Depending Entirely on God’s Grace
April 18, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am glad I can write you in this special month, when we all take a special time to recognize and thank our mothers for who they are in our lives, for everything they taught us, and everything they did for us. My mother is someone I treasure very much; she has been an example of a faithful servant, a woman of prayer who depends totally on her Savior. I am so thankful for her life.
I am also thankful because in the last two months we celebrated four birthdays: my dad turned 80 years old, I turned 46, Sarah turned 16, and Benjamin turned 13. Now we have officially 3 teenagers at home, a little bit crazy at times; but in general, they are wonderful kids 😊.
The bad news is that Jud tested positive for COVID-19 on April 12, and I tested positive five days later. Our kids did the CPR test today, and we should receive the results in 48 hours. We are doing relatively well; we do have symptoms but nothing we cannot treat at home. The interesting thing is that for us not to develop severe symptoms, we must medicate ourselves, since here in Brazil most doctors only prescribe fever and pain meds. We suspect that is the reason so many people are losing their lives. In my appointment yesterday, when the doctor asked me if I was taking medication, and I answered, she got mad, told me to throw it all in the trash can because it would not do any good for me. But, my oxygen saturation was 100% and my lungs were totally clear, and I had no fever. We know, even among doctors/infectologists there are distinct opinions about prevention and treatment. Honestly, I believe we depend entirely on God’s grace and mercy and plan for our lives; we have no control about our outcomes, it is in His hand, and we must trust Him that no matter what happens He is going to be with us and provide for us and for our family.
One good news is that in the past year, God has opened doors for me to be part of an organization which works with Foster Care in families. Foster Care in families here in Brazil is something relatively new. It was only in 2004 – 2006 that it became a national public policy, and it was made a priority over institutional care. However, only 4% of children and adolescents are living with families, 96% are institutionalized. In 2018 there were 33,146 children and 8,686 were between 0 -6 years old (26%). In countries like US, Canada, and England, the statistics are the opposite, 96% of the children are placed in families, and only 4% are placed in institutions. Our desire is to change this sad reality, and open new services to offer kids the chance to have a family and to participate in community, since it is one of their most basic civil rights. Having said that, my prayer requests are a) that God give us human and financial resources to start new services in our city, b) Our family health c) and our children’s online education and all it involves.
I am so thankful for BFM, for all the churches involved, and for you who are reading this letter. Thank you for your support, for your prayers, your love, and your financial contributions. It means a lot to us, and it means a lot more for Jesus Christ.
Love,
Raquel Hatcher
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@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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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [May 2016]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
April 28, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As most of you know, our main ministry in Kenya is church planting/teaching the Bible and the Gospel/discipleship training. However, in the course of being here for 8 years, Julie and I have accepted other ministries as well; though I hate to even call them “ministries” because they’re not really “part of the job”. They’re just something God has opened our hearts to because we are followers of Jesus and followers of His ways. Since being in Kenya, God has opened our hearts to the plight of orphans in this world, and we want to do what we can in order to help them. Is this “ministry” or is it just the heart of God?
Orphans who were in the Tates’ home this past month: Chloe, Clinton, & Sasha
This past month we had three “orphans” living with us at various times and for a few days all at the same time. Let me introduce them to you. To the far left of the picture is our precious Chloe. Hopefully, she needs no introduction to you as I have written about her often and related her story in detail in previous newsletters. She has lived with us now for over a year and a half. In our hearts she is our daughter, and when the Kenyan government lifts the moratorium on adoptions in this country, we will make her our daughter officially and legally. In the middle of the picture is Clinton. His full name is Bill Clinton Muhkwana. Can you guess the US president he is named after? We love Clinton. He is ten years old and has lived at a children’s home since he was an infant. His extended family situation is very dangerous to him, and so on occasions when the children’s home is closed he comes and lives with us. He lived with us for two weeks this past month. In the picture you can see that I took him to play golf (yes, we have an old golf course here built by the British during the colonial days). What an experience! On the far right of the picture is Sasha. What a cutie! She came to stay with us over a weekend when the children’s home she lives in was moving from one location to another. I don’t necessarily enjoy middle of the night feedings, but what a joy to be able to care for one of God’s little ones. You might say, “Oh, what a blessing you are to these children”. But if you say that you would be wrong. They are a blessing to us!
When I was living in the States, I never much considered the plight of orphans. It’s just not something that is before our eyes on a daily basis. Not so in Kenya and much of the rest of the world. Kenya has a population of 44 million people and the number of orphans in the country is estimated to be around 3 million. That’s 7% of the total population of the country. In comparison, the US has 319 million people and only around 400,000 children in foster care. That’s only .1% of the population. If 7% of the US population was orphans, that would come out to over 22 million orphans in the US. Can you even imagine? Consider these additional Kenyan statistics: 13.5% of children aged 0-18 are orphaned; 15% of all Kenyan households are headed by an orphaned sibling; 700 children are orphaned every day. The main reasons for so many orphans are poverty and AIDS. It is estimated that Kenya has close to 1,000,000 orphans due to AIDS, the third highest rate per population in the world. And the problem is compounded when the society acts impervious to their plight. This sets the children up for easy exploitation, and makes them soft targets for child trafficking.
Why do I bring this up in this newsletter? Mainly for awareness. As I said earlier, when I lived in the States this problem seemed a million miles away. Now it is very close. But also because God loves these children and wants to show them his love through you and me. They are very near and dear to the heart of God. What does this mean to you? Maybe you adopt one. Maybe you foster one. Maybe you protect or care for one. Maybe you find out what you can do to help. And if you’ve made it this far into my newsletter please, please do not say, “That’s just not our ministry”. Remember what James said: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” (James 1:27). And remember this also: To do so is a joy and blessing!
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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