Smilin' in the Hebrides

STA60262, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Yup.

That's sun in our faces.

We got some of it! In fact, we had a wonderful time. Dust's friend Alastair and girlfriend Claire were with us at his family place in North Uist.

North Uist in the Hebrides is an amazing landscape with beaches and peat bogs and lochs and machar (scottish prairie) and meandering estuaries and islands as far as the eye can see. . .

Some of you may not want to see the 200 - odd pictures we took during our trip. . . but if you do, just click on the link in the right column titled "get kunky pics here."

Final Scotland Trip. . . .

Since we are now preparing to leave Scotland on November 1st, we decided its important to get out one last time and see the country. Many of you may not know this, but we went over a year here as a family before we were able to "get out" to the highlands together just a few weeks ago. Crazy! Well, we're going to make up for lost time now.

Dustin has a Scot friend, Alastair, from his outdoor education group, whose family owns a croft (Scots old-school farm and cottage in the highlands) up in the Hebrides. To get there, you drive up north through the highlands, turn west, cross the bridge between the mainland and the isle of Skye and drive to Uig where you board a ferry and cross to North Uist. . . . yeah, its out there on the edge of everything!

We're looking forward to just getting out as a family one more time before we leave.

Here's a link to the Hebrides to see where we're going:

http://www.virtualhebrides.com/location/index.htm#location_hebrides

Keep us in prayers -- a little sunshine in late October would be nice, but probably not required!

Dust, Jan, Lil' & Zo'

Okay, never mind. . .

Alright. . . never mind. The chat box was giving issues, so I just chopped it up and dropped it off this site. Sorry to those of you who like to leave notes.

Here's an idea: send us a real card on real paper (preferrably made by your own hands)!

Chat Box Up and Running

Hey everyone. . . got the chat box going again. . . enjoy! Leave us a message!

Be sure to check out the little "extras" on the site. . . the labels will continue to take shape as we label our posts -- a great way to look at stuff that is linked by a common theme.

Some Changes on This Site!

You'll probably notice that things look a little different.

Blogger just kicked on their "beta" version for blogging and we're giving it a go! The only thing we can't figure out how to put in here is the little "chat box" some of you have used. . . I'm sure we'll put that in later. In the meantime, if you really, really, really need to talk. . . send and email or phone!

One of the great things added to beta blogger is the opportunity to tag all entries. There will be a "Tag Link" in the right column soon, so keep checking back to find blogs in searchable categories.

Achtung! House Gig info coming soon!

Piper down. . . I mean, up!

STA60004, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Notice the piper on the battlements. . . .

We went for a saturday drive last week and stopped at a castle, only to find it closed for a wedding. Bummer!

Then we heard the screaming wail of Scotlands favorite instrument streaming through the trees. Score!

You Know You're In Scotland When . . . .

STA60015, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

You know you're in Scotland when. . . .

The local butcher shop is older than your native country.

A Change of Pace . . . Meditation on Rublev's "Trinity"

Rublev's Trinity, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

(Rublev's "Trinity" is considered a historically "ground breaking" icon by most scholars)

First of all. Don't read any further unless you are ready to stop what you are doing and be still. Really. There's no point in reading further unless you are prepared to stop, and make some space for meditation. If you cannot do that RIGHT NOW, then come back another time and meditate. This post will still be here!

Now. If you have decided that you are ready to make space, here we go. The icon above hangs under the cross at our meeting place here in Edinburgh. Recently, one of our leaders preached on some of the themes found within this icon. I have found a decent meditation that helps explain the significance of the icon, and copied and pasted it below. The following are not my words (see link at the bottom).

Rublev's "Trinity":

This icon takes as its subject the mysterious story where Abraham receives three visitors as he camps by the oak of Mamre. He serves them a meal. As the conversation progresses he seems to be talking straight to God, as if these 'angels' were in some way a metaphor for the three persons of the Trinity. In Rublev's representation of the scene, the three gold-winged figures are seated around a white table on which a golden, chalice-like bowl contains a roasted lamb. In the background of the picture, a house can be seen at the top left and a tree in the centre. Less distinctly, a rocky hill lies in the upper right corner. The composition is a great circle around the table, focussing the attention on the chalice-bowl at the centre, which reminds the viewer inescapably of an altar at Communion.

On one level this picture shows three angels seated under Abraham's tree, but on another it is a visual expression of what the Trinity means, what is the nature of God, and how we approach him. Reading the picture from left to right, we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Colours

Rublev gives each person of the Trinity different clothing. On the right, the Holy Spirit has a garment of the clear blue of the sky, wrapped over with a robe of a fragile green. So the Spirit of creation moves in sky and water, breathes in heaven and earth. All living things owe their freshness to his touch.

The Son has the deepest colours; a thick heavy garment of the reddish-brown of earth and a cloak of the blue of heaven. In his person he unites heaven and earth, the two natures are present in him, and over his right shoulder (the Government shall be upon his shoulder) there is a band of gold shot through the earthly garment, as his divinity suffuses and transfigures his earthly being.

The Father seems to wear all the colours in a kind of fabric that changes with the light, that seems transparent, that cannot be described or confined in words. And this is how it should be. No one has seen the Father, but the vision of him fills the universe.

The wings of the angels or persons are gold. Their seats are gold. The chalice in the centre is gold, and the roof of the house. Whether they sit, whether they fly, all is perfect, precious, and worthy. In stasis, when there is no activity apparent on the part of God, his way is golden. When he flies, blazes with power and unstoppable strength, his way is golden. And in the Sacrifice at the centre of all things, his way is golden.

The light that shines around their heads is white, pure light. Gold is not enough to express the glory of God. Only light will do, and that same white becomes the holy table, the place of offering. God is revealed and disclosed here, at the heart, in the whiteness of untouchable light.

The Father looks forward, raising his hand in blessing to the Son. It is impossible to tell whether he looks up at the Son or down to the chalice on the table, but his gesture expresses a movement towards the Son. This is my Son, listen to him… The hand of the Son points on, around the circle, to the Spirit. In this simple array we see the movement of life towards us, The Father sends the Son, the Son sends the Spirit. The life flows clockwise around the circle. And we complete the circle. As the Father sends the Son, as the Son sends the Holy Spirit, so we are invited and sent to complete the circle of the Godhead with our response. And we respond to the movement of the Spirit who points us to Jesus. And he shows us the Father in whom all things come to fruition. This is the counter-clockwise movement of our lives, in response to the movement of God. And along the way are the three signs at the top of the picture, the hill, the tree, and the house.

The Spirit touches us, even though we do not know who it is that is touching us. He leads us by ways we may not be aware of, up the hill of prayer. It may be steep and rocky, but the journeying God goes before us along the path. It leads to Jesus, the Son of God, and it leads to a tree. A great tree in the heat of the day spreads its shade. It is a place of security, a place of peace, a place where we begin to find out the possibilities of who we can be. It is no ordinary tree. It stands above the Son in the picture, and stands above the altar-table where the lamb lies within the chalice. Because of the sacrifice this tree grows. The tree of death has been transformed into a tree of life for us.

The tree is on the way to the house. Over the head of the Father is the house of the Father. It is the goal of our journey. It is the beginning and end of our lives. Its roof is golden. Its door is always open for the traveller. It has a tower, and its window is always open so that the Father can incessantly scan the roads for a glimpse of a returning prodigal.

The tree is on the way to the house. Over the head of the Father is the house of the Father. It is the goal of our journey. It is the beginning and end of our lives. Its roof is golden. Its door is always open for the traveller. It has a tower, and its window is always open so that the Father can incessantly scan the roads for a glimpse of a returning prodigal.

Staffs for the journey

Each person holds a staff, which is so long it, cuts the picture into sections. Why should beings with wings, that can fly like the light, have need of a staff for their journey? Because we are on a journey and these three persons enter into our journey, our slow movement across the face of the earth. Their feet are tired from travelling. God is with us in the weariness of our human road. The traveller God sits down at our ordinary tables and spreads them with a hint of heaven

The Table

The table or altar lies at the centre of the picture. It is at once the place of Abraham's hospitality to the angels, and God's place of hospitality to us. That ambiguity lies at the heart of communion, at the heart of worship. As soon as we open a sacred place for God to enter, for God to be welcomed and adored, it becomes his place. It is we who are welcomed, it is we who must 'take off our shoes' because of the holiness of the ground.

Contained in the centre of the circle, a sign of death. The lamb, killed. The holy meal brought to the table. All points to this space, this mystery: within it, everything about God is summed up and expressed, his power, his glory, and above all his love. And it is expressed in such a way that we can reach it. For the space at this table is on our side. We are invited to join the group at the table and receive the heart of their being for ourselves.

We are invited to complete the circle, to join the dance, to complete the movements of God in the world by our own response. Below the altar a rectangle marks the holy place where the relics of the martyrs were kept in a church. It lies before us. It invites us to come into the depth and intimacy of all that is represented here. Come follow the Spirit up the hill of prayer. Come, live in the shadow of the Son of God, rest yourself beneath his tree of life. Come, journey to the home, prepared for you in the house of your Father.

The table is spread, the door is open. Come.

AT THIS POINT, DON'T STOP. THERE IS TEMPTATION TO STOP AND QUICKLY MOVE ON. SLOW DOWN! GO BACK TO THE ICON AT THE TOP AND GAZE. ALLOW THE SPIRIT TO DIRECT YOU TO THE SON TO ADORE THE FATHER. SLOW DOWN. . . . . . .

(this explanation is an excerpt from the full explanation at http://www.stjohnscamberwell.org.au/Sermons/ExplanationofTheTrinityIcon.htm )

Dust Gets Job -- Family Plans to Move Home!

For many of you, this is what you have been waiting to hear. . . . after applying for work in Australia and California and other places . . . it seems rather ironic, that. . . .

Dustin and Janette found work back in the U.S.

We will be returning on November 1st to the Pacific Northwest. Dustin begins work at Camp Lutherhaven in Idaho two weeks later as "Interim Manager of Outdoor Education." Janette will work as the "Part-time Day Camp Manager." These positions are firm until the end of May, at which point we will review and decide direction with the Lutherhaven leadership. Hence the term, "interim." Lutherhaven's call was unexpected. A real surprise. We're excited to work within an organization that passionately and creatively serves communities all over the inland Northwest.

As a family, we had already decided (prior to hearing from Lutherhaven) to return in November with or without work. We felt that we had reached our limit both emotionally and financially, and it was time to return. Our major goals had been achieved. They were:

1. Share an international experience together
2. Gain further education to expand our options as leaders and educators
3. See what the church is up to in another country
4. Step away from "professional church work" to gain perspective
   
5. Share Jesus' love with people who don't know Him
6. Listen the the Spirit as He directs our family forward through word, prayer, and circumstance.
   

What is most interesting in all of this is that after truly remaining open to the Spirit, knocking on many doors that could have led us anywhere in the world (and having them stay completely shut), the only door that opened was back in the Pacific Northwest. For this reason: we are sure this call can only be from the Lord.

As a friend of ours recently said, "Wow...and to think you had to go to Scotland to work at Lutherhaven....what a round-about trek for something that was available to you all along!!!!" Ironic, yes. Unlooked for, absolutely. Spirit-driven? We think so!

As a family this has been a wild ride. The closest picture we have to describe it is being in a tiny boat in a great storm, with no land in sight. It's dark, a night without stars. The wind and waves are high. We know Jesus is in the boat, but it seems that he is sleeping. We have been tested and pushed beyond endurance in every way. Many of you have also had a year of trial and testing. We've had times of severe doubt. God seemed silent. His ways darkened to us. But we took the example of faithful people who have gone before us, and we just didn't let go. Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Esther, Job, Daniel, Mary, the list goes on and on and we sure needed to hear their stories.

Now as we step forward, we are aware stories have a lovely way of looping around like pathways and crossing one another between valleys, across hilltops, at springs. Here's hoping yours and ours intersect more than once!

Important!

• We are still definitely in need of financial and prayer support. There are many details to take care of during these major transitions.
  
• Stay tuned for the schedule for our "house gigs" around the Northwest. These will be gatherings in homes where we'll meet friends, Dust will play some tunes, we'll share "key learnings" from our time away.
  
• We can't wait to see you, hear how you've been!
  

Zoe is Five!!!

STA60019, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Zoe turned five on September 21st!

We had a wonderful little family party, with Ryan and Janna attending and Emily showing up a little late (because of work).

Zoe loved her gifts, and loved the cards and messages of love from so many of you!

Thank you for remembering her!

Live in the Present, Plan for the Future. . . .

THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE KUNKS!

Dustin has been recently put in a lot of effort seeking work while simultaneously completing his Masters dissertation research.

A couple of potential jobs as a Director of Environmental Education did not work out, so we are continuing on with the "default" option with which we began our adventure: to return to the U.S. once the degree was completed (official date is Nov. 30th). This is primarily for financial reasons as the dollar continues to be weak compared to the pound, and our money does not buy much here. The second reason is that Janette has worked very hard for our family as a receptionist at a local clinic, but she's ready for that to be done and ready for being a full-time mother. As a family, we are very ready to return and see all of our loved ones -- family, friends, cheerleaders, encouragers, financial supporters, prayer warriors!

The plans are in the very early stage of development, but we are planning to return home for the holidays. Stay tuned for developments on this site as we determine what will work out the best for us.

One of our goals will be to visit some key people who have supported us on this adventure. More on that also in future blogs!

For now, continue to lift us up in your hearts to God and ask Him to do His will in our lives. Dustin will be working long hours on his dissertation, with the hope that he can complete it and return with the family (date yet to be set).

Pray that we are open to the leading of God. . . He's at work in His world, and we're listening for His whispers. . . .

Peace and Joy from Dustin, Janette, Lily, and Zoe.

A Much-Needed, Long-Awaited Family Get-Away

STA60157, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Thanks to the gift of a family friend, we had the opportunity to get away for the weekend! The girls had an extra day off of school, and we took off for the Northeast coast of Scotland. As a family we have never been up to the highlands together, even though we've been in Scotland over a year!

It was a good time to do so, as many of you know, Dustin was awaiting word on a job possibility in the United States. After waiting over a month for word regarding a position as Director of Outdoor and Environmental Education, he found out he did not get the job. . . We needed a little time as a family to regroup and figure out what comes next.

We found cheap room and board at "the best youth hostel in the world" -- Carbisdale Castle. The girls enjoyed dancing in the upper storey ballroom which you see in this picture.

For more pictures of our time, click on the link to Kunky pics in the right column and then watch the slide show in the "Weekend Away" Set at the top of the page. Amazingly, the sun was out all of the days and -- as they say here -- we had a lovely time.

A Visit from Friends!

STA60003, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

We had a lovely visit from Marjorie and Sheila a few days ago.

We showed them a little of Edinburgh and they took us to dinner. Then, the next evening, we had them over for Italian dinner at our flat.

The girls had a wonderful time showing them around, and you can see in this picture the weather cooperated too!

The Edinburgh Festival

Danuta and Ian Perform at the Festival, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

The greatest festival of arts (so they claim) in the world came to an end last week. We didn't make it to any of the indoor venues, but we caught some street acts by some amazing artists.

Our very own friend, Danuta (the one holding the pose in the air) is an "Acro" professional performance artist. With her partner, Ian, they held us spellbound for a half hour with some incredible, mind (and body) bending art.

The kids loved it -- and so did Lily and Zoe ;)

Lost Dogs!

The Amazing, Scintillating, Beautiful, Musically-Geniusastical Lost Dogs are coming to Washington and California to play their tunes. If you live in or near those states you should go.

I highly recommend you check them out, since I (Dust) can't!

Click on their link in the right column under "artists" and then check out where their shows will be. . . .

Updated Songs

I put a new song on The Slings site . . . click on the link in the right column. The song is called "Under the Healing Tree."

Roses and the Sisters

Roses and the Sisters, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

It was a good morning. . .

We got ready in time. . . and on the walk to school, stopped to smell the roses.

It's amazing to watch them growing before our eyes.

What an amazing universe we live in!

Zoe's First Day of School -- Primary One

STA60028, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Zoe was so excited!

She got to go to school!

Mom and Dad were happy. . . . and sad. . . .

Zoe was. . .

Happy.

Songs on the Right!

Dear Friends and Fam:

You need to know two major things. . . .

One: The reason Dustin has been out of touch (and will be for a while longer) is that he is working 9 and 10 hour days on the dissertation at home in our tiny flat. This does not count the time used to feed and watch Lily and Zoe.

Two: For a long time I (Dust) have wanted to share my songs with friends, since its one of the few things I can give as a gift now that I'm a poor student! If you will look in the right column, you'll find a new link to a page that has a couple of songs of mine -- for your downloading pleasure.

Consider it my way of thanking you for caring for us.

These are songs I recorded using a program on my laptop mac, so the quality is so-so. But good enough to enjoy!

Thanks for all your support over the last year. Share the songs with your friends!
Dust

Pilgrimage

STA60074, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Here's a riddle:

What do you get when you take 5 men, add prayer, a walking/driving/ferry-riding journey, sleeping on hard ground, buckets of rain, biting midges, large amounts of cheese and sausage, probing questions, and an ancient holy site from the 6th century?

Pilgrimage.

Adam, Ben, Graham, Glenn, and Dust took a trip across the Isle of Mull to the Isle of Iona, where Celtic monks from Ireland first landed in the 6th century.

Pilgrimages are interesting organisms -- you never know how the Spirit will show up, and where He'll send you. . . . you are walking in the footsteps of others who have gone before, so you're not really exploring "new" ground. Yet, it IS new ground. . . . for the pilgrim. It is critical in this journey of faith to "walk in someone else's shoes" -- to gain a sense of context, history, and the "cloud of witnesses" who have gone before.

We learned that while much of the church rotted away in the 6th century, these crazy Celtic saints were crossing seas in cowhide coracles (small circular boats) and creating communities wherever they landed. They would set up a cross at springs where people came for water, would bless the spring in the name of Triune God, and share the good news that "God's love is a gift in His Son accessed through His Spirit." It enlarged our hearts, zapped our minds, and pushed us to consider whether our day and age require similar men of courage and compassion.

Iona is a tiny island far off the coast of Scotland. We had to take two ferries to get there. The picture above is the four guys on the top of Iona's largest hill. By the time the photo was taken, we had already visited the typical sites that most tourists visit: the abbey, the interpretive center, the village. . . . The rain started coming down in driving sheets, and we cinched our hoods tight and climbed the hill.

As we slipped and crawled up the hill, each man was caught in his own meditation. I know that I wondered if this wasn't closer to the original spirit of the men who pushed their coracles into the crashing North Atlantic surf. You can see the look on our faces after just reaching the top. Wet, cold, full of fire.

We walked down to a beach on the far side of the island and the older men prayed a blessing over the two young "lads" on some rocks that jutted into the surf. The sun came out and blinded us all. Imagine that!

There is so much more to share. . . . each man has his own stories. The key is that we didn't walk away with a "high" -- no, it was deeper and springier than that. A tensile blade of steel inserted in the spot where our backbones used to be.

We tasted the rough spray of wind-tossed sea and Spirit. It is a cliche, but still so true: we'll never be the same.