And It's Done!

OK. You guys are awesome. In less than 24hrs you (our faithful supporters) provided us with the all money that we needed to get our van repaired, and then some. Can you believe it?! Thank You!!!

Here's a quick video from Me and MJ thanking all of you who helped. We love you guys!

Love Ya!

Jim and MJ

Knocked Down But Definitely Not Out

I’m using the blog today for something that I’ve never used it for in the 4 years that we’ve been here in Brazil. And that’s to ask for your help. 

Last Friday afternoon we were all on our way to church when suddenly our van started making a strange sound. I immediately pulled to the side of the road and Matthew and I got out to investigate what it was. We couldn't figure it out but we knew that we probably shouldn't drive it until we knew. We just so happened to be at the same exit where the mechanic that we use lives- so we called him and asked him to please come help us.

He got there pretty quick and, after looking at the van, he came to the conclusion that something in the engine was blown and that he needed to get it towed back to his house to work on it and that it shouldn't be driven.

Our van being loaded onto a tow truck Friday

The tow truck came and picked up the van and we all walked up the highway to the closest truck stop and waited for someone to come pick us up. We couldn't believe that we were stranded but we were actually all handling it pretty good, considering the fact that our van was broken (we absolutely LOVE our van).

Our van after the mechanic took the engine out: (

The next day the mechanic called us and said that after he took the engine apart it looked like the turbo had broken which in turn caused some kind of problem in one of the cylinders which caused a rod to break which caused a piston to turn sideways which caused the head to get jacked-up… I know, I didn't really understand it either. All I knew is that it was making my stomach hurt just thinking about having to get it repaired. 

We met with him this afternoon and the cost for repairing our van is going to be $3,857.00US. 

And that’s the reason for the blog today. We need your help. We absolutely don’t have the money for this repair. I’ve never made any pleas for money since we’ve been here in Brazil. If we’ve ever needed anything we just prayed and waited for God to make it happen. But I really felt like this time I needed to make you, our faithful supporters, aware of this situation. 

We’re basically shut-down from any of our scheduled ministry events (away from the camp) until the van is repaired. We were actually scheduled to take all the house moms from Lar Herminia out to eat a week from tomorrow while a group of us stayed at the orphanage with the kids- but now that’s impossible. We need our van. 

So, there it is. Not gonna try and ‘pretty-up’ what we’re trying to accomplish with today's blog or stretch this thing out- so, "can you help us?" If you can, please click HERE to give through Paypal. Or you can mail donations to PO Box 231 Loganville, GA 30052. 

Thanks in advance for your continued support of the ministry here in Brazil. We definitely couldn't do it without you: )

Love Ya!

Jim, MJ and the rest of the Dunn Clan

Thank You Graystone

Graystone Church has been a huge encouragement to our family and to the ministry here in Brazil over the last 2 years. And last week they did it again.

Graystone Church has been such a blessing, in so many ways, to our family and to the ministry here in Brazil. One of the ways that they've supported us is by sending Mission Teams to help us here (actually they’re sending the 3rd one of 2015’ in December). 

At the end of the July 15’ Mission Trip the team presented MJ and I with a gift. And it totally took us by surprise. They presented us with an all expenses paid trip to the beach: ) Just Me and MJ!

Now, that may not sound like that big of a deal to you, but to us it was HUGE. You see, MJ and I have been married for 26 years. And, in the 26 years we’ve been married, we’ve NEVER been on a vacation by ourselves without children. Never. So this was a monumental event for us and we couldn't even believe it was happening.

We’ve had children pretty much our whole marriage (our oldest son, Michael, is 25). By the time our biological kids were getting old enough to be left alone we adopted a sibling group of 5. They were ages 11, 8, 6, 4 and 2. So, after almost 20 years of raising children, we started all over again- almost at ground zero. And at that point our family was too big to leave that many kids with anyone. So we never went anywhere by ourselves.

But last week that all changed. Me and MJ boarded a plane and headed North (about 5 hrs) to the city of Natal, Brazil. It was absolutely amazing. For 4 days we didn't think about kids, dogs, cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, ministry, camps, sermon preparation, problems, worries, nothing! We just rested, hung out together, rested, walked on the beach, rested, ate great food and did I say, “we rested?” Haha! It was the most relaxed we’ve been in years- literally!

The view from our balcony: )

Our view at night

The lobby of the Natal Sehrs Grand Hotel (where we stayed)

What was on our door for 4 days: )

The world famous Camarões- where we ate twice!

It was perfect and it came at just the right time. It truly refreshed us and has given us a much needed boost- enabling us to carry on longer here in Brazil: )

A panoramic view from our balcony

So, once again, “thank you soooo much Graystone” for blessing us with such an amazing gift- one that was literally 26 years in the making: )

We Love You Guys!

Jim and MJ

4 Years (And we’re still alive)

September 22nd marked our 4 year anniversary of moving here to Brazil as missionaries. I had envisioned writing this blog and sending it out on the 22nd but, as usual, things don’t ever seem to go as planned.

I went to bed Sunday Night (the 20th) and around 1:00am I woke up shivering uncontrollably. Even though it’s the end of Winter here in Brazil the temperatures have been in the 80/90’s during the day and in the 70’s at night. So to be shivering didn’t make any sense. So, virtually still asleep, I just piled the covers on and tried to continue sleeping. But then I started sweating profusely along with the shivering. This lasted all through the night and into the morning. I tried getting up out of bed but my whole body ached and I was burning up with fever.

Long-story-short, I was in bed with a high fever for 5 days trying to stay asleep just to escape the pain in my body. No communication with my family, no food, no light, no anything- just sleeping, aching, sweating and shivering. Every time I tried getting out of bed my stomach felt like someone was sticking a knife in it and twisting the blade. It was horrible. 

Nobody else in the family had what I had (thank God) so it was hard to figure out what this actually was that was ravaging my body. Did I get bit by something? I had bites all over my body so this was definitely a possibility. Did I ingest some type of bacteria through the food or water here on the mountain? Did I get some kind of super-virus hugging someone at church on Sunday during meet and greet? Did I come in contact with rat urine/feces somewhere while I was working at the camp, because I was showing some of the symptoms of it? Who knows…

After the 5th day I wasn't getting any better so I decided to drive an hour to the hospital. They ran blood tests on me and then did an ultrasound on all my internal organs to see if they could figure out what was going on with me. They discovered some type of bacteria in my stomach that could be knocked-out with antibiotics. Great. But there were problems in my blood because of this bacteria and they said that I needed to be hospitalised for a minimum of 2 days while they tried to correct it. 

OK. This is where being here in Brazil by ourselves is challenging. I had Matthew with me and we had no way of getting in contact with MJ back on the mountain to let her know what was going on (no phone or internet). I couldn't reach anyone to help us and I was so sick that I didn't know what to do.

I let them admit me while we were trying to get Matthew a ride back to the mountain. After all the paperwork they brought me to the room. As they opened the door I could hear the people in the room. It was sooooo loud. Plus there was no air moving (no fan or a/c) and the air temperature in the room was swelteringly hot. The little ghetto TV that was in the room was blaring some type of Portuguese show so loudly that I’m sure the speakers were blown (because it sounded so distorted), and then there was this shirtless guy laying there (spread eagle) in his underwear on one of the beds! If that weren't enough, his wife was lounging on my bed talking on her cell phone! What?! How was I gonna be able to recover in this atmosphere? I was really sick and needed peace- not more drama.

So I told the nurse, "no way. I’m leaving. Get the doctor and prescribe whatever it is that I need to recover and I’ll do it at home because I’m NOT staying here.” So they checked me out, gave me some prescriptions and I was gone: ) 

Here I am a little over a week later and I’m finally better. But, to be honest with you, I was concerned. You see, we’ve had several people die over the last 4 years here with symptoms just like I had. People my age too. Things that would seem like they would be treatable back in the States- could be a death sentence here in a foreign country. 

We had a friend of the family 2 years ago die from coming in contact with rat urine while doing some construction. One day I waved at him as he was driving out of the camp- 2 days later he was in the hospital fighting for his life. A fight that, sadly, he lost. Leaving behind a wife and 3 children.

We had another friend of the family that came and visited my sister-in-law here in Brazil before her and her family headed to the Dominican Republic as missionaries. A few months after she was here she contracted dengue fever and passed away. Leaving behind a husband and 7 children. 

There have been several other situations here on the mountain where people have died from flu-like symptoms or from what would seem like something that was treatable. So to say I was concerned? Yeah, I was concerned.

But here’s the thing. As concerned as I was- leaving never entered my mind. Sure, I wanted relief from the pain. But not at the expense of being outside of the will of God. Because, after 4 years of living through so much craziness, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Because amidst the drama is where His presence has been for Me and my Family. He's called us here and (for now) that’s where His presence is for us- right here in Brazil.

In the past, when I was younger, I always tried finding the easiest route for my life and the life of my family. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve begun to realise that it’s more important to be in the center of God’s will than it is to have a life free of difficulties and full of ease. If we would've taken the easier route (aka- the path of least resistance) we wouldn't have been able to see the lives of so many children and teenagers changed here in Brazil. It’s been amazing to see what God has done through our family. It’s truly been a privilege and an honour just being a part of what’s happened over the last 4 years and for that we’re very grateful.

And even though we’ve been through so many difficult times I can honestly say that if I were to die here- I would die without having any regrets. Sure, I’ve made huge mistakes here in Brazil (and at home in the States) but I don’t think we’ve ever run from anything He’s asked us to do. We’ve always just jumped right in to wherever we felt like He was leading us- whether we understood it or not. All in an effort to be obedient. And He’s always been faithful to us through it. So, we have no regrets and that’s a great feeling: )

So what do the next 4 years hold? I honestly couldn't tell you. But we’ll continue to seek His will for us and for the ministry here in Brazil as we follow His plan for our lives. 

And, as I close out this blog, I would especially like to say, “thank you” to all the people who've supported us over the last 4 years. Without you we couldn't do what we do here in Brazil. Your love and support for our family has enabled us to do so much in a short amount of time and we are truly grateful for each and every one of you. 

Love Ya!

Jim and MJ