Missionary Update: The Tates on Furlough from Kenya [October 2013]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
October 4, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Kenya made major international news this month but not for any reasons that are good. You probably saw or read in the news that a group of heavily armed terrorists from the group Al-Shabab entered into a heavily populated upscale mall in Nairobi and held it hostage for five agonizing days. They threw hand grenades, shot their AK-47s and killed people indiscriminately. Then they holed up in the mall with their hostages for five days while Kenya police and military tried to root them out. The terror, chaos and pain they caused is simply indescribable. In the end at least 69 people were killed with hundreds injured and many still missing. The mall was burned and partially collapsed. It was indeed a great and terrible tragedy. This terrorist activity touches our family personally. This is a mall and a place that we frequently visit whenever we are in Nairobi. Throughout the ordeal I kept thinking, “This could have been us. We could have been there”. This mall is very familiar to us and so all the pictures shown on the news were also very familiar except that these familiar places in the pictures now included smoke, bullet holes and corpses. But I wasn’t only thinking, “This could have been us”. I was also thinking, “Who is in that mall right now that I might know”? As it turns out, we did have personal connections there that weekend. A friend of ours was killed by the terrorists in the mall that weekend. She and her family are Muslims but on occasion she attended get-togethers at our house. One of her daughters is friends with Emily. We feared that her children were with her at the mall but fortunately they were not there. Please pray for the family of Shirose and pray that the Lord would use this terrible event to bring them to faith in Christ. We weep for our Kenyan brothers and sisters over this tragic and senseless incident and pray that God would bring healing to our beloved host country.
In other news, we have arrived in Dayton and are finally spending some time with our church family at Emmanuel Baptist in Bellbrook, Ohio. What a blessing to hear the Word of God preached and to worship with our church family. Each time we return, though, the dynamics are slightly different. We see less of the familiar faces at church and more faces that are not familiar. If we spend another thirty years on the field in Kenya there may be very few people left at our own home church that we actually know. I suppose that is the plight of a missionary. But our dear pastor of 30 plus years is still there and we still have many dear and wonderful friends there and maybe we will be able to make new friends as well before we head back to Kenya.
Much of my time has been spent in preparing for traveling to our various supporting churches. I’m running through my checklist of all I need to do in order to begin our traveling: Design and create the DVD – CHECK; Develop and print the prayer cards – CHECK; Update pictures and information for the display board – CHECK; Call pastors and schedule traveling dates – IN PROCESS; Appropriate all equipment for showing the DVD – IN PROCESS; Prepare messages – IN PROCESS. Throw into this mix a seemingly endless running of errands, appointments and phone calls and I am easily finding enough tasks to keep me busy until we begin traveling to the various churches. I also have other speaking engagements that I am preparing for and for which I need the Lord’s help and guidance.
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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Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [October 2013]
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, 2013
Dear praying friends,
We are now near the end of our term here in Kitale, and the past two years have passed by so fast. When we come to the mission field after furlough, we think that two years is a long time to be away from friends, culture, family, etc. And, to be honest, it is a long time. But it never ceases to amaze me at the end of a term that I think about how quickly the time passed. I am sure that many of you at home can relate to this as well. Our days on this earth are few and fly by. It reminds me of the verse in Psalm 90:12, which says “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” May we use our time wisely in service to our Lord.
Please pray for us, as there is much to be done. Coming home to America seems like an easy process, but in reality, it is not. We have many things to be done, schedules to be arranged, schooling for children to be arranged, leaving ministries behind, etc. It can be very overwhelming, and we take one thing at a time. Soon I will need to be thinking about scheduling churches for furlough and our furlough schedule. One thing I forgot to ask prayer for is for our girls, McKenna and Camille. In all the rush and busyness that furlough brings, it is easy to overlook them and their needs. This will be a big adjustment for them also, as they are used to life here in Kitale. Please pray for my wife also, as she is now trying to arrange homeschooling around all the traveling and visits. We thank the Lord for the strength He provides each day. I begin to get overwhelmed when I look at it all at once. I am sure this is the same for my wife as well. Like the old saying goes, “His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.” How true this is, and we need to rely on Him.
We are still continuing to pray about our needs for furlough, mainly for housing in WV while we are in America. We would need the housing around mid December 2013. Any assistance in the area of housing would be greatly appreciated, even if you know of people we could talk to. Our contact is naterad[at]yahoo.com. We would appreciate your prayers for us, as we wait on Him. We seek the Lord for these things. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.” What a challenge for all of us, to seek the Lord throughout our lives.
By now, I am sure you have heard of the terrorist attack at Westgate Mall in Nairobi. This has been very hard to watch on the news. We have been to this mall a few times. Apparently the terrorists had been planning the attacks for a year, and possibly had a shop in the mall while they were in the planning stages. Please pray for all the families affected by this, and for those who did these acts to be brought to justice. It truly is sad what is the mind and hearts of people, and even when we do not understand, we need to continue to trust the Lord. I feel so badly for all those affected by this and would ask you to remember those affected in your prayers.
Please keep us in your prayers over the next weeks, and for us later this year, as we make changes and adjustments back to life in America for a few months. God bless each of you and thanks again so much for your interest and sacrifice to missions across the world in Kitale, Kenya.
Until Next Month,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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