Latest Kunkel News. . . .

Or. . . how I found out the connection between yoghurt, robins, worms, and passports. . . .

Matt scolded me today for not updating our blog latelely, and coincidentally, today's a good day for an update for a variety of reasons:

1. I have 10 minutes of free time!
2. A lot happened today

So. . . . in the last two weeks we have moved from one set of friends to our new digs for the month of May at Phil and Patti's, while nursing nasty colds (Dustin had a sinus infection that needed antibiotic horse pills), and wondering if we were going to be "okayed" for a student entry clearance visa by the British Consulate. Nail biting time.

By the way, when they say that antibiotics kill everything in your system, they're not kidding. My stomach has felt like someone poured draino down it and its slowly working its way out. I hear yoghurt helps.

[A short tangent to say something about/to Paul and Nancy who hosted us for the month of April--what an incredibly gracious, beautiful, and gregarious couple you are! Thank you for being Jesus to us. What a joy to visit with you in the evenings over vermouth and ice cream, a combination I have now grown to like! What a peace we received while living with you.

And God has quite the timing doesn't He? You're preparing to move too, and I think that we were able to listen to one another and do that mutual Body of Christ thing that people talk about but don't often experience.

Besides, you put up with people running through the house like little savages, screaming and playing with things they never should have touched. Not to mention Lily and Zoe. Thanks, Paul and Nancy. You are saints.]

And today, here's what happened:

First, I found out with a call to my retirement people that it takes 5 years for me to be "vested" in the retirement fund (I've worked 4) and so I walk away with nothing--even though I have over $2,000 accrued.

After the call, I sat and looked out my office window. The sun had broken through the Oregon grey and the grass still had hints of dew. Someone had cut it yesterday and there were little hedgerows of clippings in severe lines up and down the church lawn.

A robin landed in front of me, not 10 feet away, and started pulling at something in the grass. A worm the size of a small snake came screaming from the earth and lost his life with a single gulp of the robin's tipped back head. My conversation with God had been going something like this,

"Life sucks."

silence.

"Are You listening? I said that this life, the life You have given me, sucks."

silence.

"ARE YOU LISTENING?!"

And then the robin came along, and I lost myself watching him at what he most certainly found to be the most amazing and fun adventure of his life.

". . . . consider the birds of the air, they do not harvest or reap. . . . yet your Father cares for them. . . ."

Okay, I get it. I'll shut up and be thankful. Money, after all, has little to do with the things that matter.

Then Fed Ex came.

It was from the British Consulate in Los Angeles. No Way!

My experience with bureaucracy is that you turn in some paperwork and then you wait and wait for weeks. Then you call and are put on hold for 30 minutes. Then you hang up because you're disgusted. Then you can't wait any longer and call again. And they route you to so-and-so, the director of insufficient remembrances and idle reoccurences in the department of silly walks--who knows nothing but will get back to you. And then you wait some more.

I had resigned myself to going through just this.

We sent the paperwork off last thursday by express mail. We got it this tuesday.

I looked at the envelope with fear. I hefted it. For the student entry clearance you have to show proof of a place to stay and proof that you can pay for your full education. I had given them a fax from the accomodations people saying we were in line for married student housing, and another fax from the financial aid office saying that my student loan was "in process." Not exactly the hard details they were looking for.

I walked down to Janette's classroom and held it up and grimaced. We stood over the envelope like two animists who have found the lost family idol. I grimaced again, and said a prayer to the Triune God, who seems to have a funny sense of timing, and opened the package.

We received the student entry clearance on all our passports. HUGE!!!

And then, we got an email from our first real contact in Edinburgh today. A friend of a friend who's husband works at the University. A chance to make connections and have someone we know there. And she was very sweet in her email, offering to help in any way she can.

And I haven't even mentioned that our God-daughter, Dawn, got her license today, which is HUGE family news too! Portland drivers, beware.

Hows that for an update?

Dust