WITCH DOCTORS UPRISING
We have encountered many Witch Doctors while working in Kenya over
the years and actually seen some turn from their witchcraft and profess Jesus
Christ. The first problems we encountered with Witch Doctors would be in the
Pokot village of Cheposebei, which is located deep in the Kerio
Valley. After leading the majority of the village elders to Christ
as well as the village Chief, the village Witch Doctor saw the control and
bondage he had over Cheposebei beginning to slip away. Consequently,
he brought in five thugs to beat newly converted women who had been gathering
together to listen to solar audio Bibles we had provided. It was an
effort to get them to renounce their new faith in Christ. The Lord would
intervene through the village Chief who would declare Chespabei a
"Christian" village and would have the Witch Doctor and thugs
arrested. Little did we know that nearly eight years later the
Pokot Witch Doctors, many who had been run out of their villages due to the
introduction of the Christian faith would band together to force many to
renounce their faith in Christ.
We have always known that
attacks would come upon the Churches we help establish but never knew what form
they would come in. The reports we have received indicate that the
Witch Doctors banded together and went village to village forcing people to
drink the blood of a bull and renounce their faith. Those who
refused were beaten with rods and had their mouths forced open with a stick
while they poured the blood down their throat. (Sorry for the
graphic details but how else will you know the persecution they have
suffered?) Many endured this fate and many others fled to the neighboring
part of the Kerio Valley on the Ugandan side where they regularly travel to
graze their animals. I am happy to report that three quarters of
our Landmark Baptist Churches stood against the Witch Doctors and drove them
out. Not only did they quote 1 Cor. 10:21 but they literally put into
practice. "1 Corn. 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and the table of devils....As of today, things have settled down and life seems to be getting back to normal for our Pokut brethren. How would your faith fare under this type of persecution???
The Devil Tried to Kill Me
During the Witch Doctor Uprising,
Pastor Timothy Loquardo (pic above with Terry) was forced to evacuate his family to
Western Kenya. While doing so he was run off the road and seriously
injured on His motorcycle. He would spend a week in an Eldoret hospital and
then another month of recovery before he could return to His Church in the
valley. Loquardo is truly a great man of God who has planted ten
Churches on the Kenyan and Ugandan side of the Kerio Valley and is currently
working in over a dozen more villages doing evangelism and organizing Bible
studies. When I talked to Him via phone from the hospital he said,
"Missionary, The Devil tried to kill me". I'll let you
draw your own conclusions from that statement but we do know that the Bibles
teaches that the devil goes about as a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour
and comes to kill, steal and destroy. Since Loquardo's accident and
subsequent recovery we have helped him purchase a new motorcycle and he is back
on the road preaching the gospel. Praise the Lord for helmets and
healing.
Attacks from Within and Without
The attacks just keep coming.
Not only have we experienced attacks on our Churches and brethen from without
as aforementioned. But let me remind you we have had three Churches
burned down on Mt. Elgon along with five of our Pastors homes destroyed this
year. Additionally we have seen Church members murdered on Mt.
Elgon.
As tragic as those horrific events
are, we have also had to withstand some of the most painful attacks which have
come from within. We always knew in our hearts that the Churches
Terry and I helped establish and organize in Kenya and Uganda would come
under attack. We fully expected attacks and prepared our Churches that these
attacks would come from other false religions who would follow our
footsteps. But we never imagined we would have to defend our works from
Churches of like faith who have tried to take advantage of the hard work Terry
and I did during our time in country. Not only would they try to
capitalize on some of the pioneering we had done in the Kerio Valley, but there
has been outright efforts to steal away some of the Churches from our
fellowship. We thank God that with the exception of a couple, they
have withstood the attacks and have remained firm in the doctrinal foundation
and fellowship we helped establish. And then there is the political
hit jobs that seem to be sadly prevalent in every associated work.
While I won't go into the dirty details, I will say that Terry and I have been
the target of personal slander and jealousy from within our own Missionary
Baptist Ranks. We personally have never paid much attention to the
political wrangling and positioning that takes place because we have been busy
about our Father's business. However we have been forced to stand in
opposition when the weak in faith attack our integrity and
character. It has not been a pleasant experience but want our
ministry partners to better understand how to pray for us. Please
pray that God will use these times of tribulation to make us more like Jesus
and to be glorified in all what we do and experience.
Thank you for your prayerful support and thank you for allowing us to give you a glimpse into our journey of faith.
In His Service,
Bro. Chuck & Sis Terry Fernandez, Kenya/Uganda/Florida Plant
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