The People We Serve
Tuungane staff are local Congolese people helping their own people.
Marcel Serubungo
EFM Congo
Country Director
Estha Penuella
EFM Congo
Admin Assistant
Germain Nganitsa
EFM Driver
and Mechanic
Our Story
EFM founder Colby May visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2013, where he met Marcel. He saw the devastation from years of civil war, but also the the transformative, healing power of the local Congolese church.
With years of experience in the field of energy management, Colby and his wife Amanda sensed a calling to use their expertise for the work of God’s kingdom around the world. They started Energy For Mission (EFM) in 2017. They appointed Marcel Serubungo the Director of EFM in the DRC. Colby and Marcel had common visions to help the people of Eastern DRC. EFM primarily funds the Tuungane Project in the DRC as well as a few other Christian organizations in vulnerable areas of the world.
Our Team
More about Colby
Colby May is a Certified Energy Manager, specializing in energy efficiency for the past 20 years. He has performed energy audits at over 2,000 commercial-sized facilities across the nation, including churches, seminaries, state universities, k-12 schools and more. He has consulted with the State Energy Conservation Office of TX for over 10 years, performing energy management services at facilities across hundreds of school districts. He has consulted with large denominations, seminaries, and non-profits in the area of sustainability. Colby has also presented at a number of mission and energy management workshops across the US.
Colby has a master’s degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the area of Ethics & Society (Integral Mission) and a BA from Texas Tech University (International Business/Spanish). He spent time in DR Congo, during the Kivu Conflict, focusing his studies on the local church’s response in times of conflict. Colby is passionate about empowering the church and sees energy sustainability as a means to change.
He has been married to Amanda May since 2001, and is the proud father of two sons, Carter and Coen.
More about amanda
Amanda served as the founding director of Energy for Mission and now provides program and administrative support for EFM’s many initiatives. Amanda is a native Texan and has her BA in child development from the University of Texas (Austin) and her MA in physical therapy. Amanda is a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in neuro-developmental treatment and is on staff at Mosaic Church (Austin) serving as a worship leader and director.
Amanda has served with EFM in the US, India, Myanmar and Thailand, and supported projects in Uganda and Guatemala. She is married to Colby May, and their passion for empowering transformative mission throughout God’s world is a legacy the Mays strive to pass onto their two amazing boys, Carter and Coen.
More About Paul
Paul grew up in Davis, California, the son of two university professors. After graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Engineering, he started a long career at Hewlett Packard. Paul is passionate about working with the most vulnerable and is a strategic volunteer with World Relief Sacramento and a founding partner of Norcal Refuge. Paul also is a Ski and Bike patrolman in the Sierras and on the American River Bike Trail. Paul lives in Granite Bay with his wife Rebecca and enjoys the outdoors and being Papa to his 6 grand-daughters.
More about Marcel
Marcel Serubungo is a pastor in the Democratic Republic of Congo and director of EFM’s Tuungane Project in Congo’s Kivu region. He worked with World Relief for 18 years in DR Congo, Sudan and South Sudan bringing divided communities together in the role of Regional Peace Building Technical Advisor.
Marcel holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Peace and Conflict Management. With EFM-Congo, he holds workshops with Congolese churches to promote faith restoration of pastors devastated by decades of conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region. He also mobilizes local churches to bring peace and reconciliation to conflicting groups, aiming toward holistic community transformation, healing and development.
Marcel has been featured on CNN and served as the keynote speaker at The Justice Conference.
More About Jim
Jim Brown is a professional engineer who has specialized in the field of energy efficiency for the past 40 years. He has conducted energy analyses and designs of energy efficient installations for over 600 facilities in the United States and abroad. In addition, he has provided energy auditing consultation for six different U.S. State Energy Agencies, and assisted in development of three engineering firms established in China for the express purpose of inserting energy efficiency into commercial and industrial design projects.
Jim has presented Energy Management Training Seminars for commercial business, public school districts and public hospitals in nine states and six different nations. He has also developed and presented five energy related seminars for the Association of Energy Engineers focused on the topics of Investment Grade Energy Audits and Retro-Commissioning. He is currently a member of AEE boards governing the Master’s Level courses on Investment Grade Energy Audits and Master’s Level Commissioning. He has also coauthored two books, Investment Grade Energy Audit: Making Smart Energy Choices, and the Sustainability Management Handbook, and has been a contributing author for the annually updated Handbook of Energy Audits (Fairmont Press).
In September 2013, Jim was inducted into the Association of Energy Engineers Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in promoting the practices and principles of energy management. Jim has also been an elder in his church for over 40 years. He recently helped oversee holistic mission partnerships in poverty-stricken areas of Kenya, Uganda, & Cambodia, including the launching of 50 small businesses in the most vulnerable communities. Jim has been married to Debra Brown for over 50 years, has two beautiful daughters, and four adventurous grandkids.
Get in touch
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3010 Rio Verde Drive, Cedar Park, TX 78641
The Tuungane Project is funded by Energy For Mission, a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
Energy for Mission is a registered 501(c)(3) organization
FEIN #82-1140994 Donations and contributions are tax-deductible as allow by law.