessed to see the investment we have made in these villages through the lives of people one person at a time continue to grow.

Our prayer is that the work we have help facilitate by the grace of God will someday produce over one hundred New Testament Churches within our life time where the name of Jesus will be proclaimed and His people will honor Him with their lives.

We beg you for your continued prayers and ask you to continue to remember Terry as it is as hard for her to be in the USA with me here as it is for me to be here in Kenya without her.

God Bless,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez Kenya/Uganda