Warm greetings in Jesus’ name!
Cowboy hats and line dancing . . . that was the surprising story from our ministry together in the Philippines—I wrote you about it just a few weeks ago. . . .
We celebrated phenomenal evangelistic results from an out of the ordinary “country music festival” strategy. I was thrilled — but I didn’t expect to be doing any more cowboy-hat ministry anytime soon! Well . . . I was wrong.
We traveled immediately from the Philippines to Cuba—where our ministry featured not just cowboy hats but real cowboys.
¡Si! Actual cattle-driving vaqueros!
The group came from the Fort Worth area—some of these guys literally left their cows in the pastures to come minister with us in Cuba for a week.
I had never heard of Ranger, Texas, but from our fellow laborers I’ve learned some of the demographics. For example, Ranger is a town with more cows than people—and only one traffic light. And there was plenty of “bunkhouse” talk . . . swapping stories about getting injured while working the cattle and having to “suck it up” because there was work to be done.
One team member tried out his Spanish on his new Cuban friends, but got stuck halfway through and switched back to English: “Moo-chas gracias por . . . being here with you guys!”
The people loved his COW-boy accent!
But for all the differences between our various backgrounds, everyone in the mix—real cowboys, would-be cowboys, Cubans, Americans, everybody—shared the same objective: to proclaim the message of salvation . . . to see people saved.
We deployed a twin-track strategy:
- Track #1 involved multiple churches holding an evangelistic event either in the morning or in the evening.
- Track #2 was a children’s festival produced in a local church, running evenings the entire week.
It turned out that the pastor of the children’s festival host-church has a day job as a teacher in the local school. So word spread “fast and furious” through the school—and the entire student body showed up: 500 children! Most of them were unchurched—yet by the end of the week, most of them had received Jesus as Savior!
One huge blessing for all of us this week was the ministry of a terrific Cuban singer known as Yanis. She began each service by leading us all in a wonderful musical worship devotional.
Afterward, a vaquero shared his testimony, followed by a devotional thought. Then the Gospel was presented, and an invitation given.
A very conservative count put the number of conversions for the week at around 930! Praise God for so many souls newly reconciled to the Lord!
We also saw the great heart of the vaqueros for even one soul in need. . .
After a service, close to midnight, the fellows and I drove Yanis to her home; she’s a mother of three. As she said her goodbyes, she mentioned matter-of-factly that she would be washing clothes that night—’til 3 a.m.
We were stunned! But that’s how long it takes to do the family’s laundry—because she has to do the job by hand.
How can a person be expected to minister as a vocalist at a concert—get home at midnight—and wash clothes until three in the morning?
Before long, a new idea sprang forth: We should get her a washer and dryer. The motion and the emotion were made and seconded—and unanimously approved.
Yet there was opposition—from an unexpected source: our Cuban counterparts!
You can’t do that in Cuba.
You don’t have the electrical connections.
Houses aren’t equipped to handle American machines.
It’s a costly operation.
And on and on.
The cowboys would not have it. “We can do it,” they insisted. “How can we solve this?”
And bang: IT’S ALREADY DONE!
Yesterday I received photos of a washer and dryer, hooked up to a rewired outlet with 220 electricity. Yanis is standing there with her youngest daughter, thanking God and the knights in shining armor who set her miracle in motion.
The vaqueros were so happy to receive the “Mission Accomplished” picture! One of
them responded with a particularly articulate note: “That feels pretty darn good!” An orator!
God gave us such victories in Cuba, you might wonder, What more is there to do? I’m so glad you asked!
- As I write these words, I’m less than a hundred hours from leaving for another campaign in Cuba, this time in the central part of the country, to teach a class on Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) for a group of 200 pastors.
- Then I’m scheduled to be back home for three days before heading to Portugal to launch our first extension centers there.
- Next: Spain. I’ll be teaching students about Homiletics, the art of preaching.
- Then the team and I will lead a weekend church retreat, followed by celebrating the graduation of 30 students in Portugal and Spain.
Meanwhile, the ministry you’re making possible through your generous giving continues in more difficult places as well.
- In Ukraine, our brothers and sisters are going through extremely hard times. The potential peace process has been complicated. The people’s morale is very low. Many women are doing work that men once did—because the men have died in the fighting. Every day is a hard and painful reminder of their awful new reality.
Yet by God’s grace, the Gospel grows even in Ukraine! Many people are experiencing prayer as a lifeline, a connection to hope. Churches continue to be planted.The great and most immediate challenge there: We need more workers. Many of our seminary students—as well as professors—have been drafted into the Ukrainian military. Tragically, some have already lost their lives. Meanwhile, in countless towns where the Gospel is urgently needed, ministers are in short supply. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send workers! This is not just a Scripture quotation—it’s an urgent, real-life request!
- Back on this side of the ocean, in Venezuela, we’ll soon graduate 86 church-planters who have completed three years of studies while planting churches. The work in Venezuela is expanding dramatically into the Amazon region. We’re heading toward 1,000 church-plants in that nation.
- And some of our Venezuela ministry has already spilled over into Colombia, as
the Good News reverberates into villages near the border! - We’re already looking ahead to June when we’ll go to Africa to “probe the soil”
in Kenya for a train-and-deploy program like we’ve established in many other fields.
And believe it or not, this list could go on still further. But I think you get the picture. Your prayers and giving are making a powerful impact around the world!
A board member who led our recent Cuba trip asked me, “Do you ever get antsy if you stay home too long?” My reply: “I wouldn’t call it antsy, but I do understand Paul wondering how the churches were getting along.” He felt compelled to stay in touch, to make sure no team derailed, or fell under attack, or fell prey to other problems.
I can certainly see how Paul would say, “For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). In fact, I have adopted this as my life verse. It is God’s absolute standard for every Christian. “He died for all,” declares, “that those who live may live no longer for themselves but for Him . . .”
Paul understood this, and he taught it—but more importantly, he lived it! So I have done my best, likewise, to understand it, and teach it, and live it.
Together, you and I have the joy of living it together, in partnership, as you serve the Lord from the very place where He has planted you. Each of us can bloom where we are planted. The important part is to bear fruit that glorifies God.
This is what “proves” we are His disciples, as Jesus says in John 15:8: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” Prove in the original Greek is genesthe—becoming a practical demonstration . . . that we are disciples!
One more brief note: My mother-in-law just turned 100. As I write you, she has begun to release her hold on this life. She may have slipped off into heaven by the time you read these words. She has fought the good fight, a mom to six kids, mostly on her own since she was abandoned by her husband decades ago.
Along the way, she learned firsthand the reliability of God’s Word. She learned to love it and live it. She became a Bible teacher. She departs with joy, deeply satisfied to know she was used by God to lead others to salvation and to lives of service to the Lord.
- And such are you. Together, we are building an eternal legacy. At the end of our own lives, we will have believers with us who came to faith, and grew in faith, through our ministry partnership. They will be “our joy and our crown” (Philippians 4:1): Spaniards, Cubans, Ukrainians, Filipinos, Nepalis, Indians, Moroccans, and many others!
My mother-in-law to the very end has been clear about her marching orders: “I get up. I dress up. And I show up.” May we also! Let me hear from you. Give as generously as you can.
May our joy and our crown grow on until eternity!
For the Harvest,
Dr. Manny Fernandez
P.S. You can give with confidence and with joy knowing how powerfully God has used the faithful support of friends like you down through these years. Someone will come to Christ because of the gift you gave today. Thank you so much for the privilege of serving alongside you in the whitened Harvest fields of the Master!