The Shop Part II, Building the House of the Lord & 23 Baptized

Muddy Roads

New shocks, tie rods ends and trailing arm bushings were all on the order of the day for the truck this week. The new shocks have made a great difference in the ride and more importantly to our backs. Next week we will add two extra shocks on the rear axle and replace the coil springs which have totally collapse from the daily pounding of the roads and trails we travel on a daily basis.

Next to our Bible, A dependable vehicle is one of our greatest ministry assets so we have had to rethink our approach to preventive maintenance.

With one sanctuary nearing completion on top of Mt. Elgon and another beginning at Mawe Tatu (3 Stones) we are busy processing wood, delivering windows, doors and roofing materials. By far, the most difficult sanctuary to build is the Landmark Baptist Church of Kipsigon which is located atop Mt. Elgon.

Cutting and processing the wood on the mountain was hard enough but getting a particular type of sand and stones up the mountain on a road that is extremely steep, muddy, rocky and washed out is where the challenge lies. Two of the seven loads had to be unloaded and reloaded because the truck hauling materials was unable to make it or broke down. 

                                             Broke Truck

The LBC Kipsigon has taken the longest to construct due to these difficult working conditions but is nearing completion. It is also going to be one of the strongest churches as a result of being made primarily of stones.

Unloading Stones

Walls of Stone

Stone Walls Progress

Nearing Completion

Last week we did evangelism in the village of Namarambi. This week we saw the fruit of those labors when we baptized twenty three new believers in a cold rushing river.  

It is always special to observe this ordinance and witness one of the first and most essential steps of obedience unto righteousness by these new believers. As we baptized on Sunday my mind and heart was continually drawn back to the Jordon River where our Lord and Savior was baptized by the John the Baptist. We believe, we follow and we obey. There is great joy that comes from knowing the union with Christ that has taken place as these young Christians start walking in the newness of life. While much of the joy comes from knowing that those who trust Christ will have an eternal home not made with hands but equally as much as knowing that they can have a daily personal relationship with almighty God through their Lord and Savior. I cannot think of anything more precious and priceless than to have a close personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.  

John reveals his heart for those whom he had led to Christ and were walking in the truth.

3 Jn 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." Baptism also reminds us of the awesome responsibility we have to help ground these young believers in their new faith so not only will they become doctrinally sound but that they will also grow and mature into children of God that honor the Lord with their very lives. Our commitment to disciple these babes in Christ goes well beyond their salvation and baptism. Please pray for them as they start their new walk and please pray that God will continue to give us the wisdom, love and power to help them become mighty men and women of God. 

God Speed,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez Journal Blog: missionarieschuckterryfernandez.blogspot.com

Kenya, East Africa

2Th 2:15 "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."

The Shop, Making Fishers of Men & Old Friends

Long Muddy Day.....

Much of this week (3 days) has been spent with the Land Rover in the shop. Brakes, fuel lines, locks and a hole in the intake were all on the list of needed repairs in what has become a weekly pilgrimage to the repair shop. There are many times that I will make the needed repairs myself but this week I believe my time was better spent tending to ministry needs rather than being greased up under the hood of the truck. Besides, the men that work on the Rover are part of my weekly Eldoret Bible fellowship and are very good mechanics. Parts for this English built truck can be hard to get and rather expensive but considering the pounding the truck takes on Kenyan roads, trails and paths, even at nearly twenty years old the Land Rover has been pretty dependable. The men that attend our weekly Eldoret Bible study are really growing in the Lord.

It was pretty awesome to see these men have special prayer over the young man named Kennedy who has surrendered to the ministry and has traveled this week to a fishing village near Lake Victoria to lead and train a group of new believers there. Please pray for him as he follows God’s leading to carry the gospel to his tribe. When we got the Rover out of the shop we traveled back to Mt. Elgon for evangelism in a village called Namarambi. God was really watching over us on this trip as there was a tanker hauling gasoline that rolled over in front of us blocking the road. The driver was unhurt but thousands of gallons of fuel were pouring onto the road and into the ditches where locals were trying to scoop it up with everything from plastic bags to milk cartoons. We decided to make haste and get away from the tanker as fast as possible due to the fact that over one hundred and fifty people were killed last year when a tanker rolled over and ignited killing all those within the immediate area. It was the first time I have ever driven through a river of gasoline to get away from danger. God answered our prayers and gave us traveling mercy once again. 

Coming alongside the new Churches for evangelism continues to be a high priority of our ministry.

I think the old Preacher, William Sanster said it best when he said,

“On his way to preach the gospel the most modest man may whisper to himself, 'Nothing more important will happen in this town this week than the work I am about to do.' ”

God is not willing that any should perish but I often wonder if we have the same kind of will. While you cannot put a price on the value of a soul we are increasingly seeing the bigger picture of our ministry and that is training the people to do evangelism. There were over thirty of our brethren that came out for evangelism. You know that God is really moving in the hearts of His people when you can get thirty Christians to get out and share the love of God through the gospel.

Part of the Team

 

In heaven they say: "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever! Amen!"   Terry led a team of four women that had a great day in the village.

One More Soul

 

These women have never had another woman to personally teach them how to live the Christian life and serve the Lord. They continually tell me how much they love her and what a difference she is making in their lives. My personal ministry is blessed and compounded tenfold because God has given me a help met that is able to mentor and teach the ladies and children.

Celina Believes

 

I led a team of seven who listened and watched intently as we taught them how to become fishers of men. Great Christians over the years have invested in our lives and taught us how to become fishers of men and now we are simply committing to faithful men the things that we have been taught, who shall be able to teach others. Many professed Christ and also made commitments to follow Jesus in scriptural baptism next week. One of the members of our evangelism team was a young Turkana Pastor named Steven Lobolia Echom who was visiting Western Kenya.

 Steven Lobolia & Pastor Peter

We met Steven in 2006 during our survey trip. His heart for the Lord and the lost made an immediate impact on us. God is using him to do a great work in an area near Lake Turkana and it was a real pleasure to spend some quality time with him while serving the Lord together again. Thank you for your continued prayers as we feel them and see them being answered on a daily basis.

In His Service,

Chuck & Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

Phil. 4:13

Journal Blog: missionarieschuckterryfernandez.blogspot.com

Three Stones Evangelism, Construction & Sunday Services

Local Directions  along the way for Evangelism Team

Last week was one of those weeks was when you look back and see that much was accomplished but you are left trying to catch your breath and wondering where it all went to. While it feels like it was a blink of an eye we are thankful most of what was accomplished has great eternal significance.
To start with, in addition to our regular ministry responsibilities we have returned to school for our third term of Swahili with our teacher Wycliffe. We have been blessed with a teacher who has been teaching Americans and Europeans Swahili for over twenty years. There is a vast difference between conversational Swahili and biblical terminology, and given the fact that the majority of our ministry involves communication we want to be as effective as possible for God’s honor and glory. The investment of time in language studies will help push us to the next level which is beyond the conversational realm. We have come a long way and we receive high marks from our Kenyan brethren but we know we need to go further. Our work this week also brought us back to the interior village known as Mawe Tatu or Three Stones with Pastor Shadrach for evangelism.
                                   Evangelism Team

There were nineteen folks that showed up to share the love of God through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a blessing for Terry and me to come along side of our brethren who have a burden to reach their lost family members and neighbors.      Terry's Team

Our team of soul winning gospel preaching members is growing with each passing week. 

We hiked down muddy trails passing through corn fields, over creeks and hills to bring the good news of the gospel to those who have never heard.
Rom 10:14 "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? "
There were thirteen precious souls who made professions of faith in the Lord Jesus and were added to the book of life.
My team shared the gospel with a Mama and her four sons who were repairing a washout with large stones on the trail in front of their home.

The Mama said she had received Christ some time ago and has been praying for her sons to be saved. God answered her prayer on that trail as each one of her sons received Christ as their Savior.   Praying Mother and Answer+++

Not only was there great joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth but there was also great joy in that faithful mother when the burden of her sons salvation was lifted. The blessed part of obedience is that you never know how God is going to use you to answer others prayers until you obey. Lest you think people are making professions of faith based upon our race, Terry and I are not there to be out front and the lone soul winners but rather to train and to support the Churches efforts to fulfill the great commission. Our Kenyan brethren are far more effective and are winning many more to Christ and for that we say, “praise the Lord!” for that is the ultimate fulfillment of our calling. 
                                         Timbers for Trusses

In addition to evangelism, this week the trees for building the new sanctuary have been cut and transported to the Pastors house for processing. I am not sure I can adequately describe how labor intensive this work is being armed with only a chain saw and an ox cart.
                        Timbers for Posts

You cannot call Lowes or Home Depot here and have the wood delivered to your plot. The Pastor and the members of this church definitely have a will to work for the Lord. Pillars should go up this week and trusses the next.

There is such an excitement in the air over what God is doing in this church and village. Sunday services were under the tent at a village called Mayanja which is located at the base of Mt.Elgon. Now when I say at the base, I mean it is literally located at the base and even during the service you can catch yourself gazing upon God’s creation and the beauty of the peak of this mountain where much of our work has taken us. This was our first visit back to this new church plant since we left for furlough. Being deeply involved in this church plant from the initial evangelism visits I can’t help but to evaluate the work there after what has been one year now. It does our hearts good to see the Landmark Baptist Church at Mayanja growing in so many ways. For example, we find members who have been saved and baptized over the last year still faithful. I know that should not be anything out of the ordinary but during an age of worldwide apathy it is a victory in itself. We also find the church family in unity and harmony as they work together as a New Testament Church.
                                        Youth Choir

This provides an environment where new converts are being added to the church regularly. There are also four new preachers who have been called and are currently being educated and trained.
                                                Youth Drama

Finally, the young Pastor Nixon has withstood many personal trials over the last year. I do not have liberty to publish what they are but what needs to be said is that while Satan has unleashed an onslaught of attacks on this young man of God he has stood and been found faithful. His faithfulness has been blessed by God and the members of his church love him as they can clearly see what his faith is made of. There is so much more taking place in our lives on a daily basis but I try to keep my journal blog as brief and pointed as possible while trying to recapture a glimpse into the work God has called us to do. We covet your continue prayers.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya

Phil. 4:13

Blog: missionarieschuckterryfernandez.blogspot.com

The Heritage of the Lord & A Heart Like a Burning Fire

Terry & Mama's Ministry

We are ever mindful that life is but a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. But from time to time God shows us just how fragile the silver cord of life is through the experience of death. It seems all too often, here in Kenya, we are attending funerals and burying precious little children as was the case this week. I was asked to preach the message of a little three year girl named Michelle who lived near Mt. Elgon. It is heart wrenching to watch the mother and father grieve over the loss of their child and had it not been for the Lord Jesus and the Word of God it could have been unbearable. We do mourn, but not as those who have no hope. There was great strength and comfort knowing that the Word of God teaches us that Children are the Heritage of the Lord. It is this thought that I shared with the family as well as hundreds of village residents who attended the funeral. While the burial methods and procedures are very different from our country, the faith in our risen Savior brings us back to common ground in which we find comfort. The attachment Terry and I have to these villages are growing well beyond the visitor realm and our relationship to them is becoming more like residents after laboring in them for what is turning into years instead of a day, a week or month. Sharing these types of experiences with the people God has called us to minister to opens so many doors of opportunity to share the love of God through the gospel. Please pray for this young family during the weeks and months to come as there is a huge hole in their heart from a little empty chair at the dinner table. Most of the time we share and document our work through pictures but we just did not have peace to take pictures during the funeral service out of respect for these two young mourning parents.

Our travels also took us to the village of Mawe Tatu/Nzoia to deliver the new sign to Pastor Shadrach and the members of the Landmark Baptist Church (LBC) in preparation for building.  New Sign for Landmark Baptist Church

It had rained all night so the interior roads were nearly impassable but we thank God for four wheel drive as I do not believe it is possible or wise to travel anywhere into the interior of Africa without it. This church was our first Church plant and it is going exceptionally well.

The members and their young Pastor have really grown in the Lord and it was a blessing to be reunited for the cause of Christ with both old and new members alike. It seems as if they are not sure if missionaries will ever return when they go home for furlough so needless to say, the people were so happy to see us again.
                    Terry and Women Ministry

We brought two young men with us who have been attending our Eldoret men’s bible study. Since LBC Mawe Tatu is our closest church to Eldoret it is here that we baptized those who are saved through the Bible Study and it is here that we take these young men for additional training under the leadership of one of our finest National Pastors (Shadrach).
One of the young men whom I led to Christ over two years ago has surrendered his life to the ministry and is asking the LBC at Mawe Tatu to send him to his home region near Lake Victoria to reach his tribe with gospel of Jesus Christ.
While I taught on the early church, Kennedy preached a very powerful and personal message from Exodus 4 where God called Moses to bring forth the Children of Israel out of bondage.    Kennedy Preaching 

I have seen and experienced this type of very personal call by God Himself to go and preach the gospel. It was clearly apparent through the preaching of God’s word that Kennedy has within him what Jeremiah described as a burning fire; Jer. 20:9 But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.

Please pray for this brother as he will be traveling to Lake Victoria the first week of August to continue a work that we started in a fishing village called Wichlum back in 2009. There are a group of fishermen there whom we led to Christ and are now assembling themselves on a weekly basis for Bibles studies. They have grown in numbers and now are in real need of some leadership. We have taught, discipled and mentored Brother Kennedy and now God has called him to reach his people. Terry and I are truly blessed to see what is described in the book of Acts as
 "God’s hand with us, many believing and being turned to the Lord." While on furlough I was somewhat challenged at a mission conference that we should be working in large cities rather than villages, however, after seeing what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of many others I am certain we are exactly where God wants us. For it could be out of one of these villages that God can call the next apostle Paul.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
                 Bike Tow Kenya Style

Kenya

Phil. 4:13

“On the Hook” and “In the Valley”

                                 Young Preacher Thomas

 Keep in mind we are from Florida, and in boating terms, “On the Hook” might mean to be anchored somewhere in a body of water but in automotive terms it means to be broke down and being towed in by the tow truck. That is precisely what happened this week as we traveled to a village in Western, Kenya known as Mawe Tatu. Our plans were to secure trees to be cut and processed for the new sanctuary there but about half way into the trip the front driveshaft came apart ripping out the main wire harness as well as severing the fuel lines. Needless to say, it was a huge mess that left us stranded for hours while waiting for the tow truck.

                                  Waiting For Tow Truck                   

Then when the tow truck arrived it left us wondering if it was capable of towing the Rover back to Eldoret. (Refer to Pics)

In any case, we made it back safely but had no transportation for several days.

As always God knows what we need and this set back actually forced us to take a few days to rest our bodies and particularly our backs after the rigors of moving back into the country again. Once the Rover was repaired it was immediately back on the road carrying us deep into the Kerio Valley to visit the Pokot village called Chepsabei.

We thoroughly enjoy working in this hot and rugged land and we praise God for leading us to work there. Every trip there has moments of sheer joy. For example there is the descent into the valley from an elevation of approx. 6000’ to desert semi-arrid elevation below 1000’. Just at the peak of this descent we can look miles out into the valley with great anticipation knowing that God has called us to this region to reach the lost and He is doing a work in the lives of many people who live there. There is also great joy in seeing these young believers and followers of Christ praising, learning and growing in their faith. 

                                     Terry With Old Mama 

The work with the Pokot tribe was the last work we started before we left for furlough. Needless to say, we were anxious to worship with these new believers and to see how they were progressing in their walk with the Lord. A young Kenyan national preacher from the Mt. Elgon region named Timothy has been leading this work in our absence and has done a great job of teaching these young believers the Word of God. He loves them dearly and they love him so much they have given him a Pokot name. His Pokot name is “Loquardo” which means: LIGHT.           Tim & Tom....Pokot Tribe

Not only has he done a great job of continuing the work but God has blessed him with two young men from that village who have surrendered to the gospel ministry. This is an answer to our prayers. As I have explained to Timothy, our mission with the Pokot is to bring them to Christ and to train up leaders and God called preachers from Chepsabei so they will eventually have a Pokot Pastor and Pokot Missionaries to carry the gospel further and deeper into areas which are inaccessible to us. It was a thing of beauty to see these two young preachers inter act as they led the people in singing and teaching the Word of God. There is something special about two young men purposing in the heart to be living sacrifices for our Savior as they fulfill God’s will for their lives. What a powerful team God has formed as it is apparent that their souls have been knitted together to do God’s Work as they minister to the Pokot tribe. God is an awesome God!

I preached from the book of Acts on Why and Where they were first called Christians.

 

Over the next few month’s we will teach on baptism and basic discipleship to prepare those who have professed Christ to be baptized and organized into a New Testament Church. While the numbers were down due to a large village wedding, this village is being transformed by the love of God through the gospel one person at a time.

                                    People of  Chepsabei

We were able to supply the most recent converts the Word of God by giving them solar powered audio Bibles thanks to the special offerings given by our brethren in the USA. Your sacrificial gift has blessed these new Pokot believers.
     Asante Sana = Thank You Very Much.

We always depart with great joy in our hearts over what the Lord is doing in this large somewhat obscure village in the Kerio Valley known to us, the residents and God.

                                  Circle of Prayer

The climb out of the valley is very hard as the mountainous road is rough and rocky but at the peak of the climb we are always rewarded with a blast of cold air from this high elevation. It is so refreshing after working in the 100 degree heat.

We say thank you Lord. 

Please keep us in your prayers this coming week as we do have trials ahead of us but we know God’s grace is sufficient.

  2 Co 12:9 And He said unto me,

 " My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. "

God Bless You,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa

     PS: Special Thanks to First Baptist Church of Eastbay and Anchor Baptist Church for supplying 100 Solar powered audio Bibles.

Foreign but Familiar...Hitting the Ground Running

  Landmark Baptist Church of Namarambi

located at the base of Mt. Elgon.

International travel always leaves something to be desired unless you enjoy being crammed into a plane with a couple hundred people and basically unable to get comfortable for sixteen hours of flying. However as bad as it is, our flights from Orlando to London and then from London to Nairobi went smoother than ever. Even with having to switch airports in London, from Gatwick to Hethrow with ten pieces of luggage worked out better than planned. I say all that to say that God really blessed our travels as we returned to Kenya this week.

There is a strange feeling after leaving family

                               Grandson Chuckie

and country to do God’s work on the foreign field for without a doubt you know you are on foreign soil but you also have great peace in your heart that you are at home in the perfect will of God. It is also comforting to have familiarity with the place God has called us to. While we do not consider ourselves veterans we are also not new to Kenya. The sights, the sounds and the smells had become so common place to us that we hardly notice that we are foreigners in a familiar land.                         Namarambi Youth Choir

Getting settled back in Eldoret has had its challenges but nothing that is unusual with the re-entry process. With jet lag trying to hold us back and with a heart of desire to see our brethren pushing us forward we hit the road to two village Churches in the interior on the Lord’s Day. One thing I learned while in the USA from feedback given by our American brethren was that people who read our reports really have a hard time getting a handle on what villages and churches we are working in. That is perfectly understandable because who could possibly place the village churches in the interior of Kenya on a continent as large as Africa. With that said, I will attempt to be a little more descriptive so people can follow our work when writing my journal blog. Probably more important than the location are the beautiful people God has called us to minister to. We visited the Landmark Baptist Church of Namarambi and the Landmark Baptist Church of Ndivisi both located at the base of Mt. Elgon.

             Ndivisi Baptist Church located at the base of Mt. Elgon.

It was exciting for us to see their continued growth of both churches spiritually and physically in our absence. There were many new faces of people who have been saved and baptized while we were in the states as well as those faithful members whom we led to Christ during our first term which is a solid indication of Churches built on God rather than man. When our life’s work is over we want to leave something behind that God continues to get glory from. During Sunday services we were also reminded how much we love worshipping with our brethren in Kenya.

God’s presence was felt as He was worshipped

from the heart.

After services I was able to spend time with Pastor Peter who I consider my right hand and the best soul-winner I have ever known to make ministry plans for the remainder of this year. Those plans include upcoming evangelism crusades, training seminars, buildings and outreaches. Working with six Churches, training twenty-one preachers with three new preaching points while pushing the gospel into unreached areas provides more ministry opportunities and challenges than we could have ever dreamed or expected. We believe and know that God is with us as He has shown Himself faithful by providing the necessary partners and workers to fulfill His calling on our lives.

Thank you to all who regularly pray and financially support our ministry as it would not be possible without either.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Kenya, East Africa            Terry & Beatrice

Phil. 4:13

National Meeting, Remembering Joplin and War Hero’s



                                         Pastor Tim & Crystal            

We have logged over 5000 miles during the last two weeks of travel while attending the national meeting of the American Baptist Association in St. Louis, Missouri. We also visited Churches in Alabama and Arkansas on the way up and back. These meetings were kind of the grand finale to our deputation efforts to promote our mission work in Kenya. With over two thousand in attendance it was great to reconnect with our supporting Churches, make contact with new Pastors and Churches as well as have fellowship with other missionaries. We are so thankful for all those who share our vision and burden to reach the lost and are willing to partner with us through prayers and offerings.  

We were also encouraged by the feedback we received regarding work and we know God is going to do great things if we continue to follow His leadership and put Jesus first in all things. On our way back from St. Louis our GPS routed us through Joplin, Missouri which afforded us to see the destruction left in the wake of an F5 tornado.

Our hearts were truly broken as we traveled through neighborhoods which were leveled by what can only be compared to a huge explosion which took out a third of the city. I have attached two photos, one taken the day after the tornado hit and one taken thirty days later in which cleanup is still currently on going.

It was amazing anyone survived the utter destruction brought by the massive storm. Please continue to pray for those who lost loved ones and for those rebuilding their lives as they will never be the same. Words cannot describe the scene as we never have seen anything close to that kind of power and destruction before.

During the course of our travels I also had the opportunity to visit with some real war hero’s. The first one I met was a War World II Veteran named Johnny Bell, who by way of recent marriage to my sister-in-law Karen is now my brother-in-law. Never thought I would ever have a brother-in-law who landed at the Sicily, Angio and Salerno invasions but I do now and I am thankful for His service.   

To sit and listen to the war stories against great odds is a reminder that great men made great sacrifices to make this a great nation. During our time in St. Louis we met some other war hero’s near the Mississippi river who were there for “Marine Week”.  

The young Marines we met were veterans of the Afghanistan War and have also made a great sacrifice for our country. Marines have a special place in our hearts because our son Chuck III is an “Iraqi Freedom” war hero. 

From the time of the Revolutionary War men have been fighting for the many freedoms that we have a tendency to take for granted. Thank God for men that believe enough in a cause that they are willing to fight for with their very lives. 

      Our son, Chuck III, sees his new son, Chuck IV, for the first

time upon his return from war....

On this Fourth of July weekend I need to wish my Mother Happy Birthday!

  She has influenced my life in so ways and is currently instrumental in getting our blog published so others can share our journey of faith.

Lord willing, our next journal will be from Kenya as we fly back on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Please pray for traveling mercies, our children/grandchildren and our mission work. We say goodbye to our children & grandchildren with heavy hearts but we are excited to see what God is going to do during our second term.  

We have laid a foundation on which we will continue to build and we are looking forward to going further in our faith as well. May God Keep you and Bless You and to God be the glory.

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Phil. 4:13

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