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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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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Stymied Approaches to Ministry
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
February 28, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I guess it’s time for me to step back again and reevaluate what we’ve been doing in this ministry…and where the ministry is going.
We want to see people who don’t know Jesus being saved. We also want to see New Testament churches of the Lord Jesus Christ being established and growing. I feel that in these endeavors I have been stymied and blockaded by insurmountable challenges.
The first three years in Kenya: During these three years, we took a “traditional” approach. A quick summary of the traditional approach includes paying pastors a salary, funding all ministries, building new church buildings, etc. It basically means that the missionary is paying for, and funding everything the church/ministry is doing. What stymied us in this approach? In a word, DEPENDENCY. You’ve heard me talk about it a hundred times. It builds dependency into the churches and this dependency paralyzes the churches from doing the work of the ministry themselves. It kills the growth and reproduction of the church from the very beginning. “Dependency” has almost become a curse word to me.
The next three years in Kenya: During these three years, I reacted to the problem of dependency and tried to change accordingly. To accomplish this, we really changed our approach to ministry dramatically. I decided to model for the Kenyan Christians only what they could reproduce on their own. We started groups and churches that met in people’s homes. We worked with “lay” pastors that ministered without pay. We worshiped without instruments. In short, I only did what the Kenyan Christians could do without western support and money. What stymied us in this approach? Something similar to dependency, but slightly different. I would summarize it in one word: EXPECTATIONS. Yes, it seems expectations would kill the groups and churches every time. Each time we would start a group we would have many people coming initially. They said they loved the simple and pure Bible teaching and they were learning a lot. They said they loved the simplicity of the worship and meetings as opposed to the “machine” of the local churches. But they always came with expectations. Expectations that we would give them money, gifts, food, school fees, business start-up money, etc. As soon as they realized these expectations would not be met, they were gone. “Expectations” is the next ministry curse word to me.
The last three years: During these years, I changed my approach once again. I wanted to avoid the dependency and expectations. I decided to teach and disciple men to go out into the villages and start the churches on their own. In this way, my presence would not adversely affect the new church start-ups. What stymied us in this approach? I can’t summarize it in one word but in effect I could not find men interested enough in starting churches from scratch in people’s homes. It was not lucrative enough for them. Church work and ministry here is a business and if the business isn’t providing enough profit then it should be scrapped. I guess I could say in two words that my approach was BAD BUSINESS.
My parents are arriving in Kenya in two weeks. I think their arrival in the country is timely. I am looking forward to sitting down with them and with my wife and getting their input and wisdom. My wife and my mother and father are godly and wise people whose input and help I desire and want. I am hoping that the discussions I might have with them over the next month will be used by God to help direct our future ministry here 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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Rice and Jesus at Mama Njuguna’s
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
January 29, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Rice and Jesus at Mama Njuguna’s.
That previous statement might need a little explanation. Mama Njuguna’s is the restaurant at which I like to eat lunch in town. With that short sentence you now know what the “Mama Njuguna’s” in the above statement means. Mama’s isn’t really much of a place. You’d probably call it a dive. It’s rustic, dirty, made out of iron sheets and I sometimes share my space with mice. But the food is good and really cheap. I can usually eat my entire lunch for 50 shillings (about 50 cents). At Mama Njuguna’s I can get chai (tea), chapati (flat-bread), and cabbage and potatoes. But mostly I can get rice. Beans and rice; Ndengu (green grams) and rice; Githeri (beans and corn) and rice. Now you know where the “Rice” in the above statement comes from. The only thing left to explain is the “Jesus” in the above statement.
I try to eat at Mama’s 3-5 times a week (again, because it is so cheap and convenient). That makes me a regular at Mama’s. [But I am also very much a novelty. Mama’s being located on a back alley in town it doesn’t get frequented by many Wazungu (Swahili term for “White People”). In fact, I am the only one that has EVER frequented Mama’s in the entire history of its existence. The son of Mama Njuguna once told me how special a customer I was because I made the establishment international. Now, Mama’s may be a dive but it is a really happening place. It is always very busy with people always coming and going. So there are lots of customers and lots of workers constantly running around. The seats are wooden, no backed benches, and the tables are cut low so you have to bend way over to eat. I am usually packed into a bench with customers pushing in at both my left and right elbows. This is where the “Jesus” in the above statement comes in. With me being a novelty and the only white guy that has ever been in this place I inevitably get asked the question by someone at my right or left these questions in succession: “Who are you and what’s your name?“; “How long have you been here?“; “What do you do here?“. It’s almost always those questions in that order. So, guess how I get to respond. “I’m from the United States and my name is Rogers” (Yes, I have to say Rogers instead of Roger. For some reason they can understand and say Rogers but Roger is unintelligible and unrepeatable to most Kenyans). “I’ve been here for nine years now.” “And I’m here as a missionary doing work for the Kingdom of Jesus.” The following conversation always revolves around Jesus.
Sometimes I get to tell them why I would give up my life in the States to preach the Kingdom of Jesus in a foreign land. Sometimes they ask me for money. Sometimes I get to share a part of the gospel with them. Sometimes they have some project they want me to support. Sometimes they are Muslim. Sometimes they are “pastors” looking for support. Sometimes I encourage them in their faith. Sometimes they encourage me. But almost always we talk about Jesus. And being a regular at Mama’s, I know all the workers and get to hear about their day. Mash and Dan, the managers, never fail to tell me that they went to church last Sunday. I also get to show the love of Jesus to all the servers: Betty, Sonny, Margaret, Maurall, Mercy, Shiro, Ingrid and others. I’ve even met Mama a time or two.
Maybe your headline would read “Burgers and Jesus at McDonald’s” or “Coffee and Jesus at Starbucks” or “Donuts and Jesus at Krispy Kreme”. Beloved, never be ashamed to talk about Jesus, no matter where you might be.
Now you understand the meaning of “Rice and Jesus at Mama Njuguna’s”. I think that has a nice ring to it. And it’s not as unsanitary as “Mice and Jesus at Mama Njuguna’s”.
Please pray for me as I prepare for another trip up into the bush, to the village of Kasei in west Pokot, a long, long way from home both physically and emotionally. I am developing a series of messages entitled “Learning to Follow Jesus from the Life of Daniel”. I will be spending five days in Kasei for a seminar there. I hope to encourage the existing believers as well as lead unbelievers into a new relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
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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Desires for the New Year
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
December 29, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Happy New Year! I wish to briefly look ahead to the coming new year and express what I would like to see happening here in Kitale, the place where we are ministering. These are not New Year’s resolutions. It is simply my desire and my prayer for the year 2017. At this point next year I would like to look back and see that these things did indeed occur.
· I would like to pray more. Prayer on the mission field is vital. But prayer in a Christian’s personal life is vital as well. Anemic prayer life leads to anemic Christian life and anemic ministry.
· I would like to know God more. I want to know His ways more, I want to know His mind more. I want my mind to be like His mind. I want to grow in my relationship with Him.
· I would like to do more of what Jesus says to do. There is so much that He said and did and taught us to do that I neglect or avoid or ignore. In 2017 I want to focus on Jesus and do all that he wants me to do.
Those are the top things I would like to see in 2017. Note that they are much more personal than they are ministry related. Here are some things I would like to see in regards to ministry:
· I would like to see more Kenyan people trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That means the people I come into contact with on a day-by-day basis. It means the people I evangelize with the gospel. It means lost friends that I show the love of Christ to every day. It means the Pokot people living out in the bush.
· I would like to see more Kenyan people truly growing in their relationship with Jesus. I don’t want them to follow Jesus because of what material things they think they will get from Him. I don’t want them to follow Jesus because they want Him to heal them. I don’t want them to follow Jesus for a good luck charm. These are all typical reasons for following Jesus. I want them to follow Jesus, to love Him, to learn from Him, to submit to Him, to live for Him. In essence, I want them to be true disciples of Jesus and not fair weather disciples.
· I would like to see new Baptist churches started: Churches that are on fire for Jesus, churches fulfilling the great commission, churches loving each other, churches worshiping God in Spirit and truth, churches that are functioning as the body of Christ on earth.
Again, these are not resolutions. They are not “goals”. They are my desires. They are my prayers for the next year. They are how I would like to see God glorified in my life and in my ministry. Grant it, oh Lord.
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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Stones Turned to People in Pokot Town
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
October 26, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For the past many months, I have been praying for an opening back into the land of the Pokot people. The way had been closed to me for a long time but God may have opened a way back.
The Pokot people live north of Kitale. I don’t want to call them primitive, because they aren’t. But these people certainly live “off the map” and “off the grid” in a land that is very hot and very dry. Oppressive even. This month I took my tent, my sleeping bag and my backpack and took the 7-hour drive over dirt roads (aka – paths) to the Pokot town of Kasei. I spent 5 days there talking and walking with Daniel Loyelel and with many of Daniel’s people. Daniel is a 47-year-old pastor of a Baptist church in Kasei. Daniel was saved and baptized under the ministry of a pioneering Baptist missionary to Pokot back in the 1980s. When the missionary left, Daniel decided to take up the call to his own people and plant a Baptist church in Kasei. He had no building and no money so he decided to place 60 stones on the ground under a tree for people to sit on while he preached the gospel. But nobody came. The next week, again, nobody came to hear the gospel. So Daniel began to pray, “Lord, turn these stones to people” and continued that prayer. In a couple of weeks, he had 10 people under the tree listening to the gospel.
Downtown Kasei
Now, Daniel’s church under a tree has a semi-permanent mud building to worship in and 200 men, women and children worshiping in it. But even beyond that Daniel and his people have seen the need to send the gospel to the rest of his people. They have sent their own men across the nearby mountains and have started a number of other Baptist churches in other villages. They are truly carrying on the great commission there from Kasei. Given Daniel’s start under the tree I am reminded of John the Baptist’s words to the Pharisees, “God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matthew 3:9) and Peter’s message to the pilgrims of the Dispersion, “You also, as LIVING stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5), and also God’s message to the Israelites of His power to “take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). What a great and awesome God we serve who can “turn stones to people”. To walk and talk with some of these folks and discuss their changed lives and their glorious Savior was a joy.
Let me briefly share a few entertaining stories of my trip.
Story #1: My new Pokot name. So, I was given a Pokot name from some of the Pokot people. My new name is Limakou. It means “a bull with spots on his head”. When I asked why they had given me that name all I got in return was chuckles and laughter.
Story #2: The coffee experience. I had taken with me some instant coffee in the off chance I might have an opportunity to enjoy some caffeine. So my new Pokot friends heated some water over a fire and asked if they could drink coffee with me as they had never tasted coffee before. I enjoyed my instant coffee from a rusting tin mug but my Pokot friends didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I did. They kept sticking out their tongues and frowning after each sip. Then they would add more water and sugar in an attempt to dilute and sweeten their nasty drink. I guess coffee is an acquired taste and the Pokot haven’t acquired it yet.
Story #3: The jimmy-rigged vehicle. Some friends of mine from Kitale graciously agreed to drive me to Kasei in their Land Rover. We were 4 hours out into the “bush” when the vehicle broke down. The missionary way of repairing vehicles out in the bush can be quite comical. It took twisty ties, binding wire and lots of electrical tape and sweat but two hours later we were back on our way.
Story #4: The ride home. My ride home from Kasei was in a public vehicle shuttle. It left Kasai at 2:30am. I was so tightly packed into the shuttle with other people that I couldn’t move. The driver drove and bounced us over the path faster than a whirlwind. The person behind me vomited 7 times. The 3 chickens in the back squawked the whole time. The drive blared the radio the entire trip on WKMC, the home of Africa’s greatest hits. Every song sounded exactly the same to me – Thunderous beat, repetitive rifts, indecipherable lyrics. Oh, well, at least I made it home safely.
Now that I’m back home the challenge will be to see if I can work with the people of Kasei. I want to help them in their ministering and their walk with Jesus but I also don’t want to get in their way. They would like for me to return and teach them in various Biblical seminars. They also begged me to bring Julie and Chloe with me but I just don’t see how that could be accomplished. I will pray and ask God to show me what he would like me to do and if the way is open.
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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Back in Kenya after Wedding
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
August 31, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We spent the month of August in the United States. Most of you didn’t see us because this was not a furlough or anything like that. The only church that I even spoke at was our home church, Emmanuel Baptist in Bellbrook, OH and a short ministry update at Calvary Baptist in West Branch, MI. So the month of August wasn’t really about ministry and it wasn’t really about rest either. Really, the only reason we were even in the States was because of our daughter, Emily’s, wedding. We are now back in Kenya after the short, whirlwind trip to the States and still recovering from jet-lag.
I am now the father of a married child. Many of you precede me in this event and can attest to the “weirdness” of the feeling. Even after they returned from their honeymoon it was strange to go out to dinner and sit across the table from my married daughter and newly acquired son, Igor. But they made a beautiful couple at a lovely, outdoor setting before friends and family as they made their life-long vows to each other. It was emotional to walk her down the path to the pergola by the river where the ceremony was held. I was able to reminisce and think about the day of her birth while she stood with her soon-to-be husband. And I cried during the father of the bride dance as the song Butterfly Kisses was played. But at the end of the day she was married and still smiling as they drove off. Her name is now Emily Levit. She has been out of Kenya for three years now and has started a family of her own. And because of this you will see in the near future that I will update our newsletter picture to include only my children remaining in Kenya. Our prayers are with you, Emily and Igor. We love you and miss you.
Our next move is to start up our Kenya ministries once again. It’s not the beginning of a new term in Kenya since we didn’t go home on furlough but being away for a month does allow us to rethink some things and re-assess how our ministry is going here. We’ll start things back up again, modify a few approaches and hopefully be able to report on some ministry aspects next month.
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
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The Land of Big Macs, Smooth Roads, & Endless Choices of Cheez-its
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
July 29, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I find myself in the United States of America. The land of Big Macs, smooth roads and endless choices of Cheez-its at Walmart. I arrived in Detroit and had a short two-hour drive to my in-laws’ house. While everyone else went inside the house I stood out on the green grass, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The sun shone on my face and the wind blew in my hair. This may sound crazy but it just felt different than Africa feels. It sounded different, it smelled different, it just felt different. It felt familiar. Like a hot Michigan summer should feel like. Now, I didn’t say it felt better, just familiar. Homey. Like I remember it feeling when I was younger. My beloved country.
We are currently in the States for just a short visit, just until the end of August and then we will return to Kenya. We are here because Emily will be getting married on August 6th, just 8 days from the date of my writing this report. It has been a hectic visit so far. Up to northern Michigan to visit my parents, back to southern Michigan to visit Julie’s parents, a quick trip to Dayton to visit our home church, back to southern Michigan, and we head back to Dayton tomorrow for another quick visit to Emmanuel Baptist. Finally, a hectic week next week leading up to the wedding. This will be my first experience of a child of mine getting married so I don’t know exactly what to expect. I don’t want to predict how I will be feeling come next Saturday but I suppose those of you who have already gone through this experience could teach me a thing or two.
We temporarily leave some very precious things back in Kenya. One is Chloe. We tried and tried to get her to the US but we did not succeed. We spent a lot of time, effort and money but in the end we were not able to procure the documents that we needed for her to travel to the US. Kenyan immigration refused. We were greatly disappointed, even heartbroken. The thought of leaving her in Kenya for a month was devastating. But in the end we knew and accepted that it was not in God’s plan for her to travel here with us. We have left her in God’s hands and also in the hands of some very dear friends of ours in Kitale who had graciously accepted to keep her until we return. We know she is in good hands but getting back to her will make returning to Kenya sweeter. The other things we leave in Kenya is obviously our ministries. Because our trip to the US is only a short trip, we were able to suspend most of our ministries until we return. The people we are working with in Kitale are eager to start the teachings and ministries back up upon our return and we should be able to restart things without a hitch. Other ministries have been left in good hands. I was excited when Kefa volunteered to continue the group meetings that meet in his house while we are absent. He will take over the teaching and leading responsibilities until I return. I was praying that he would be willing to do this and I know this ministry is in good hands.
Our hearts are torn between two places that we love so much. We have children, family, friends and churches on both continents that are dear to us. It is hard to live with your heart in two places when your physical body can only be in one.
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
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