The last couple of months has been full and incredibly busy. Not only have we made a lot of progress in our work and ministry, but we have also made huge steps in getting settled.
The most exciting recent development is that we finally moved into our own house. Our main priority was to find housing where we would feel secure, even when Jamie was traveling. We were very fortunate to find a great house in a safe and secure gated community that is situated in a very convenient part of town. Our community is made up of several multi-homed courts. Our court has an international blend of families, many of which have young children. Sophie and Ethan have loved having new friends to get to know. Our shipping container also arrived, so we have really enjoyed setting up house and making the space feel familiar and like home. We have rediscovered many of our possessions, some that we haven’t seen since we packed them up before moving to Kenya the first time in 2008. It feels so good to be settled, That isn’t to say that setting up house hasn’t been without difficulties. We discovered quickly that the solar panel that heats our water is not extremely effective during the rain season (now). We have been getting enough warm water for the kids to have a warm bath in the evenings….but that is about all. So we are learning to embrace cold showers….but we are also strongly considering installing an electronic water heater as a back-up option. 🙂 The last several days the lack of warm water has not been an issue because we haven’t had water at all in our house. In a case of extreme irony, we have gotten so much rain recently that some of the Kenya Power stations flooded, causing even more power outages than normal, which led to the pumps that generate the water in our community stalling, which resulted in no water for the community……so too much water (rain) has resulted in no water. There have also been some quirky issues with the house that are the result of a fundi making jua kali repairs (handyman, quick fix that doesn’t always last), but these situations have also provided a lot of laughs for us. in the grand scheme these are only minor inconveniences though and are nothing compared to challenges many others face every day. We feel extremely blessed and fortunate for the housing situation we have. After over 2 months of being vagabonds….it feels so good to be home.
We also finally have our vehicle! Two months after purchasing the Land Rover we have finally gotten through the many levels of paperwork, approval, and servicing, and have been driving it for a little over a week. We have already put it to the test traveling to some of our projects in muddy and rainy conditions, and it is going to be the perfect vehicle our family.
People to People and Ministry:
The last several weeks we have visited several of our projects and partner ministries, and we are very excited and encouraged about the future of these partnerships. Earlier in the month we were able to visit Calvary Christian School Ruai, a school of 150 children. This school is where we helped start the Chicken Project back in 2011, which started us on this path of sustainable development for our partner ministries. We enjoyed spending the day with the children and Sophie and Ethan even helped us perform a skit for them. The directors, Joseph and Eunice Mboya, have been friends and partners for many years, so we enjoyed the opportunity to meet and share a meal with them.
Jamie and Joe (People to People Assistant) also made a trip up to Lokichoggio, Kenya, to get updates on the People to People children in that feeding program. Loki is a small town in the far Northwestern corner of Kenya, the last town before reaching the South Sudan border, and is a remote and arid area with a lot of need. While there, they also made a trip down to Kakuma Refugee Camp to touch base with our partners there. There is a lot of need in both of these areas and we are prayerfully considering ways to better support them. If you would like to read a more in-depth recap of these visits by clicking the following links: Lokichoggio. Kakuma Refugee Camp.
Beautiful children enjoying a meal in Lokichoggio…
In early June, we visited the feeding program at Nakuru CMD (Christian Ministries to the Destitute), to get PtoP Updates for all of the sponsored children. This ministry is directed by Bishop Wekesa and his wife Gladys. They started this ministry 15 years ago and it has grown into an amazing orphanage and school….home to approximately 150 abandoned children. We have known this dear couple since 2002 and it has been incredible watching this ministry grow. We were blessed to have a large team (the family of Michael and Tammy McRae, IPHC missionaries) and two Emmanuel College students (Janene Wooten, daughter of Ron and Sharon Wooten, and Hayley) with us. Along with the help of Joe and the rest of the team, we had an amazing day full of ministry, fun and games. We visited again this week to deliver much needed medical supplies for the children and we also met with the directors to discuss possible sustainable development projects. We will be sharing more about that soon!
We have also been able to make a few visits to Hosanna Children’s Home to deliver supplemental food, as well as to check on the progress of the Tilapia Pond (more details below).
Project Update:
Construction on the Tilapia Fish Pond sustainability project at Hosanna Children’s Home is nearly finished! We hope to be able to stock the pond with fingerlings within the next few weeks. This fish pond will provide support for Hosanna in a variety of ways. It will, first of all, provide a sustainable income source that will assist the orphanage in meeting the many costs of feeding and housing the 51 children. It will also provide an additional source of healthy protein that can supplement the feeding program.
If you are interested in supporting this project, contributions can be made at:
Ministry/Project Acct. #11521M:
For Personal Check:
IPHC-World Missions Ministries
PO Box 12609
Oklahoma City, OK
ATTN: James and Jessica Dunning
(Make Checks payable to IPHC)
MEMO: Ministry/Project Acct. # 11521M
Recent Happenings:
(Because everybody loves pictures of the kids)
- That we would love God and others as He loves us, and that we will be faithful in all the areas that He is calling us.
- For continued direction, favor, and wisdom in our ministry.
- For our marriage to grow stronger every day.
- For Sophie and Ethan…that they will feel a meaningful connection to our ministry and that they both will grow to love and serve Jesus.
- For the Nation of Kenya, and the individuals, ministries, and churches we support.
- For our extended families as they adjust back to life without us and the kids.
- For good health, safety and protection.
Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you. I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.
Opportunity to Give/Support:
As always, 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, 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.
Click here for more details about our ministry.
Interested in becoming a Partner?
You can make a donation or become monthly supporter by clicking here. Information for mailing checks can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
THE DUNNINGS IN KENYA 