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,

Back in the United States of America after two plus years. Things don’t seem to have changed that much since we last were in the States. The last time I returned to the States, after our first term, everything looked and felt strangely different. Kind of like when you look outside through an old window that has darkened or settled. After a while those kinds of windows begin to ripple and warp and everything you see through them is slightly distorted. That’s how I saw everything upon my return after our first term. Now we have returned after our second term and most everything seems normal to me, not distorted or as if I’ve just passed through a time warp. I don’t know how to interpret this but I do know that this time is different.

Our travel time was long but uneventful and without difficulty. It took almost four days of travel to arrive at our final destination (my parent’s house in National City, Michigan). It went like this: Drive from Kitale to Nairobi; Overnight in Nairobi; Fly from Nairobi to Istanbul, Turkey; Delay in Istanbul; Fly from Istanbul to Chicago; Overnight in Chicago; Fly from Chicago to Flint, Michigan; Drive from Flint to National City. Needless to say we were all very thankful and glad to have arrived. God was gracious to us and we all arrived safely and even with all our luggage. So much detail and planning had to go into making this whole trip work and to close up things on the Kenya side that I think I’m still worn out from all of that. But we’ve been able to spend some good time with my parents and now we are back in Flint spending some time with Julie’s parents and soon we will be heading to Dayton where we are looking forward to reuniting with our beloved church family.

There is still much to pray about. We are all well physically but we are all fighting emotional and spiritual battles. I feel so sluggish in body and mind, but especially sluggish in soul and spirit, almost like I’m weighted down. Furlough is a challenging time for Julie. All the stress of constant change and constant traveling weighs her down. Emily has left Africa and faces the challenge of college while the rest of her family will be living on a different continent. Amy misses Kenya and the life she has made there. It’s not that she isn’t excited about being back in the States, but again, it’s not what she’s used to. Josiah is doing well but he also is facing all of these things along with us, probably without showing any wear and tear.

We love you all. We’re so thankful for all your love, prayers and support. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

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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