Malaria, Moving, URBC Attendees Migrate to New Location
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.
October 26, 2019
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I don’t know exactly how long this newsletter will be this month. It may be short because as I write this update, I am sick as a dog with malaria. I felt it coming on this morning after I woke up and within an hour all the symptoms were raging. No fun, this malaria.
So, a few quick updates. First, by the time some of you read this I will turning 50 years old. Half a century may not sound like a lot to some of you, but it sounds like a lot to me. The hair is graying, the beard is graying, and the body is aching (most of that today, however, is from the malaria). I hope I have gained some wisdom and experience in these 50 years, though. Honestly, I think most of any wisdom I may have gained has come in the last 12 years of being on the mission field. Believe me, being in a foreign country and a foreign culture for that long will definitely change a person. Maybe some for better and maybe some for the worse. But either way I am still in the hands of God and covered in the blood of Jesus. Thank you, God, for your sovereignty, wisdom and goodness.
Second, we have moved into a new house this past month. In the past 12 years prices in Kenya have gone way, way up and we decided we could no longer afford to live in our previous house and compound. We have moved to a shared compound and a smaller house. In case “shared compound” is an unfamiliar term to you, it means a yard enclosed by hedges with multiple residences on it. We hope the smaller place and the shared expenses will help our finances.
Third, Upper Room Baptist Chapel is doing well since we moved to the new venue. All of the regular attenders for our worship services have migrated to the new location with us and we have lost no one. Our main room where we now worship is considerably smaller than our old location and I’ve mentioned to our group that if we grow much more, we will have to go to two services. They all laugh at me and remind me that this is Kenya. They say we could easily fit two to three times more people in the room. That may be a stretch but I guess this being Kenya we probably could cram a lot more people into the room before it becomes too uncomfortable. One blessing of the new location is that it makes it a lot easier for Julie and Chloe to attend each week. Chloe did not do well in the other venue for various reasons. She does much better in the new location, for which Julie and I are very thankful.
I am currently preaching through the book of Galatians on Sunday mornings at the Chapel. What a wonderful and foundational book for Christianity and Christians today. My works and righteousness cannot add anything to the work of Jesus on my behalf. Faith in our beloved Savior is the only thing that can save me. Our people here in Kenya need to hear this age-old Biblical teaching and to learn to live by faith and in the Spirit.
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie, Amy, Josiah & Chloe
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [April 2013]
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,
Life is hard. There are tears. There is pain.
I wasn’t planning on writing like this, this month. It seemed depressing (although I don’t intend it to be depressing). However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like God was confirming in my mind to write these things this month. Life is hard.
There is pain.
As I write this I am experiencing pain myself. Yesterday a car pulled out in front of me while I was riding home on my motorcycle. I hit the car and ended up rolling on the pavement. Now my neck hurts, my shoulder hurts, my back hurts, my knee hurts and my shin hurts. I have no major damage, just some aches and pains. The Kenyan people live with pain too. Malaria, typhoid, other debilitating diseases. Some even live with the pain of hunger or thirst. Others live with pain because they have no means with which to see a doctor.
There is grief and loss.
Who among us hasn’t lost a dear friend or loved one to our great enemy – Death? How long does that grief last? Often, a long time. Death is so prevalent in Kenya. The infant mortality rate is so much higher here. Young children die because of infectious diseases or lack of medical care. Parents leave children orphans because they both perish from AIDS. This month, a lady that lives next door to us nearly died because her husband wouldn’t spend the 2000 shillings (about $23) to take her to see the doctor. I gave him the money and she still lives today, but I seriously think he would have let her die. Funerals here bring me back to a stark reality too. It’s not sanitized like in the States. While you stand there the coffin is dropped into the ground and men refill the hole with dirt until it is all once again recovered and the mound stomped on to pack the dirt down.
There is betrayal.
I wish it wasn’t the case but there is much betrayal in Kenya. You can work with a person for years and then when he realizes he is not going to get from you what he wants, he turns on you and says all kinds of slander and lies about you. Yes, we are currently experiencing this as well. The closer the betrayer is to you, the more it hurts.
There is famine, drought, substance abuse, homeless children, murderous rioters, political scandals, and much more.
What can we say to all these things? Yes, life is hard everywhere, not just here, but also where you live. Does it not make us long for when Jesus returns? Does it not make us long for his presence? Revelation 21:3-4 says, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Today I am mindful that Jesus is returning and that day may be soon. I am looking forward to the day when “Death is swallowed up in victory.” I will pray for the coming of that day. Until then I will work for the salvation of American and Kenyan people.
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)
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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