Our friends Stephen and Rebecca were our first visitors to Edinburgh. We had a wonderful time (Dust was gone for much of it) and sent them off yesterday to Guinea where they'll see our dear friends Tim and Heidi Norton. Safe journeys Smiths!
It has been two weeks of well, I should just say it's been quite stressful and much uncertainty.
Dustin left for his first "away" trip for the week last week. This was fantastic for him but for me it meant that I was alone. Sink or Swim. It's a good thing I know how to tread water holding a brick above my head (thanks to that lifegaurd training in college) because that is what it felt like!
I was living day to day trusting that the Lord was going to bring someone by to help with the girls in the afternoon and of course He did. But to tell you the truth, trusting is a bit of a downfall for me. Okay, so if you know me, I like to have the details worked out.
Dustin got home on Friday after me being a single mum for a week (thanks mom by the way!) and when he asked "how was your week?" I didn't know if I should slug him or cry on his shoulder. I refrained from both just saying "we have to figure out a better solution with the girls".
On Sunday we were in church and Pastor Colin was talking about being in the centre of your circumstances and sometimes the circumstance is not going to change but that the Lord will penetrate right through that centre and go beyond. So, I gave it to the Lord. I prayed for God to provide in whatever way He saw fit. I promised to try to stop attempting to changing the circumstances but to allow Him to penetrate to the centre.
On Monday it was a bank holiday. Not for the UK, not for Scotland, just for Edinburgh. It seems there really is no reason for the holiday but just that people need a break. It was great to have no work or school for us all but that also meant that everything else to help us be productive would be closed.
Monday evening I went for tea with my North American Lady Friends. These women have become so dear to me and a huge encouragement in my journey. Denise is a Canadian who is just the "salt of the earth" type person. She came in with a wee paper and a phone number scrawled on it "Shayna 0131......." Denise shared that a friend of hers knew this girl who was looking for a job and had just finished up nannying for a family here.
I couldn't even drink my tea I was so excited! I tried to sit there and be a part of the group but I finally excused myself and came home to call this angel!
I was about 10 minutes into my conversation with Shayna when I realized I was having no problem understanding anything she was saying. Either I have gotten so good at listening to Scottish people or she was ....no could it be.....yes, she's American! Not that we were looking for an American but it was like finding another friend (which I pray is part of this blessing).
To make a long story a bit longer....Shayna came over on Tuesday, we chatted, walked to see each of the girls' schools and that was it. I knew that God had penetrated my circumstances! He had not only provided for me, he provided; a loving person who will love our girls, she's a Christian, she's a teacher and I am sure she is so much more! She and her husband are in the same boat,he's a post grad student and they are fully trusting God for all their needs.
What a blessing! Not to mention that a neighbor moved out and we got a microwave and a washing machine! Stephen and Rebecca Smith (dear college friends) are here to visit and see Scotland. Zoe had a great 4 year old birthday. I got to connect with Pastor Mike, Stephanie Haas, Marjorie Olsen, my younger sister Tiff and my mum and my sister in law Karalyn on the phone just in the last two days! God is good....all the time!
A quick note to friends who might be expecting to hear from Dustin in the next two or three weeks. . . . don't expect too much!
I'm in the middle of my first week of school and already the work is starting. I've found that as a Masters Student in the OE programme, I'm not only expected to carry the full workload that any other Masters student would carry across the disciplines at the University; I'm also off-site half the time doing "competency" modules.
This makes for a very, very busy schedule of being in the wild, and then finding shelter to go to "regular" class, read from thick journals and write feverishly long papers (4,000 words with full citations according to the American Psychological Association). Mmm mm. Fun. This doesn't include the 20,000 word dissertation I'll be writing next spring/summer.
This means some important things:
I have a lot of fun outdoors in the Scottish Highlands for the next two months while the weather is good (ie. windy, rainy, but slightly warmer than the winter).
I will not have as much time to respond to some of you as I used to.
Pray for my safety. Pray for my family while I'm gone. And call my wife when you feel like it. She'll never turn down a phone call. She loves 'em!
Dust
PS STAY TUNED FOR COOL PICTURES ON THIS SITE FROM THE HIGHLANDS
I have now been working at Bruntsfield Medical Practice for two weeks and am loving it. It is a great job with many great people in a great location. More than that, I love it because it causes me to pray.
You see, when you are in a medical centre dealing with 12,500 patient's names, pulling files, putting files back, making appointments etc. I hear or see names all the time that cause me to think of people in my life. So, after a couple of days at work and my attention being drawn to many people (some a bit random) I decided to try something. Each time someone came to my mind I would say a little prayer for them. The first day I did this I tried to keep track of who and how many names I prayed for. After 38 I gave up and just prayed. So, you can pretty much bet that I am praying for you!
Other than the blessing of a good job, we had a wonderful weekend BBQ here with our North American (we have to include our Candadian friends too!) neighbors. Since we don't get Labor day off we did it on Sunday. It was really great fun to have everyone out in the gardens eating, talking and being "family" to one another. My friend Ann nominated me as the "social committee chair" but I graciously declined and said I was having a break from organized event-planning for now but would love to help. Go figure--me doing social events!
The girls both love school. Lily is now reading! Zoe is learning to spell her name in a new way since they don't say "zee" for the letter 'Z.' Instead, they say "zed" so now Zoe will say "my name is spelled "zed-O-ee" in her most distinguished "I know more than you" voice! I can't believe she is going to be 4 in a couple of weeks! She learned to ride her bike last week without ever using "stabilizers" (the British term for training wheels).
We are preparing for our good friends, Stephen and Rebecca Smith, to come and visit. It will come at a good time since they will be here for Zoe's birthday (they are one set of her god-parents) and for Dustin's first away-trip so I have some support.
Dustin started school today and I have not seen him so enthused about something in so long. He came home just like a little boy on his first day of elementary school wanting to tell me all about it--in detail!
Finally--I've found a place here in Edinburgh where I truly feel at home. It's amazing! When you step through the door, flash your membership card it's almost like being transported back to the states. Costco is everywhere isn't it!? We can even get those great muffins if we want! Try this out though, go to Costco, buy a load of stuff and push your "trolley" (British word for cart) out to the "car park" and realize, I took the bus here....I walked 1/4 a mile from the bus.....Costco doesn't "bag" the groceries and now what am I to do? Thankfully my friend Rachel was with me and we were able to split the price of a taxi! For just a "wee hour" I pretended I was back in Clackamas shopping.
Homesickness is a reality that I fight each day. I love my life here. I love my job. I love the routine my family is getting into but I don't love being so far away from all of you. So here's the solution...COME AND VISIT US!
Missing you, loving you and praying for you,
Janette
You have got to check these out!
Some new artist links of some of our favorite artists. . . . all of them share one thing in common: INTEGRITY. To the music, to saying it like it is, to their fans.
One sentence descriptions:
Bill Mallonee: Indie Americana Songster with a voice that grabs your t-shirt in a dark alley to remind you he's been hobo-ing on the Truth Train much too long to let you get away with "easy."
Aimee Mann: Deceptively smooth voice describes the depth of the world's emptiness but refuses to blow out the last candle.
Jars: No one sounds like them. That should be enough to listen.
POD: Front-line, hard-core--blasting the rock-rap before it was cool--warriors who will be reggae-ing the globe when it becomes cool. They write songs for fighting, and we all need a little of that.
You'll need Quicktime or Windows media player for the POD site, but its worth it. You'll also have to wait for the download, but then a real treat: watching them record with a Hasidic Reggae artist. They claim their new album coming out late fall, "Testify," will be the album of their career. BIG CLAIM. But these guys have always backed up what they say with action. They're being produced by the same guy who gave Alanis Morrisette her jagged little pill.
Enjoy.
D
If you're leaving a comment on a post in the main column, you'll notice there's an extra step called "word verification." I hate extra steps!
But we've been getting spammed in our comment columns by computers leaving stupid advertisements. . . . can you believe it?!!
So please bear with the extra step. It keeps this site clean from robots (and businesses), and only allows humans (and friends) to speak.
There’s a little box (called a “tag board” or “chat box”) in the sidebar to the right where you can write general comments or messages to the Kunkel Fam or other friends!
Please be aware that we may not be able to write back, but we WILL read them.
The “tagboard” is a great little invention to increase a sense of community on this site. Is that really possible?!! Community through computer screens? I’m not so sure about it, but we’ll give it a try.
Give it a shot. . . . say what you think. . . . make a comment. . . . begin a discussion with others . . . . (We retain the right to remove any “offensive” material from the board).
Happy bloggage!
For those who are actually interesting in this kind of thing. . . .
I've created a site to handle the stuff I'm working on regarding the wild, boys and men who like to be in it, and the stories we tell.
You can click on the new link in the right column called "Hero Tracks" and read the first piece.
Sometimes, you have to tell yourself what you really think. . . . write it out so you can see it. . . . that's what this was all about. I needed to figure out my philosophy, and this is my first shot at it. Some of you may recognize the story from another article I wrote, but its changed a little.
Out of this, I hope, comes a direction in research. And out of that comes, I hope, a perspective that encourages and strengthens boys and men within their families and communities.
There you go! No more of that on this "family" site. But if you're interested, check it out.
Dust
Check out some new links in the right column. . .
After hearing from a friend who took my "Magnolia" suggestion and tried watching the film and was disgusted, I put a link to a review that has other people's thoughts about the film as well. I love what the film has to say about forgiveness, and the truth that no one is lost no matter how depraved. But to make that point, you have to watch the first part of the film to see the depravity--it's a set up. I stand by what the film says and believe it says it unlike anything else I've watched in my life.
Also. . . .
New links to some books I've read lately:
"Bono on Bono" is a must read for anyone interested in the developing world's nations and what we're doing since Bono is on the forefront of that. However, he's an amazing poet and artist and to use Bob Dylan's words, "Spending time with Bono is like eating dinner on a train--feels like you're moving, going somewhere. Bono's got the soul of an ancient poet and you have to be careful around him. He can roar 'til the earth shakes. He's also a closet philosopher."
Well said, Bob!
Dust
