Running on Fumes

I’m gonna be straight with you. In September it’ll be 4 years since we’ve moved here to Brazil. And as difficult as it was back then- it’s just as difficult now. And we’re so tired. Seriously tired. And it’s not just a ‘physical tiredness’ that I’m talking about (yes, we’re physically exhausted too). It’s a ‘soul tiredness.’ 

It’s hard to explain unless you experience it firsthand. Everything fights against you here. The elements, the insects, the reptiles, the spiritual battles taking place (we can’t see them but we definitely feel them), the cultural differences, the lack of common conveniences that make life more doable (like something as simple as being able to flush toilet paper and not having to go burn it). Everything takes 3 more steps to do than normal (like having to heat water in a kettle to wash dishes with- and the water is oftentimes brown, yum!). 

And then there’s the loneliness. That’s probably what's taking the biggest toll on us right now.  Being way out in the middle of nowhere by ourselves is hard. Thank God we actually like each other, lol! Seriously. But not having a constant community of friends around (more than just on Sunday and anytime we’re doing an outreach) is difficult. The one thing  that this whole experience has taught me is that “we weren't created to follow Jesus alone. We were created to follow Jesus in community with other believers.” As big or as small that community may be- we’re not made to walk alone. We need each other: )

Anyway, back to the main reason for this blog… as difficult as things are here- what we were able to do last Friday is really what keeps us going. It’s like, just when we’re feeling so discouraged that we don’t know if we’ll be able to continue, it happens. We’re able to minister to some of the amazing children here in Brazil and it gives us more 'fuel in the tank' so that we can keep going. 

To be able to look into the eyes of the children that are living in such extreme poverty in a village littered with crime, drugs and dispair- and to be able to share the Gospel with them and let them know that despite where they are that Jesus loves them, died for them and that He wants them for His own… man, that’s what lets us know that we’re not just living where we’re living in vain. 

These are just some of the children that we were able to minister to last Friday

Last Friday we were able to minister to approximately 200 children ages 2-8 in a school in Villa Zumbi. Villa Zumbi is one of the poorest villas in this region of Brazil and has a population of around 10,000 people- over 4,000 of which are children. 

The first group of kids being led in

Kids getting excited about what's about to take place

Matthew doing some up-front games with the kids while the music is pumping
and the rest of the children are making their way into the ministry area

We ministered to the kids in groups of 50-70 at a time. And what we did (and it’s typical of what we do when we go to schools, orphanages, shelters, etc.) was we had several group games to get everyone comfortable and interacting. 

4-way tug-of-war is always a great game no matter what age group we're ministering to

Beach Ball Relay is about to begin 

It's a race against the clock to see which team can get all the balls off the parachute

This was one of the best games of the day- the kids loved it!

Maryssa and her team waiting for their turn at the parachute: )

Then at the end of the group's session we gave a simple Gospel message. On Friday we talked about how "if any man be in Christ that he was a new creation. Old things were passed away and all things were new (2 Cor. 5:17)." And we explained how an actual metamorphosis takes place when someone gives their lives to Jesus (just like a caterpillar-butterfly & tadpole-frog). 

Kids listening intently as we presented the Gospel

Mozart and Jim- The Dynamic Duo... making it happen: )

Mozart, Jim, Maryssa and Kevin doing the "New Creation"presentation 

Matthew also getting in on the action

And then we gave everyone candy from the US (Dum-Dums) and a little plastic butterfly to remind them of the day's lesson. Simple but memorable. And we'll do the same thing (just a different Gospel-centered-message) the next time, and the next time and the next. Building on what was taught previously. We feel like seeing the same kids over and over is the best way to minister to them (rather than just seeing them once and then moving-on to a different orphanage or school).

Jim handing out candy at the end of one of the sessions

So, thank you to all of our supporters back home in the US. Because of you we’re able to take the Gospel to places where even though the darkness is present- we’re seeing it expelled as we bring in the light.

Matthew and his first group of the day: )

MJ was the photographer of the day so she didn't make it into many shots-
but you still couldn't keep her from loving on these amazing children.

           

                    We Love You Guys!

                 Jim, MJ and the Whole Dunn Gang

PS- You can see the entire photo album of the day on our Facebook page by clicking HERE.

Here’s Your Sign

No this isn’t the punchline to one of Bill Engvall’s famous “here're your sign” jokes, although those are pretty funny. 

No- this is about God giving me a literal sign the other morning.

There I was sitting at the kitchen table trying to process a situation that we were dealing with. There’s this guy here in Brazil who really took advantage of us a couple years ago. He blatantly lied to us and did some things to us that were really jacked-up. This supposed ‘brother-in-Christ’ took advantage of us and the camp, what he did was just wrong. And the way he did it really hurt us in the process. 

And, because of what he did, we had to wrestle with bitterness for a while (fighting against it) because of his actions. I don’t want to get any more specific than that because I don’t want to ‘out' anyone. But we processed through it and moved on. 

Anyway, he recently contacted me via email asking for my help in a particular situation. My first reaction was "forget it buddy!” Why should I help someone who lied, cheated and did the things to our family that he did? But then The Holy Spirit reminded me that I’m a follower of Jesus and I needed to take the high road and help the best I could. 

So I answered him back and helped him the best way I could. I didn’t even make any snide/witty/sarcastic remarks in my response to him either (although I wanted to). See, after all these years I'm finally starting to learn: )

Then, a few days later, he sent me another message wanting me to go even further with my help to him. Again, my initial response (in my mind) was “this guy can forget it! Is he smoking crack or something!?" Not very christian-like, I know. But I'm just trying to be honest with you. That was my initial response (in my mind) anyway. And I hate that that junk is in me. I really do. And even though it only lasted a few seconds, the fact that it's still an initial response frustrates me. But anyway...

So, there I was, trying to figure out what to do? Do I continue to help this guy? Do I make him sweat a while before I respond? Do I totally ignore him? Do I only partially help him since he treated us so badly? What was I going to do? 

That’s when it happened… MJ was cleaning out from under our bed and found some decorations hidden-away that we had shipped here from the States. One of things she found was a sign. She had no idea that I was wresting with this particular situation either. But she walked out into the kitchen holding this sign and said, “do you think I should hang this up somewhere?” It was all I could do to not bust out laughing. Here’s the actual sign I’m talking about.

Does God have a sense of humour or what? lol! It’s not like He just brought that scripture to my memory (which is what usually happens when He instructs/rebukes/ chastises me), no. He had my wife carry a literal sign out to the kitchen and made me read it! Is that awesome or what? haha!

But, even though I thought it was comical, it was still an instruction to me for this situation. Man, don’t you hate it when that happens?! So that’s what I’m gonna do- act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God. Because it’s what He requires of me.

But the reason I’m writing this today isn’t just for me, no. I really believe that there’s someone else who'll read this that’s dealing with something similar and your wondering what to do. Well, here’s your sign…

Love Ya,

Jim

A Wake-Up Call For Leaders?

It’s very difficult trying to stay-up with current events from our house here in the jungle. We don’t have network television or cable. And our internet is so slow that trying to open a news website to stay up with current events is impossible. So usually we’ll see people talking about something (news-wise) on Facebook and if it sounds important we’ll investigate it for ourselves (when we can get to town and go online where there’s actually some bandwidth available).

So what I’m about to say has probably been talked about, analysed and already re-hashed 14 different ways by now (by all of my friends back in the States). But, for me, it’s fresh and new so bear with me even if you’ve already moved past this.

What I want to talk about is what happened with Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. And no, I’m not writing this blog to bash Mark Driscoll or criticise him in any way. I just think that when something of this magnitude happens we need to look at the situation and check within ourselves to see if there are any of the same warning signs of it possibly happening to us too. When something like this happens surely there’s something that all of us can learn from it.

Last year at this time Mars Hill was one of the largest/fastest growing/most influential  churches in the world. After a small start in an apartment in 1996, by 2013’ Mars Hill had grown to 15 locations averaging over 12,000 in attendance each week. Mark Driscoll’s podcast on i-tunes was one of the most popular with over 260,000 sermon views per week. That’s over 13,000,000 views per year! Think about that… his sermons were being listened to by hundreds of thousands of people each week all over the world! That’s crazy. What an amazing platform to spread the Gospel and to strengthen the Church (and that’s big ‘C' church- not little ‘c’ church). 

Besides being the lead pastor at Mars Hill Mark Driscoll was also a successful author and one of the most sought after conference speakers too. Actually, Me and MJ saw him speak in South Carolina at a leadership conference a few months before we moved here to Brazil back in 2011’. What he said was very impactful and the Lord spoke to both of us through his message that day.

Mark Driscoll was also the leader of The Resurgence Leadership Network and in Seattle in 2013’ Mars Hill hosted (either in person or on-line) over 20,000 leaders from 177 countries at their R13 Conference. Mars Hill had also recently begun a Pastoral Internship Program where people from all over the world could come, be trained and then be sent out to plant/pastor churches- and all for the sake of the Gospel. So, long-story-short… Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill were "killin' it" last year at this time.

But this year Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll- including all their campuses, all their podcasts, all the conferences, all the books sales, everything- are gone. Poof! Just like that. Nowhere to be seen. How can that even be possible? It’s almost unfathomable when you think about what a major player Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill were on the ‘christian landscape’ less than 12 months ago.**

So, I guess the most pressing question (to me, anyway) is how did this happen and how can we as pastors, leaders and fellow believers in Jesus ensure that it doesn't happen to our churches? Because I don’t think this was just a fluke. I think it’s something that could easily happen to any of us (maybe not on the same scale- but it could still happen nonetheless). Because no matter what anyone says, Mark Driscoll isn’t a bad guy, a false prophet who got what was coming to him or any of the myriad of other things that people say about him- he’s a fellow brother in Christ who made some bad decisions and over a period of time when the bad decisions weren't dealt with and changed the unthinkable happened. 

You see there was nothing immoral that happened that caused Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill to disappear. No sex scandals took place. There were no accusations of money being used inappropriately buying mansions, new Gulfstream Jets or Rolls Royce's, no. None of these things happened. There were however accusations of plagiarism along with him buying his way onto the New York Times Best Sellers List with his newest book “Real Marriage.” But neither of those things are what caused Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill to collapse. 

What I can tell (from listening/reading comments from Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill church members and from different staff members/elders from Mars Hill Church) there were some things that happened that, if they would've dealt with them in a Godly-biblical way early on, all of this could've been avoided.

For those of us who are leaders of churches and ministries, it would be wise to learn from other people’s mistakes. Especially when the mistakes are made by people who genuinely love Jesus and want to make the Gospel known to the ends of the earth just like us. None of us will probably ever build ministries as big as what Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill did but no matter the size of our churches and ministries- I think that all these things still apply and we’d be wise to try and ensure that history doesn't repeat itself.

Before I give you my list of observations I just want to say that whether we agree or disagree with Mark Driscoll and what he did is irrelevant. My sole purpose for writing this is just an attempt to glean something that could possibly help us be better pastors, better ministry leaders and better followers of Jesus. My heart breaks for Mark Driscoll, his family, the thousands of Mars Hill Church Members and the countless podcasters that have been effected by this. So here we go:

4 things I think we can learn from what’s happened to Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill:

4) Being cool and edgy with what we say isn't always a good thing. I’m by no means a prude when it comes to this subject. Those of you who know me can vouch for this. And those of us who speak publicly for a living have all said things we’ve regretted, right? I could give you a list a mile long of stupid things I’ve said from the pulpit that, in retrospect, I wish I could take back. But doing/saying things just for the sake of getting a laugh, being hip or cool (aka- being relevant) isn’t always good. To intentionally try to talk like the world just for the sake of “being relevant” isn’t wise and it isn’t necessary. And saying things (especially using profanity) for shock value isn't ever a good thing. No matter how many laughs we get or how ‘down-to-earth and real’ it makes us sound- our speech needs to be pure. In the pulpit and out. 

3) Surrounding yourself with ‘yes men’ isn’t wise. Although it didn’t start out that way it looks like that’s the way it ended up at Mars Hill. Everyone who didn’t cower down to what Mark Driscoll wanted was selectively weeded-out. 

So, if we looked at our teams right now and all we could see was people who told us we’re right all the time, that all our ideas are awesome and that basically worship at our feet (figuratively, of course)- and all out of fear, there’s a problem. Because no matter how creative we are, no matter how many great ideas we have, no matter how successful we get to be- we as leaders aren't always gonna be right about everything and we won’t always know what’s best for every situation. We need each other. Others (aka- our staff) aren't around us to just feed our egos and do all the grunt work for us. 

If we surround ourselves with a bunch of people who are afraid to disagree with one of our ‘awesome ideas’ and who agree with all our decisions we’re just asking for trouble. Because if everyone’s just going to agree with everything I say and see things exactly the way I see them, then one of us is unnecessary. Everyone on the team brings something to the table of value, everyone can offer a different perspective- it’s not just about me. 

We don’t need to surround ourselves with people that agree with us about everything and that are only there to tell us how great we are all the time- it’s not healthy. And, most importantly, the people around us (the ones closest to us) always need to have the freedom to rebuke us if we really need it. It shouldn't matter if I’m the boss or what my title is. 

No matter how famous, important or powerful (supposedly) that we become we always need to be in submission to each other.  A perfect example can be seen in Galatians 2:11-14 when Paul publicly rebukes Peter. Peter was an original disciple and a Christ appointed Apostle who had been following Jesus longer than Paul, but be that as it may, Paul still checked him when he (Peter) was wrong. We can also see that Peter (an original disciple/Apostle) was in submission as a fellow-worker with others who hadn't walked with Jesus as long as him in Acts 8:14, 11:1-16 and 15:7-21. Bottom line- no matter who we are, “we ain't all that!”

2) Thinking 'your poop doesn’t stink.’ Even though it’s just a matter of speech, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with number 3. If we ever get to the point where we’re never wrong about anything and that everyone else has the problem… "I mean, look at all my success, right?… of course I’m right and you're wrong otherwise we wouldn't be this successful. Plus I’m the one God put in charge.”… If that kind of thinking ever creeps in and we start believing the hype- we’ve got to drag it (that kind of thinking) out into the street and kill it! We’re all fallible, we all make mistakes, we all have issues that need to be put under the blood daily. If we’re never wrong (in our own minds) and repentance isn’t a part of our daily lives then there’s a good chance this applies to us. (I Jn 1:5-2:2)

And from what I can tell, success (the way we usually measure it) can NEVER be the only indicator that what we’re doing is right. Because our success isn’t necessarily God’s stamp of approval and success isn't always Him saying that what we’re doing is OK. We’ve got to press-in to Him daily- making sure our hearts are pure. 

1) Building a ministry around a single personality or person is very dangerous. This is probably the thing that’s stuck out to me the most through this whole thing.

In a culture that idolises personalities, whether it’s someone on TV or on the Silver Screen, someone who can sing or play an instrument or an athlete who can run, throw or shoot… we’re all drawn to people who have abilities greater or different than ours. 

So for this same mentality to creep into the church and for superstar-christians to be made?… Well, it's to be expected. But how do we fight against that? Because if we allow our churches to be built around ‘us' (the pastor/leader) and we allow ourselves to be the central characters (and, in essence- idolised) then we’re really doing a disservice to our people. 

What if something happens to us (the pastor/leader)? What’s gonna happen when we’re gone? Because whether it’s through death, retirement or Heaven forbid- a fall from grace, we’re not going to be in our positions forever, right? So to build a ministry that revolves solely on my voice, my personality and my abilities is really selfish if you think about it. Because if what we’re building relies solely on me to survive then it’s probably going to negatively effect everyone when I'm gone. 

The only way to avoid this is to plan and be hyper-intentional and fight against it (how this is carried out will look different for everyone). I mean, go look on-line and read some of the things written by Mars Hill Church Members, Staff and Elders and see how devastated, hurt and broken they are. It’s heartbreaking. It (our churches and ministries) can NEVER be about us. As much as we say, “it's about Jesus” we’ve got to prove it by fighting against our ministries revolving around us as the central personality. Because no matter how successful we look today- tomorrow we could be gone. And, if that’s the case, what would we leave behind? Just something to responsibly and prayerfully think about.

Trying Not to Mess-up While Passionately Following Jesus,

Jim

** On January 1, 2015’ the Mars Hill Church Network officially disbanded. But in an effort to keep things going, 11of the the Mars Hill Churches became independent churches while the remaining sites closed their doors. While nothing can be found on i-tunes, a lot of Mark Driscolls sermons were moved to markdriscoll.org .

I Need Dad!!!

It has literally rained almost every day for at least 5 weeks now. And we’ve been without power almost every day for a good portion of either the day/night since Christmas. Actually, we were without power a couple of times for over 24 hrs straight on back-to-back days. So that makes the hot Brazilian summer nights a lot hotter than usual (no fans) and the nights a lot darker than usual (jungle dark) because of not having lights. But what’s funny (funny ironic- not funny ha ha) is that it really hasn’t bothered us as much as it has in times past. It’s just a part of life here and to get frustrated and complain about it does absolutely no good at all. So why bother, right? Wow, I think I’m finally learning something! lol!

Anyway, our road is crazy-muddy right now because of all of the rain. So I was washing the car real early the other morning before Me and Matthew went to town to get some supplies in the city. I didn’t want to look like a bunch of rednecks who just got back from a truck and tractor pull competition (because of all the mud) so the car HAD to be washed.

As I was washing the car Gabriel and Robert (our 2 youngest kids) were about 75 yards away, at the burn hole, burning trash. If you remember, we don’t have trash pick-up, like back home in the States, so all our household trash needs to be burned: )  Awesome, huh? 

The burn hole where all our trash is burned: )

Anyway, they were burning trash when all of a sudden I heard an explosion and Robert simultaneously began screaming-out in pain! As I looked over toward the burn hole I could see him jumping out of the hole- holding the inside of his leg screaming/crying and then he started writhing around on the ground. 

Somehow an empty shaving cream can had made its way into the wrong trash can (we have a recycling can that this type of refuse is suppose to go in so it can be taken to town and another can that is for burnable trash). 

The shaving cream can had heated up in the fire and then it exploded- sending pieces of metal and scalding hot shaving cream flying through the air. Some of the hot shaving cream stuck to his leg like molten lava and was severely burning him as it melted through his skin!

I immediately started running, full speed, toward him to help. And as I was on my way to him I could hear him crying out to Gabriel, “I need Dad, I need Dad!” Talk about emotional… man, it cut right to my heart. To hear your child crying out in pain, “I need Dad, I need Dad” was very heart-wrenching. It actually made me run faster than I’ve run in years. Even though I was wearing flip-flops and even though I don’t typically run anywhere (my body’s not built for running, haha)- hearing him crying out for me made me run like I was a sprinter in the Olympics or something. It was crazy.

As I made it to him I scooped him up into my arms and started wiping off all the shaving cream that had fused to his legs with the towel I was washing the car with. After I got it all off his legs I just held him tightly in my arms as he hugged me back, all the while crying these huge crocodile tears. It was very emotional. 

MJ was in the house and she came running out too as I was trying to calm him down and asses the severity of his injuries. We carried him back to the front porch and put burn cream on his legs, gave him some pain reliever and just sat there holding him as he was trying to recover from this traumatic event. 

We prayed over Robert and thanked God that He didn't allow the explosion to be worse than it actually was. I mean, it could've killed one of the boys or it could've exploded into their eyes or something… so we were very thankful that it wasn't worse. And as I was sitting there trying to process the whole event a few things struck me.

First of all, the fact that he cried out “I need Dad, I need Dad” really surprised me. I would've thought he would've wanted Mom in a situation like that. So it really made me emotional for some reason. 

Secondly, the fact that I was able to run REALLY surprised me. lol! I’ve got bad ankles and haven't been able to run in years. But there was so much adrenaline flowing through me that I may’ve broken some kind of land-speed-record I ran so fast. haha!

But neither one of those are the thing that stuck out to me the most. As I was thinking about the event later that day, it reminded me of a scripture in Psalm 34 that says, 

"The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry… When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”              

                                                                                              Psalm 34:15-19 

God is a way better father than I could ever be. And He loves me way more than I could ever love my kids. So, in light of that fact, to know how it made me feel to hear my son crying out for me and to see how quickly I responded- and to know that God’s ears are toward me when I cry out to Him the same way... wow. 

As believers we have the promise that He not only hears us when we cry out to Him but we also have the promise that He'll respond and deliver us: )

So rather than always trying to 'tough it out’ or 'handle things on our own like big boys/girls’ we need to cry out to our Father instead. Because, as we do, He’s gonna come running. 

Love Ya,

Jim

Freedom!

Well, last Friday afternoon a monumental thing took place at the Dunn House. We were able to finally bring home our new van. It’s difficult to explain with words how great an event this was and how it’s going to effect our family in the future. 

For over 3 years now our family hasn’t been able to go anywhere together at the same time (except when we had a rented vehicle for a day- this maybe happened 4 times in over 3 years). Think about that for a minute. It’s difficult to fully comprehend how this effects your family until you have to actually live through it yourself. It stinks, trust me. 

When we left the US in 2011’ we had 2 cars that were paid for. Our family could come and go as we pleased at any moment. Looking back, I now realize that it’s something that we actually took for granted. When we moved to Brazil we sold both vehicles and had to use the money for plane tickets, shipping costs for a container we sent (with household goods in it) and then we used the rest for a car here in Brazil. And after we paid for all our moving/travelling expenses there wasn't enough money left for a vehicle big enough for our whole family to fit in. 

We knew that God had called us here. We could see the impact our family was making in the community, at the orphanages and in the favelas we were ministering in. But the thing that didn't make any sense to us was “why wasn't God allowing our whole family to minister together?” I mean- in the States our family was in ministry ‘together.' We were pastors at a local church and our entire family was involved in every outreach, every youth event, every church service- we were all there ‘together’ in everything we did. We didn’t think that God had just called Mom and Dad into the ministry, no. We believed (and still believe) that God has called our entire family into the ministry. So why wasn't He providing a vehicle for us?

I’ll be honest with you, it use to really frustrate me. For years we prayed and prayed- asking God to provide a vehicle for us. But nothing happened. One time we even tried to raise funds through our newsletter (a couple years ago) but that was a fail. And I didn't feel like we were suppose to beg people for money. So we just decided that it was out of our control and if it was ever going to happen it would have to be a miracle of God. It was in His hands and we were just going to trust Him.

Well after 3+ years He’s done it! He's provided a van for us. We’re humbled and so very grateful. If you don’t know how He provided it you can click HERE to read the story. And if  you’d like to see a video of what occurred on that day you can click HERE.

After weeks of searching, haggling, investigating (there’s a lot of shady car dealerships here) and finding the right van for our family we were finally able to find a great deal on a really great van. We were able to purchase a 2010’ Peugeot Boxer Turbo Diesel with low milage and that’s in great shape.

It seats 16 but we removed the back row of seats so that we can transport sound equipment and ministry supplies. So now it comfortably seats 12: ) We’re so happy that mere words on a computer screen don’t do justice to how we happy we really are.

I didn’t want this to be a long blog but just to give you a glimpse of how this is going to effect our family I’ll share a story of something that happened just 20 minutes after we took our family for their first ride together.

When we found a van it was a difficult process trying to finalise a deal and get the title put into our name. We actually spent almost a whole week working on another van deal but we decided to back out because we felt like the guy wasn't being honest with us and was trying to take advantage of 'the americans.' Every time we came home (over the last couple weeks) all the kids would run out to the driveway to see if we were rolling up in our new van. And, as each day passed,  the kids were getting pretty discouraged by us having to tell them, "nope- it didn't happen again today."

But it finally happened and we brought the van home for the first time late Friday afternoon. At that point the kids hadn't seen it and they all came rushing out with big smiles on their faces when they saw me driving up our gravel driveway. It was raining but it didn't matter as we all looked at our new van. We immediately loaded up all he kids and took them for a drive. We needed water too, so we loaded 5 empty water jugs into the car and drove down the mountain to the beverage store to exchange them for full ones.

When we pulled up to the store we recognised this homeless man who was there trying to stay out of the rain. We knew this guy because we've been ministering to him over the last month or so. He's been living under the bridge at the highway for over a month now and we've started to develop a relationship with him.

Well, after we switched out the water jugs I asked the man (through Matthew) to come outside so that Me and MJ could talk to him. We asked him how his New Year was going and if he was doing ok. He said he was doing good but I didn't think he was being honest with me. I really felt like we we're suppose to give him some money so I got $50 out of my wallet and gave it to him. He was shocked when he realised that we were just wanting to be a blessing to him with no strings attached. As I was talking to him I noticed that all the kids were in the van (it was pulled right up to the door so we could load the big water jugs) looking at us and watching us as we were talking to this man about the goodness of our God.

Me and Matthew talked to him for a few minutes more and MJ got back into the van with the  kids. When she did the kids immediately asked her who the man was and what we were doing. She explained to them that the man didn't have a home and that we were just trying to be kind to him and help him.

As Matthew and I continued to talk to him we found out that he didn't have any food and that he hadn't been able to make any money for the last several days because of the rain. He makes these cups (long story-another time) and the store that he sits in front of (to sell them) has been closed since New Year's Day and he didn't have money or food because of that. So us giving him the money allowed him to get food for a few days until his business picks back up. Definitely God's timing on our visit to this water store: )

Anyway, the reason I wanted to share this story with you is because for over 3 years now we've been here ministering and reaching out to the people in our community and our own kids hardly ever got to be a part of it or even see it happening. And for us it's imperative that they're a part of the ministry just like us. Otherwise, when they grow-up, they'll look at ministry as just another vocation or, worse yet, despise the ministry because it's what kept mom and dad away. But the fact that our kids got to see an example (firsthand) of what mom and dad have been doing for the last 3 years here in Brazil... well, I think it was an aha moment for them. And we only had the van for about 20 minutes at that point!

So more than being excited about our family going to church together, going to the store together or anywhere else together- us being able to minister 'together' as a family again is what most excites me. So thank you, thank you, thank you first and foremost to The Lord. And secondly, thank you to everyone who gave and made this dream a reality for our family. 

We believe this is only the beginning of what's going to be a great thing for our family here in Brazil as we endeavour to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people who desperately need him.

Love You Guys!

Jim, MJ and the Whole Dunn Gang

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