About the Authors
Pastor Jim Dundas has a BA in Biblical Literature from Northeastern Bible College and his Master’s Degree in Religion with a Theological emphasis from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has further graduate education in Counseling/Psychology from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. Jim was ordained in 1986 by the Evangelical Free church and served as an active duty Navy Chaplain for six years, three of which he specialized in Pastoral Counseling in the family counseling center. He is presently a Navy Reserve Chaplain. Jim has been a director of a pregnancy center, a board member and board chairman of two pregnancy centers. He and his wife Pat are co-founders of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates(NIFLA). Jim is formerly the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NIFLA and a former board member of Heartbeat International. Jim also pastors a church in Delaware and is founder and director of Hope Counseling Center. Jim is the President of Hope National.
Pat Dundas began as a volunteer and has experienced the ministry from all aspects. From volunteer to certified labor coach, she went on to direct three separate pregnancy centers (two West Coast and one East Coast), served as a board member and chairman. Pat has transformed two of her centers into medical clinics. During her college days, she became aware of the distinct contrast between that which was taught in secular psychology and the classes at Westminster Theological Seminary. Pat is presently directing a pregnancy center and is the Director of training for Hope National. She is the former East Coast Director for NIFLA. She and Jim travel throughout the country providing training for volunteers, directors and boards of pregnancy help centers.
Testimony
What God Can Do with One Faithful Servant
The following is the testimony of Jim and Pat Dundas and the man who was used by God to change their lives. It is not in any way to give attention to them but to give God all the praise, glory and honor. It is a story of how God took two very young and ignorant tees and through His grace and mercy and the obedience of one of His servants, saved the life of their unborn child and them. He forever changed the path of their lives, calling them to live their lives for His Glory. This is a story of grace, mercy and obedience.
Jim’s Background:
Jim grew up in urban northern New Jersey outside of New York City. He came from a very dysfunctional, broken home and dropped out of high school in his sophomore year. At the age of seventeen, he left the home of his mother and the stepfather who emotionally abused him. He was an angry young man who joined the Marines in 1970 to get away from home even though the Vietnam War was still on going. He was angry with his biological father who had been an alcoholic and an adulterer. His father was committed to a mental institution when Jim was eight years old. He was angry with his mother for the men she chose; men who were abusive to Jim. He was especially angry with God for allowing all these painful things to take place in his life.
Pat’s Background:
Pat grew up in northern New Jersey directly opposite Manhattan, across the Hudson River. She came from a family who were very religious although the home was not harmonious. Pat’s dad was a World War II Veteran who was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service to his country, one being awarded for the wounds he received in the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a Navy chief and his household was run like a ship. As with many W. W. II veterans who saw a good deal of action, there were many emotional scars that at times broke out in angry outbursts towards his family. Pat had a basic understanding of God who due to her religious upbringing, however, her concept of God was that He was very distant and angry. In high school, she began to look for answers to life’s problems and hurts by getting involved with drugs and the occult.
Jim and Pat met in 1971. She was sixteen and he was nineteen. By this time, Jim had returned from active duty with the Marines and was now in the reserves. He decided to live with his sister since his relationship with his stepfather remained strained. Jim’s sister ‘just happened’ to lice in the same town as Pat (Acts 17). In fact, Pat would occasionally babysit his sister’s children. Jim’s sister, Colleen, was thirteen years older than Jim so her children were seven and eight years old when Pat began to babysit. Jim loved his niece and nephew dearly and was extremely close to them.
One evening, Pat agreed to babysit for Colleen. Before Colleen left the house, she warned Pat not to be alarmed if she heard someone come in the downstairs entrance, since her brother had come home to live with her. However, she did not expect him to be home before her as he always came home very late.
That evening, Jim came home early to check on the children and they met. It was an immediate attraction for both of them and each recognized something special in each other. Within a few months they were talking about marriage, knowing they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Shortly after this decision they also found out they were expecting a child. This is where the story begins.
Pat-
The first morning I woke up vomiting, I thought I had a virus. However, the next day I was no better and it continued. The picture started to become crystal clear. The morning of the second day, I passed out in gym class at school because the vomiting was severe. A girlfriend went screaming to the two gym teachers who came in and brought me around. After confessing my suspicions to them, they bother wanted to have a “serious talk” with me about “being seventeen” and “not ruining the rest of my life.” After all, it was 1972 and abortion was legal in Manhattan. In fact, one of my classmates had had the same “problem” but they had helped her take care of it. They told me there was no reason for me to ruin my schooling and future over a blob of tissue and that I had time to take care of it before it turned into a baby. They were very convincing, and they were teachers and I was young.
The sickness was so severe, continuing all day. I felt exhausted to the point that I thought I was dying. That fact, coupled with the stormy relationship I had with my dad, made the abortion option somewhat appealing. My father’s anger was something to avoid and the memory of his ominous threat one evening stood out in my mind. The flashback came quickly. At the age of twelve I had come down stairs during the night thirsty for a glass of milk. Suddenly behind me stood my father, visibly upset. I backed up against the wall as he issued the threat. “If you ever get pregnant, I’ll kill you and the boy!” Shaken, I replied, “I only wanted a glass of milk.” At twelve, I wasn’t exactly hunting for a prospective boyfriend and didn’t know much about sex anyway. I returned to bed, upset with that statement indelibly impressed in my memory.
Jim-
Pat was terribly ill. We knew it was probably the pregnancy but I had never seen anyone so sick. We were going to have to tell someone soon because this was not something we were going to be able to hide due to her severe illness. I had no idea Pat was being pressured to abort. That was not even in my thinking. My concern was to get her medical help. I loved her and wanted to marry her and knew we could get through this together. However, we desperately needed help! Since I lived with my sister I decided she needed to know. Colleen had been a Christian for about sixteen years and her response was “wow” as she sat down on the bed. Her next response was that I needed to see her pastor for some guidance and good advice. I thought she was crazy! What could her pastor possibly do for me? Just a few months earlier Pat decided a little religion would be good for me and took me to a church where they were talking about Jesus. I because so angry at hearing how wonderful God and Jesus were that I stood up in the middle of the service and said to Pat “I refuse to sit here and hear this garbage. If you don’t want to walk home, you better get up and follow me out the door.” Pat was embarrassed and dismayed at my public display of anger as I stepped over the people in the pew on my way out. Outside, I turned on Pat and said, “I don’t ever want you or anyone else to ever talk about God to me again. I don’t know if I even believe in God, but if there is, with the type of family and life He has given me, I want nothing to do with Him.” With that, I slammed the car door and took Pat home in silence. However, deep down inside I knew I had gone too far. I knew that I was in trouble with God. I had shaken my fist in His face.
I knew Colleen’s pastor had nothing of interest to say to me. I told Colleen that I didn’t want to see him, as I didn’t need a lecture and prayers-I needed some real answers quick! I knew that I had to get Pat somewhere she would be safe and able to get medical care. However, Colleen’s response was that the pastor might have some help to offer. Out of respect for her, I went, convince that he could offer me nothing. I figured that if I went and kept my mouth shut, it would be over in an hour. That way, this useless and irritating option would be done with for good. My sister and her Christianity would be off my back.
Pat-
They gym teachers sent me to the nurse’s office after our “talk” because I was too sick to attend classes. The school nurse was so concerned with my physical condition that she offered to call and old friend to see me, and OB-GYN who owed her a favor. Since the vomiting had begun before I had even missed a period, she thought it critical to get the pregnancy confirmed by a doctor and get medical care. I gratefully accepted and the appointment was made for the next day. She gave me a pass to go to the library for the rest of the day where I could run to the ladies room without any questions.
In the library, the words of my gym teachers were weighing heavily on my mind. Maybe abortion was the best thing. If I didn’t die from this pregnancy, Jim and I will be looking down the barrel of a shotgun. It may just save a whole bunch of problems. It suddenly occurred to me that I was sitting in a library full of information. Maybe there would be information on pregnancy. Perhaps I could confirm that my pregnancy was a ‘blob of tissue’ and how long I might have before it became a baby. And maybe, just maybe I could learn something about pregnancy. The card catalog led me to a brand new book that had only been out a few months. The title of the book was “A Child is Born” with a brand new, first time ever pictures of the unborn child; never before had the unborn been seen like this. As I turned the pages, I did not see a ‘blob of tissue’ but the beautiful images of unborn people! I could not help but wonder what in the world those gym teachers were talking about. Didn’t they know it was a baby? The realization was startling; I was carrying a baby, not a blob. Regardless of what those teachers said, this was a baby. My baby! I knew then, that no matter what lay ahead, my path was clear. If it meant running away or dodging bullets, I could not destroy my baby.
God bless Dr. Higdon. He was no longer practicing obstetrics and out of consideration for our situation he made special arrangements to see Jim and me before he started patients for the day. After confirmation of the pregnancy, he sat down with us and said, “You two are going to be all right.” We looked at him puzzled. How could he possibly know that? He said, “Let me share a little story with you.
My wife and I had the same situation as you. She was fifteen and I was sixteen. We got married and it was hard, but we made it and so can you.” It was the encouragement we sorely needed. When Jim opened his wallet to pay him whatever fee he would ask, he shook his head and told us to keep what little we had because we were going to need it.
Jim-
Pastor Robert B. Somerville was my sister’s young pastor. It was his first church and looking at him, he didn’t seem much older than me. He looked to be about 26 or so. How in the world was this guy going to understand the gravity of the crisis I was in? I wanted real life answers, not a guilt trip. Looking at this fresh, innocent, just-out-of-seminary face, I thought this guy probably never did anything wrong in his life. What a shame he had to deal with someone like me. He was a pastor, good and clean. Here I was a high school dropout who had gotten my girlfriend into trouble. How could he possibly know how to help?
Bob did the very thing I thought I didn’t need. He opened the Bible that was on his desk. My heart sank and I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. No! Not this! Here he goes! Bob was firm but gentle. He had an assurance in his voice that gave me a clear and pointed message.
He said without hesitation that there was help for me. However, if I wanted God’s help I had to be willing to listen and follow Him. He made it very clear that to follow God was to follow His Word, the Bible. I had to be willing to follow God’s direction through this crisis each step of the way. The first step was to see the situation through God’s eyes and realize I must admit my sin and that I was an enemy of God. I had to make things right with God. Bob pointed to the Ten Commandments showing me my lost state before God. He pointed out three problems: first, I was guilty of braking God’s law by committing adultery (7th commandment) and since Pat was a minor I had to obey Pat’s parents (5th commandment). Secondly, since I had broken God’s law, I was a sinner, lost and going to Hell. Bob explained how Christ died and paid for sins and how needed to confess and repent of my sin, and turn to Christ as Lord and Savior. I needed to begin to follow God’s Word not only through this crisis but every day of my life.
When he was reading the Ten Commandments to me, there was something deep inside that knew what he was saying was right. Yet I had conflicting thoughts. Just a few months earlier, I shook my fist in God’s face. Would this God accept me after what I had done? Why was I struggling with the concept of God when at the same time I knew I had offended this God? I wasn’t sure there was a God, but deep down inside, something was happening. A very deep chord was struck. God’s Word was piercing my heart and changing me. No longer was my struggle with the pastor behind the desk, but I was face to face with God. The struggle was deep in my heart between God and me. Bob told me that I needed to do business with God and if I wanted to pray he would be there with me. At that moment I did not understand all that was taking place but I knew one thing. This pastor was right and I had to make things right with God. I bowed my head and prayed, confessing my sins, asking forgiveness, and trusting Christ for my salvation. This was the beginning of more intricate events that only God in Heaven could weave together.
Pat-
A few weeks passed and my mom “guesses” what was wrong with me. She was upset over how my father would respond. The next step was how we were going to tell him. She knew how bad his response could be since my older brother “had to get married” several years before. His emotional response was not good at all. Her question to me was “how could you do this when you know how he responded the last time?” It was a good question. Jim and I had been talking about running away to Maryland to get married. All I needed was a doctor’s certificate stating I was pregnant and a due date, which I could get from Dr. Higdon. But then a funny thing happened. Jim had been to talk with Colleen’s pastor, who told Jim we had to ask for my father’s permission and blessing! Was he crazy? Did he have any idea what we were up against? If we escaped with our lives it would be a miracle. I was raised with guns. They were readily available in my house and I had no doubt that rage would cause my father to lose control completely. I had already been at the other end of his fist for infractions that would have gotten other kids a “go to your room” or “you can’t see your friends tonight.” The mid-night threat by my father regarding pregnancy when I was twelve was very real.
Jim and I had vigorous discussions about the best approach to take. It was either run or stand firm and hope we survived. Jim was in favor of standing because of the pastor. I knew better from experience. Jim seemed different. Somehow, he had changed slightly but noticeably. Of all times to get religion! Strangely, on one hand I was terrified but on the other had there was a peace about Jim that made me trust what he was saying. We agreed to stand but we had to have a plan.
The plan evolved. We contacted my oldest brother, who had returned home from Viet Nam a few years earlier. He had served two tours there and was trained in hand-to-hand combat. I knew he was probably the only other living person who could subdue my father if it was necessary. My brother and my father had a special relationship because of their combat service and he may even listen to reason if we could get that far. If not, my brother was to subdue my father after we told him the news, (perhaps by lying on top of him or blocking the doorway so we could get out) enabling us to leave the house safely. If he was reasonable, we would ask his permission to marry. If it got violent we had the pastor’s permission to escape and go to Maryland. Pastor Somerville had offered to be with us when we told my father but one look at this tall skinny, country boy told us survival would be more likely with my bother. There was no need to risk more lives than necessary.
We planned to tell my dad on a Friday night. We figured it would give him an entire weekend to recover. After Jim was finished with work, we drove 45 minutes to pick up my brother. It took some time to locate him and when we got him into the car we called home to let my mom know we were on our way. To our shock, my mom said not to come that night because my father came home from work very ill. Our plan would have to wait. The next morning my father was carried out in an ambulance. He had a ruptured colon. He had emergency surgery and would subsequently have several more operations before they could close the temporary colostomy. His surgeon said he should have died several days earlier from the amount of poison that had traveled throughout his blood stream. My father lay in a hospital bed with tubes running from all parts of his body. He was critically ill.
Now what? Time was ticking away and I was torn with concern for my father’s health and the thought that I would like to get married before my baby went to college. After several weeks his strength improved and on approval of his surgeon, a day was picked to tell him. He was still very ill but well enough to receive the news. We discussed with his doctor, the need to have the nurses aware and prepared if a problem arose. He said he would wait in the general area and leave orders with the nurses for a sedative if necessary.
The hospital would only allow two visitors at a time and my mother insisted on being there for my father’s moral support. Jim and mom went to his room while I waited in the hospital lobby.
Jim-
Pat’s mom and I went to his room with the nurses and doctor on stand-by. I told him that I wanted to marry Pat. He asked if I wanted to or I had to. I told him I didn’t have to do anything but I wanted to marry her. I said we were already in the midst of making plans to marry, however, since she was pregnant we wanted to expedite the plans and I had come for his permission since that was the right thing to do.
His reaction to this statement was what everyone feared. He began shouting “Get my combat boots! It’s the Navy against the Marines!” At the same time he was shouting, he began ripping out all his tubes, trying to get out of the bed to attack me. There was a nurse next to Pat’s mom who immediately tried to subdue him. Another nurse who had been waiting at the door ran to get the doctor and the sedative. Pat’s mom was urging me to leave, as my presence seemed to infuriate him. I waited outside the room and watched as the doctor came and the nurses administered the sedative and put him into restraints. Shortly after, he was moved to the psychiatric ward for two and a half days of observation.
Pastor Somerville had been praying for us and when I told him what happened I mentioned the fact that it seemed her father was in no mood to cooperate and give his permission. Our only move, it seemed, was to go to Maryland. However, Bob had another idea. He wanted one more opportunity to get her father’s permission before he was comfortable telling us to go to Maryland. We already had Pat’s mother’s permission and even thought I was of age, we had my mother’s blessing.
Pat’s father was a printer by trade and he printed materials for the American Mission to the Greeks now known as AMG, International. His boss was Spiros Zodihaties, an ordained minister and radio Bible teacher who also attended Pastor Somerville’s church. Bob thought that since Spiros knew her father so well, perhaps he could take the consent form to the hospital and get Pat’s father to give permission and sign it. Spiros agreed, took the paper and found her dad still in the psyche ward. He spoke to him not only about our situation but lovingly confronted him with his own sin and state before God. That evening Pat’s dad signed the paper but more importantly, prayed with Spiros to receive Christ. The transformation in this man was no less than a miracle.
We were married two days later, with a church wedding, full reception, guests and a wedding cake! On the way to the reception we stopped at the hospital to see her dad. He was back in a regular room and doing much better. He shook my hand, kissed Pat and made me promise to take care of her.
Conclusion-
Over the years, it has become crystal clear that God used Bob’s Biblical counseling to make the difference in our lives. Although the picture in that newly published book showed us that our baby was actually a human being, changing Pat’s mind about abortion, it could not have taken care of the deeper underlying problem-which was our need for a spiritual and moral change-a complete change of heart. The purpose of this testimony is to give an example of how God used the faithful counsel of one person, who was ministering in a crisis pregnancy situation, to change lives completely. Furthermore, God in his mercy continues to work in these lives and in turn they have been called to sever God and others in ministry.
We will forever be grateful to God who used his servant, Bob Somerville. We will always be grateful for Bob’s obedience and not being afraid to open God’s Word, the Bible. He was not afraid of the angry, young man in front of him and what he thought, but was more concerned about being faithful to God. We trust that God will use this testimony to bless you and bring abundant glory to Himself.
These are the results of one man’s obedience to God and counsel according to Biblical principles.
Results: Pat came to Christ 10 months later. Jim returned to school for a GED and applied to Bible College to go into ministry. Baby Trish was born and is now married with her own children. She works with Pat at the Pregnancy Help Center and Hope National. Not only did Pat’s father come to the Lord but so did her mom, and Jim’s mom. Both of their children and husbands are Christians and the grandchildren are being raised under the teaching of God’s Word. Pat and her dad’s relationship was reconciled and the family is very close. Pat went back to school, graduated and went to college. Jim went to Westminster Theological Seminary and postgraduate work in counseling/psychology. Jim became the director of a pregnancy center, a board member and chairman of two separate centers. Jim and Pat co-founded the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), a legal organization for pregnancy centers, along with Tom and Laura Glessner. Jim was the chairman of NIFLA for three years and served on the board of Heartbeat for two years. Jim re-entered the military as a Navy Chaplain and gained invaluable experience in counseling, much of his service spent counseling military men and their families. Pat became a pregnancy center volunteer, labor coach, and eventually director of three separate pregnancy centers, served at a board member and as a chairman. She transformed two of the centers into medical clinics and served as East Coast Director for NIFLA for several years. Jim and Pat founded Hope National and work with centers that desire to counsel their clients with Biblical counseling. Pat is Director of Training and Jim in President of Hope National. Jim also pioneered a church planning work in Lincoln, Delaware of which he is currently the pastor. They also started a Christian classical education school to raise up future Godly men and woman.
You never know what God is going to do with one faithful servant!