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,

I wish I were a better missionary. I read about past missionaries and how they triumphed over their adversities and managed to accomplish so much even in the midst of great trials and troubles. I talk to current day missionaries and hear all about their exploits and of all the advances they are making in the Kingdom of Christ. I hear of all the great things God is doing in their ministries and I wish I could be experiencing those advances and great things myself. It is hard not to compare one’s own progress with that of others, and I recognize this is not wise, yet I still do it. More than that, I mostly recognize my own shortcomings and failings as a missionary and it makes me wish I were more usable in the hands of God. I wish it for the advancement of the Kenyan people.

I wish I were a better Christian and follower of Jesus. I wish I loved him more and followed him with greater zeal and passion. I talk with other Christians and, while they struggle the same as me, they seem to grow and progress while my relationship with God seems to flounder. I look into my heart and wonder why it is so dull, passionless and lifeless sometimes. Why do I struggle so much to surrender everything to Christ? Why does my heart want its own thing and its own way? Why can I not progress in my faith like I wish I could?

I wish I were a better humanitarian. Others care so much for the plight of their fellow human beings. They give their lives to care for widows and orphans, to feed the hungry and defend the defenseless. I look at the plight of my fellow man, and, while I care about their well-being, it doesn’t move me to action the way that it should.

I wish I were a better husband and father.

I wish I were a better friend.

Please forgive me, I am NOT whining, grumbling or complaining at all. I just look at my heart and it is not where I want it to be. I want God to do a greater work in my heart. I want to be a wholly surrendered servant under His grace and mercy. I want this so that the Kenyan people can know Christ, so that my family and friends can know Christ, so that the world can know Christ, and so that my own heart can know Christ more. But I am “confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. I pray it for my own life. And I pray for it in your life too.

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)

rojuta[at]gmail.com
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