Robert Joseph Dunn

Well, as I said yesterday, we are going to highlight one child per day over the next week. This will give everyone an inside look at their personalities and how they are fitting into our family. I figured I'd start with Robert because he is the youngest and the most challenging. He turned 2 in November. When we first met him at the orphanage and he held out his hands for me to take him... my heart just melted. Then he took his little hands and used them to pry my mouth open (you can see it in one of the pics) so that he could remove the gum from my mouth and put it in his! That's Robert... our 'I'll eat anything' little man. He eats dirt (which FYI comes out just like it goes in), drinks from mud puddles (today!), crayons, gum that was stuck to a park bench, pine cones, sticks, and the list goes on. He can eat 2-3 bannanas in about 3 minutes (this may be a world record, I will check with Guiness later). He also has a huge personality and he is so cute... and he knows it. This kid is so smart which is good and bad. Good, because smart is good, right? Bad, because this kid figures out stuff that you wish he couldn't. He will find a way to get dirty when it just isn't necessary. He will look at me from his crib, with his pacifyer in his mouth and give me the 'thumbs up' before closing his eyes to go to sleep. He is constant motion which really wears on me. He has no fear. He climbs a cargo net faster than most big kids or adults for that matter. He is always getting into something. I get exhausted just thinking about all the stuff he gets into. His smile can just melt your heart and make you forget about all the stuff he does wrong.

Now I need to make a confession. I had to repent today. Robert was very challenging for me today and I made the comment to Mary Jane that, "I could leave him here and just take the rest back to the States." I was just totally burnt out on everything that we have been going through here and Robert seemed to be the biggest challenge. Even though I wasn't serious, I still should never have said it. You guys know that I'm very sarcastic but I should have never said this. Later, when I was in the shower, the Lord convicted me and really dealt with me. You see I was also adopted. Not by earthly parents but by my Heavenly Father when I was born again. And I do stuff that I know frustrates him... but he never even thinks about leaving me behind. For me to even say something like that was wrong. Little Robert can't help being the way he is. He hasn't had anyone to really love him and shape and mold him into a godly kid. As a matter of fact when the police took him away from his father, his father was holding him at knife-point. That's the kind of life he's used to. So, as frustrating as it may be... he's my son and I love him. Mary Jane and I are committed to stand with him through whatever challenges arise. I believe the enemy can identify destiny and purpose in peoples lives. Just think about some of the great people in the Bible and how satan tried to snuff out their destiny when they were young. I believe my son Robert has destiny and purpose on his life and we are committed to pointing him in the right direction. So, pray for us. Pray that God will give us wisdom and patience.

I'll close today's blog with this story. It rained all day again... praise God! Anyway, it stopped around 4:30 so we told the kids we were going to take them outside. We put play clothes on everybody and started down the hall and down stairs. The kids ran ahead of us, like always. When we made it outside and turned the corner around the back of the building, to the field that we play in, none of our kids were there! It was so surreal. You could actually here crickets churping because it was so quiet. Mary Jane and I looked at each other and just busted out laughing. We had managed to lose not just 1 of our kids... but we had just lost all of them! But then after a few minutes, we could here this voice in the distance..."Mom, Dad" (in Portuguese) coming from the direction of the hotel entrance. It was our little Robert. Leading the pack with all of his brothers and sister following him. Marching down the hill coming to the feild to play with Mom and Dad. That's our Robert. A leader even at the age of 2.

We love you guys!

Robert's Mom and Dad