Opportunities in a New Semester
January 8, 2023
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I pray all of you had a wonderful and Christ-filled Christmas season. God is so good to all of us (all of His children) and we praise Him for the gift of His Son that brings us redemption and salvation. I am learning that God is good and that I complain too much.
All of my students were gone for the month of December – to rest, to spend time with family, and to celebrate the birth of the Son of God. So, while I was not in the classroom for the month of December, I was certainly not idle. I spent the month of December preparing for the two classes I will teach starting in January. I am very excited about both classes. I have the opportunity to teach Basic Theology and New Testament Survey to eager and excited Kenya students. I am excited about this term because of these two courses. These are important things for Bible students and future church leaders to learn and study. What a grand opportunity to instill into future Kenyan pastors and church leaders some of the wisdom I have gleaned from God’s Word so that they can take the Word of God back to their own people and minister to them in Jesus’ Name. I pray that some of them will even be so moved by the Holy Spirit that they take the gospel message even beyond their own people to other unreached peoples of Kenya and the surrounding countries. Lord, thank You that I get to entrust to others what little I know. May they take Your Word to all people and may Your Kingdom grow mightily in this place. May the gospel of Your Son be known and may He be loved and followed by all of Your beloved Kenyan people.
One of my new students this term is Daniel T. I am giving you Daniel’s English name because, honestly, I cannot pronounce or spell his given name or his family name. Daniel is from the world’s newest country – South Sudan. South Sudan recently received independence from Sudan, which is a predominantly Muslim country. South Sudan is a challenging place to live – Very hot, very dry, not much water, impoverished, lots of persecution. I would cherish the opportunity to visit there some day and to share and teach the gospel. I have only met a few South Sudanese people, but those I have met have left a lasting impression upon me. Not only are they always happy and smiling but the few that I have met have a big passion for taking the gospel of Jesus to their people. Daniel is no different. He is married and has two children, but he leaves them for three months at a time to come to Kenya and learn the Bible. I personally do not recommend doing that, but he wants to minister the gospel to his suffering people. Lord, may You bless Daniel for his sacrifices. Lord, keep his passion for Jesus big and his heart for Your Kingdom and his Sudanese people large. Protect him, his family, and his people from all enemies of the gospel and entrust to him a great ministry, empowered by Your Holy Spirit.
Another of my roles at the school is to serve as the Finance Manager. I usually have a plethora of students coming through my door to sit and talk with me about their finances. Most face great challenges in paying their fees and I have great compassion for them. As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, the financial challenges that face most Kenyans are very great. Most that come in to talk with me are at the end of their rope. I cry with them. I pray with them. I teach them Biblical financial principles. I help them work through various plans to assist them with their finances. This is very challenging for me too but it is a crucial part of their learning. Milkah is a student I counseled this week. A church leader had promised to sponsor her and pay for her schooling but has now backed out of that commitment. He told her to focus on her studies and not to worry about fees. Now, she is in crisis mode because she did what he advised. She sobbed into her handkerchief as she sat in my office. I cried with her and counseled her. I prayed with her that God would provide for her needs, even if it took a miracle. I helped her think through her financial situation and we are working through a plan. Lord, bless Milkah. Replace her stress and anxiety with peace and trust. Bless her efforts to raise the money she needs. And when You provide her with the finances she needs we will stop and thank You and praise You for goodness towards Your children.
Blessings to all,
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.
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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.
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Teaching in Three Places
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.
January 26, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It has been a long, hard month and I cannot remember being this tired for this prolonged of a period. We have worked really hard this month and it has left me feeling ragged and worn out. But that is not to say that the work hasn’t been rewarding, nor has it been drudgery. But it has been exhausting. I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting older and my mind and body just can handle what it used to be able to handle. I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m complaining, because I’m not. I’m just telling you all where I’m at right now.
Work at the Upper Room Baptist Chapel has been going well. Our attendance for the month has kind of been all over the place but our “regulars” have continued to come each and every week. On one of the Sundays this month we did experience our highest attendance to date with 28 people! While I’m not getting caught up in any numbers games, I did think this was a great attendance and I was very excited that so many people heard the Biblical message that week. Of course, the next week our attendance was about half that amount. I was telling a local pastor friend of mine about our fluctuating attendance and he gave me this perspective. He said, “Roger, you are the only full-time member of the Chapel”. I thought that was an interesting perspective. Anyway, I have been teaching each week on the parables that Jesus taught from the book of Luke. Through these parables I want the people to see into the heart and mind of Jesus and the Father. I think Jesus’ parables are one of the best ways to see how God thinks about things and they reveal the heart of God in an extraordinary way. And I want the people of Kitale to know this heart of God.
In addition to this Julie has been working extra, extra hard with the directors (and our dear friends) of the school Chloe goes to in order to help them start a new international branch of the school called Milimani Christian Homeschooling Community. She has been working very hard with them for over a year to help them get this started and my plan is to let her write the newsletter update for next month and explain, in her own words, this ministry that she has become heavily involved with. I am mentioning it this month because I have been asked to teach a math class at the new school. I accepted this ministry and now get to daily invest into the lives of some lovely young students at the school, as well as doing the morning devotions. But, again, I hope that Julie’s voice can be heard on this ministry next month.
Roger at the Bible College
And, now, throw into the mix that I taught a week-long class at the local Bible college on Biblical Financial Management and I can honestly say, I’m tired. But I always enjoy investing into the lives of the future pastors and church leaders that attend the college. Three of my students from this week were from South Sudan and plan, upon graduation, on returning to the war-torn region of their country and spreading the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
We pray that God would continue to bless our feeble efforts, expand His Kingdom in this part of the Earth and glorify His name.
Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in Kenya,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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 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
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [March 2016]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
February 27, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings from beautiful Kitale, Kenya (even though the grass has turned brown and dust covers everything). We praise God for the blessings of His mercy, grace, forgiveness and love.
All of our older children are now out of the house for most of the year. Emily is living in Michigan, Amy is in her second year of boarding school at Rift Valley Academy and Josiah has begun his first term there too. He was not able to get in for the first term (which began in September 2015) because there was no space in the dorms and we thought he would not be attending until next year. So we started Josiah on online school and we were all satisfied with that option but when one of the RVA 8th grade boys could not return for the rest of the year, it opened up a spot for Josiah and, well, off he went. If it were not for Chloe then Julie and I would be empty-nesters for nine months out of the year.
This has been a different, yet good, month of ministry for me here in Kitale. I was asked to teach a class in Old Testament History at a local Bible college. I wasn’t too excited about teaching the class at first but became much more excited about it as I prepared to teach it. The format of each class at this college is a week-long, intensive “crash course” on the subject. Instruction goes from 8am-4pm each day. Whew, I’m just not used to talking that much each day. I had to drink hot tea throughout the day to keep my voice working.
I spent a great deal of time preparing for teaching OT History – From Joshua through Esther. That’s about 1000 years of history and about 450 pages of text in my Bible. It was a challenging task and I finished the course just yesterday. I had 16 bright and exuberant Kenyan students who were all eager to learn about this subject. Some of them are already pastors and some want to be pastors when they graduate from the school. They came from all over Kenya. We had a lot of fun learning about OT history. I find this teaching very satisfying as I get an opportunity to shape and mold some of the leaders of the Kenyan churches. I was pleased to try and show them who God was through these OT history books and to give them a greater appreciation for God’s Word and how it can shape each of us. And, as some have said many times, there is no better way to learn a subject than to have to teach it. So, I learned a lot through the teaching of this class too. Bear with me as I share what was reinforced to ME by teaching these books:
- God is sovereign over history
- God is faithful to his people in spite of their sin and failure
- God has an overall plan of redemption that cannot and will not be thwarted
- History is moving ever forward to bring us to the coming of the Son of God
- God will put His King on the throne and redeem His people
- God works in His people’s lives and works through them to bring about His plans
- God loves His people and desires their good
- God is worthy of worship and adoration
I trust you see and believe all these things as well. God truly is good to His 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 & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
Read more
