#500

Well, I was surprised the other day by a picture message from Christopher Dunn. The picture was of the counter on this blog, saying that Chris was #500; therefore, this entire blog entry will be 100% dedicated to Chris Dunn.

In the beginning...
I met Chris at Look Up Lodge. I was working full-time and there were these three guys who kept showing-up randomly. Anna Beth explained they were from her church and loved LUL. I could identify, since I was the high school guy who would randomly show-up at Look Up (see what I did there?). He was wearing a T-Shirt that said, "Nate for President" the first time that I talked to him. Later in the summer I spoke with him about working part-time as a wrangler at LUL. What a strange kid...

D-Now Weekend '09...
So, the first thing I ever did with Monaghan was teach at D-Now weekend in Gatlinburg, TN. I noticed something different about Chris, from the beginning. This guy didn't just answer the questions... he answered them well; he didn't just make comments about the lesson... he added insight; he didn't just pick a song on the jukebox... he picked Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'!" This kid seemed to have it together. I had to find-out more about this guy...

Building a relationship...
After random meals, spontaneous trips and playing games on Wednesday nights, I got to know Chris a lot better. I found-out that Chris loves Star Wars; if it's at all related to sports, he's all about it; he's a mean Disc Golf player; Chris loves being called a "ginger;" Chris doesn't let most things get to him... I also learned that Chris's family life wasn't the best growing-up.

Culmination of things...
So, this past March we took the youth guys and 3 college-age guys to Look Up to do a "Warrior Weekend" for D-Now. I watched this red-haired kid transform into an amazing man of God. Chris was on my team (the Kelly Green team); the team in which he came-up with the chant, "WE ARE LIONS!" Chris's natural leadership skills, vulnerability and clear vision for the future revealed to all of us that weekend that he was truly on his way to becoming one amazing man.

The future...
I don't know what the future holds for this guy, but I know, without a shadow of doubt, that it's big! I know that God is planning on doing something huge in and through Chris Dunn. He is an infectious, energetic guy, who gets the crowd going!

Also... he's the Ginga' Ninja!

To Chris: "READ YE' BIBLE!"

P.S. I would like to give a "thank you" to all of you who wished to be #500 for reading my blog. Notable mentions: Samantha Cook, Cindy Goforth, and DeDe Reid. I will have another "contest" for blog reader #637.