When JMak started working in Lima, Peru, two of the first people he met were Kelvin and Mary. Kelvin had been a successful IT engineer before Venezuela’s economy began to crash, and Mary was studying mechanical engineering. They had moved to Lima in search of better opportunities for their growing family, but when JMak met them in 2019, they were down to their last $1.60.
They had been taking pain medicine to dull their hunger pains so they could give the little bit of food they had to their three young daughters. They didn’t know what would happen next because his then boss had decided not to pay him at the end of the month. He had been working to set up concerts and other events—the only work he could find.
JMak saw Kelvin’s potential and dreamt of ways to help Kelvin and Mary have a better life. He talked about wishing they could move to the United States. This year, JMak’s dream came true! Kelvin applied for the diversity visa lottery and won! JMak’s dream team helped the family move to the U.S. in July. They enjoyed fireworks on July 4th on U.S. soil, their new home!
It’s been a month! JMak's family and friends gathered on June 11th to celebrate an incredible life together. JMak loves community, good food, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, and more than anything, seeing people free and experiencing the fullness of life. This evening was all of those things and more!
Laura hosted the night and spoke beautifully about the joy JMak has for life, the coaching he's had, the legacy he left with Timothy and Jonathan, and his love for God. She truly demonstrated what JMak told her—"no sadness"—and she has never been happier or more beautiful.
JMak’s family traveled from across the country for the event, and connected with many of the people JMak invested in—small business owners, young musicians, Venezuelan refugees, and many more.
Timothy and his band performed, JMak's friend Eric McMillen brought his A-game BBQ, and Laura announced a new nonprofit (JMak's Dream Team), which will continue JMak's legacy of investing in peoples' dreams. Enjoy some pictures from the night! And stay tuned for more Dream Team announcements, podcasts, and the continuation of JMak's journey.
Anyone that knew JMak, knew that he loved to Dream Big and believed that all things are possible with God. This playground for our sons, Timothy and Jonathan, was one of the Big Dreams he was hoping to see complete before he launched.
But God had a BIGGER plan!
A local YMCA in our area closed its doors and was looking for someone to enjoy this incredible playground for generations to come. The playground had been unused for years, but had a lot of potential to become something amazing.
We can’t say thank you enough for the tremendous outpouring of love, kind words and donations that we received when Jason launched. Those resources helped make Jason’s playground dream come to life. The funds we raised were used to clear the land, rent equipment to move and erect the playground, rebuild the rotting places, add fun new features and repaint the entire structure!
A remarkable team of volunteers came together and put in thousands of man-hours to uncover the overgrown playground, disassemble it, move it, redesign it, reconstruct it, rebuild it and repaint this massive playground. Between the generous donations of all of Jason’s friends, family and co-workers and local volunteers from the boys' school we were able to accomplish something far bigger and better than we would have imagined!
And just as destiny would have it, this playground already had a NASA tower! When Timothy and Jonathan’s friends at school saw the tower, they wanted to make it JMak’s Tower to honor the first “astronaut” that they knew. The boys’ friends have been a big part of JMak’s launch and they are excited to have JMak as part of their life each day. Now the kids have a daily reminder to #LiveLikeJMak and remember to trust God because He is always good and gives good gifts. There is nothing more that I would want for the boys and their friends!
Thank you for making this BIG DREAM come true for JMak, me, Timothy, Jonathan, and hundreds of their friends! We can’t wait for you to come to visit on June 11th to explore the playground, swing on the swings, try out the slacklines, slide down the slide or simply sit and watch the kids enjoy it all around you.
