Travel/Fundraising:

“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.” -Will Carleton.

One of the greatest aspects of this part of our journey has been the opportunity to build relationships with new people, as well as reconnect with friends and family from our past. We are incredibly thankful for all of the new relationships we have formed, and for every church that has welcomed us. We are steadily making progress towards reaching our budget goal. According to our most recent report we have met between 60-65% of our budget! Thank you for all of you that are partnering with us!
We do have a request to make…we are looking for opportunities to expand our network of partners. If you are currently one of our partners, would you prayerfully consider sharing about our ministry with your friends and family? We would love to have open doors into new churches and even small groups and home groups. If you have friends, family, or contacts that you feel may be interested in learning about our vision for outreach in Kenya, please let us know. We appreciate you all so much!

Travel Stats Since Last Update:

**Churches Visited: 5
——-Thunder Swamp (Mt. Olive, NC)
——-Benson P.H. (Benson, NC)
——-Radiate (Columbia, SC)
——-Nakina P.H. (Nakina, NC)
——-Christian Life Ministries (Kingsburg, SC)
**Great Commissions Meals Attended: 9
**Miles Driven: 2,400

Recent Happenings: This last month has been a full one. In addition to our travel, we celebrated Ethan’s 2nd birthday, celebrated Easter with Jessica’s family at Kingsway P.H., went camping at Morrow Mt. (Jamie and Ethan camped while Jess and Sophie worked at Falcon Children’s Home Alumni weekend), and we took a family camping trip to Medoc Mt. for Mother’s Day (our speaking engagement was rescheduled, so we found ourselves with the rare, open weekend and decided to take the opportunity). A photo slideshow is at the bottom of the post.

Upcoming: The calendar is fairly full the next few months. Our travels will take us from NC to SC, VA, and FL, for speaking engagements and conferences. We will also be heading to Denver, CO, in early June for Melissa’s (Jamie’s sister) wedding. In the coming week Sophie also has her very first dance recital and in June she will have her 4th birthday….these kids are growing way to quickly! It is going to be a busy and exciting stretch for us!

Encouragement from the Past: A few weeks ago I (Jamie) came across a letter that my Granddad had written in 1939. The letter detailed his struggle with Tuberculosis and how he had been miraculously healed a few years earlier. He concluded the letter by writing, “I am in good health and still in the King’s service. I have no pains. I am happy in the Lord and desire to live long and serve Him.” As I was reading this letter, I was overwhelmed with emotion. My Granddaddy has always been one of my heroes. I only knew him for 10 years, but his character and the way he lived his life made a distinct impression on me. People often tell me I resemble him…and even though they are mostly referring to our similar features (the characteristic “Dunning” nose, forehead that slopes towards the hairline, and ears that stand a considerable distance off of the head)…I secretly hope that they will one day see a resemblance in character. I hope to be a man that lives with passion, and one that puts faith and family above all else. Like him, I hope to be a someone that responds with compassion when faced with injustice, and someone that has the perfect balance of seriousness and silliness. I want to be the type of person whose character speaks volumes without needing to speak a word. Even though I haven’t heard his voice in over 20 years, he spoke to me as I read this letter, or perhaps more accurately, the Lord spoke to me through his writing. It served as a reminder that He is always at work in our lives, regardless of what we face. There is no guarantee that life will not be difficult. Hardships will come and storms will need to be weathered. Life will be filled with struggles and disappointment, but faith in Christ will guide us through. He will be our constant source of comfort and healing, but when adversity comes we have a decision to make in regards to how we respond. “I am happy in the Lord and desire to live long and serve Him.” After typing this statement to conclude his letter, E.R. Dunning went on to live 52 more years. 52 years that were full of faithful service to Christ. Ultimately, this is the way I most hope to be like him.

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