Teaching Future Ministers, Caring for Tina
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
May 23, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If you read my report from last month (and I certainly hope you did), then you know that I gave you a little teaser at the end about what I wanted to write about in this month’s report. This teaser concerned some of my future plans that I feel God leading me to do. Now, I know it’s not “right” to give a teaser and get your readership all excited and anticipating what you will write about (if indeed you read last month’s newsletter and care about what I teased you about) and then NOT write about it. I know that’s not decent and decorous. However, that’s what I’m going to have to do. The reason for this is because I wanted to use this past month to solidify some of my thoughts and plans and have something more concrete to present to you. However, this month ended up being so busy for me that I had little time left for thinking about future planning. So, instead of laying out future plans, I will have to content myself (and you) with relating my busyness of the past month.
I guess I should have known this month would be busy as most, although not all, of what I did was pre-planned. I had two classes scheduled to teach at the local Bible college I teach at on a fairly regular basis—one in May and one in June. The class in May was Hermeneutics and the class in June is Old Testament Prophetic Literature. The Hermeneutics class I have taught before but having taught it before I recognized that my notes and class material needed to be revamped to better address the level of my students at the college. The OT Prophetic Literature class is a new class for me and has to be prepared from scratch. That being said, I have been working feverishly to prepare for these two classes. Then, last week I taught the Hermeneutics class to a new, fresh group of young, future pastors and ministers. Teaching future ministers proper Bible interpretation methods and principles is a great joy and worth all the time and effort it requires. It is, however, quite exhausting, especially for an introverted person like me who would prefer not to have to talk. Talking is exhausting, especially when you are not used to talking for an extra 40 hours a week. My throat is always raw and sore by the end of the week. But believe me, if these future ministers can learn to properly interpret and teach God’s Word then it is worth any effort and sacrifice. Oh, and before I started the class I took a long trip to Rift Valley Academy to spend the weekend with my kids at school.
On top of all this, Julie and I have another baby in the house again. Tina, whom we have cared for in the past, is back. She was born three months premature, we cared for her for the first two months of her life and she is now six months old. Tina had been in the hospital for a week with pneumonia. When she was discharged from the hospital the director of the children’s home where she lives called to ask us if we could take her in for a while while she recuperated. Julie and I talked about it and came to the conclusion together that we were too busy right now to take her in. We just couldn’t add the full-time care of a sick baby to our plate. I knew immediately in my heart that it was the wrong decision but didn’t admit this to Julie. What?!? Too busy to help one of God’s precious little ones back to health? Too busy to make some small sacrifices for the life of a child? Bad decision. Anyway, I found out a little later that Julie also thought it was a bad decision. When I returned home one night after teaching she said something like this: “I know I shouldn’t have made this decision unilaterally but I told the director we could take Tina in and care for her until she is well”. I responded with the words “OK, Julie, if that’s what you decided” but what I thought in my heart was Good for you Julie! Way to go! That WAS the right decision. Thanks for having the courage to deny yourself and follow God’s leading in this. So, Tina is back with us until she is well, and although unbroken sleep and less work is good and desirable, caring for and loving God’s children is better.
One more thing to add to the list. Tomorrow I am heading to Nairobi for a Bible conference on the local church. I have not been to any kind of Bible conference of any sort since I first left the States to come to Africa nine and a half years ago. I am looking forward to the conference but am already tired just thinking about it.
Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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Church Planting in Multiple “Municipíos”
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
May 16, 2017
Dear Brethren,
The state of Acre has 22 “counties”. Here they are called municípios (municipalities). We are trying to plant churches in all of them. So far, we have churches in 7 of the “county seats”. The 2 largest cities are the capital, Rio Branco, and Cruzeiro do Sul. These churches have been around for years. The other 5 churches are in smaller cities close to us. Now we are going for the most isolated towns that have no Baptist church. We sent a missionary family to the city of Jordão 2 years ago.
This month we made a visit to Jordão and a survey trip to Santa Rosa do Purús. We had to fly to these cities that are deep in the forest and along the Peruvian border. We chartered the New Tribes Mission plane. It was necessary to make and pay for 2 flights as the pilot had to come from way up north in Roraima to make our flights and others over a short 1 week period. New Tribes Mission has a plane here now and mechanics, but still don’t have a pilot stationed here.
Jordão is on the Tarauacá River. The population is 8000 and 60% of these are from the Jaminaus and Kaxinauwa tribes. Our missionary couple is Idevaldo, Queila and their daughters, Vitória and Ludmilla. They have already bought a house and rented a place to hold services. We had a low of 45 people and a high of over 70 in services. One young couple that they have won to Christ have already been trained to help with the music. The man did not play any kind of instrument. Idevaldo taught him to play bass in 3 months. Idevaldo plays guitar and actually made his own instrument! Very talented. Queila has started a kid’s club that has an average of 25 children attending. They have already acquired 2 lots for us to put up our first church building. They are also already doing mission work in the villages and along the streams out of town. I am so proud of them. On Sunday morning, I baptized the first 14 members.
Our visit to the town of Santa Rosa do Purús was exciting, too. This is the smallest town in the Acre: 6000 people. 70% of these are Kaxinauwa. It is almost 2 hours by air. For us to get there by land and river we have to go 250 miles east by road then up river from the bridge on the Purús River for another 225 miles. The Purús is another one of the major tributaries of the Amazon River that flows parallel to the Juruá River. It flows into the Amazon a few hundred miles downstream from the mouth of the Juruá River. In other words, we are getting into a completely new river valley.
There is already a small group of the Kaxinauwa who meet and hold services. The tribe is called “Kaxinauá” by most folks. The name means “people of the bat”, as in the animal. They call themselves “Huni Kuim”, which means “The True People”. Many of the tribes around us see themselves as the original people of the earth and superior to all others. Their “building” is really just a hut. There are 6 poles, thatch roof and dirt floor. We had 50+ in the one service we held. The singing and most of the service was in their native language. My message was NOT in Huni Kuim! They all understand Portuguese.
The town has 15 sects and cults, but no Baptist church, so we are going to try to open the work there soon. There are 46 villages along the river between the border and the bridge, so we have our work cut out for us.
I took Zico (our missions coordinator), Ruben (one of our businessmen), and Rondisson (one of our chapel pastors) along on this trip. Please pray for the new missionary that we need and the funds to support him, whoever he may be. So much to do and so few workers and funds.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
Baptism in Jordão
Service with the indigenous folks at Santa Rosa do Purús
Baptism in Jordão
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Trying Month of Bus Problems; Encouraged with Seminary
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
May 13, 2017
Friends and family,
This month has been one that has been somewhat trying. Our church bus has had a minor problem with the air brakes. Well, we were told that all we had to do was take off the part and replace it with a new one. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, we were told by the mechanic what part to purchase, so we call the parts store in the next city and ordered the part. We go get the part on Tuesday and bring it to the mechanic (good—this is one day before we will need the bus for Wednesday night). But they call us on Wednesday to say that the part is the wrong one. So, Thursday we make the trip up to the other city to get the new part—which they don’t have—so we order the new part. So, this is the first week that we will not have the bus to pick up the children on Sunday. When we ordered the part on Friday, we were told that there would be a delay in the order because this is a holiday and there would be no mail to get the piece to the parts store. So, we would have to wait 5 days for the part to get to the store. This takes us past Wednesday again. When it arrived and we went to get it, it was for the wrong side. So, they ordered it again.
By this time, I have to go up north for the seminary in Orlandia and the part has not come yet. I was there for a week and upon my arrival, the part had not come yet. Now we are in the third week without a bus for the kids. We were called and told that the new part was at the parts place so Barbara and Edson make a trip up the hill to get it, hoping that this Sunday we will have a bus for the kids. Guess what—this piece did not fit either. Now we discover that someone has worked on the brakes sometime in the past and none of the pieces would have fit so we tell the mechanic to cut the new piece and make it fit the bus.
The blessing in this story is that the bus company that we use when we have big groups has generously loaned us one of their buses on Sunday morning to pick up the kids, but not for the people on Sunday night nor on Wednesday night. But on the last Sunday they could not loan a bus, so we made trips with 2 cars to pick up the kids. We have around 80 to 100 kids that attend Sunday School every week–so you can imagine the amount of kids we had in each car. We were so busy getting the kids to church that no one got pictures.
The bus was functioning on Wednesday night and we are looking forward to a full house on Sunday!!! Sometimes things so simple can become so complicated. Oh well, we are still so blessed that it is unreal. And even in all this mess we have had numerous visitors in the church each week.
Now on to more blessings. At this session of the seminary we had a group of students, 26 in number, 18 of which were pastors and 8 church workers. The classes were taught by Dr. D. Colman from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dr. R. Edge from First Baptist Church in Bastrop, Texas. What a blessing these two men are to the seminary. The seminary now has accreditation given by the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and this has helped us to gain more students. These students are now asking if we can add a Master’s Program to our original classes. You know that with God all things are possible! We are working on this as you read this letter and by God’s grace we will have the Master’s Program included for the classes that start in 2018. How AWESOME is the God we serve.
Pray for our Seminary: Caragua Baptist Seminary as we continue to train Pastors—specifically for us to be able to reach more Pastors to train them to take to gospel to Brasil. In 2018 we will be offering the classes in São Paulo City, Orlandia, São Paulo, probably in Manaus, Amazonas, and maybe in one other location. We are taking these classes to different regions to make them more available to the areas where the pastors reside. That way more pastors can attend and then take the teaching to their areas. This will be an AWESOME blessing to them and their churches.
We always ask for prayer for the Seminary everywhere we go so we now have 70-100 pastors praying for Caragua Baptist Seminary. Won’t you join with them in praying for the seminary also? For the pastors and the workers that participate in the Seminary, for the teachers and for the translators, and the churches that these Pastors return to after they finish the classes. Please include in your prayers Barb and I, our church here in Caraguatatuba, Pastor Walmir and all the works here in Brasil.
To end the letter on a note of a blessing, this month we have had one more soul added to God’s kingdom. Praise His Name.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Believers in France Step Up to the Plate; Opportunities in Evansville
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
May 2, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thanks to each of you for your prayers. Judy is progressing in her recovery from the broken patella. She is now in Physical Therapy twice a week along with daily exercises at home. The immobilizer is still in place around the clock, but Judy handles it quite well especially considering the fact that she is normally quite active. We are glad to be here and to be able to assist Peggy. She continues to be treated. Pray for the girls as they experience my cooking, housekeeping and driving.
God is providing fellowship and extra blessings through believers here in the Evansville area. It is a good time for us to remember and pray for those in a number of countries who cannot enjoy fellowship without risk of persecution and physical death. My brother Paul detoured to see us on the way from Florida to attend the Spring Missionary Conference at Thompson Rd. Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. We had a very enjoyable visit. My brother David should be arriving this afternoon to visit for a couple of days. He added us to a whirlwind trip from Manaus, Brazil to celebrate dad’s 92nd birthday. It is great to have family who love us and go out of their way for us. That is another blessing for which so many of us can be grateful.
News about activities in France is good. Sometimes our absence is good as it stirs some who are reticent to step up to the plate. We miss the interaction with folks who need Christ in France but there are opportunities for displaying the light of Christ wherever He places us. We have had doors of opportunity opened to touch lives here in Evansville. You can ask our Heavenly Father to enable us to see what He wants us to be doing here in the present.
Thanks for your prayers and faithful support.
Serving with you,
John and Judy
Stateside Address
John and Judy Hatcher
1901 Shepherd Dr.
Evansville, IN 47715
jmhatcher@aol.com
Field Address
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Discussing Ministry Plans for Church Planting
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
May 1, 2017
Dear praying friends,
We are now near halfway through 2017 and time is passing so quickly. Thanks so much to each one who prays for us, writes or sacrificially gives to the Lord and His work. You are each such a blessing and we thank God for you.
Our daughters are near the end of the school year at Calvary Baptist Academy in Hurricane, WV. They have a month left of school. This has been such a good year for them and they have gotten the much-needed socialization that they have lacked on the mission field. They also have learned time management skills, responsibility, studying for tests, etc. This has all been very good for them and we are so thankful for this experience they have had. Please pray for them as they finish up this month, that they would finish well and strong in their studies.
Last week we were able to go to the BFM missions conference in Lexington, KY. It was good to hear solid messages from the Word of God, discuss with others the challenges we face on the field and get advisement from our mission board. It was good to see each one who attended and to fellowship with them. Thank the Lord for Godly men and advisement that we receive from them.
I (Nathan) am in the process of discussing ministry plans on church planting with an experienced missionary who has done church planting for several years in Kenya. I am very open and receptive to advisement from Godly men who have faithfully planted churches, whether in the US or abroad. Proverbs 11:14 says “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” May we seek wisdom from above, trusting Him to lead and guide each step of the way. God bless you all.
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Furlough Address:
56 Lobo Lane
Culloden, WV 25510
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Why Can’t I Be More Like Jesus?
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
April 26, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I’ve been practicing for a long time now. So, why can’t I be more like Jesus?
I was standing in line waiting to go through the metal detector and into the supermarket. The line is long and moving slowly. A man walks up beside me and then deliberately steps right in front of me in the queue (“line”, for you Americans). I am infuriated and say some snide comment to him about his rude and inconsiderate behavior. What is he thinking? How could he be so rude? A better question is why did I get so mad so quickly? I’ve been practicing for so long now. So, why can’t I be more like Jesus?
It’s been a long day. Julie and I decide to order chicken and chips (“fries”, for you Americans) from the only place in Kitale that claims they can deliver. We’ve done this before and thus we don’t expect any difficulty. An hour and a half later there is still no food. I call the delivery guy and ask him, Where are you? He tells me. He’s about a mile from my house. How long have you been there? About an hour. What?!? Does that mean my food is cold? Yes. Why didn’t you call me? He has no credit on his phone. Were you ever going to call me? How could he, as he has no credit on his phone. Why didn’t you bring the food to my house? He doesn’t know the way. I’m telling you now how to get here. He doesn’t seem to understand. I’m telling you now how to get here in Swahili. He doesn’t seem to understand. Stay where you are and I’ll come to you to get the food. He grunts something unintelligible. I go to where he says he is. He isn’t there. I drive around the neighborhood looking for him. I finally find him. Why didn’t you stay where you were? He says he was looking for my house. I try and pay him and take the food. He has no change and I am not at my house so I can’t go in and get change either. I refuse to pay for the food because of his incompetence. I am angry and tell him to take the phone back to his manager so I can complain to her about him. How can he be so incompetent? A better question is why can’t I be more like Jesus? I’ve been practicing at it for a long time now.
I’m at a little roadside restaurant drinking a cup of coffee and doing some work on my laptop. The man standing before me is the seventh person in the last half an hour that has stopped to talk to me. Like all the others before him he is begging for money. Like all the others before him he starts by being kind. Who am I? What am I doing here? How long have I been here? Where am I from? What is America like? Can I give him some money? I’m looking at him. He’s not poor or destitute. He’s not starving or sick. He’s not naked and cold. He was just passing by and saw an expat (“foreigner”, for you Americans) and saw his opportunity to possibly get a free handout. I sigh and groan. Should I go into the “dependency spiel” I went into with the 6 previous guys. No, I’m out of patience. I tell him to “get lost”. How can he be so shameless, so audacious, so brazen, so insolent, so impertinent? A better question is why can’t I be more like Jesus? I’ve been practicing at it for a long time now.
Yes, all of these things happened in just the last week alone. Yet, all of these people are the people I am trying to reach here with the love of Jesus. How am I supposed to reach them with the gospel if I’m not loving them like Jesus? How can I start a church and be their pastor (hopefully more on that next month) if I can’t be more like Jesus? Lord, help me to be more like Jesus so I can love your people in Kenya more. Help me be more like Jesus so the gospel here in Kitale can be more effective in people’s lives. Help me be more like Jesus so that I can start a church that shines like a beacon in a dark world. Help me be more like Jesus for your glory in Kenya.
Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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News & Reports – May 2017 [Online Edition]
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Praying for Sunday School Teachers & Helpers; Planning for Seminary
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
April 12, 2017
Dear friends and family,
What an AWESOME God we serve. As we left the States I completed my last shot (I thought); however, when I received that “last shot” my doctor said, “SORRY, but I would like you to have TWO more shots.” Oh well, life has turned around. I am so thankful for all the prayers for me during these cancer treatments. I would also like to exalt my God for the GOOD reports from the doctor. So, these TWO more shots will be on August 3, 2017, and the LAST one on February 3, 2018. God is AWESOME!!! So, thanks one more time for all the prayers that have been sent on my behalf. With Him all things are possible.
The ministry here is going wonderfully. Pastor Walmir and Mary K. are working very hard and the Sunday School has doubled. Worship service is also growing. They have started a Children’s Church on Sunday nights and this is going good. One of the kids came for the first time last Sunday night and the first thing he asked was, “Is there children’s church tonight?”
We have been in planning mode for next year’s classes for the Seminary. Two classes have been planned and we are just waiting to have the dates confirmed for two more. Here we need lots of prayers because this is an AWESOME way for us to reach Brasil. Training new Pastors and helping old ones to be more grounded in the Baptist doctrine.
Along with the ministry there is lots of maintenance and construction going on. The work on our new building is going very good, but as always there is more work to be done. We can always use more help in this. Are you thinking about a mission trip? Put us on your list of places to go. We are praying for more financial aid for the completion of the building. Maybe you or someone you know would like to be a part of this.
We started a training program for us to have more Sunday School teachers and helpers. This is one of the areas where we are lacking as some of our teachers have upwards to 40 students in their class and only one helper. So, we are in great need for more qualified teachers. God is great and He will supply our needs. Of this we are sure.
As usual car and bus maintenance are an everyday job. You can get one thing fixed and turn around and there are two more to fix. The urgent need for the bus at this time is new tires. We have noted since our return this time that everything has gone up–not only things for the vehicles, but food, Sunday School supplies, electric, water, and the list goes on and on. I would like to say thanks to Grasp International for help on the bus maintenance. Thanks Jason and family, you are greatly missed here in Brasil.
We would like to ask for special prayer for our granddaughters, they both have been having health issues. The doctors are not discovering what the problems are and, on top of that, they both have been suffering with a virus. The healthcare here is not like the States. If nothing else, I can tell you that “social medicine” is terrible. Treatment is minimal if at all—don’t let me get on my soap box about that. Just remember Chelsea and Ashley in your prayers please.
Like I say, come on down and see what your mission dollars are doing here in Caraguatatuba, Brasil. We will leave the light on and put some more water in the beans. As Barbara’s dad always said, we will treat you so many different ways, you will have to like one of them and come back.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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