Presidential Election Update + Discipling Young Men
September 6, 2022
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and there are many important items in the country to update you on. This update will share current prayer requests as well as ministry progress.
We thank the Lord that the Kenyan presidential election was resolved yesterday, September 5th. It was a very close, competitive race with less than two percentage points separating the two main presidential candidates. The election results were sent to the Kenyan Supreme Court for a two-week consideration and examination, to see if there was probable cause to overturn the election. In this case, the election would need to be done a second time within 60 days of the previous election. This is called a “run off.” In this case this year, the Supreme Court decided the results were legitimate and declared the presidential elect, without a runoff. He will be sworn into office next week, Lord willing.
So far, much of the country has been calm. Both of the main presidential candidates have urged calm with their supporters, and not to resort to violence or any kind of unrest. Where we are in Kitale, it has been calm, for which we thank the Lord. There were some skirmishes last night in a different part of the country, but we hear that the police are prepared and many. We will see how things go in the coming days as it is still early. We trust the Lord with our safety and follow all the precautions we can. Proverbs 18:10 says “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Also, Psalm 27:1, which says “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” These verses are certainly a comfort during these times.
Please pray my wife, as she continues to homeschool our daughters. She is doing a great job, and the girls are staying on schedule. Please pray also for new families with kids the girl’s ages to come to Kitale, so they can have stable friendships. We have heard of some families that are interested in coming later in the year, so please pray they would come when planned, and that the girls would make friends. Many long-term families that were here in Kitale have moved this year, so it has not been easy, but we are praying and trusting the Lord and His timing. Lamentations 3:25 says “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” We are waiting in faith, trusting the Lord.
I (Nathan) am continuing along in the discipleship course in the village of Taito. Please pray for me as I continue to disciple and train the men, as I trust the Lord for the results. I am praying that God would raise these men up to go out and start churches as the Lord leads them. It is God I am trusting, every step of the way. I like 1 Corinthians 3:6, where Paul says “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” Amen. It is still the same today, and may God receive all the praise and glory for all things.
This is the current update from Kenya. We appreciate each of you so much and your heart for missions. We will keep you updated.
Blessings,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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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Praying for Kenyan Presidential Election
August 6, 2022
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are already moving towards the end of 2022. Time is precious, and may it be used faithfully in service to the Lord. This update will share current prayer requests as well as ministry updates.
A major prayer request we have currently is for the presidential election which is scheduled for August 9th. One of the big presidential candidates visited Kitale recently, and from my understanding, much of the town was blocked off and thousands went to the rally. We have had multiple visits here in Kitale from the presidential candidates over the past few weeks, and now Kenyans will vote on August 9th for their candidate.
Please pray for the country and any post-election violence. You never know how things will go – some years have been peaceful, and others have been with more unease and conflict. The year 2007 was one of the more unpeaceful elections, so we pray for peace and safety for this year, with no unnecessary rioting or violence. We are thankful to be in Kitale, as Kitale has a mixture of tribes and is generally very peaceful. In all these matters, we are trusting the Lord. Psalm 5:11 says, “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” Psalm 28:7 also says, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” What a faithful God we serve.
Please continue praying for our family during this time, as many families have relocated from Kitale since we returned earlier this year. It has not been easy with all the adjustments, but we are praying and trusting God to bring other families in His timing and plan. Psalm 123:2 says “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.” We are praying, and trusting the Lord with this in our current situation, and we know He will provide in His timing.
I (Nathan) am continuing to disciple younger Kenyan men in the village of Taito. I thank the Lord for those who have been faithfully attending. Please pray for these men and their spiritual growth. As I have talked with other missionaries who have succeeded at church planting here in Kenya, this is the model – disciple (give them a strong Biblical foundation), train, and send. This is the model that I am currently following and has yielded the best results. All of this must be bathed in prayer. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Please pray for me as I trust the Lord in church planting endeavors here in Kenya. God is faithful.
We will update you next month on the election and how things are faring in the country. We know God is in control and we trust Him with all these matters. Thank you so much for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and interest in missions around the world. You each mean so much to us.
Until next month,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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
Back in Kenya—Pray for Peace
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.
October 2, 2017
We hope this update finds you all doing well. As I write this, we are at our home town in Kitale, Kenya. I will give a current update on the state of the country as well as prayer requests. We appreciate each of you so much who prayed for our trip, our safety, and our readjustments back to life here in Africa.
My wife worked tirelessly to get everything packed up for us for our upcoming term on the field. It is a massive job to try to figure out what to take, what to leave, what is needed right now, etc. I am so thankful for her and all her hard work in these areas, as I would not know where to even begin. Her mother is also a big help to us in this regard and we thank the Lord for her also.
Please pray for us as we are all in the process of adjustments back to life on the mission field. Simple things that we take for granted in America, such as stable electricity, stable Internet, water to come faithfully without delay, etc. are real challenges to daily life here. Please also pray for our daughters as they are adjusting back to life here. They have both done amazingly well in adjusting and we are very proud of them. Please pray for them to get regular friends, have fun activities, and for their health and well-being here. It has been a very busy past week, as I (Nathan) have been going all over trying to get bills paid, things hooked up, etc. It is always a rough few first days but I am thankful I have gotten a lot done.
Kenya held a presidential election on August 8th and a president was elected. Two weeks later, the results were annulled because of “anomalies.” What exactly those things are I don’t really know, and all that is known at this point is a repeat election scheduled for October 26th. This is disappointing, as we stayed abroad to wait for all these things to be done and over with, and now we have to prepare for it, buy extra supplies, possibly hire extra security, etc. until it is settled. Please pray for peace in the country and closure to the election process of 2017. God is in control and we trust Him. Psalm 115:3 says “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.”
We will keep you updated on life here on the mission field. We appreciate each of you so much and thank God for you. Blessings to each of you and thanks again.
In Kitale,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya, East Africa
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
Praying for Peaceful Elections and Protection in Kenya
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
July 29, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Do you all remember what was going on in the States a little less than a year ago, in November of 2016 to be exact? Yes, that’s right…it was the presidential elections. Wasn’t that fun? Or was it not so fun after all? I’m sure you were all fed up with the whole process by the time election day rolled around.
Well, we are also right in the middle of an election process here in Kenya. In fact, we are almost at the tail-end of the campaign. And we are all fed up with the process here as well. The current president of Kenya is even in Kitale today campaigning, which brings lots of extra people to town, lots of police and security, lots of traffic, lots of noise and lots of headaches. The main campaigning and advertising tactic for politicians in Kenya is to hire a pickup truck, load it full of enormous speakers and drive it around town all day blaring music and campaign slogans. And there has been a lot of that seeing as every elected position in Kenya is up for grabs right now – President/VP, Members of Parliament, Governors, Ministers, Cabinet. Everything. Local, regional, and federal. And it all comes to a head as Kenyans head to the polls on August 8th.
So, while we will be glad to have this election year in the past, we head into August 8th with a bit of anxiety and trepidation. You see, elections in Kenya are not quite the docile affair you expect in the States. We really have no idea what to expect as a result of these upcoming elections. In 2007 there were riots, thousands of people were killed all over the country, churches were burned with people hiding inside of them, businesses were destroyed, and supply lines were cut off as tribe went to war against tribe. This went on for about 2 months. In 2012 the elections were held mostly peacefully and there were only little pockets of violence across the country. But this year is shaping up more like 2007 than 2012. The same tribes are involved and the same man is running for president that lost in 2007 and who sparked the riots back then. He has already vowed not to accept the results as legitimate if they should go against him. That will lead to more trouble here in Kenya.
I have tried to keep my finger on the pulse of what is going on around here. There are European Union representatives here that predict trouble. Also, the last few months I have been asking a lot of people here in Kitale what they are thinking. Many think we will have no trouble. But many others are not so sure. Most business will be shutting down over the elections and will not be re-opening until they know it is safe to re-open. At home we have been in preparations also. I’ve purchased extra cans of diesel for the car, extra tanks of gas for the stove, extra water, extra food and extra phone credit. Most of the other missionaries have left or are leaving Kenya in the next week in order to avoid the elections. They will return when things have settled down. But we are not able to leave Kenya on account of the fact that we cannot travel with Chloe outside of the country. We will have to ride out any storm that may arise. We are placing ourselves in God’s hands and praying that everything will go smoothly and that He will protect us from any potential violence that may occur.
Please also be in prayer concerning our elections here on August 8th. We are really more concerned about out Kenyan brothers and sisters than for ourselves. If there is trouble they will be the ones most likely to suffer and not us. There is much unrest and people are not happy with the current administration. We do not wish to see our Kenyan brothers and sisters hurting and killing each other.
Lord, may there be peace in Kenya throughout this election process and may the peace that results also cause Your kingdom here to grow, prosper and bring You much glory.
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 [December 2012]
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,
This month I want to do something a little different and instead of talking directly
about the ministry I want to address something that will effect the lives of every Kenyan –The upcoming Kenyan presidential elections (and so, in a very real way, I WILL be addressing ministry because this event will not only effect the lives of every Kenyan, but our lives also and the ministry that we do here). I know that we just finished a presidential election in the States. And whether you like the results or not, I’ll bet none of you reading this worried, even for one moment, about losing your life because of the election process. Well, that isn’t the case here in Kenya. The last presidential election in Kenya in 2007 resulted in mass rioting, ethnic cleansing, tribal warfare, murders, looting, and crop burning. People were targeted, profiled and killed simply for being in the wrong tribe. Others ran to churches for refuge only to lose their lives when those churches were intentionally set on fire and burned to the ground. Thousands of people lost their lives, many of whom lived in Eldoret, a city not 50 miles from where we live in Kitale. This went on for months before things finally got settled down and the rioting and killings stopped.
Why am I mentioning this? Because we have another presidential election coming up
in March, 2013 and there is already tension in the air. Nobody is certain how things will
go and so we are beseeching your prayers.
Most of you probably don’t know this but I am the warden for the United States embassy here in the Kitale region. That means that I work with the embassy to distribute information and help the American expatriates in the Kitale region try and stay safe in Kenya. So, to help me in this position I attended a meeting at the US embassy to hear what they were saying concerning the upcoming elections. They related a number of problematic scenarios that could occur over the next couple of months that I would like to relate to you so you can be praying for us, for our ministry, and for the people of Kenya.
First, a change in the registration process here in Kenya is cause for concern. The new constitution made it available for Kenyans to register and vote within whatever district they wanted. That means that if a presidential candidate thinks he has a certain district locked up, he can send followers from that district to another district that he doesn’t have locked up. The bottom line is that people from other districts, who have no links or connections to Kitale whatsoever, could be bused to Kitale to register and vote. Having people in Kitale with no links or care of this place could bring unwanted abuses.
Second, the high court of Kenya is supposed to vote soon on whether two presidential candidates can even run for president. The problem with these two guys is that they were indicted by the ICC at the Hague for stirring up the people to riot and murder after the last presidential election. These guys are guilty of mass murder and yet are trying to run for president. Depending on the high courts decision, this could cause further rioting and problems.
Last, the elections take place in the first week of March. But since there are many candidates running and since they need 50% of the popular vote to win the election, there is a potential for a run-off or even several run-offs before one candidate gets elected. This means the election process could drag on for months with lots of uncertainty and tension. The embassy’s advice has been “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” Hopefully the Kenyan people have learned from the last time that they don’t want a repeat performance of the rioting and murders of 2007. But when I ask Kenyans what they think will happen this time around, only about half of them feel comfortable and think things will go smoothly. I tell you all this because, again, I desire your prayers for our family and this country. May God receive glory in Kenya even throughout this entire process.
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
Visit their blog!
Click here to donate to BFM.
Read more
