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.

February 1, 2016

Dear praying friends,

We hope this update finds each of you doing well. We are now in the year 2016. Hard to believe. Many times when I think that something is far away, before you know it, it is upon you, and then behind you. I cannot believe my daughter McKenna is already 7 and Camille will soon be 5 years old. And my age, well that is another matter. As the old saying goes “Age is mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” I like that. Hoping each of you had a great Christmas holiday and New Year celebration with family and friends. We had a small celebration here with some missionary friends, had some time of fun and fellowship, played games, etc. It is always nice to be able to do these things sometimes.

One of the hardest parts of missions is missing family and being separated from them while on the mission field. From time to time, family comes to visit, and we have had two of my wife’s sisters visit with us. My wife has three sisters, and we are thankful that two of them were able to get some time off and come to visit with us here in Kitale. This is much needed, for it gives them the opportunity to see how life is on the mission field, some of the challenges, and to know better how to pray for us. Also, it gives them much needed time to spend with us as a family. We are so thankful that both Jenna and Joelle came out to visit with us. What a blessing they have been. Lord willing, my wife’s parents will visit later with us in the year, so we are looking forward to this as well. Family time is so important and we are thankful for any visits we get from family.

Please pray for my (Nathan) work permit, which expires in April this year. I have to have a permit to be able to legally stay and minister in Kenya, and it expires in April of this year. I have gone to Nairobi to meet with my government agent who handles these permits for us. My wife already has hers, so we are thankful for this. Now, we are waiting and praying for mine to be processed. We pray it will proceed with no problems, and we know that God is in complete control and has a plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has a purpose and plan for everything, thoughts of peace, not evil, to give us an expected end.

I also like Micah 7:7, which says “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” We can look to the Lord in faith, waiting on Him, knowing He hears us. What great promises to cling and hold to.

My partner Roger Tate and I are still going faithfully to the village of Robinson to teach and preach the Word of God. We are currently in the book of Matthew, and there have been many good teachings. We have learned about not judging, how to give and pray in secret, being salt and light in a dark world, and other teachings. We are also continuing to visit people in the village and share the Gospel as God gives the opportunity. Many of those who were initially coming at the beginning have left, as they were searching for the loaves and fishes, and were not interested in the teachings and following Jesus. I am interested more in quality than quantity, and the Lord knows who will be there for the right reasons. God knows how it will all turn out in the end, and my partner Roger and I have been faithful. We need to continue to visit, share the Gospel, pray, and leave the results in God’s hands. Duties belong to us—results belong to God. In 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul says “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” It is still the same today. God gives the increase. We trust Him for the results, and would ask prayer as we continue to go and teach faithfully in the Robinson village.  Our desire ultimately is to have a church there, but we will trust God with it, knowing He will lead and guide us.

In family news, my wife continues to go faithfully to the district hospital. She does her best to provide the women and babies there with much needed supplies, as well as sharing the Gospel with the mothers. This ministry has grown bigger, with more mothers and children than ever before. We are doing our best to assist them, and we thank each of you who faithfully give sacrificially or send supplies. Thanks for helping the poor and abandoned. God will richly bless you. McKenna and Camille continue to grow and develop. McKenna is learning to read well and quickly, and Camille will soon be starting kindergarten, which is hard to believe. My wife does a great job in teaching them faithfully here at home, so we are blessed to be able to help them with their education in this way.

Please keep us in your prayers, and we will remember you also. We appreciate so much each letter, email, family picture, or whatever you would like to send. Each act of kindness is highly regarded and appreciated. Thank you for your mindfulness of missions, your sacrificial spirit, and your faithful prayer support and sacrificial giving. You are each a great blessing to us. Happy 2016.

Nathan and Carrie Radford

P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa, 30200

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