Thursday, December 18, 2014

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



1 comment:

  1. Great post. I was great to get to know you and your family. Thanks for hosting us. Let me know if you need ANYTHING. May God continue to bless you and your family

    ReplyDelete