Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.

January 2, 2017

Dear praying friends,

It is now the beginning of the year 2017 and we wish you all the blessings of the Lord’s wisdom, guidance, and protection for this upcoming year. What a privilege it is to serve the Lord. Colossians 3:23 says “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” He does not need us for anything, but we need Him for everything. We hope this update finds each of you doing well and we thank the Lord for you.

As I (Nathan) look back on this past year, there were definitely many challenges that we faced. Many of you know about our unrest situation at our compound in Kitale and how the Lord watched over and protected us. The safest place to be is within the will of God, wherever that is. Although this unrest was unusual for Kitale, we thank the Lord that for the time being, things have gone back to normal and it seems it has subsided.

This past year was also difficult with health issues for our children. Please pray for our children and their health. A fever in Africa can mean so many different things, from malaria, to typhoid, amoeba, etc. Although our children struggled with health issues for several months, we praise the Lord that we finally got to the right doctors and received good care. Please pray in advance for this next term, that the Lord would help us all to stay healthier.

One of our most current major needs is for playmates for our children. Missions is difficult on children and they really do need friends and playmates. This is a struggle that many missionaries face. Sometimes missionary children and their needs can be easily overlooked. We do not want to do that. We continue to trust the Lord to bring playmates for our daughters in His timing and plan. The Lord has tested our faith in this area and it has become easy to get discouraged, as they just have not had playmates and friends for most of their time in Kitale. We continue to pray, believing that God knows our need and we trust in His plan. It has been difficult to wait on the Lord in this area, but we know the Lord has a plan. Psalm 33:20-21 says, “Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.” Would you please pray earnestly with us that God would provide families with children for our daughters? We would greatly appreciate this. Just one or two families with children their age that would commit to stay long term on the mission field would make such a big difference.

I (Nathan) am in the process of scheduling churches for furlough. If you would be interested in a meeting, you can reach me at: naterad@yahoo.com God bless you for your interest in missions.

We continue to pray over all these things mentioned in this prayer letter, knowing that God is sovereign, and He has a purpose for all that He permits in our lives. He is on the throne and in complete control. What a privilege to bring all these things before Him in prayer.

God bless you all and have a wonderful 2017.

Nathan and Carrie Radford
Furlough Address:
56 Lobo Lane
Culloden, WV 25510

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.