Mission Update: The Tates

They have not posted this on their website or sent it as an e-mail, so unfortunately I can’t share the pictures with you. :o(

An Update from Roger, Julie, Emily, Amy, & Josiah Tate: Missionaries to Kenya!

July 2008: Major Milestones
In this newsletter I want to list some of the major milestones we have passed in the last couple of weeks. They may not seem very “major” to you as you read through them but they sure are major to us.
Major Milestone #1 – We finished language school!
Major Milestone #2 – We made it to Kitale.
This includes the bus ride to Dar es Salaam, flight to Nairobi, a week in Nairobi & bus ride to Kitale. Doesn’t sound too major but when you throw three kids, 10 pieces of luggage, and hundreds of other details it took to get us here, it’s major.
Major Milestone #3 – Celebration with the Kenyans.
Mike and Pam had a “sherehe” (celebration) welcoming us to Kenya. The people from all three churches were there and they gave us a very hearty welcome.
Major Milestone #4 – Amy turned 8.
We had a wonderful day celebrating Amy’s 8th birthday. We wish old friends could have shared it with us but at least we were able to share it with some new friends (and you should have seen the faces of some of the Kenyan kids while they were eating cake and ice cream).
Major Milestone #5 – I’ve learned to drive in Kenya.
If you’ve ever been to Africa this speaks for itself why this is a major milestone. I’ve even driven Julie into town, went to a few shops, bought somethings and made it home without hitting anything or anyone.
Major Milestone #6 – We have moved out on our own.
This is probably the “majorist” of the major milestones. We may have been in Africa for five months now but up until four days ago we’ve been taken care of by someone else. For four months at language school we didn’t worry about lodging or food. For three weeks with the Andersons we were also taken good care of and didn’t have to worry about anything. Now, we’ve moved to a house and we are trying to live in Africa independently. That means learning how to shop, cook, run a household and basically learn to do everything on our own. We don’t know what we’re doing yet, we don’t know how anything works and we have hundreds of questions, but we’re trying to make a go at it. It’s difficult but we knew this time would come. Please pray for God’s strength and grace in our lives.