Killing Our Car- Part Two

I’ve never used the blog for this before but right now we have a need that we wanted to make you aware of. Where we live is approximately 5k up on top of a mountain way out in the middle of the jungle. All the roads are dirt/gravel/rocks/mud and are brutal for any vehicle to have to travel on. (I actually wrote a blog about it. You can see it by clicking HERE.) And, when it rains, some parts of the road are impassable to most cars for days. It’s not good.

We purchased a VW station wagon a few months after we arrived here in Brazil. And even though we can’t fit our entire family in our car at the same time, we’re thankful to have transportation nonetheless. Cars/trucks/vans are so expensive here in Brazil and, in case you’re wondering, the VW was all we could afford at the time, that’s why we bought it.

But now we’re in need of another vehicle, and quick. Every part of our car has been shaken so violently (over the last year because of the roads) that it’s literally falling apart. We’ve had to put the car into the shop so many times over the last 6 months and the amount of money we’ve had to spend on keeping it running is crazy. We just had our engine rebuilt (we literally ran on 3 cylinders for several months) a few weeks ago and that repair alone was over $3,000. This type of vehicle was never meant to be driven in these conditions and driving on our roads has really taken a toll on our car. So, rather 

than purchasing another similar vehicle we need to purchase one that’s more conducive, not only to the roads here in Terra Boa, but to our family and the ministry. 

We minister to children in orphanages and favelas all over Curitiba. We also minister to people here in Terra Boa who are spread-out over a 5 mile radius in a very mountainous region of Brazil. And none of them have transportation. We already shuttle as many people as we can (as well as video/sound equipment, ministry supplies, etc.) to the camp and to ministry venues (using our car). But, if we had a larger vehicle, we’d be able to reach more people, more effectively, with the Gospel. Because, with a larger vehicle, we could pick-up people from down at the bottom of the mountain and either bring them to the camp or shuttle them to wherever we’re ministering as well. 

Another issue that we currently have is that we always have to rent a larger vehicle whenever mission teams come to minister alongside of us here. This typically costs about R$1,000 per week. It seems smarter for the ministry to have it’s own vehicle that can be used for this rather than wasting money every time on a rental. And to be honest 

with you, it would be awesome if our whole family could actually all go somewhere 

together. It’s been over a year and a half since we’ve been able to do that (our car only seats 5) and having to decide who goes and who stays behind is stressful.

So that brings us to the purpose for this blog. We really need your help. Would you consider giving toward the purchase of a new ministry vehicle that’s built stronger and that seats more passengers? I can’t show you a picture of the exact vehicle because we need to raise all the money before we can pick the exact one. But after researching and seeing what vehicles are available (and that would best suit the ministry here), we’ve come up with the vehicle below is an example of what we need and for the best price. 

The vehicle we’re looking at is a 2006 Peugeot Boxer. It has 126,000km on it and the cost is R$55,000.00 (depending on the exchange rate, that would be around $32,000US.). 

Having a larger vehicle is vital to what we’re doing here in Brazil. Would you consider giving toward this? You can give by mailing your tax deductible donations to PO Box 231 Loganville, GA 30052 or you can give safely through Paypal by clicking HERE. Please mark your gift with “ministry vehicle” so that the funds will go toward the purchase of the vehicle rather than into the ministry’s general fund.

Thank you for partnering with us as we reach the children and teenagers of Brazil with the Gospel. We couldn’t do it without you.

Passionately Following Jesus,

Jim, MJ and the Whole Dunn Clan

That’s What I Get for Trying to Putting God in a Box

Well, first of all, I realize there’s no way to actually put God in a box. Literally, that is. But I do tend to put God in a box figuratively (in my finite little mind). Now don’t “go getting all judgmental on me” because you probably do the same thing. Just admit it. Here, let me give you an example of what I’m talking about:

I’ve posted several blogs about how frustrated I was about ‘not’ being able to speak portuguese and having to always minister with a translator. 
(To read a recent blog about it, click HERE) 

I’ve also told you about how it didn’t make any sense to me that we weren’t pastoring in a local church somewhere because that’s where all of our experience was and that’s what we were the most passionate about... the local church. And to be back in the States where we actually spoke the language and could communicate effectively is what made the most sense to us. Because pastoring here, where everyone speaks portuguese couldn’t happen, right? Well, that’s where I was wrong and that’s where I made the mistake of “putting God in a box.” 

Even though we didn’t understand why God chose us to come here as missionaries, and even though we thought God had made a mistake, we decided to just keep following Jesus and doing what He has called us to do. And even though we thought it was more ‘logical’ if we were back in the US where all of our talents and God given abilities could be used more effectively, we knew that we just needed to trust Him. And now God is showing us exactly why He’s God and we’re not.

To make a long story short, there just so happens to be an International Church (that’s in English... that’s right, the whole service is in English) meeting at a large Baptist church in Curitiba. And they’ve called Me and MJ to be the lead pastors. How crazy is that? Being able to pastor a group of people in English in a foreign country... only God, right? The church has services every Sunday morning right now. The congregation is relatively small (between 20-30 people) but with the size of the english speaking international community in Curitiba we believe that the possibilities are endless. We started a few weeks ago as teaching pastors but before the end of the year, God willing, we should be through the election process and become lead pastors. The position is a volunteer position right now (i.e., no pay, haha!) but we’re very excited and honored that we’ve been given this opportunity. I’ll expound on it more later but we just wanted to let you know. We know beyond a shadow of doubt that this is a “God thing.” It’s something that He’s orchestrated and only He can get the glory for it. We’re very excited. Words can’t express how blown away I am at the way He just “does His thing” every time. We serve a great God.

So, here’s the question... “why is it that we always put God in a box?” He’s the one that sees the ending of our lives already. He’s the one who knows where we’re gonna be in 10 years. He’s the one who knows every hair on our heads and there’s not a bird that falls to the ground that He doesn’t know about (Matthew 10:29-31). So why do we question and doubt His plans so much? If you have the answer, let me know. But for now we’re just gonna continue to trust Him, throw away “the box” and just be content with the fact that He’s got it all figured out.

Love Ya,

Jim and MJ

PS- Here's the current website for the church if you're interested in checking it out. Click HERE

R6 Camp

Here’s some pictures from a camp we had this past weekend. Thank you to all of our supporters who allow us to be here in Brazil glorifying Jesus through Refúgio (the camp here in Terra Boa, Brazil). 

Matthew and Fabio before teams were picked

Jhennifer and Maryssa

Michel, Eli and Rodrigo hanging out at the beginning of the day

The grill was loaded down with meat for lunch!

Everyone going through the line getting their food

Rozelio trusting that his team's going to catch him

Getting through the tire isn't as easy as it looks

Junior trying to get through he tire

Bruno trying to maneuver thesmall tire through the pipes called "Giant Finger"

Teams all climbed the 14' wall near the end of the course

After climbing the 14' climbing wall everyone repelled down the opposite side 

Kevin and Maryssa

The 'Jungle Pyramid' is our newest obstacle in The Jungle Challenge

4 Teams at a time race to the top of the 20' structure

Once they reach the top they must ring the bell before racing back down to tag the next player in line.
The first team to have all team members climb to the top of pyramid and ring the bell first, wins.

We had a great time with a great bunch of people

Saying goodbye at the end of the day: )

If You Ask Me Again, I’m Gonna Hurt You!

Here's Robert the other day and a "typical" plate of food... round 1, that is. 

Do your kids ask you the same question over and over? If you only have one child or even two, it’s probably not that big of a deal (being asked the same question, that is). But when you have 8 kids and 6 of them still live at home, it can be overwhelming. When it comes to asking for food, our kids are over-the-top. There’s this thing called RADS (Radical Attachment Disorder) that’s found in a lot of kids who are adopted. And a lot of the times the disorder plays-out in the area of food. It’s usually because they were deprived of food at one point in their life and, because they went without food, there can be issues that can even carry over even into adulthood. Well, for almost all of our adopted kids... it’s an issue. We’ve read about the disorder and we’ve even tried some of the things the experts suggested to do, but it’s to no avail. So, we have to deal with being asked about food constantly. And if we don’t eat at exactly 12:00 for lunch and by 6:00 for dinner we’ve got MAJOR issues at the house. Especially for Robert (you’ve heard me talk about him before, he’s 7 yrs. old now and he’s our youngest). About 30-45 minutes before EVERY meal he begins “stalking” whoever’s cooking. He’ll start by nonchalantly walking through the kitchen (trying to get a glimpse of what we’re having). Then he begins asking how much longer. And this will continue until the food is ready. This happens EVERY meal and just wears us out. There’s nothing like being pressured by some little kid to get the food to cook faster. But then it doesn’t stop there. We pile soooooo much food on all their plates that it’s almost grotesque (how much food they’re about to eat, that is). And after we serve all of them we make our plates (Me and MJ) and we sit down and start eating. But then about 5 minutes into our meal it happens... “Mom, can I have more? Can I have more?  Can I have more?” Seriously? We’re not even done with our first plate and you want more? First of all we gave you so much food to begin with, that it’s nothing less than miraculous that you were able to eat it all, much less eat it that fast. And now you want more?! I weigh 230ish and I can’t even eat that much! 

So the dance we call “mealtime” goes the same every time and it’s exhausting. Can I have more, can I have more, can I have more... It’s a constant asking, and asking and asking. Man, make it stop! But they’re persistent. And eventually we cave in and give it to them (mainly so they’ll leave us alone and we can finish our meal in peace without feeling like there’s someone waiting for us to finish). It’s crazy...

The reason I’m telling you this story is because it’s that’s exactly what God wants us to do with Him (ask Him over and over). For real. He wants us to pester Him! He wants us to be persistent in asking Him for what we need. That’s sounds crazy, huh? Where I want to smack my kids (hypothetically, of course. haha) for asking me something over and over, God’s the opposite. He wants us to ask Him over and over.

There’s a story that Jesus told in Luke 18 where there was this widow who persistently asked for what she needed. You should read it, it’s not that long of a parable. This lady kept coming to this judge (who didn’t fear God or respect man) asking for justice and the judge kept saying no. But eventually he gave into her requests because he didn’t want her to “beat him down by continually coming to him with her request.” Jesus then said, “that if an unrighteous judge (who didn’t fear God or respect man) did that, wouldn’t God give justice to His elect who cry to him day and night? And won’t He (God) do it speedily and without delay?” That’s what it says, go check it out for yourself.

Actually, the parable starts out (in verse 1) by saying that He (Jesus) told the parable “to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Did you catch that? It says, “always.” So if there’s a situation that you’ve already asked God to intervene in or if there’s a request you’ve made that’s still burdening you and you haven’t received the answer... keep asking. Keep asking and then keep asking. And then when you’re done, ask again. Jesus said it, not me: )

Love Ya,

Jim

It’s Over

Well, Spring Mission 2013’ is finished. A group of students and adults from Crossroads Church (from Monroe, Georgia USA) was here in Brazil for a week and are now back in the US. They were here ministering alongside of us and a small church in Curitiba. It was such an encouragement to our entire family having them here with us. Typically I would’ve posted pictures and blog updates every day, but with our internet (or lack thereof) it made that impossible. Today I’m in Curitiba at a friend’s house (and he has internet) so here’s a quick breakdown of how the week went.

Day 1

When they landed we helped take them to the place where they were going to stay for the week. It was in the city of Curitiba. They stayed at a church (and a small parsonage adjacent to the church) that Crossroads planted a few years ago. It’s a new facility for this church and it’s exciting to see what God has done for Pastor Jorge and Lucie (the pastors of the church) by giving them such an amazing property. It’s smack dab in the middle of an area of the city that has literally tens of thousands of people living within walking distance of the church. And, to top it all off, there’s a community park right across the street from their building! 

The parsonage adjacent to the new church building

Here's the park right across the street from the church (at night)

Day 2

We spent the day at Encontro Com Deus (Encounter With God) and ministered to the kids that are a part of the day program there. Over the last 15 years Pastor Patrick Reason has put together a great ministry that reaches out to the children from this part of Curitiba and we love partnering with him by bringing mission teams there.

The front of Encotro Com Deus

Anna (one of our translators) translating for Sam, as she gave her testimony

4-way tug of war is always a hit with the kids

Kris talking to the kids about salvation

Ruan watching as some of the kids were trying to play his guitar

4 of the kids right before we had them attempt to eat a banana through pantyhose: ) 

The view from the top of the new building, overlooking the neighborhood, at Encontro Com Deus

Day 3

Lar Herminia is an orphanage located in Columbo. We’ve grown really close to the kids (and house mothers) that live there. Over the past year we’ve been able to have all the kids out to the camp twice and we’ve been able to bring ministry teams there several  times as well. These are an amazing group of kids that we feel like we’re suppose to disciple and we love spending times with them. And the ministry that was done there on day 3 helped us continue with that. 

The way that this facility is set-up is that there are 5 homes with 8-10 kids per home with one house mother per home. It also has common areas that have meeting rooms, a rec room, classrooms, a sports field  and offices. All this is inside a big compound that’s probably on around 30 acres. The mission team was able to split up in two’s and hang-out with all the kids in there homes and even have lunch with them there to see how they live. Then we played games with them and just loved on them the whole day before we had time of worship and ministry at the end of the day. Then, to top it all off,  we threw a big pizza party for all of them at the end of the night. It was a great day for everyone: )

Some of the structures on the property 

Some of the team hanging out with the kids at the sports field

Josh and a couple of the kids

Our ministry time consisted of worship, testimonies and a short Gospel message

We finished the day with a pizza party with all the kids

Day 4

We spent the whole day out at the camp on Day 4. This was a good opportunity for all the students and adults to see how we live and to see how much we’ve done at the camp over the last year and a half. After touring the property we separated all the guys and the girls. 

The guys spent the afternoon helping build another part of the obstacle course (a giant 20’ tee pee/pyramid) that is being constructed out of timber from the jungle. They got to help us drag giant logs out of the middle of the jungle with ropes and then set them up by hand (because we don’t have machines, haha).

The girls all spent the afternoon baking cupcakes for people on the mountain. This is something that Maryssa and one of my nieces started doing several months ago as a way of reaching out to people in the community, and the response has been great, so we decided to do it with the girls on the mission team.

In the late afternoon the guys did some home visits on the mountain to see some of the construction projects that Brad and the boys had done and to meet some of the people that we minister to here on the mountain. 

After the home visits the guys held a bible study for some of the young men that live here on the mountain while the girls delivered cupcakes to homes of some of our neighbors.

We ended the night with a time of fellowship and worship on our front porch... it was a long full day, for 

sure.

Taking the group for the tour of the camp

The place where we built the new climbing tee pee

The structure after we put up the frame

The tee pee is approximately 20' tall and, when finished will have
ladder rungs so that it can be climbed from all 4 sides

Some of the girls starting to make the cupcakes

Day 5-7

The final days were spent helping Pastor Jorge promote the new church. This was done by passing out information door to door and hanging out with people in the park across the street from the church. 

Handing out invites for the new church

Cheyenne trying not to get bit by the dog at one house

It seemed like every house had a dog in this neighborhood. This one sat high upon his perch barking at us

Me and my friend Victor as we were handing out invites

There was so much that took place that there’s no way to write about it all here, but bottom line is this... the Kingdom of God was strengthened, Jesus was glorified and we believe that the students who spent the last week with us here in Brazil will never be the same. Thanks to everyone who allows us to be here and facilitate mission teams like this. It’s truly an honor, Praise be to God!

Love Ya!

Jim and MJ