Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [July 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If you read my newsletter from last month, and I hope you did, then you read a little about my discouragement over not seeing as much spiritual growth in the disciples and churches I work with here in Kitale. I tried to end my newsletter on a higher note and show that God’s work will be completed in each of his children, but when I finished my newsletter and hit the send button I was still discouraged. But God has a way of encouraging his children and he did just that for me this month in the form of a message from a pastor back home. Many, many months ago I received in the mail a message on CD. This was a message taught by Tom Teall, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in West Branch, Michigan. The CD sat on my desk for a week or two before I got around to listening to it. I tried playing the disk on various devices but because the disk had gotten scratched somewhere I could never get it to play past the first minute. Because I could not get the message to play, it sat on my desk for the next couple of months…until last week. Last week Julie and I were looking for something to listen to, pulled out this message by Pastor Tom, popped it into her computer, and, amazingly it worked. And now I know why it never worked before – because I needed to listen to it last week and not months ago. His message was from Psalm 1:2 –
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water
That brings forth fruit in its season
Whose leaf also shall not wither
And whatever he does shall prosper.
I won’t repeat the whole message here but I just wanted to point out that Pastor Tom spent a lot of time on that third line in the verse: “That brings forth fruit in its season”. The point of his message was that fruit is seasonal. SEASONAL! In other words, you shouldn’t expect to see all the fruit on all the trees at all times but that when the season is right (the season God has prepared) then the tree will bring forth the right fruit, in the right quantity and in the right quality. Pastor Tom’s message encouraged me at the right time to press on and wait for the fruit that God will bring in his season. Be looking for fruit, beloved. It will come.
On a bit of a lighter note, let me ask you what has ever happened in one of your worship services that has held up or delayed the proceedings? Nathan and I were right in the middle of a worship/Bible study hour at the home where our group meets when a crazy chicken strutted in. This crazy chicken strutted right to my feet where it stopped, cocked its head to one side and stared directly into my eyes. When I didn’t move the way the foolish fowl wanted me to, she jumped up into my lap and lept onto my shoulder. At this point I was just hoping it would not release a bomb onto my shirt. The boneheaded bird then walked across the back of my chair and jumped onto Nathan’s chair. Nathan hastily extricated himself from the chair before the brainless biddy could land on his head or in his lap. With Nathan’s chair now free from its occupant the pesky poultry took up residence there. One of the Kenyan boys quickly removed the half-witted hen from the chair before it could nest down and lay its egg, which is what it wanted to do in the first place. The removal of the chicken allowed our Bible study to recommence and proceed. While being in Kenya I have now had worship services interrupted by a chicken, sheep, cow, dog and a snake. The young boy relieving his bladder in the corner of the church building never fazed anyone, though, and the preacher never missed a beat in delivering his message.
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 Emily, Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [June 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For many months, almost 6 in fact, we had no rain (Don’t worry, this newsletter is NOT a Kenyan weather report). Then the rain came sporadically in short showers. Then it came in downpours. Back when the rain was scarce the grass turned brown and basically disappeared. The ground just looked like barren dirt and I wondered if the grass would ever recover and grow back since I could see no trace of it. Once the downpours started I saw that the grass sprouted almost immediately, as if it was lying dormant in the ground just awaiting the life giving water. I was amazed at how quickly the grass grew. In two weeks it grew long and green and covered the ground. I was even more amazed when I saw some of the crops the Kenyan farmers had planted. In just a couple of weeks I saw one of their plants (which is unknown to me) grow from nothing to four or five feet high. The rapid growth shocked, astonished and even amused me.
Now, before you get too bored, let me assure you that this newsletter is neither an agricultural nor a horticulturist report either. I know nothing about such things. It’s just this: When I saw the rapid growth in the grass and the plants after the application of the rain water, I began to think and then I wondered why I don’t see
- rapid growth in the groups and churches we start
- dramatic change in the lives of my Kenyan students I teach
- more Christ-likeness in my own life
I spend much of my time teaching the groups, churches and students from the Word of God. I spend much time myself in God’s Word in personal study and devotion. Like the rain that brings to life a dead plant and causes it to grow overnight and show immediate signs of change and development I expected that the Word of God and the Spirit of God would make immediate and rapid changes in the churches and lives of the Kenyan people. That may happen with some missionaries or pastors but it doesn’t happen with me. And it frustrates, discourages and upsets me that it doesn’t. I teach Christopher (one of our students) week in and week out but I see little forward spiritual growth. We teach and lead worship every week at Kefa’s but the group doesn’t grow. And it frustrates me that it doesn’t. We pray, we study, we teach, we model, we point people to Jesus all with the hopes of seeing the Kingdom of Christ grow here in Kenya. However, the ground still looks barren instead of lush and green and vibrant. I want to believe that I’m doing things the way God wants me to. I want to believe that God’s Word is like water to the parched ground. I want to believe that the Kenyan people are reachable and redeemable. Are these things true?
The answer, of course, is YES. These things ARE true. God’s Word IS like water on a parched ground and a parched people. The Kenyan people ARE reachable and redeemable. OH, GOD! Reach the Kenyan people! Do it in your way, with your Word and Spirit, in your timing and to your glory. Bring spiritual life and vibrancy to their thirsty souls. May they grow and be more like Jesus. Change them. Change me. Change my readers. In Jesus name, amen.
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)
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 Emily, Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [May 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
May 8, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last month I mentioned a tragic event that occurred in Kenya, namely, the attack by the Muslim terrorist group Al Shabaab (based in Somalia) against an innocent school in the town of Garissa. Gunmen stole in at night while the students slept and murdered nearly 150 people. The carnage and the terror it caused was heard in news reports around the world. In my newsletter I mentioned that this terrorist event didn’t effect us too much because it was in a different part of the country from which we live. It turns out that I was wrong in that assessment. That event actually has effected the whole country in ways similar to the ways the whole United States of America was effected by the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centers. I’m sure it will be easy to think back 14 years and remember the ways that attack impacted our own country. Then you will be able to understand how the attack in Garissa effected Kenya.
First, do you remember the initial fear that the 9/11 attack caused? I remember watching the TV with shock and fear and thinking “how could this happen”? At the time I was working at the Wright/Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio and shortly after the attacks I watched out the window of my office and saw the command center plane took off and fly away. Do you know the command center plane? It’s the one that can launch all our nuclear weapons and control total annihilation all from the air. I couldn’t help thinking “we’re all going to die”. Well, similar reactions occurred here in Kenya after the Garissa attack. I just talked with a young man this week who told me that his entire school refused to sleep in the dorm after the attack because they were afraid of being sitting ducks in their rooms. They all slept outside or hid in places where they thought would be safer. People everywhere were concerned that subsequent attacks would take place and that they were all at risk.
Second, do you remember the anger that followed up the initial fear after 9/11? There was anger toward Muslims in general. There was outrage that innocent people were killed and that our way of life was altered. We went to war, we heightened security at the airports and we spew out vitriol against anyone we thought was an enemy. The same occurred here in Kenya after the Garissa attack. The government looked to close the border between Kenya and Somalia. Then there were loud calls to move the IDP camp (Internationally Displaced People) where thousands of displaced Somalis live. Kenyans didn’t want that camp to be located in Kenya anymore and demanded that the United Nations move it to another country. Security was beefed up as well, at schools, shopping centers and government offices. Most Kenyans were angry that so many students had been killed. They felt violated.
Third, do you remember the questions that resulted from the 9/11 attacks? People started asking questions like, “Why did this happen to us?”, “Where is God in all this?”, and “How could people be so evil?”. For a long time people were more interested in spiritual things. Churches had more people in them. More people prayed. People thought more about their eternal destinations. The questions that resulted here in Kenya after the Garissa attack were a little different however. I had people ask me questions like, “What should we do if a terrorist holds a gun to my head”, “Should I lie about being a Christian?” and “Should I pretend to be a Muslim to protect my family?”. One person in one of our groups asked me if it was OK to memorize a few passages from the Koran so that if he were threatened by a terrorist he could quote them, pretend to be a Muslim and live to see another day. Because of questions like these I have been addressing these issues in my teaching to the groups. You can look up what the New Testament says about these things on your own, but, in short what I’ve been trying to teach them is that the cost of following Jesus can be high and that they need to count the cost. I’ve tried to teach them that if they put their hands to the plow they should not look back. I’ve shared with them that if they gain the whole world and lose their own souls they have gained nothing and lost everything. I’ve shown them where Jesus says that if we seek to save our lives we will lose them and if we lose our lives for his sake we gain eternal life. They’ve seen also that Jesus says if we love father or mother or children or nations more than him then we are not worthy to be his followers. These are all hard sayings indeed but they apply just as much to Christians in Kenya in the 21st century as they did to the first century followers that Jesus was talking to.
How would you react if you were put in the same situation? 9/11 was worse by far that the attacks in Garissa in Kenya. But it didn’t take long for those effects to fade away in our country. I wonder how long it will be before people stop thinking much about it here too. I pray that we Christians here in Kenya and you brothers and sisters in the States as well would be totally devoted and committed to following our Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. And even with our lives.
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 Emily, Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [April 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
April 5, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I want to write about something you may have heard about in the news and something I’m certain you have not heard about in the news concerning Kenya.
First, you may have heard that once again Kenya was the victim of a horrendous terrorist attack. Once again, terrorists from the organization called Al Shaabab (affiliated with Al Qaida but based in Somalia) have crossed the Somali/Kenya border and perpetrated unspeakable acts of atrocity against Kenyan citizens. 4-5 masked gunmen entered a university in the town of Garissa in Kenya in the middle of the night and wantonly opened fire on sleeping students. Their only objective was to kill and cause terror, a goal in which they succeeded. I have read news reports stating that as many as 147 students were killed in the attack. I don’t know if this number is accurate but I do know that many young lives were ended that night. News of this attack quickly went international and is probably why you have heard about it already. Garissa is not that close to Kitale and thus this horrible attack does not impact us directly nor were we ever at risk of danger or injury during this attack. But we do grieve for the Kenyan people; the families of the victims, the town of Garissa which has endured this suffering and the nation as a whole which has to repeatedly face such atrocities. We wonder why people would commit such acts of atrocity against their fellow man. We wonder how long God will suffer these people to kill others who are made in His image before He returns to this earth to set all things right. While we could never condone such acts, we pray that God would use this time to reach the hearts of many Kenyan people and cause them to reflect on eternity and their relationship with Him.
Second, I’m almost certain you never did hear in the news about an event that hit much closer to home here in Kitale. Here in Kitale, the city municipal council decided to make some “changes”. Our lawyer friend who lives next door described it so beautifully that I will quote her description. She says, “Some clowns decided to resite the bus and mini bus stage ‘temporarily’ while a new one is built on the old site. Might not have been such a bad idea except they gave no proper warning, did absolutely no planning of new traffic systems, built no new infrastructure and the traffic is now chaotic to put it mildly. To compound that, they then decided to resite the fruit and vegetable market from the old, largely covered, old site to the same place…. again, with no proper stalls, roofs or infrastructure or proper notice. And just to inflate already justifiably fraying tempers, part of the area they resited to is owned by the railway company who say they did not give permission to use their land and plan to evict everyone in the next day or so by force if necessary……… all the ingredients for a riot!” And, since all the ingredients for a riot were in place, can you guess what then resulted? That’s right, a riot ensued. The riot started at the governor’s house and then moved to the streets. The streets were blockaded, fires were started, things were smashed and chaos ensued. The police arrived, shot their AK-47’s and released tear-gas to attempt to disperse the crowds. All of this happened within 2 miles of our house and on the main road that we use to enter town. Once we heard what was going on we quickly closed and locked up the house, warned the security guard of possible danger and decided to stay indoors, at least for the rest of the day and night. I’ve heard unsubstantiated reports that a couple of municipal buildings were burned down and that a coupe of people were killed in the rioting. I can’t say if these reports are true or not. But this event happening so close to home certainly causes us to stop and think how quickly society can devolve into chaos and how people pursuing their own sinful ways can wreak havoc on society as a whole. Again, we look forward to the perfect reign and kingdom of Christ when our righteous and sovereign King will reign in all of his glory. We only pray that many Kitale residents will recognize Jesus as King of their lives and that he will become King in their hearts before he returns to reign as King of the earth.
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 Emily, Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [March 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I want to send a special thank you to all those who have helped with the adoption process for Chloe. Julie and I appreciate so much that so many would want to assist us in bringing Chloe into our family. We are currently grieved at the moratorium the Kenyan government has placed on foreign adoptions. This decision by the current cabinet is NOT taking into consideration the needs and welfare of the Kenyan children. We are praying the Kenyan government will quickly lift this moratorium and allow us to continue on with the adoption process. Please also be in much prayer for this as we truly believe God has led us to this decision in our lives and in our family. Chloe is thriving and doing so well physically and mentally. Her rapid physical development has amazed me and we thank God for taking such good care of her.
I thank God for my other children as well. They are all such a blessing to me. Emily is currently in Michigan where she would like to gain residency and continue her education. The state of Michigan is being somewhat difficult and this has caused her some delay. Amy is continuing at Rift Valley Academy where she is taking her eighth grade year. It is difficult having to hear of her drama that she deals with on a day by day basis. It seems all eighth grade girls have a lot of drama in their lives. Josiah is our only other child at home besides Chloe. He is still home schooled and will continue to be home schooled until September when he will also attend Rift Valley Academy as a boarding student. He is growing fast (he is second tallest in the family now, behind only me) and his voice is growing deeper. We don’t have a little boy in the family any more.
We pray that God will continue to bless the ministries in Kitale. We have started a new home group that is progressing well. Each week we have a good number of people who gather for worship, prayer and Bible study. The host family is so faithful and generous in opening their home and in showing us love, kindness and hospitality. We are trying to share the love of Christ with all who come. You all can pray that we would have people who faithfully come each week to worship God and hear the teaching from His Word. We do have some that come every week but many of the others are very sporadic. We would like to see God capture the hearts of these people that they might know Him, love Him and serve Him with all their hearts. What a blessing it is for us to be able to minister to these beloved Kenyan people and to teach them how to know Him and serve Him. Thank you, Lord, for these new people to minister to and, Lord, we pray that many more would come to know you as their Savior and Lord and that your kingdom would spread in this world and especially in Kitale, 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 Emily, Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [February 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
February 5, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Wow! What an exciting month we’ve had here in Kenya. It’s been exciting because it has revolved around the visit of Pastor Darrell Messer and his dear wife Shirley. Just in case you didn’t know, Pastor Messer is one of the directors of BFM, but he also just happens to be my own pastor from my own church back in Bellbrook, Ohio. When my family moved to Ohio and started attending Emmanuel Baptist Church in Bellbrook back in 1980, Pastor Messer was already the pastor there; he and Shirley have been there ever since then. So needless to say, these people are very dear to my heart. They have been trying to get here to Kenya for a few years, but their plans up to now have always been thwarted. But, they arrived here in Kenya two weeks ago, and now as I write this report we are on the eve of them returning to Nairobi to catch a flight to France where they will visit BFM missionary John Hatcher.
We’ve packed a lot into the past two weeks. After a couple of days in Nairobi allowing them to catch up from jet-lag and allowing us to worship on Sunday in English, we headed home to Kitale. Their first morning in Kitale gave them a rude welcome to missionary life in Kenya as I looked at the water tank and, behold, NO WATER! While Pastor and I scrambled around town trying to jimmy up some way of getting water, I had visions of severe water rationing and what it might look like to our guests if we couldn’t take showers or flush the toilet for two weeks. Welcome to Kenya, Pastor and Shirley! Fortunately by early in the afternoon the water supply was flowing again and I could put that worry behind us for a while. Although the morning plans got trashed because of the lack of water, we were able to tour Kitale in the afternoon – walking through the market with its mounds of second hand clothes, piles of stinking fish, blaring music and stares from the Kenyan people who were not used to seeing that many Americans in one place. In the days to come we visited some of our Kenyan friends in their homes, and spent a day at In-Step Children’s Home as well as getting to see the ministries we are involved in. Here are some of our activities for the week: On Thursday, Pastor and I did some evangelism in town and started up a new Basic Christianity class for which we did get one student to attend. On Friday we attended one of our classes which one of our students taught. We have been trying to teach him how to effectively teach the Word of God. On Saturday we went to a new group that Nathan and I started which meets in the home of Kefa and Matilda. We had 27 people attend the group that morning where we sang, worshipped God and studied God’s Word together. Saturday afternoon we went to the prison where Nathan ministers. We were able to meet his men and hear them sing to us, and then we watched as Nathan taught them from the Word of God. Sunday found us worshipping with Pastor Kirui at Bethel Baptist Church and then fellowshipping together with the other Kitale missionaries later in the afternoon. Throughout the week Pastor and I ate lunch at my favorite dive of a restaurant in town, Mama Chiku’s. I think Pastor has found a new favorite place to eat. I had a hard time convincing anyone else to join us there though.
Pastor Darrell Messer preaching out in the bush to the Pokot people to the “church under the tree”.
The highlight of the trip for me though, was when Pastor, Josiah and I were able to head up into the Kenyan bush and visit the Pokot people. The temperatures were oppressive, we slept in tents, ate rice and goat every day, and got filthy from the dust. But we preached a few times from the Word of God, encouraged the local ministers, met some new people, and showed the Jesus Film a couple of times – the result of which was that a number of people professed faith in Christ. Pastor was even asked to help a local pastor with some baptisms. We went to the river, dug out a shallow spot in which the baptisms could take place, and did the baptisms. Thirty feet away were two dead crocodiles floating in the water. They had been killed by the locals some time earlier. It made me keep looking around to see if there were any other critters swimming around that we needed to be aware of.
We love Pastor and Shirley and have thoroughly enjoyed their visit. We will be sorry to see them go. Blessings to you both, Pastor and Shirley!
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 Emily, Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [January 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
January 6, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Ministry here is always three steps forward, two and nine tenths steps backwards. It is constantly up and then down, encouraging and then discouraging. I keep asking myself, “Are we doing things the right way? What are we doing wrong? What do we need to do differently?”. When something positive seems to happen, if we give it enough time it will all seem to fall apart. So, I take my cup of tea out to the stable out back of the house (it is literally a stable) and pray, asking God to show me what he wants me to do differently, asking him to give me wisdom and to guide my ministry here. I want only to do what he wants me to do and say what he wants me to say.
I look around at other missionaries’ ministries here in Kenya and I ask, “Why is their ministry doing so well? Why are so many people working with them, clamoring for their teaching and following all that they say? Then I look closely and I know the answer: It’s because those missionaries are paying rent for their pastors, giving away motorcycles, throwing big parties and goat roasts or other similar things. I suppose I could also have a big, thriving ministry if I allowed myself to go that route too. It’s just hard when I compare my own ministry with theirs, when I see my group of students start at a meager six and dwindle down to one after a few weeks. Or, when starting up a new group with the promise of six to ten new students and none of them show up. Why do men plead with me that they want to be trained, set up a date and a time to start, and then never show up? Wouldn’t it be easier to just say you are not interested? I guess you all probably face some very similar problems back in the States, don’t you? I remember doing ministry back in Ohio (seems like forever ago). I would receive many promises from people that they would come to church. I think I remember about 1 in 20 ever showing up (and that statistic is probably on the generous side). Back here in Kenya I have been trying to reach out evangelistically to some of the motorcycle taxi drivers. I drive up on my own motorcycle to a group of 8 to 10 drivers sitting around waiting for work and engage them in conversation. I invite them to an informal Basic Christianity course at our training center. I say, “Come at 3:00. That’s 20 minutes from now. Will you be coming”? All of them promise me they will come. Back at the training center I wait for them to show up. Can you guess how many come? If you guessed ZERO you would be correct. After waiting until 4:00 for anyone to arrive I leave and return to the group that promised they would come. I ask them why they didn’t come. They all stare off into the sky, cough and laugh, and say, “We’ll come tomorrow”.
Is my soul cast down? NO, NO, NO! We serve a great and mighty God. I am so thankful that He promises that His Word will not return to Him empty. Praise God that he loves me, that he loves you and that he loves the Kenyan people. We will keep trudging along, looking for the called and faithful, until God tells us to something different. Maybe next time one or two of those motorcycle taxi drivers will show up and learn about Jesus, their Lord and Savior.
In other news, Chloe is doing fantastically well. She is over ten pounds now and is healthy (except for some moderate to serious acid reflux). She is a joy to our hearts and lives. Thanks to all of you who have assisted us with your prayers on her behalf and your financial assistance in support of her adoption process. Blessings to you all.
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 Emily, Amy, & Josiah)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
Read more
Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [December 2014]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
December 5, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This month’s update will be difficult to write, not because the subject matter is difficult to write about, but because I have so much to say in only a little bit of space. So, here it all comes, whether you’re ready for it or not. I will be as brief as possible.
Something extraordinary has happened in our family and in my heart, something I could never have anticipated nor previously wanted. The story probably goes back a few years. For five or six years now, Julie and Emily (especially Emily) have tried to get me to think about adopting a Kenyan child. There are 2.6 million orphans in Kenya, so the need for adopting families is very great. However, my response has always been, “NO! Absolutely not”. Emily would say, “I think you should think about it”. I would say “No!” Emily would say, “I think you should pray about it”. I would say, “I don’t need to”. Emily would say, “I think you should consider it”. I would say, “The conversation is over”. Ahem…have you ever noticed that God has a mysteriously, wonderful way of changing your heart?
Now, back up about 3 months ago. I was walking into a little dive of a restaurant in town where I go regularly to eat beans and rice for lunch. As I entered the opening into the “restaurant” where streamers hanged down from the lintel acting as a door, I looked down on the ground and saw a kitten that couldn’t have been a week old. It lay there in the dirt squirming and meowing, eyes shut tight, crying for its mother; I stood there looking at it. My heart went out to it because it was so weak and pathetic; I wondered how he got there, where his mother was, and why this innocent creature had to suffer so much. It was too little to take home as it would certainly have died in my care, thus, I left it there. I thought about it all day, continuing to wonder where his mother could have been. I returned for my beans and rice the next day and the kitten was gone. For the next three days the kitten kept coming into my mind. I wondered what happened to him, if he had lived or died, if his mother had returned or abandoned him. After the fourth day, a thought struck me so suddenly and severely that it set me back. I believed, even then, that the thought was from Almighty God. The thought from God went almost exactly like this: “Roger, for four days now you have been ultra-concerned about the kitten you saw suffering in the dirt. How could you be so concerned about this kitten when there are millions of people all around you that are made in my own image who are innocent and suffering and need help”? Can you see why this thought threw me for a loop? This thought, unspoken by me to anyone else refused to leave my mind, and I continued to ask God what it meant to me and what he wanted me to do.
Now, back up to seven weeks ago. I was sitting in my office doing some work and minding my own business when Julie called me. There was a baby, she said, that had been committed to a nearby children’s home. The baby was premature and needed care the children’s home was not able to provide her at that particular time. Julie asked me if we could take her in and care for her until she was a little stronger and the children’s home was in a better position to take her full time. I told Julie I would need to think about it. Within the hour I called her back and told her we could temporarily take the child if it would be beneficial to the child and the children’s home. The children’s home assured us it would be an answer to their prayer if we were able to take the child for a few weeks. The baby, Chloe, came to our house the next day.
The shock of her arrival overwhelmed me. She was definitely the most pathetic and weak thing I had ever seen, and my thoughts immediately went to the message of the kitten. She was already one month old, but she still weighed less than three pounds. She had been abandoned by her mother at the hospital and had been fed by a feeding tube at the hospital for a month. I don’t know if she had been held at all during that time period. I looked at her and wondered how she had even lived so long. She was gaunt, she had no meat or substance to her at all, her skin hung off of her. He arms and legs were skin and bones only, her fingers as thin as toothpicks. Later that night when I changed her diaper for the first time I wondered as I looked at her, “where is the rest of her”? She did not know how to suck from a bottle and we initially had to feed her from a syringe. Julie and I have raised three babies of our own but this one scared me to death. I wondered if she would live through the night or if she would die in our care. This was a very serious and legitimate thought. Well, she lived, and not only did she live but she very quickly began to respond to the love and care we gave her. She learned to suck, started to put on weight and would even occasionally open her eyes and look at us. She wasn’t exactly what you would call “cute” (Amy even said so verbally),but we thought this little girl made in God’s image was beautiful.
After we’d had Chloe for about two weeks I knew exactly what God wanted us to do. He clearly revealed to us that, just as he took us when we were weak, pathetic and helpless and loved us and decided to adopt us into his family, we should do the same with Chloe. However, I was resistant. I had plenty of excuses why I should not adopt her. I was too old. I didn’t have enough money. The Kenyan government won’t let us keep her. I should think about saving for my retirement someday. I was happy with my current family situation. I was glad to not have to change diapers and get up in the middle of the night, and so on. But God showed me that all the reasons to go ahead and adopt Chloe were good while all the reasons to not adopt Chloe were selfish. One by one he stripped away the excuses, and what was left was the realization that I loved her and I wanted to keep her. The last step was to verbalize this to Julie which I did the night of my 45th birthday. This was the decision she had already made in her heart and was just waiting for me to make as well. We wept tears of joy together and thanked God for this little blessing he had brought into our family.
Yes, we have made the decision to adopt Chloe! But there are many obstacles yet to hurdle before it will be legally finalized. One of the biggest hurdles is financial. Our research has found that it will cost about $5,000 to do a local, Kenya adoption (as opposed to a $25,000 international adoption). Right now we are about $5,000 short. If you feel led to help us financially in our adoption process we would greatly appreciate your assistance. You can send any financial assistance to the BFM treasurer and label it “Chloe adoption” (or click here to make a one-time donation securely online and put “Chloe adoption” in the Memo field). The biggest obstacle, however, will be the Kenyan government. I could write a couple of pages more just on this subject alone. Let it suffice to say that legally adopting Chloe is not a sure thing based on the current and past governments. But we know God wants us to pursue this and we are trusting God with the final results. Please pray with us, beloved. Pray that God would open all the doors for us to adopt Chloe into our family. Pray that God would bless our little girl and that someday her name would officially be Chloe Thamani Nasimiyu Tate (Chloe is the name given her by the children’s home staff, Thamani is the Swahili word for “precious”, Nasimiyu is the last name her mother gave for herself at the hospital).
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 Emily, Amy, & Josiah)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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