Totally Overwhelmed (But in a Good Way)

Me and MJ with one of our favorite kids, Mattheus, at Lar Herminia 

This was a great week and everything truly reached a crescendo yesterday as we were surprised and overwhelmed by the goodness of an amazing group of people from back home. I’m sitting here trying to process what happened early yesterday morning and I still can’t believe it. But here, let me explain.

This week the Senior Pastor and the Missions Pastor from Graystone Church (Jonathan Howes and Heath Hollandsworth) were here to hand-out gifts to all the kids at Lar Herminia. It was a great night as we were able to sing and worship God together, hear a  short Gospel Message and then give gifts to all these amazing kids… it was a good night. 

Pastor Jonathan with a couple of the girls from the orphanage

Playing Human Tug-of-War before service started

Mozart leading us in worship

Pastor Jonathan speaking to the kids about the best gift ever given- Jesus!

Pastor Heath speaking to the kids before the presents were handed out

It’s hard to describe the feeling you get being able to see all those beautiful children opening their presents. Just to see the thankfulness and joy that each and every one of them displayed as they opened their gift was very emotional for me (surprise- surprise, right?). These kids have stories that would break your heart. To be abandoned, abused, and treated in the ways that these children have been treated.. it makes you angry and sad (all at the same time). So for them to be able to receive packages from the States that were obviously well-thought-out (on what was chosen to go inside each box) and packed with love- it was an amazing experience for these kids as well as for all of us who were there.

This is the 2nd year in a row that these children have received packages for Christmas from Graystone Church (last year it was in partnership with The Hope Epidemic). Graystone also sent a Missions Team in July where they were able to look these amazing kids in the eyes and begin to develop relationships with them, which was huge (The kids are still talking about Graystone and the people who came).

Then a few months ago Graystone had something they called “Orphan Sunday” where Senior Pastor Jonathan Howes cast vision for what he wanted Graystone to be known for- which is “the Church that cares for orphans.” After the service the Graystone Family was able to sign-up to sponsor kids from Lar Herminia, here in Brazil, on a monthly basis. The response was overwhelming and each child was sponsored! Not only was each child sponsored, but so many people signed-up that now there’s a waiting list of families who want to sponsor kids (we're working on partnering with the next orphanage right now).

Brenda is just one of the girls who live at Lar Herminia that we have the privilege to minister to

Well, back to the past few days.

This week's trip was a short one for Heath and Jonathan. They arrived on Monday and left yesterday (Wednesday). They were here to personally deliver the presents to the kids and for Pastor Jonathan to be able to see what ministry looked like here in Brazil (because they're sending back two teams this coming June and July). Pastor Heath had already been here 3 times in the last 12 months and has been such a great encouragement to our family and to the ministry here in Brazil. But Pastor Jonathan hadn’t been here to see things yet. So that was the reason for the visit… so we thought.

Yesterday morning (right before we left to take them to the airport) Pastor Jonathan asked if he could interview our family on camera and if I’d give a brief description of what we do here in Brazil for all the folks back at Graystone. So we herded the family together and chased away some of the dogs that wanted to be a part of what was going on and then Heath started recording.

Pastor Jonathan gave a quick intro, I gave a short description of our ministry and thanked Graystone for their monthly support and that was it- so we thought.

What happened next is just a blur. I know this isn't exact (I was crying too much to be able to retain what happened exactly) but it went something like this- Pastor Jonathan looked at Me, MJ and the kids and said, “Well, we've got a Christmas present for you from all the folks at Graystone that I’d like to give you.” He explained that they knew that we needed a bigger vehicle so that all our family could go places together (at the same time) and that they had taken up a Christmas offering for us to be able to do just that. And then he handed me a check for $30,000! What?! Yep, the people at Graystone had taken-up an offering for our family and had given us $30,000 to be able to buy a vehicle large enough for our family to actually go places together! We were (and still are) totally overwhelmed and in shock. To know that a group of people care enough about us to do this is too much to process.

We’ve been here for over 3 years now. And, in those 3 years, our family has only been able to go somewhere together a couple of times. Our car seats 5 (when it’s running) and we needed something bigger to be able to go anywhere together as a family. So that's meant, no church together, no going to the store together, no going to town together, no going anywhere together, ever. Someone was always left behind. Always.

But this changes everything. This means that no one is left behind. Everyone gets to go to church. Everyone gets to go and minister at the orphanages. Everyone gets to go to minister at the outreach events in the favelas. Everyone gets to go to town (if we want them to, haha!). We no longer have to feel the pressure of rushing back to the mountain every time we leave- just because someone is home and darkness is about to fall. This is awesome!

My best friend Jonathan Long (aka Jono) started raising money for us back in October (for a vehicle) and the money he’s raised coupled with this amazing gift from Graystone will allow us to finally get the vehicle we’ve so desperately needed all these years! Finally! Our joy is too much to express on a blog with mere words.

So, whoever gave to make this happen- and no matter the amount… from the whole Dunn Family here in Brazil, “Thank you so much!” This is such a HUGE game changer for us and for ministry here in Brazil. We love you guys and are very grateful for your kindness to our family. 

Love Ya,

Jim, MJ, Maryssa, Matthew, Ana, Diogo, Gabriel and Robert

You’re Kidding, Right?

Well, last week it seemed like we were being assaulted by all of creation. Bats, rats, spiders, snakes, bugs that we don’t even know what they’re called… it was crazy! Well, this week has been no different.

Our car broke down (again!) and I had to ride down the mountain on a motorcycle to try and get a tow truck to come and pick it up to be repaired. And on the way back up the mountain I was attacked by bees. For real? I was just minding my own business and this is what I get?

And, if that wasn’t enough, a swarm of wasps decided to build a nest (all in one day too!) right outside the doors of the orange bunkhouse. We’re going to be having guests staying there next week so those things had to go. Here’s a quick video of how we got rid of them: )

And just when I thought I had seen it all, yesterday, our dogs were attacked by a porcupine! Yes, that’s what I said, “a porcupine.” Three of our dogs (that MJ rescued off our road- another story for another blog) tried to chase a porcupine off the property and were hit numerous times by these needle-like-quills. 

One dog, JJ, had 2 stuck above his eye and a few in his mouth. Another one, Sammy,  had 10 or so lodged into the roof of his mouth, and the third dog, BoBo, had over 30 stuck in his snout. We tried pulling them out but they were embedded so deep that the dogs wouldn't let us (too painful). The quills are barbed at the end (like a fish hook) so when you try to pull them out it’s very difficult to do and probably hurts worse then when they go in. 

Here's BoBo with 30+ porcupine quills stuck in his snout.
It took the vet almost 40 minutes to get all of them out once he was put to sleep.

I was able to remove one of them with a pair of pliers before the vet arrived, but that was it. 

We went down to town and got some sedative for the dogs at the agricultural store so that we could dope them up enough to allow us to get them out. But the sedative wasn't strong enough. So we had to call our friend Michel, who's a veterinarian, and he came and put them to sleep so that he could remove them without them feeling it. This was absolutely crazy! A porcupine… seriously? 

Sammy, right before Michel put him to sleep so that he could remove all the quills from the roof of his mouth.

Michel used plastic tubing to keep Sammy's mouth open so he could remove all of them.  One more quill to go: )

Each quill is needle-like with sharp barbs at the end- which makes them hard to remove.

Michel carefully removing quills from Sammy's mouth.
It's a lot more complicated then you would imagine.
Removing them without breaking them is definitely a science.

This was one of the most surreal/ridiculous things that could've ever taken place. Who would've ever thought that we'd have to deal with porcupines? Seriously? haha! Although it's funny now- it was far from funny when we were going through it. It was one of those moments where all you can do is trust God because 'in the natural' things looked pretty bleak. I won't bother listing out all the things that were stacked against us yesterday because the list would be long and it doesn't even matter at this point. Because here's the deal...

God provided the solution for us and we made it through it, period. He always does and He always will. I believe that. 

It seems like the enemy is constantly trying to discourage, distract, and destroy what's happening here in Brazil. Things aren't easy by any means. But with every attack it seems like it's just making us stronger. With every ridiculous attempt (i.e. porcupines) to frustrate and thwart the ministry that's taking place here- all it's doing is making us more resolved to press further into Jesus. So bring it! I mean, what's next meteorites or maybe a unicorn attack? I guess we'll have to wait and see: )

Love Ya,

Jim

We’re Under Attack

(FYI- this is another one of those blogs that I’m writing just so that, years from now, we’ll be able to remember some of the things that we've encountered here in Brazil.)

We're officially under an all out assault by everything that creeps, crawls or fly’s here in the jungle, so "We're Under Attack" seemed like a fitting title for this blog. 

We pretty much see snakes, spiders, bats, giant lizards and such all the time here. It’s just part of living where we live. But it usually comes in waves. We’ll have a spider infestation at the house and then, when things have settled down, we’ll experience a bee attack or something like that. Then someone will see a Jararaca (one of the deadliest snakes on the planet that just-so-happen to live on our property) and we’ll kill it and things will be quiet (as far as reptiles go) for a week or so then it’ll be something else. No big deal.

But for some reason it seems like all of creation has joined forces to launch an all-out-assault on our family- all at the same time! It’s almost comical: ) All of what I'm about to share has happened just within the last week.

Maryssa had been complaining about rats living in the roof above her bedroom. I had blown it off because I really didn't believe her. I had seen these little blue birds flying in and out of the roof where her room is, on the second story (making a nest), so I just thought it was that. But then Matthew said he heard some in his bedroom at night as well. I was still a little suspect though. Hmmm. Could this be true? Rats in our house? We hadn't seen any evidence of rats in the house so, hoping against hope, I shrugged it off and just told them it was just birds (and basically ignored them both).

Then MJ told me she had heard some in the ceiling (which is also the floor of the second story of our house- Matthew and Maryssa’s floors) one night. OK, seriously? There are very few things on this planet that freak me out and rats just so happen to be one of them. 

I remember hearing a rat story from a missionary from the Marshall Islands several years ago. He was telling us all these things that rats did to his family. He even said that a rat had ripped one of his toe nails off while he was sleeping one night! Say what!? Yep, while he was sleeping one night a rat climbed into his bed and literally ripped his toe nail right off of his big toe! What’s up with that?

So, thinking about rats being in our house??? No way. I can’t do it. So I told them it was probably just a friendly jungle squirrel. Scurrying around for nuts or something. But it was NOT rats. Obviously I was living in denial at this point.

Then it happened... MJ had a face-to-face confrontation with a giant rat in the laundry room one day and that was it. Something had to be done. So I went and purchased a handful of the gnarliest rat traps you’ve ever seen. These things were made out of sheet metal. And in addition to the traditional spring-loaded-bait-thing that snaps onto the rat when it tries to eat the cheese, it had these angry looking sharp-metal-teeth all over it. Surely this would work: )

But after several nights of trying to catch/kill the rats with cheese, meat and even peanut buttered bread- I was just left discouraged each morning as I checked the traps. They either took the bait and left the traps un-sprung or they just totally ignored the entire thing. Bottom line… this wasn’t working.

So we went into town and I purchased these rat bait stations. It’s those plastic things that you put poison in and close the lid and lock it. Then, a rat can enter one of the two holes on the station eat some poison, then exit the station through either hole. Then after a little while it starts to feel a little woozy as the poison begins to kick-in and then BAM! It’s dead. Sounds great, right? : )

So I put a few of the rat bait stations upstairs over Maryssa and Matthew’s rooms, one under the couch upstairs and one in the laundry room. The next night as Matthew was walking upstairs he saw one (who had obviously eaten some of the poison) sitting on a ladder that was leaning against the wall. He yelled down to me and I ran, grabbing the first thing I saw- an umbrella. An umbrella, you say? Yes, an umbrella. I know- weak, right?

Anyway, with umbrella in hand, I ran upstairs and began to beat this disease ridden rodent into eternity. Mission accomplished. Now we could all rest easy because this was probably the only one. Ha! Man, we started seeing drunken (i.e., poisoned) rats all over the place. So as they would stumble out of their hiding places we’d just smash them with whatever was the closest. Then even our dogs got into the action. One morning, as soon as MJ got up and the let the dogs out, half of them came back with live rats in their mouths. Rats that were half dead because of the poison they had eaten the night before!

Here's the rat that was beaten to death with the umbrella.
This thing was no joke. It was the size of a small cat! 

Here's another one that we got the next morning: )

But that’s when it all started. You’re probably gonna think I’m crazy, but I think the rats sent word to all of the other animals/pests in the jungle and now they’re in cahoots trying to take revenge on us. Over the last week we’ve been hit from every side.

I woke up the other morning and could tell there was something wrong with my stomach. So as I was brushing my teeth I lifted my shirt to see that I had been bitten numerous times by a spider during the night! Actually I had over 40 bites just on my stomach (I had MJ count them, haha!) and you could see the poison spread under my skin with each passing day.

Over 40 spider bites in one night. Great: )

So it was war! I went and bought every JIMO bomb they had in Terra Boa and it was on like Donkey Kong (do people even say that any more? lol!). We lit-off 3 times the recommended amount of bombs that the label required because this was stupid. That many bites while you sleep? It was crazy.

No, it's not the 4th of July. But we definitely 'lit it up' this pst week!

But then the next night Kevin (Maryssa’s boyfriend) was just minding his own business when he felt something crawling on his arm. So he brushed it off only to realize that it was a bat! That’s right, a bat (a.k.a. a rat with wings) was crawling up his arm inside the house!

The bat that was crawling up Kevin's arm.
You can't see the wings because they retract when they're dead: )

One of the giant lizards (that have built a nest next to the lake) attacked one of our ducks and killed it. The mosquitoes have been r-e-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s, these bugs we call no-see-ums (because you never see them- they just bite you and they’re gone) have been eating us alive, the leaf cutters (those big black ants that eat everything) have been wreaking havoc on all our plants, and the list could go on and on. It's an all-out invasion.

Then, if all that’s not bad enough, it seems like every day we’re killing snakes- and of course they’re mostly deadly ones! One during the camp at the pavilion (with tons of kids around), one on the trail leading to the obstacle course (with kids/dogs all together on the trail) and even one on the front porch (it was on it’s way towards Maryssa’s kittens). Why are they even here? We’ve got tons of people around, dogs running all over the place… it seems like they’d stay where we weren’t. Not where all the action is, right?

The one that we killed during the camp. Small but deadly.

The fangs on this Jararaca were like 2" long hyper dermic needles!

I hit this one so hard with a bush axe that I broke the blade right off the handle.

Another one bites the dust. This one wasn't playing around either.

A tree snake that was trying to get Maryssa's kittens.

But here’s the funny thing (funny-ironic not funny-haha)…even though this last week has been chock full of excitement- we’re not even shaken by any of this stuff. If you would've told me 4 years ago, when we were making plans to leave the comfort of our home on 4040 Lakeside Blvd in Monroe, that we would be moving to a place where you actually have to constantly be on guard against all kinds of venomous snakes, spiders, rats, bats, foxes, various jungle cats, giant lizards and every kind of insect imaginable… if you would have told me this is what our life would look like- I would've told you that you were crazy. We’re city folk: )

But having been here and having lived here (and still currently living in the middle of it)- we wouldn't trade our lives with anyone. And that may sound crazy, but there’s something about being in the center of God’s will… even though the attacks are real and the attacks are sometimes painful (spiritually, physically, emotionally) it’s totally worth it. Because He’s totally worth it.

Using the Benadryl Cream Like a Madman,

Jim