Watching someone work definitely puts the pressure on!

Have you ever been just minding your own business doing your job, when all of a sudden you realize you have someone watching you? But then you realize that they're not just admiring your handywork... they are wanting you to hurry! This happened today to some poor pool guy across the street from where we are staying. We promised the kids that we would take them swimming today so when we got there the lady in the office said we could swim after the man finished cleaning the pool. She said, "it would be about an hour." We decided to wait even though it was only a few blocks from where we were staying. We decided this because we had just successfully crossed the street without anyone getting run over. If you've ever seen how people drive in Brazil you know what I mean. So we decided to sit and wait for the man to finish his job. Rather than sitting with Mom and Dad, the kids decided to stand at the gate and watch this man work. Well them watching him worked because he finished in about 15 minutes!

We got to the pool around 9:00am and we left at 12:00 for lunch. We then returned around 1:00 and stayed until 5:00pm! It was awesome. The kids had a great time and everyone kept thier clothes on all day(it's a miracle!). We assumed before we came to Brazil that the kids might not know how to swim so we came prepared. We brought little arm floats and inflatable rings from Atlanta. FYI... if you pay $1 at the dollar tree for a device that you are believing will keep you above water... there is a good chance it won't... nuff said. Anyway, the kids are doing great. We are seeing huge changes in thier attitudes. Sometimes we take it for granted how blessed we are to have raised our children from birth. These kids have been so abused and emotionally scarred because of thier birth parents so now we are having to step in and bring healing and closure to all of thier past hurts. It's difficult because you want to just shower them with love and affection but we also have to discilpline them and it's hard. It's funny though... the other morning I was in the bathroom, with my 4th diahreah attack of the day, reading my Bible and I asked the Lord to please speak to me... I usually don't do this but flipped open the Word and I was in proverbs. So, I just put my eyes down on the page and they landed (kind of like a roulette wheel, LOL) on the scripture where it talks about the rod of correction driving destruction far from a child and that it won't kill them even though it isn't pleasant. So, I started beating my kids in the name of the Lord! Come on! I'ts a joke! Seriously though... we've had to spank thier little butts several times and it's hard. They haven't had any loving disciple that we know of. It's so cool though, after we discipline them, we love on them and kiss them. I think it is blowing thier minds to see the two things working hand in hand (love and discipline). But just like the Word says, " whom the Lord loves he chastizes" so as parents we have to. Well that's all for today! We love you guys! We miss all our family and friends. Please continue to pray for us.

P.S. "Get out there and start spankin those youngins!" just kidding

Love Ya,

All wet in Brazil

"It feels like basic training all over again."

First of all thank you to everyone who is following our journey through this blog. Also, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who is praying for us. We truly covet your prayers. And finally a big thanks to everyone who has emailed us and left comments on our blog. Just knowing that others our standing with us is huge! Ok, now to today's blog... Tonight as I was laying across the bed, after I got Robert to sleep, I was thinking... "man, the way I feel right now seems very familiar." I am sore all over and I am spent physically, mentally and emotionally. Then it dawned on me... this is the way I felt in 86' when I was in the ARMY. I had my basic training down at Ft. Benning and this is the way I felt way back then! There are so many similarities. Let me share just a few:

1) Upon arrival everything you have is taken away

Army- They took all my clothes, toiletries, everything.

Brazil- The airline took all my clothes, toiletries, everything. But at least I got them back.

2) My head is shaved

Army- They shaved my head on the 2nd day of bootcamp. It's the military way.

Brazil- I shaved my head on the 2nd day. It's so hot, there's no AC and I'm sure we're

closer to the sun here.

3) Being yelled at and told that everything I'm doing is wrong

Army- The Drill Sargeants are always yelling at you and telling you you're wrong.

Brazil- Ok, I'm here with my wife and mother-in-law... need I say more?

4) The food is totally different than what I was use to

Army- Some of the food was unrecognizable... and who ever thought of an MRE

Brazil- Most of the food is unrecognizable... sometimes I'm afraid to ask what it is?

5) The Mess Hall is a place of stress

Army- In bootcamp you had about 3 minutes to eat your entire meal or you would definitely

be in trouble. No time to fellowship or talk.

Brazil- Here at the retreat center we have about 3 miutes to eat. Not because anyone is

making us though. Have you ever tried to feed this many little kids at one time? When we finish our meal it looks like there was an explosion of black beans and rice. There is definitely no time to fellowship or talk... we're on a mission just to feed everyone without breaking anything.

6) Going on road marches and carrying a heavy ruck sack

Army- When we went on road marches we carried all our gear in a ruck sack on our back.

It weighed about 70lbs. It had our stuff... shelter, clothes, bedroll, etc.

Brazil- When we leave the building, which is everyday, we carry a very heavy backpack. It

has everything in it from wet wipes to water balloons. It also has 11 water bottles in it

all ranging from big to small and all are different colors. Everybody has thier own

color. Why, I still can't figure out because everybody is drinking out of mine!

7) There are a lot of tears and snot flying

Army-In basic they took all of us to the gas chamber. They then made us breathe CS gas
(tear gas) so that we would know what it was like if we encountered it in combat.

There was a lot of tears and snot slingin goin on.

Brazil-From day 1 there has been a lot of tears and snot slingin going on. And I'm just

talking about the adults!

8) Your body is totally broken down and tired

Army- You start your day by running and PT (physical training). You march to hours on

end. You are being pushed every waking hour. You are so sore and the first few weeks

there you don't think you'll make it. And you think your body can't take it but you

perservere.

Brazil- We start our day by running after kids and PT (potty training). We are refereeing

and trying to train our kids to hours on end. My body is so sore from see-sawing,

pushing kids on swings, playing soccer, running after kids that are constantly in

escape mode, climbing on monkey bars, helping them up and down the slide, etc. I

even tried to do a cartwheel and I think I pulled something. We are being pushed

every waking hour. We've only been here a week and sometimes I don't think we'll

make it but we perservere.

But then I think about the payoff. After a while in the ARMY your body got stronger

and all the physical and mental stuff didn't effect you any longer. Actually it was the struggle

in the begining that gave you the power to be effective in the end. I believe that the things we

are experiencing right now are only going to make us stronger and more effective in the end.

These kids deserve a chance... just like every child does. I know that what we're doing right

now is only making a small impact on the orphan issue globally (there are currently 143

million orphans worldwide)... but, I also know that what we're doing for our 5 is going to make

a huge impact on thier lives forever.

I only cried 2 or 3 times today (this is an improvement). The one I will tell you about as I end

today's blog is this... Mary Jane and I were able to catch a little bit of one of the services live on
line today. As we were watching, it was very emotional for us because we miss our church

family so bad. But, as we were watching Diogo walked up to us as we were veiwing and we told

him in Portuguese that this was our church, his church. You should have seen the smile on his

face! He just sat there totally glued to the screen as worship was going. Just then, Pastor got

up into the pulpit and was singing and then let out a 'hallelujah' and as soon as he did Diogo

said, "halleujah" with a thick Portuguese accent. We just sat there amazed at what we had just

heard out of the mouth of our 5 year old. He said it with conviction too! For some reason that just helped bring things back into focus for me. We aren't just rescuing children from an

orphanage. We are raising mighty men and women of God who are going to have an impact on

thier world. As far as how I feel physically, mentally, and emotionally... bring it on because

we're on a mission from God and NOTHING will stop us!

We love you guys!

Battered and Bruised in Brazil

"I am finally getting my chance to tell the story!"

Jim is finally giving me a chance to blog (he always likes to tell his story) so here goes... It looks like we've made it through the first three days with our kids. Boy has it been an emotional rollercoaster. I have been either laughing or crying the entire time. Laughing, because I can't believe this is my life....crying, well because reality is, this is my life!!!! I thought I came totally prepared to take on the world, little did I know what a huge undertaking that this would be. I am such a home-body and this has put me totally out of my comfort zone. I miss my son (Michael), my dogs, my bed, my family, my church, my friends...you get the idea. Actually today wasn't that bad. I only cried four times. At breakfast Jim and I looked across the table at each other and broke down in tears. Meal times are very hectic with the younger ones. The positive side is that by the time I get to eat, I'm usually so stressed out that I hardly want to eat anything. I may just loose some weight before this is all over. We are on the go from 6:00 until 9:30. Yes, you heard me right, 6:00 am. I have no idea why anyone would want to get up that early but they do...every single one of them get up early. I packed my straightner and my curling iron, now I wished I would have saved the room in my luggage and left them at home. I'm lucky to get my hair 3/4 of the way blow dried before someone needs my help. So basically I am a walking frizz bomb and I don't like it at all but there's really not a whole lot that I can do about it unless I shaved my head like Jim. Believe me, if I could get away with it, I would do it. For those of you who know me well, you know that I like things clean and smelling good. Well, there's nothing clean and smelling good about seven people (six of them being males) sharing one bathroom. I had forgotten what it was like having little boys pee all over the seat. Last night I was quickly reminded of that fact. I went to sit down on the toilet and it felt a little sticky. I was so tired that I didn't even have the strength to hover (for those of you men that don't know what I am talking about, just ask your wives). I guess there are just some things that aren't important anymore, like having a clean toilet seat.?? Did I mention that in Brazil, you don't flush your toilet paper (they say that the pipes are too small)? No, it goes in the trash can right next to the toilet. Now you can imagine how pleasant that is with seven people and no air moving around.

But seriously, today I was thinking about how incredibly blessed that we are to have been chosen by God to be the parents to these precious little children. They truly are great kids. Today we were able to go to the park next door. It was so nice to have something different to do. The kids loved it! We overheard Anna Carolina "bragging" to another girl at the park about her family and how she was going to be living in the United States. She was so proud of all of us. Tonight there was a group of girls her age outside our window playing so she asked if she could go play with them. I went to check on her a few minutes later and when I looked out of the window she said "mom, come down here." I said I would but then I got busy doing something else. A few minutes later she came upstairs and grabbed my hand and said, "please come down there with me." I told her I really didn't want to because I felt ugly because I had been crying. She said, "you're not ugly, you're very pretty." She then looked at Jim and said, "isn't mom pretty?" Now how was I going to say no to her. She grabbed my hand and took me downstairs to show me off to her little friends. It almost made me cry (unfortunately I had already reach my crying limit for the day). I realize how important it is for these kids to have a family. They were so ready for us. It has truly been an amazing journey. Thanks to all of you for your love and support. We feel your prayers. Well it's time for bed so I guess I'll close for now. We love you!

Mary Jane

"And they were naked and unashamed"

No, I'm not quoting something out of the book of Genesis...what is it with my kids and them wanting to take thier clothes off? Todays challenge was trying to keep clothes on all 3 of our youngest boys! It's hot here but give me a break. I'm not exagerating when I say that every time I turned around when we were outside (which is most of the day) they were stripping down! And did I forget to mention that they aren't circumcised and that freaks me out? Anyway, today was another challenging day. The family is getting along great but we are so bored. There are only so many water balloon fights to have and only so many times to kick a ball around before you wonder, "what are we going to do for the next 40 days?" Please pray for us! I was so bored that I let Matthew shave my head completely bald today. Yesterday was just a buzz cut but today I'm Mr. Clean. Maryssa told me I looked ridiculous and that if anyone saw it they would laugh in my face... thanks Maryssa for that vote of confidence. One little tidbit of info I'd like to pass along; The 'wedgy' isn't just an American phenomenon, it is a universal way of torture for younger siblings. The older ones do it to the younger ones here but they add a little extra zing to it... after they pull the underwear up, they pull down the shorts on the outside to reveal what now looks like a g-string in the back! Even though it's funny I tell them "no" because I'm so responsible, right? Anyway, I can't wait for everyone to meet the kids. They are truly amazing. They definitely aren't perfect but I can see why God chose us for them. Even though it is going to stretch us spiritually, emotionally and physically it is going to be worth it. When Diogo (our 5 year old) prayed last night at dinner one of the things he prayed (it was in Portuguese, but my father-in-law interpreted for us later) was, "thank you God for my family." Man, when I heard that a lump rose up in my throat and tears came to my eyes because it truly humbled me. God is so good.

We miss church! I know we have only been away 1 service so far but it doesn't feel natural. We love H&L, our Pastors and all of our friends! Well, it's late so I'm off to get my sleep before the kids get up at 6:30 (that's 4:30 Atlanta time). We love you guys. Mary Jane will blog tomorrow so be sure to check back with us.

Love Ya!

10 people bored here in Brazil

"God definitely has a sense of humor!"

Well, we made it through the first 24hrs with no injuries (it's a miracle) and today was definitely challenging. I'll start today's blog with a little explaination first. We are all staying at a Christian retreat center in Curitiba, Brazil. Every house and business is set up like a little prison compound with walls and iron bars around each property because of the crime in the area. So our movement outside of the center is limited. The place we are staying is very clean and the people are very nice. There are a few things that I would like to point out though... it's very hot during the day which isn't bad except for the fact that there isn't ANY air conditioning here! That's right none! If you know me at all you know I can't stand being hot. Also there are no screens on any of the windows so that means any and all bugs in the area are welcome here. I haven't taken a hot shower yet because the water is cold because they don't have hot water heaters here either. Now, that was to just give you a little background on our environment. Today we were challenged just trying to keep the kids occupied. This wasn't bad except that Robert (2yrs old) and Gabriel (3yrs old) had former lives as "escape artists!" Everytime I turned around they were gone! Oh, did I mention they only speak Portuguese? We were constantly running and refereeing all of the little ones the entire day. At one point today I asked Mary Jane, "what in the world was God thinking when he called us to this?" But then we would see little things that would encourage us. Like how much these kids crave and give affection... or like tonight seeing Matthew and Marlon laughing histerically together even though thier communication is limited (they are best buds already)... or me getting beat by Diogo (our 5 year old) in a memory game where you try to match cards together. Then having him laugh at me and say something in Portuguese ( I think he was talking trash and taunting me? Like father, like son already.) Even though today was a struggle we know that it will only get easier. Especially when we get back home to our own environment. The highlight of the day is when all the boys, even me, shaved our heads. I will post a pic of it tomorrow. These kids are so cute and we are truly blessed dispite all of the challenges. We miss everybody. Please continue to pray. We love you!

Luv Ya,

The Dunn 10

One BIG happy family!

We woke up this morning as a family of 5 and now we are a family of 10! Today was amazing. When we woke up we got showers and put on the same clothes that we had been wearing for the last 3 days. Yeah! Anyway, we ate breakfast and by that time it was time to go and meet the kids. When we turned onto thier street our hearts were beating so fast, our stomachs were in knots... we didn't know what to expect. Were these children going to like us? Were we going to be what they expected? Or were they going to be disappointed? We didn't know. But here we were turning onto thier street, then walking through the gate that led up thier house. When we walked in there they were all smiles and Robert the 2 year old just ran up and jumped into Mary Janes arms and gave her the biggest hug. Then when he saw me he stuck out his arms for me to take him. They were all so happy to see us. We visited for about an hour and a half (I've got video that I will edit and post later). It was time for us to leave and go to court and petition the judge for our new children so they all walked us to the front gate and then Ana Carolina in her sweet little voice said, "bye bye Mom and Dad see you in a little while(in portuguese of course)". It stopped me in my tracks... it was all I could do to not break down and start crying right there on the sidewalk. It just blew me away that she was already referring to us as Mom and Dad. We had been told that they would probably call us aunt and uncle or even by our first names for a while. We waved goodbye and Mary Jane and I went to the courthouse while my mother-in-law and father-in-law took Matthew and Maryssa back to the Hotel. When we arrived at the courthouse we had to meet with a case worker first. She had to go over thier entire history with us. There were a few times when she was telling us some of the things that had happened to the kids that I had to really take a few deep breaths and count to ten. I believe that if I saw thier biological father on the street I would probably put the beatdown on him (Of course I would ask for forgiveness later!) because these kids should never have been exposed to this type of heartache at such a young age. After this meeting we met with the judge and he granted our petition for custody. Now it was time to go get our kids! When we got back they were all ready to go with no reservations. When we got back to the hotel our luggage finally arrived (praise God, I'm sure everyone was tired of seeing me in my Kirby Pucket Twins jersey!) So, we took some of the toys we had packed for the kids and we played outside for a few hours. It was so much fun playing with little kids again. We had pizza for dinner and Diogo prayed. it was so sweet. Amidst bathing the kids and getting them ready for bed tonight it finally hit me... I've got 5 brand new kids! We noticed that Marlon kneeled by his bed and prayed before he got into bed... I wonder what he prayed? Does he know how much our Heavenly Father loves him? I know he will one day if he doesn't now. The icing on the cake for me was when I was tucking Ana Carolina into bed tonight and she hugged and kissed me and looked me in the eyes and said, "I love you Dad." I'm sitting here crying as I write this because I'm totally blown away that the Lord has allowed us to do this. He is so good to us. Well, I better get to bed now. Thank you for praying for us.

Love Ya,
Jim, Mary Jane, Michael, Maryssa, Marlon, Matthew, Ana Carolina, Diogo, Gabriel and Robert

We made it!

Well we made it. We left Atlanta on Monday around 1pm and went to Charlotte (we were able to get cheaper tickets this way) where we had to sit on the tarmac for 1 hour while thet retrieved a part from the warehouse and then installed it on our plane. Then when we arrived in Miami over an hour late we found out that they cancelled our reservation because we weren't there on time. The agent said we could wait in line but she couldn't guarantee that we would make the flight. She found seats for us but we were all over the plane. We barely made the flight because we had to get through security and the line was looooong. But we made it just in time. We couldn't sleep on the flight (except Matthew, he got in about 3 hours) because it was so crowded but we perservered. FYI, if you are ever on an international flight to Brazil and they ask you in the morning eggs or sandwich...? go with the sandwich. Even though the meat inside isn't identifiable it is still a safer bet than the eggs because I'm pretty sure eggs aren't suppose to come in a solid block that resembles one of Mary Jane's lemon bars. Anyway, when we arrived in Sau Paulo and got over to the conveyer to pick up our luggage and... you guessed it, it never came around! The longer we stood waiting and begging God to please miraculously cause our luggage to materialize, even though the conveyer was now off, we decided to make our way over to the awesome counter known as "lost luggage". These people really moved with a sense of urgency for us, NOT! To say that they were laid back would be an understatement. As the clock was ticking we now only had about 15 minutes to get ticketed and go through security and make it to our gate. Somehow we made it! We then got to sit for another hour on the tarmac waiting to take off... all this on no sleep. Well, we finally made it to Curatiba safe and sound. Just no luggage. We met our liaison at the airport and it made all of the headaches that we had encountered over the last day worth it all. He told us that when the kids recieved our photo albums last week that they went crazy. The little ones were running all over the place with joy! They even said that "Mommy is pretty'. And you know something? I have to agree wholeheartedly with them on that! He then told us that Ana Carolina made the comment that she was afraid that her new family was going to beat her up.? That just broke our hearts to think that our little daughter identifies "family" as something that will hurt her. It's things like that, that totally solidifies in our minds that what we are doing the right thing. It's the reason why the Lord has chosen us to step up and show these children what it means to be accepted and loved unconditionally. So, tomorrow is the big day. We will go and meet the kids for the first time at 9:30am. It looks like we'll be wearing the same clothes tomorrow as we have for the last 2 days! That's awesome. I'ts a good thing that underwear has 2 sides, huh? Gotta go. Pray for us! Luv Ya!

Jim and Mary Jane