Volume 25 issue 6

In singing, our school choir which is the best choir in the district this year represented our district in regional competitions of UMISSETA. The competitions went well as our choir, which was the winner last year, defended its championship by winning again as the best choir in Kilimanjaro region.

Winning in the region gives the them the chance of proceeding with another level of competing in the national level competitions which will be held in Iringa region the month of June. It is our hope that our choir will do well and will come with the victory.

On other hand, our school won in music and traditional dances. Our two musicians Aloyce Methusela and Jephta Japhet became the winners our group of traditional dance. They also became the winners in the entire region so they are going to represent our region in the national level of Umisseta competitions.

The last few months have been a struggle with our funding. The culmination of this shortfall came on Saturday morning, May 17th. Our director in Tanzania sent this brief but sobering message in response to my apologies for the lack of funds:

“Thank you Pastor. We are praying for miracles. Our food store is empty. After Monday there will be not anything to cook for the students.”

As I was preparing to purchase our plane tickets for our summer trip to New Dawn, I realized that the obvious priority was the students, not my visit. So, we decided to send the $4,000 trip funds to meet this critical need. It seemed right to let some of our other core supporters know about this need.
I sent this message:

“Dear Family,

I heard from our director this morning and I felt like I needed to let our board members, and team of volunteer staff and intercessors know about our real need…”

In response to this message, we received over $20,000. This outpouring of funds not only avoided the crisis, but also met our May shortfall, as well as providing our funding commitment for June.
Having experienced such a compassionate and sacrificial response, we are now praying that God will move in all our hearts to consider making a financial commitment to this vital ministry to ensure that our students and staff have what they need to finish 2025.

Over the years there have been some churches who have consistently supported New Dawn. First Christian Church in Napa, California has been one of the most faithful supporters. Way back in 2002, our director from Kenya, Pastor James Kariuki came to USA and was invited to share the ministry that we were doing in East Africa with this church. Since then, the church has continued to support New Dawn Communities through finances, sending team members on trips and allowing us to regularly come and share the progress being made through their support.

Our president, Ron Sukut, and his wife Diane had yet another very successful trip there, meeting with long time and newer supporters. Three presentations were made:

• • Friday evening at former director Mark and Kathy Luce’s home
  • Sunday morning service at First Christian Church
  • Monday evening with the FCC Global Mission Team at Cathy and Jeff Erikson’s home.

We were able to distribute many New Dawn t-shirts, booklets, and magnets during the different presentations. Each gathering was a wonderful opportunity to share about the significant effect New Dawn is having in and through their communities. The smaller meetings allowed for even more detailed dialogue about how best to support New Dawn.
A tremendous blessing came to New Dawn through the church’s special outreach offering collected during the Easter services.

We were also very encouraged by a generous gift made by a family who provided funds to install a natural gas system. This clean fuel will be used for cooking in the kitchen, as well as for fueling chemistry experiments in our laboratory. This fulfills a delayed compliance requirement placed upon New Dawn by the Dept of Education, which prohibits cutting down trees on our campus to use as cooking fuel.

The support supplied by these faithful friends at this time provides essential resources for our students and staff during these lean days of charitable giving.

Thank you Pastor Allen, for opening your heart and ministry, as you lead the church in fulfilling the Great Commandment, as well as the Great Commission.

SAVE THE DATE

2026 Mission Trip: New Dawn Communities, Kenya & Tanzania
Dates: July 29-August 12
Cost: $4,000 +/- (includes airfare, lodgings, ground transportation, and meals)
Requirements: Approved Application, Passport, Kenya & Tanzania Visa’s & Travel Immunizations

Love and blessings,

The New Dawn Team.

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