Presuppositions in Interpreting the Bible
October 5, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I am constantly reminded how important the work I’m privileged to be doing is. At least I think it is important —teaching and training future Kenyan pastors and church leaders. I am currently teaching them how to try and properly interpret the Bible. I know we all get it wrong sometimes, but we want to try and always get it right. And getting it wrong simply because we haven’t been trained to get it right is a shame. If you have young, eager students who desire to learn, want to know God and the Bible, and want to minister truth to God’s people, it is worthwhile to train them.
In my class, we were discussing the problems of bringing our presuppositions to our interpretation of the Bible. Presuppositions are those beliefs we “assume beforehand” are found in the Bible but are not. We all do it, but we have to try hard not to do it. Some are more serious than others. I wanted them to see that they do it too. The following discussion ensued.
Me: Who does the Bible say was riding the donkey on the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem? Joseph or Mary?
Student S: It was Joseph, because he was the man.
Student N: No way. No man would make his nine months pregnant wife walk while he rode the donkey.
Student S: I’m pretty sure the Bible says it was Joseph.
Student A: Every picture I’ve seen has Joseph leading the donkey and Mary riding.
Student S: But is that what the Bible says?
Student I: Is it possible the Bible says that both of them were riding the donkey?
Student J: Poor donkey.
Me: Ok. Turn to Luke 2 and tell me what the Bible says.
Students (All): TEACHER! THE BIBLE DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT A DONKEY!
Me: Exactly.
Then I got them again with the following conversation:
Me: OK, you guys got this one. How many Magi came to the stable and worshiped the baby Jesus laying in a manger?
Student N (catching on to my tricks): I don’t think the Bible says how many came to the manger. We just know some were there.
Student A: I’ve heard that there were 3 because there were three gifts given to Jesus. But I don’t know what the Bible says.
Student J: I’m pretty sure the Bible says there were 3.
Student D: Teacher, how many does the Bible say were at the manger?
Me: Zero
Students (All): Teacher, now we know you are wrong. The Bible tells us they were there.
Me: Turn to Matthew 2 and tell me how many Magi were at the manger.
Students (All): It doesn’t tell us how many were at the manger…Wait…it says they came to the HOUSE!
Me: Exactly.
Finally, I made things a bit more serious.
Me: According to the Bible, what is speaking in tongues?
Student A: I’ve heard that it is a prayer language?
Student N: I’ve been taught that it is a way of communicating with God that you don’t understand.
Student J: It’s a language unknown by anybody that needs an interpreter.
Me: That may have been what you were taught, but how does Acts 2:1-13 describe speaking in tongues? It looks to me like the Christians were speaking in their own language but each one in the audience heard the speech in their own language.
Students (All): Teacher, can this be true?
Me: The bell has rung, and it is time to go. Go study the passage and give me your findings tomorrow.
Is all this important? I think it is.
Blessings,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
Teaching Young Men How to Properly Read the Bible
September 4, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Beloved, Brothers and Sisters, thank you so much for your prayers over the past 16 years and especially over the last couple of months. God has been moving in our lives and Julie and I find ourselves in a much more spiritually healthy position than we have been in for a long time. And Chloe is also getting some of the help that she has been needing for years. Life is still hard, but I think Julie and I would both say we are not living day to day in absolute survival mode. We believe this is the result of many prayers on our behalf and God working powerfully behind the scenes and directing us in ways we could not have envisioned. So, dear friends, thank you for your prayers and loving support and please continue to pray that God would uplift us and fill us with His Spirit, His grace, His love, and His strength.
I am very tired as I write this, but it is a good kind of tired, knowing that the last couple of weeks have been filled with good things. The students have returned to the college, and I am teaching them wonderful things about the Bible. I am teaching them how to properly read and interpret the Bible, and, frankly, they need it. These are young men coming from various parts of the country who have not received much training yet in their young lives. My oldest student, Simon, is 35. His parents died when he was very young, and he was never able to go to school. When he became an adult, he went back to school. He started at primary school and went and sat in the primary class with primary age students until he could proceed to secondary school. This is a great shame for an adult in this culture and is almost unheard of. But Simon wanted his education, not caring about the shame, and he finally finished it a couple of years ago, got married last year, and now finds himself in my Interpretation class and wanting to be a minister of the gospel. Amazing. Anthony is 19. When he wanted to be baptized his pastor asked him, “You do realize that being a Christian is more than going to church on Sundays and having Christian parents, right?” Actually, Anthony did NOT realize that, and it got him thinking about what a Christian really is. Now, he is trusting, following, and loving Jesus as his Lord, Savior, and Master and wants to help other young people know what it really means to be a Christian. These two are just a couple of my students. The others have similar kinds of testimonies. I also have a Ugandan student who is arriving in Kenya this weekend after struggling with immigration issues.
I also serve at the school as the finance manager. This means that every student must eventually funnel through the door of my office to receive my signature stating they have paid their fees. When they cannot pay their fees, it is me that they need to see. This past week I have sat with many impoverished students who could not pay their fees. I would cry with them, pray with them, help them put together a plan on how to raise their money, and pray with them some more. It was a hard week for me because most of these students have never had to take any responsibility whatsoever for their finances, being completely dependent on parents and/or sponsors. Being responsible for their finances is a hard lesson that many of them need to learn. The financial culture and mentality in Kenya could not be more different than the financial culture and mentality of America. Another time I will try and explain some of the vast differences between the two cultures when it comes to dealing with money. But not right now, as this newsletter is now full.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, and Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
Prepping for Class + Two Prayer Requests
August 16, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I find myself in “gear-up” mode. The college is on term break and the new school year begins at the end of this month. This is good because it gives me an opportunity to prepare and to try and figure out what I’m doing. Changing directions in ministry and in life can be (translate “can be” as “IS!”) challenging as many of you know. And I have a lot to learn. Do we ever wonder whether we’re getting too old to make major or even minor changes in life? No! C’mon, those of us over fifty! We can still do the things God calls us to do and what he calls us to do he will give us the strength and power to do. Look, I’m not saying we have all strength to do anything we want. Nor does God promise us success. But He does promise us his presence and his Spirit and what he wants us to accomplish, we can accomplish.
Among other things, I am preparing for a class I’ll be teaching starting at the end of August. I’ll be teaching Principles of Biblical Interpretation to first year Bible students. Can you believe that? I get to teach incoming students (who will know practically nothing) possibly the most important topic they will learn in college – How to read and interpret the Bible properly. I’m not saying that I know much of anything either, but what a great privilege and responsibility to teach young students, who will some day be pastors and church leaders, how to properly interpret the Scriptures. I’ve heard a lot of sermons from a lot of Kenyan pastors and, believe me, they need the training this class will offer. In most Kenyan sermons, context is ignored, grammar is butchered, allegory is employed, meaning is changed, application is stretched beyond the text, and just in general…well…it’s awful. I get the awesome privilege of helping these incoming, first-year students learn how to avoid wild and fanciful interpretations and how to seek God’s true message from His Word. The churches in Kenya desperately need this. Believers in Kenyan churches need this. Unbelievers in Kenya need this. There is a weighty responsibility that accompanies this privilege for me. May God receive glory in His Kenyan churches and in his Kenyan people.
There a couple of things I wish you all to continue praying about.
First, Julie still has not regained her strength after recovering from Covid. She came down with Covid over a month ago, struggled with the disease itself for two weeks but is now still suffering with some dramatic side effects. She still cannot eat and has no strength for any activity. She has had tests run at the hospital and was even put out under general anesthesia in the hospital theater to get a scope to her stomach. So far, nothing unusual has been found. On Monday she goes back to the hospital for a CAT scan that may or may not reveal something. Please pray that if something is wrong that the doctors would be able to discover it and if there is nothing wrong but that she just needs more time to recover her strength, that God would quickly strengthen her. Thank you, beloved.
Second, Kenya is facing major elections at all levels of government on Tuesday of next week – President and vice-president, senators, governors, and local government. These kinds of major elections have caused problems in the past. Many Kenyans don’t trust the system or the validity of the outcomes. In the past this has caused violence and tribal conflict. Tribal allegiance is still big in Kenya and certain tribes don’t always get along. Sometimes, tribal relations is like a shook up can of Coke. The outbursts can be kept under control until someone pops the lid. But when the lid is popped, the contents explode. Elections can present the opportunity for the lid to be popped. If it does, this can lead to great suffering for the Kenyan people. Please pray that the elections would be fair and honest and above all please pray for peace in Kenya. For the glory of God.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, and Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
New Opportunity at Bible College in Kijabe
July 19, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Well, it took three weeks of packing and two trips to Kitale to get all of our stuff, but we have finally brought all of our belongings and unpacked most of it into our new house in Kijabe. Unfortunately, household stuff wasn’t the only thing I brought back from Kitale. I also brought back Covid. I started feeling the symptoms during the drive down from Kitale to Kijabe. By the next morning I was pretty sick with it. The worst part of it was I couldn’t keep warm. I know we live less than 100 miles from the equator, but we do live on the side of a mountain and this is the cold season. I know you are mocking me right now for being cold while living on the equator but at this time of year it gets into the 40s at night and there is no such thing as heating in Kenya. So, yes, it was cold. Anyway, I was over the worst of it after about five days but unfortunately, Julie and Chloe both got it too. Chloe slept for literally three days straight and then was over it. Julie was really sick for about two weeks, to the point I was pretty concerned about her. She is over the virus now but some side effects remain – namely, some chronic fatigue and coughing. This Covid has really hampered us from getting into the swing of things here in our new home.
So, speaking of our new home in Kijabe, I want to let you all know what I will be doing for the immediate future. The main thing that I will be doing for now is ministering the gospel at a Bible college located about 200 meters up the hill from our house. The way that this worked out really seems like something only God could have done. Many closed doors opened all at the same time, doors that were solidly closed and that I wasn’t really even looking to open. Even my first interview with the Principal of the college happened just two days after my throat surgery back in March. On Friday, I had my surgery. On Sunday, I was sitting in a chair in my house in my pj’s, and HEAVILY drugged. The vice principal called and asked if he could come and talk to me about working at the college. I told him he could come but that I was in my pj’s, I couldn’t talk, and was HEAVILY drugged. He came and he talked for as long as I could sit upright. The next day was my interview with the Principal. And that was only part of what God was doing and would finalize over the next few weeks. And so now I am on staff at Moffat Bible College. First and foremost, I will be doing what I prefer to do most – teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who want to learn it. And my favorite part of doing my favorite thing is to teach the Bible to other people who will then be teaching the Bible to even other people. I love teaching future pastors and church leaders the Bible. I love it because in this way the true message of the Bible gets passed on exponentially. If I teach 20 future pastors how to properly interpret the Bible and each of these students goes to a church with another 50 people each, that equals 1000 Kenyan people who are hearing Biblical teaching about Jesus. Throw into the mix that there are also Congolese, Sudanese, and Ugandan students and this becomes a big deal. East Africa so needs good Bible teaching and this is an amazing opportunity to really propagate the gospel. I will also be mentoring students and working with them in practical ministry endeavors. I am excited to see how God will use this opportunity to work with Kenyan men and women to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ and the gospel, even potentially for future church planting activities. It is still to be seen what God will do.
In closing my letter, however, I am reminded that we live in a really harsh, brutal, and sinful world. A dear Christian, Kenyan man and friend from Kitale is with the Lord today. Evans Barasa is a man I have known for my entire 15 years in Kenya. He actually worked with Mike and Pam Anderson before I was working with him starting 15 years ago. He was a pastor, a good Christian, and a friend. If you had ever met Evans, even if for just one minute, you would remember his amazing and catching smile and laugh. Evans had been hired onto the police force a couple of years ago. He was working last night and someone hit him in the back of the head and killed him. I don’t even know what the murderer was after. It is a shame and that makes me really sad. He leaves behind a wife and four children. Rest in peace, Evans.
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
A Crazy, Busy Life
June 28, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
The first thing I need to do in this newsletter is to apologize to all you partners in our ministry in Kenya. I have failed to write a newsletter update in a couple of months and have been very bad at communicating with you all what is going on in our lives and in our ministry. I offer only a crazy, busy life and a crazy, mixed-up mind as the only excuses for my laxity in reporting. These are not valid excuses and, again, I apologize for not writing. I will have to do better.
A crazy, busy life? For sure!
Last month Julie and I celebrated with our daughter, Amy, as she married her husband, Matthew Earl. So, Amy is now Amy Earl, and our family continues to grow. This obviously means that Julie and I made a trip to the United States for the ceremony. We made it a quick two-week trip because Chloe could not make the trip with us, and we did not want to leave her in Kenya without us for too long. It took a lot of planning to make this trip happen and for Chloe to be cared for properly. We worried a lot about leaving Chloe in Kenya for two weeks without us because 1) she needs special care and attention and 2) she is very attached to us and experiences attachment issues. But Julie and I have not been to the United States together at the same time in over six years and Amy’s wedding was a crucial event we needed to attend. So, the planning leading up to us leaving was crazy busy, the travel was crazy busy, and our time in the United States was crazy busy. But, at the end of the trip when we were back in Kenya, we could praise God for the two big things we had prayed for: 1) Amy was married and happy and somewhere in Costa Rica with her new husband and 2) Chloe did well in Kenya with her caretakers while we were away. She also did well transitioning back to us being there again. She was definitely a trooper.
So that was last month. Has this month been any different? Not really. If you recall from a previous newsletter, Julie, Chloe and I have been temporarily living in a place called Kijabe so that Chloe could receive some necessary therapy at the Kijabe Mission Hospital, the only place we know of in Kenya where she can receive some of the various therapy she needs. Now that we have been here for a couple of months, we have decided to move our Kenyan ministry from Kitale to Kijabe. This is a major change for us. We have lived in Kitale for fifteen years, the entire length of our ministry work in Kenya. All of our lives and work was poured out in Kitale, on the people there and into the churches we have had a hand in starting. It is hard to leave a place where you have spent so much of your life ministering and used up so much energy in mission work. What is probably harder, though, is to look back and realize you are not leaving behind nearly as much as you wished you were. I couldn’t care less about leaving behind a legacy or a name or anything like that. I do wish I was leaving behind more lives changed in the name of Jesus, more churches started and organized, and more workers trained to carry on the mission. I would have liked to have seen more of the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ, not for the pat on the back or the acknowledgment of men, but for the glory of our Savior. We will leave what we have done in Kitale in the hands of God. And our last work we will also leave in the hands of Elphas Ochila, a Kitale pastor I trust to continue the work of Upper Room Baptist Chapel.
And now, we really have left Kitale, which is why I said this month has been so crazy busy. Julie stayed in Kijabe with Chloe and I spent the last nearly three weeks in Kitale packing things up and shipping them to Kijabe. We moved into our house in Kijabe just four days ago and are trying to get all unpacked, except all three of us (Julie, Chloe and me) are all currently sick from something I picked up and brought back from Kitale. It could be Covid or it could just be the flu, we don’t really know.
Crazy, busy life has led to a bit of a crazy, mixed up mind for me. But now, after we can get over this sickness we all currently have, we can settle into living and ministering for Jesus in Kijabe. I hope to write more about this next month.
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
The Biggest Challenges: Not Baboons in the Kitchen or Flying Termites
April 21, 2022
Happy May to you all!
I don’t know about you, but my head is absolutely spinning! It seems as if the whole world is changing, doesn’t it?
I think for me, with everything in the world seeming to be upside down, my brain is struggling even more with the fact that everything in my personal life seems upside down right now, too. It’s not the rainy season bringing on millions of flying termites (thousands of which ended up in my house last night including in Chloe’s bed…); it’s not the monkeys and baboons finding their way into my kitchen to steal food; it’s not the electricity going on and off that makes my brain hurt…. No, it’s transition, chaos, colors, sounds, waiting, not being able to talk about things, and sometimes not feeling heard that short-circuits my brain. Bring on the baboons, the monkeys, and the termites…but give me familiar surroundings; colors that don’t hurt my brain; and people who hear me, know me, understand me, and will pray with me. In the midst of total chaos, this is what my soul longs for.
As you probably know, Roger, Chloe, and I are not currently in Kitale. But if you read Roger’s newsletters, you already know that; so, instead of reiterating all of that story, I’ll share with you how Chloe and I are doing in all of this.
Chloe has both really struggled with this transition and greatly benefited from it. She is seeing an American occupational therapist here in Kijabe who is absolutely wonderful with our whole family. The first couple of weeks we were here, Chloe fell down the steps in the house (not all the way) three times, she threw something out of anger and shattered a large, beautiful bathroom mirror (which doesn’t belong to us), she began wetting the bed nightly, and she regressed to a lot of mal-adaptive behaviors because everything was new and scary to her. Three months later though, her core strength has noticeably improved; she’s able to take long walks with us; she’s playing outside more; she’s showing a lot more maturity in her conversations with me, and she is trying her best to regulate her emotions and reactions to things (something Luke – the OT – said would likely happen as she becomes more capable and independent as a result of OT).
But OT takes years of work, and it is only one of many things she needs. We are asking God to provide a support worker (preferably from the US) who can come for a year and work with Chloe on a daily basis – which would also provide Roger and I with a break from being her caregivers 24/7/365. As brilliant, funny, sweet, and compassionate as she is, it’s a well-known fact that of all the special needs which children face, autism is one of the most difficult on the family as a whole. The marriage failure rate of families with autistic children is 80%. That’s scary high. So, it’s really important to be in a location where not only is Roger able to minister and do church planting, but also where our whole family can get the support and care (physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally) we need.
The transition hasn’t been easy on any of us. It’s difficult (though much appreciated) to live in someone else’s home surrounded by unfamiliar things and colors…having to be even MORE hyper-vigilant that things don’t get broken or ruined. It’s difficult learning how to manage a household with the nearest grocery store an hour away…learning new people and new people learning about us and Chloe…figuring out how to fit into a new community. But truly, any difficulty is worth getting the help Chloe and we need, especially since we can’t bring her back to the US.
But there is also amazing beauty and peacefulness here. The view of the Rift Valley and the surrounding mountains (including a beautiful dormant shield volcano called Mt. Longonot) has always been a visual balm to my soul. The streets are quiet without the traffic and the motorcycle taxis of Kitale. I feel safe to walk, am surrounded by the Kijabe forest (I grew up wandering around woods for hours at a time), and love watching the antics of the local Colobus monkeys, Sykes monkeys, and even the baboons.
Monkeys 
Julie’s Artwork 
Chloe
As far as how you can pray for us, you can pray for the following: 1) A support worker; 2) respite for Roger and me; 3) peace in Chloe’s heart and soul and mind; 4) the medical/mental/spiritual/emotional support our family needs; 5) transitions to end sooner rather than later; 6) parental patience; 7) acceptance of Chloe by the community; 8) comfort as our second daughter is getting married in May and, though we will be there for the wedding, we can’t participate in the festivities the way we could if we were there…and we have to leave Chloe behind with hired help. Please pray for them and for her. She struggles mightily with abandonment issues and Mama’s heart hurts deeply for her; 9) Adoption to open up; 10) For me to find a quiet place to work on my art…a past-time I discovered last August that really helps me cope.
Thank you all,
Love,
Julie Tate
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
Our God — The Great Orchestrator
March 30, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
So much has happened since I wrote to you all last time. When I wrote to you last time absolutely none of what I’m about to tell you about was even a thought in our heads. I guess a lot can happen in just one or two months.
Yes, we are still in Kenya. No, we are not currently in our hometown of Kitale. We are currently living in a town called Kijabe. Let me explain how it happened and why and what has transpired since we arrived here.
As you all know by now, Julie and I have legal guardianship of Chloe and our great desire is for the Kenyan government to allow us to adopt her. Since there is a moratorium on foreign adoption right now, we have to wait for that to happen. As you also know, Chloe has been diagnosed with Autism and there are several severe challenges that come with Chloe’s particular case: Violence, melt-downs, extreme emotional dis-regulation, sensory overload, behavior challenges, learning challenges and even physical challenges. All of this has been taking a toll on Chloe, Julie and me. We were in desperate need of help. Julie had tried and tried to get help from organizations and doctors in Kitale and even in the Eldoret area. No help was forthcoming anywhere near Kitale. Every organization and doctor that we would meet with would say to Julie, “Wow, Julie. You know so much more about this than we do. You could teach us about this”. Hmmm. Not helpful.
I’m going to try and make a long story short. We believe God heard our cries of desperation. We believe this because we could not have orchestrated ourselves getting into the position we are currently in. Julie awoke from sleep one night remembering that we had friends who had a son who was an Occupational Therapist at a mission hospital in Kijabe. What happened after that were many great turns of events with God orchestrating things very quickly to get us to Kijabe where some help might be available. From the time Julie woke up that night to the time we arrived at this temporary house we are living in was 17 days. That might not sound very quick, but, believe me, that was quick.
Now we are in Kijabe, home of a local mission hospital and about 40 miles from Nairobi, where additional help has been forthcoming. This sounds overwhelming (and it is) but Chloe is now seeing a team of people who are all attempting to help her and us: Occupational therapist, physical therapist, psychologist, developmental pediatrician, gastro doctor, ABA therapist, to name a few. Some of this team is in Kijabe and others in Nairobi and it keeps us hopping and very busy, believe me. But, it is giving us hope that we can find the help for Chloe that she needs. We don’t know exactly how long we will be here but this house we are currently living in is available only until the end of July and housing is very difficult to get here in Kijabe. I also don’t exactly know how to ask you to pray for us except to pray that Chloe and our family can get the help we desperately need.
In addition to all this, God orchestrated one other thing (among many others). While I was here, I went to an ENT doctor at the mission hospital on account of my severe snoring and sleep apnea. He is a world class doctor from the States but was only going to be here for a couple of months. Another long story made short is I ended up having surgery here in Kenya (a scary thought) on my nose and throat. The surgery I had consisted of many procedures in both my nose and throat. I was supposed to spend two nights in the hospital but after the first miserable night I begged the doctor to send me home (it seemed like anything and everything the hospital could have done to make my night more miserable was done). My first week of recovery was pretty rough. I lost 14 pounds in 10 days as I couldn’t eat anything solid. But now I am pretty much on the mend (4 weeks later) and Julie says it has already helped with both my snoring and my sleep apnea.
Praise God for all he is orchestrating in our lives right now. None of it has been easy, but we praise Him because we truly believe it is coming from Him.
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
Waiting…waiting…waiting…
January 8, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Here is a shout out to all of our supporting churches out there. Bless you all for partnering with us in our missionary ministry here in Kenya. May all Kenyans know and follow the Lord Jesus Christ!
To all of our supporting churches out there we apologize that we have not seen you face-to-face in so long. Julie and I have not been able to take a furlough to the United States since 2013. That means it has been over 8 years since you all have seen us. That is too long. Paul left us a good example in the book of Acts when he returned to his sending church and reported on his work. We wish we could do this too but right now we cannot. When God brought Chloe into our lives, we really thought that the adoption process would work out in a couple of years. Now, after 7 years there has been no change or progress in the process because of the restrictions placed upon ex-patriot adoption. With no changes projected in the near future, we have been trying to get a passport for her so that she can at least travel outside the country. The right to a passport has been granted her by the courts. However, we still have not been able to even apply for it. Let me do my best to describe what I’ve gone through to try and APPLY (just apply) for her passport.
18 months ago to 9 months ago: Drive to Eldoret. Visit Immigration department. Show documents. Told by Immigration that they will review documents. Wait. Call Immigration. No response. Call again. Call many times. Finally reach someone. Told by Immigration to wait. I wait. And wait. And wait. Call Immigration. Call many times. Finally reach someone. Told by Immigration that the documents look OK and to be patient. I wait. And wait. Call Immigration. Call many times. No response. Can’t reach anyone. Drive to Eldoret. Visit Immigration department. No one there. Drive back home. I wait. Drive back to Eldoret. Visit Immigration department. Told by immigration that the person reviewing my documents is on sick leave. I ask Immigration if someone else can work on my case. Told by Immigration that this person is the only one who can work on my case. I ask Immigration what happens if this person dies. Silence. Drive back home. I wait. And wait. Call Immigration. Call many times. Finally reach someone. Told by Immigration that the documents have been reviewed and to come see them. Drive to Eldoret. Visit Immigration department. Told by Immigration that 1 date on 1 of my documents is wrong and that I can’t apply for Chloe’s passport. Told by Immigration that I need the Kitale courts to correct the document and then I can begin the document review process again. I groan.
9 months ago to the present: I go to my lawyer in Kitale and show him the document. Lawyer tells me to give him two weeks to get the document corrected. I wait 2 weeks. I wait another 2 weeks. I call the Lawyer. No response. I call many times. I text the lawyer. I text many times. Finally reach lawyer. Told by lawyer that there is no problem, but I just need to wait. I wait. And wait. I repeat this process MANY times: call-text-call-text-wait-wait-told to wait-call-text and so on and so on. I get frustrated. Visit the lawyer’s office to speak to Bwana Mkubwa (the Big Dog, who happens to be the lawyer’s father). The Big Dog tells me he will take care of it, give him one week. I wait a week. And another week. And another. Call Big Dog. No response. Call many times. Finally reach Big Dog. Told by Big Dog to wait. I wait. Call Big Dog. Told by Big Dog that the courts can’t find my original document. Told by Big Dog to wait. I wait…wait…wait…wait…wait.
(In an attempt at brevity, I have not included everything in my preceding account. I have actually left many things out.)
What is my current status? I have a call in to Big Dog. He hasn’t responded. I’m waiting.
I’ve been waiting a year and a half just to APPLY for Chloe’s passport.
For those of you who have endured to this point in my newsletter, bless you. I went through this exasperating description to try and give you some idea of what we are facing and why you haven’t seen our bright and shining faces for so long. We want to see you. We want to report on our work in person. Until then, enjoy the newsletters!
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
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.
Read more
