God's
People Returning To Mt. Elgon
With security and stability returning to Mt. Elgon, our brethren
are starting to return to pick up the pieces of their lives and ministries in
the wake of recent destruction. Over two hundred people lost their lives
during the latest round of violence. Pictures are hard to come by but I
have included a couple of the Pastors whose lives were affected by this
tragedy. Five of our Landmark Baptist Pastors have been displaced and
forced to flee to the base of the mountain where they have found temporary relief
and safety. Three of them lost Church members as well as family members.
After nearly a month, they are ready to return to rebuild their homes.
The specific Churches affected by the violence are the Landmark Baptist
Church at Huruma, The Landmark Baptist Church of Cheptandan, the Landmark
Baptist Church at Cheptkururu, the Landmark Baptist Church at Chemta and the
Landmark Baptist Church at Panadeka. These Churches represent one fourth
of the Churches on Mt. Elgon where God has done an amazing work. In ten
years, God has planted twenty Missionary Baptist Churches in villages about
every five kilometers apart on what we call the Chweli side of the mountain.
Dozens have been saved and Bible studies have been started by these
faithful Men of God during this time of personal tribulation. It is a
sobering reminder that God is faithful and worthy to be praised and what man
meant for evil, God has used for good.
Our recent trip afforded me the opportunity to sit down and hear
the first hand accounts of the tragedy our Pastors experienced on Mt. Elgon.
Both Pastor Robin and Pastor Alex lost three brothers in the violence
and they were all still very much in shock at the time of our meeting. We
grieve together with these men, their families and Churches. The most
harrowing story came from Pastor Robin who narrowly escaped with his life after
being confronted by the killers in his home. Pastor Robin evacuated His
family when word first spread thru the village that the violence had
begun. He said that he stayed behind and it would be at 1am in the
morning the killers entered his house to kill him. Pastor Robin (who is very
small in stature) said he hid under a table and was repeatedly asked by the
killers, "where is your father"? They thought he was a child,
so he answered them in a child's voice, "my father is away".
He said they left him alone as they were only killing the men of the village.
He would flee down the mountain after they departed with His life
spared.
Our
Plan to Help
Many have asked how they can help. The most immediate and
pressing need is to help the Pastors rebuild their homes. Before they can
help anyone else, they need to insure their family has a roof over their
head. Our plan is to purchase 25 sheets of tin roofing for
each of the five Pastors whose homes were destroyed. One piece of tin
roofing is only $8.00. The family will do the mud construction but they
need help with the most expensive part which is the tin roofing.
The cost to repair the Churches are as follows: Landmark
Baptist Church at Cheptkurukuru needs $1600.00 to replace the roof and sides
with tin and $700.00 to replace the burnt sections of wood. The Landmark
Baptist Church at Cheptandan needs $1500.00 to replace the stolen tin roofing
and sides and $650.00 to replace the wood. Everything was
stolen at the Landmark Baptist Church at Chemta which needs the steel poles and
trusses, wood and tin sheeting. The approximate cost to replace all of
this is $4000.00. Our folks at the Florida Plant feel led to lead the
way by taking special offerings over the next thirty days to help our brethren
on Mt. Elgon. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated and if you or
your Church are looking for VBS project or just want to be a blessing to those
who have lost so much, please designate special offerings, "Mt.
Elgon".
In His Service,
Bro.
Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda/Florida Plant
Kenya/Uganda/Florida Plant
