October 8, 2023

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,

I continue to be impressed with our students at Moffat and their willingness to study and learn and minister in the name of Jesus and for the Kingdom. In the “summer” break before their final year at school, all students go out on what is called their “practicum ministry.” They do practicum ministry every weekend while at school, but this one in the summer before their final year is a three-week missionary trip that they take somewhere within the country of Kenya. They do not all go to the same place but are scattered around Kenya mostly in pairs but sometimes they go by themselves. Their main job is to help or work with a church in Kenya to minister the gospel and propagate the Kingdom. At the beginning of the first term in their final year, the students return and report on their activities, blessings, and challenges they encountered while out on their respective practicum ministry.

What impresses me about these Kenyan (and South Sudanese, Ugandan, Congolese, and Indian) students is their willingness and desire to propagate the Kingdom even in hardship and trials and then to return excited about how God used them in their various ministries. The students are given an assignment at a specific church in a specific location and are basically given enough money to travel to that location and eat for one day…and that’s about it. It really takes a lot of faith for them to go out and minister in this way, that God will take care of them and provide for their needs. This is not my decision to send them out like this, and I don’t know that I would suggest it as a good idea, but it is nevertheless the way that they are sent out.

When asked about the challenges of their practicum ministry, here are some common responses: 1) I didn’t have a bed to sleep in and I had to sleep on a dirt or concrete floor and covered myself with my jacket; 2) I daily had to walk 10 to 20 kilometers (6-12 miles) every day to get to my actual place of ministry and then back again to my lodgings each evening; 3) Besides some bread and chai in the morning and a little rice in the evening, I didn’t have anything to eat. I think I would hate this experience and come back complaining about it. But instead of that, these students return excited about what they were able to do and how God used them in the Kingdom. Here are some common comments: 1) I was able to lead three people to the Lord; 2) I taught children and youth every day about Jesus and how to be saved and follow Jesus; 3) I played soccer with the kids and then afterward taught them the Bible; 4) I went to about 100 homes every day and shared the gospel in each home; 5) My favorite part was the all night prayer meeting we held in the village. Are these not most excellent testimonies? Kenyan men and women reaching other Kenyan men and women with the gospel message of the love of Jesus. One lady student returned who had been assigned to a mortuary (a ghastly place in Kenya. Definitely NOT a sanitized, American, funeral home). Her assignment was to be there each day of her three-week trip and to meet with the families coming to collect the remains of their loved ones (sometimes 50-100 families per day) and pray with them, comfort them, and attempt to minister to them in whatever way she could. Oh, God, please bless this lady student and her work at the mortuary. Bless those who she prayed with and ministered to who had lost loved ones. May her work and the work of many others of our students be used by your Holy Spirit to bring many Kenyan people to saving faith in Jesus and to your Kingdom. Lord, I pray also that you would bless the rest of us, myself and my readers, as we minister in your name and for your Kingdom. Bless our work and our ministries for the good of your people and the glory of your name.

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.