People to People and Ministry

Tana River Village Food Production Projects

Earlier in the year we began a partnership with local missionary, Bocha Hussein, to start food production projects in villages in the Tana River Delta of eastern Kenya.  This area is prone to extreme drought and the needs of the community are extreme.  The pilot project was done in Peponi village in April 2017.  A water well, irrigation plumbing, and funds for land clearing and seeds were provided.  The farm has been extremely successful, providing vegetables and maize to the community.  They are currently in the second cycle of maize, and the farm is thriving.   In September, a second project was started in Gardeni village.  They are in their first harvest cycle, but they have planted tomatoes, maize, and other vegetables.  The crops are growing well!  It is our hope and prayer that the wells will continue to produce copious amounts of water, and that these farms will continue to thrive, providing much needed food sustainability to this community.

In January, we will start an additional food production project in Odhole village, through local missionary Lucy Chengo.  Lucy has a school and feeding program within the village, so this farm will help sustain these programs.  There are also numerous villages in this area that Bocha works with that we hope to start similar projects for.

The future project site in Odhole.

If you are ever interested in specifically supporting such projects, donations can be given here: Dunning Ministry Account (choose ‘Ministry’ in account drop down menu).

Drought Relief

As many of you know, East Africa has faced a severe drought over the last year.  Many of the communities we work with have faced tremendous circumstances.  Fortunately, People to People Ministries contributed a generous amount of funding so that we were able to distribute relief to over 800 families in Tana River County, Isiolo, and Tharaka.  Rains have returned, however, much more is needed to overcome the great challenges that this drought has caused.

Rosslyn CFS Trip to Kanja

Every fall we have the joy of leading a group of 16 Rosslyn Academy Sophomores on a CFS trip to Kanja to work with Emmanuel Worship Prep. School.  It is always a great experience for the students to learn more about the culture and beauty of this country that they call home.  It is also a great opportunity for them to serve alongside amazing men and women that pour into the children of this school every day.

Coastal Pastor’s Conference

Jamie had the priviledge of joining colleague, Kevin Sneed, on a trip to teach at the Coastal Pastor’s Conference in Mombasa.  It was a great time to connect with pastors from this region and to learn about some of the work going on there.  He was able to try out Kenya’s new train service, the Madaraka Express, to Mombasa.

Christmas Project 2017

This year’s Christmas Project was a great success at all of our partner orphanages and school feeding programs.  In all, 140 kids received new school shoes, 130 received new school uniforms, 36 received new textbooks, 100 will receive mosquito nets, 180 received new backpacks filled with food for their families and caretakers, one school received funds to complete a computer lab, dozens of staff received Christmas gifts, and over 400 children and staff enjoyed a special Christmas meal.  A video update will be sent out soon with more information!

Recent Happenings:

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Advent Reflection from Jessica:

There is something about the season of Advent that always puts me in a reflective space.  Nightly our family gathers together to light the candles on our advent wreath, we do our nightly advent reading and then put a new piece on our Nativity scene as we tell the kids the story of Jesus’s birth.  We light candles that represent Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love and we pray a prayer that simply states, “May the God of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace be with us, preparing us for the coming of Jesus.”  As I pray that simple prayer, I can’t help but reflect on how the God of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love has been with us throughout this year.   2017 for our family definitely had some unexpected twists and turns.  We started the year anticipating our upcoming furlough.  After two years of being away from our family and home, we were definitely longing for the opportunity to return for a short period of rest and time of reconnecting with family, friends and supporters.  We set our sights on the months ahead knowing that they would be busy, but also saw the temporal nature of that season, anticipating the rest that would be on the other side.  We navigated the ends and outs of the first few months of the year held and quickly found ourselves in April with only a few short weeks before our departure to the States.  As many of you have heard our story, I won’t belabor this part.  To be brief a car accident in which we flipped our vehicle (thankfully everyone was okay) and an emergency room visit for me with the diagnosis of gallstones and needed surgery once we arrived in the States, on top of a busy work season, left us feeling completely drained as we departed for our furlough at the end of April.  Anticipating a need for rest in between our time in Kenya and our busy furlough travel schedule awaiting us in the States, we scheduled a stop off for our family in Scotland.  What was meant to be a time of rest and renewal (and in many ways still was) turned quickly when I had a bad fall off of a bunkbed knocking out my two front teeth.  This resulted in a summer of dental appointments and concern over the prognosis of how my teeth were doing and if they were in fact going to be okay.  During the summer Jamie was also slated to start a Masters Degree in International Development, which he was/is extremely excited about, but that also added its own level of stress and elevated work load.  We then returned to Kenya to a very tense political environment with the elections taking place just days after our arrival.  Due to perceived irregularities in the election process this tension continued through the recent presidential inauguration on November 28th and if we are truly honest has yet to completely dissipate.  This year has held struggles, difficulties and high level of stress.

I have talked with friends recently who could recount their year in a similar fashion and for each of you reading this I am sure you can do the same, inserting your own struggles into the story.  But as I reflect on a God of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, I challenged myself to find those moments in this past year.  I saw Hope as I watched the nation of Kenya navigate a political system ravaged by tribal division and tension.  Yes, there is still tension and there were casualties associated with the election season, but I watched people take a stand and rise above it all.  I experienced Peace when even in the midst of tragedy and uncertainty God reminded me that he is always with me, if I will take the time to pause and be aware of his presence in every moment of every day.  I experienced Joy as I daily watched Sophie and Ethan grow and develop.  Ethan’s personality and quick wit continually catch us off guard with the things he says and the humor and continual laughter he brings into our lives.  Sophie’s compassion and desire to do good leave us reflecting on how God is going to use these qualities in her life as she continues to grow and mature.  I felt love as Jamie and I continually encountered people while home on furlough who expressed that they think of our family often and hold us in their prayers daily.  I experienced love from our families who support us unconditionally and who were overjoyed to have us home.  I experienced love from our friends around the world who are constantly checking in and supporting us during the hard and good times life brings.

As I reflect on the year I do so with a grateful heart.  Sure, I would love to change some of the events of this past year, but I am thankful for the way God saw us through all of it.  My prayer for you this Advent Season is the prayer our family prayers nightly:

May the God of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy be with you, preparing you for the coming of Jesus.

Thank you for loving us, supporting and holding us in your prayers.  You are continual source of encouragement for our family and we are truly grateful.

Prayer Requests: