2015 Typhoid Fever, Discipleship 101 & Gathering Children

Our ties with our brethren in Kenya and Uganda continue to run deep as we are in constant communication with the Pastors of the Churches that Terry and I have been blessed to help plant. These communications come in the form of email, text messaging and phone calls which keep us up to date on the condition of the ministry in East Africa.   One of the messages we received this week was that Pastor Jackson of the Landmark Baptist Church at Got has been sick with Typhoid Fever for nearly a month and was in need of medical assistance.   We ask you to pray for Pastor Jackson who is one of the fishermen from Lake Victoria we led to Christ and was subsequently called to preach around five years ago.

One of the areas that is not widely known but nevertheless is a part of our ministry is to provide funds for medicines for those in our associated work in verified cases of severe malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, etc…   The years in East Africa taught us that we cannot help everyone but from time to time we are able to be a blessing by providing what might be considered humanitarian medical aide to these Men of God and or their families through our ministry partners in America. 
The years we spent discipling our converts in Kenya and Uganda have provided some of the most fruitful years of our ministry.  It is this same ministry philosophy that we are applying through the ministries of our Florida Church plant by taking new converts and investing time and energy by grounding them in the Word of God.   We are observing what might considered normal “Church” activities of worship and service but we are also offering those who come to Christ personal discipleship training in the comfort of their own home.

We would much rather ground a handful of converts who can in turn carry the torch and make a difference for the Lord Jesus than to have the masses pass through our lives without significant time mentoring them.    Jesus invested in the lives of twelve men over the period of 3 ½ years and His example is the one we want to follow.    We have experience an average attendance of 49 over the last three weeks which is up from 27 last month.   While God continues to bring people in by His amazing grace, Terry and Sis. Rose have been bringing youth in on the Church van that God provided for us a couple of months ago which is  increasing our attendance as well.

We are rapidly finding out that there are folks God has prepared for us to reach in Hernando County, Florida just like he did in East, Africa.   My hope and prayer is that our Brothers and Sisters in Christ will join us in reaching our Nation for the Lord.   We have been told by the skeptics and synics that nobody wants to hear the gospel message anymore in America, we say 

" look unto fields for they white and ready unto harvest,"

 we just need to be about our fathers business and bring them in. 

We Thank the Lord for allowing us to make a difference in the lives of these young folks as we bring them to Christ.    I will close with one of our favorite poems about bringing kids to Christ. 

   

Some would gather money

Along the path of life

Some would gather roses,

And rest from worldly strife.

But I would gather children

From among the thorns of sin,

I would seek a golden curl,

And a freckled, toothless grin.

For money cannot enter

In that land of endless day,

And roses that are gathered

Soon will wilt along the way.

But oh, the laughing children,

As I cross the sunset sea,

And the gates swing wide to heaven,

I can take them in with me!

~Author Unknown

Thank you for allowing us to share our continued journey of faith.

Chuck & Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda & #TheFloridaPlant