Addie's Day

Today is Addie's day.

But her family is with her.

If you have been following her battle (link to her website in the right column) you'll already know that she's getting a bone marrow transplant today.

We woke up this morning and prayed for her, doing what we consider the "night-watch job" for Addie. The rest of you in the States are still sleeping, and we hope that she is too.

As you pray for Addie, remember her cousin Zoe in prayer as well.

Zoe has not been the same since chicken pox a month ago. Her immune system took a massive hit, and a week ago she got the flu, which turned into "walking pneumonia." We had to take her into the E.R. to get quick service, but they basically said there was nothing they could do (since they claimed it was a virus) and sent her home to rest. She is lethargic and sleeps and coughs and throws up a lot. She has a fever that keeps spiking very high and then dropping. She doesn't seem to be getting much better after a week. I (Dustin) have also been flat on my back with the flu for the last 4 days too.

We believe that our whole family is under attack.

If you are into praying, today would be a good day to do it.

May Jesus heal Addie and Zoe completely.

Go Seahawks!!!

krisco, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Kris Kunkel cheers on his (and our) team to greatness and a Superbowl berth!

Kris and Sara received free tickets thanks to Seahawk pro-bowl tackle Walter Jones who donated some tickets to the Ronald McDonald House.

Keep Addie in your prayers as she prepares for bone marrow transplant next week.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Janette gets flowers for birthday!!, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

My birthday started with one sister calling at midnight the beginning of my birthday and the other sister calling at the end of my birthday with mom my sandwiched in the middle-6:45 am my time! Who has taught them this? No, I just wanted to say thanks so much for all the phone calls and cards. It isn't much fun to be away from everyone on my special day but it made it brighter to be remembered! The flowers I am holding got sent to me at work (which blew my cover, I hadn't told anyone it was my birthday) but it was lovely! About an hour after they arrived, I had to go home because Zoe has been really sick. Now Lily has it too. Some sort of flu bug that we hope will pass as quickly as it came. Dust tried really hard to make the day special but by Zoe's 14th puke we have decided to choose a different day to celebrate! Much love to all with an open invitation to come and visit us!!
Janette

Silent No Longer!

I can remain silent no longer.

This is Dustin writing just now, I have been a good boy and not written about my team until now, but I have two good reasons:

The Seahawks are hosting the NFC championship game in Seattle this Sunday!!! (read on for the 2nd reason).

As a die-hard fan of the team that has not won a playoff game in 21 years, you'd better believe I'm staying up late to watch that game (11PM is kickoff time over here!). Trouble is, I'm not sure yet where I'll be able to watch it. . . .

2nd Reason, and best news of all: my brother Kris (also a 'Hawks fan, and if you measure yelling at the TV ability then he's a bigger fan than me;)) has just won two tickets to go to the game. Bwahaaa!

Kris and Sara have been through so much helping Addie, and this weekend she begins the process to get a bone marrow transplant. They may not have time to write about this so I will: They won tickets to the game this Sunday!!!

Thank you God for Walter Jones (Seahawk Tackle who donated some of his personal tickets to the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle).

And all of you watch the game and look for Kris and Sara!!! They'll be the ones wearing blue.

Married for 10 Years -- and Clingy About It!

Yes, I know, there are people married for 30, 50, and even 75 years.

Have you noticed that most of those couples are "clingy" in a good way: kissing, holding hands, touching in little ways. . . .

It's only 10 years, but its still special to us. And we're learning new ways to define "clingy:" how about just "holding on as if your life depends on it while the hurricane of life rips around you."

We weren't sure if we were going to make it out of town, but it worked out to get a very cheap flight and room in London for the weekend, so we went. What a blast! It takes only about an hour of flying time to arrive. We walked and walked, saw all the touristy sites (from the outside because we were too broke to go in!) and realized without much surprise that we really really like being together.

I suppose we'd HAVE to like being together, considering that in 10 years together we've. . . .

• Directed a camp of over 40 staff while living in a tent (our first summer married)
• Run a home for abused and neglected kids for two years (lived in a tiny single room apartment in the midst of the home)
• Worked as a program director, house parent, vets assistant, preschool teacher, kindergarten teacher, clinic office receptionist (janette); and a program director, house parent, youth guy, construction worker, raft guide, ymca front desk person, director of Christian education, full time student (Dustin)
• Parented and loved children
  
• Not to mention Lily and Zoe ;)
• Kept "open house" and poured out love to anyone who wanted/needed it
  
• Travelled across a continent and ocean together with our girls to be "faithful and available wherever God leads us."

We want to thank each person that has helped us in our marriage. Those of you who had a direct hand, you already know who you are. There are many others who set an example.

Thank you--all of you.

And thanks Lord Jesus, for giving us Your Spirit of life and love.

You are a candle
in the dark
on a windy night.

At other times,
You've warmed us
in Your fire--given friendship,
the security of having a Father of love.

Most of all, You just never let go.

Because of You, we're clingy too.

Our Tenth Wedding Anniversary Self Portrait

STA60044, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Some say the best of life is found in mansions, some say the best of life is found in fame, some say the best in life is found in far off places, I say, the best in life is . . . .

One word just won't do here!!!!!

Friend, lover, companion, you, my dearest darling. Only you.

Ringin' in the New Year Scottish Style

STA60046, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

I set the camera on "slow" for the fireworks that were exploding on the seven hills of Edinburgh, and caught this expression on Lily's face.

We had just come from a Ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance-athon get together pronounced "Kaylee") where the girls danced all night. More pictures on flickr.

Here's hoping your new year is full of His incredible presence, power, and peace. In Jesus' name, no surrender, no retreat.

Dust, Jan, Lil' and Zo'

What a "Sign!"

STA60007, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Those of you who've been following our blog, will also be following the struggles of our dear niece and god-daughter, Adeline Hope Kunkel. We call her Addie. (You can still get updates on her battle with H.L.H. in the link in the right column).

I like to call Addie our little "battle maiden." She is a fighter. Even little people have a spirit to them, a nature that grabs God's hand and fights and struggles with tragedy and suffering.

We had no way of knowing it, but one of the little towns between Edinburgh and Glasgow on the trainline is called "Addiewell." What a name! We found this out yesterday on our train trip to Glasgow (see more pictures below).

Say a prayer for our little battle maiden right now. And keep checking her site for updates!

Of Tents and Stretching Them. . . .

[As of this morning, I'm back to reading, writing papers, studying. I won't have time to share on the blog (besides photos) for a while. Janette might have some things to say, though! I decided I'd better share NOW what I consider to be the most important thing we've been learning since we've come to Edinburgh.]

"He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers" (from Mary's Song) Luke 1:54,55.

Our experience in Edinburgh is that God enjoys living in lowly families.

When He sent His son, He did not send Him to be born in the castle as the king. Neither was the Son born into a rich Pharisee or Sadducee family. He didn't come to a trading corporation or even to a not-for-profit group that does good things for people.

He came to a little family--one that looked on the outside like it was unravelling before it started! The girl got pregnant before the wedding, the guy was going to get rid of her! John says "he made his dwelling--literally, tented-- among us" (John 1:14). It almost sounds like God implied an extra phrase in that sentence: "tented among us. . . . the broken, messed up, who-don't-have-it-together, living-in-torn-up-tent ones."

And Mary sang about this: She remembered Abraham and his messiness; she remembered Israel (Jacob) and his lying, cheating and stealing. She remembered that God chose those men and their families to enshrine His very Self through their faith.

Back to tents: ever slept in one that was a little too tight? Ever had to share one with extra people? I have. When camping, I often prefer to take a big tarp to accommodate a lot of people if need be. Abraham's tent was like this--there were all kinds of people that ended up sharing Abraham's tent. He probably had to stretch it out a bit over the years. Hold that picture in your head. . . .

God loves to live with families. Simple. . . yet complex in a society that wants to accomplish “good” without families at the center. Maybe its because. . . .

1. Families don't ever "have it together"--they're messy


2. Families spend time with other families. If you're looking for a way to "share your faith" it has more to do with having dinner together than you thought!


3. Really healthy families are made up of all kinds of people, some of them brand new members, some of them ancient, some of them from other families that didn't want them, some them don't even believe they're a part of the family (even though they are).


4. Much of the time, I may not feel like being in a family. And yet, if I claim my "family-ness" (being a son or daughter of the Father) and do what I know to be true in the face of my failures and feelings, I find new horizons open up in God's grace.

This apartment complex we live in is full of families. And each family has its own struggles and messiness, I'm sure. The Kunkels give and receive grace all the time. There's a wonderful interplay of grace going on. There's dependancy.

In the process of this giving and receiving, I began to think of my family more like an Abrahamic tent than a North Face tent. The first stretches and raises its covering over many. The second is air, water, ice and storm-tight. It’s squeaky-strong and clings to the edge of mountain peaks. It takes care of you and your (one) partner, but it’s not going to help under an avalanche or rock slide. Nor will it save you in a hurricane.

This Christmas, our family celebrated His "tenting" with us in a new way! We opened our hearts and our family-tent to Him once again. We practiced hospitality. And in the act of opening to Him, we opened to others as well. My classmate Jenny stopped by on Christmas eve because she, like us, was missing family. On Christmas day we had a huge dinner with Rika, Nobu and baby Ena Grace--just born!

We stretched the tent. Thank You, Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Father of families. Thank you for stretching out Your covering over us, the covering of the blood of Jesus who tented among us, full of Grace and Truth.

Teach us what Your Hospitality means. Teach us how to stretch our family tent.

Mom and the Girls

STA60011, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Dust and Lil'

STA60005, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

By the way. . . . Go Seahawks!

Downtown Glasgow in the Evening

STA60015, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Dustin, Lily and Zoe had never ridden on a train, so when Janette got a day off, we jumped on the one that runs between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It takes about 2 hours including all the stops. The wide streets downtown were crammed with shoppers, and the skies were clear--rare for the west side of Scotland.

Itchy Itchy :(

Yesterday Zoe wasn't herself. We know this, when she insists on sitting still for more than, say 2 minutes, that she isn't well. She wanted to cuddle and watch movies. By mid afternoon she was breaking out in little red bumps --chicken pox!--and today they're everywhere!!

She was immunized in USA so we thought for sure that she'ld be free of them but here we go!! We gave her a bath with warm water and baking soda (which is bicarbonate soda over here) to help with the itching, and later she said "when do I get another bath in diet soda?" We thought it was cute. She was to be one of the wisemen today in our church children's Christmas "play," but they had to make do with only two . . . no one to bring the frankincense or as Zoe calls it "Frankin- something".

Should be a interesting week for Mr.Mom as I am working all week. Pray for quick healing and that Lily will be able to dodge the virus. We miss all of you so much. Thanks to those of you who have sent cards or packages. It really helps us feel like we aren't so far away from home. One friend from Trinity, Paula Bennett, sent us a package with Christmas decorations in it...it was an incredible gift because as she guessed, we had nothing here. Thanks for remembering us this time of the year!
Peace and Joy from Scotland!
Janette

Rudolph the Red-Nosed. . . . wait! where's the nose?

STA60036, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Zoe had a great time in her nursery play as rudolph. We found a little nose that lights up when you wear it, but that only stayed on for five minutes before it hung around her neck. They sang carols and Santa visited at the end of it all. She was very happy, as you can see!

The Red Rattle: A Christmas Story of Hope

What follows is an email we received yesterday from Kris and Sara. It brought a smile, a little tear, and blossoming hope to our lives. We hope it does for you too. . . .

dust and jan,

a little story to brighten your day. first, do you remember the
little red maracas rattle you gave Addie when she was just a
whee little tike? this story is about that.

last week we were having difficulty getting addie to relax, rest
and sleep, so we were trying all kinds of things. we found that
one thing worked---her red rattle. when she had it in her hands
she would relax. she didn't really shake it that much, just
held on to it very tight. kinda her "security blanket" deal.
it was very cute.

the cutest part to the whole thing is that she went for about 3
days straight where that was all she wanted and she wouldnt' let
go of it--even at night. there she was asleep in her bed
holding tight to her red rattle snorring away!! ;) very
cute!!!

she's ventured off into other things this week but she still
likes her rattle. i thought of this again last night when i
couldn't get her to sleep after sara left, i remembered the
rattle. so i scrounged around for it, found it and gave it to
her. as soon as she saw it she got all excited, grabbed it
tightly and pulled it close to her chest. immediately she
relaxed, settled down and began starting to sleep.

so thought i'd share that with you guys. have a great day!

Lotsa love and hugs and kisses from US 2 U!
Kris and Sara

Just For Laughs. . . .

STA60033, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

A photo to lighten your day,
A photo just for laughs,
A photo to make you grin,
and crack a wee little smile!

New Links!

For those of you who wonder what the ancient Celtic Christians had that transformed a pagan island in a single century, I've placed some links in the right hand column. A new friend of mine, Colin Symes, has spent a considerable amount of time and energy in the research and has written a rivetting introduction to their life in Christ. I believe these pagan days are ripe for a rediscovery of the passion our ancient brothers and sisters felt for Jesus.

Check the links under "Going Deeper" on the right panel.

If you've got questions, I'm sure Colin wouldn't mind an email or two!

Dust

Thankful at Thanksgiving

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving in Scotland. For those of you who can't think outside of the US--Thanksgiving is purely an American holiday! Yes, we had thanksgiving here with 30 other Americans. It wasn't family and it wasn't by any means "traditional" but it was turkey with all the fixings. We thought we would share some of the things we have been especially thankful for in the last 5 months.

*Visitors
*mail of all kinds
*letters
*packages
*emails
*posts on our tagboard
*prayer support
*financial gifts
*no TV
*making friends here
*opportunities and chances to be salt and light
*Community Church Edinburgh
*work for Janette
*people who move out of our flats and leave us with all kinds of fun stuff
*no car
*phone calls (even in the middle of the night!)
*web camera & video emails
*food from back home that we can't get here
*Monday night tea with the ladies
*free health care
*IKEA
*Shayna (babysitter who was a total God-thing)
*multi cultural living experiences for all of us
*great schools for the girls
*our flat (as much as we have complained about our 564 square feet of nothing we have grown to love it)
*our parents and siblings who love and encourage us from afar no matter how bad they want us home.

And for you, whoever you are, wherever you are. Thank you!

Baking with Barney the Bear

STA60018, originally uploaded by dustkunkel.

Lily brought her P1 classroom bear home with her last weekend and they did all kinds of things together--including making cookies! From left to right: Zoe, Chiersten, Lily, Caitlin, and Tabitha.

Papa Dan tells Lily and Zoe About Addie . . . .

What follows below is an email "Papa Dan" sent to Lily and Zoe to share what's going on with Addie with them. They've had lots of questions since they pray for her often. We felt it was just as good for Lily and Zoe's parents, and may be helpful for some of you as well:

Dear Lily and Zoe,

This is papa telling you what Addie has hooked to her body right now, just as I saw her resting on Auntie Sara’s lap in the hospital this morning:

In her nose: oxygen tube (one little tub for each nostril) hooked to a machine

feeding tube also in left nostril hooked to a machine

patches to hold tubes in place on cheeks

On her chest there are round sensors at least 2 under patches

Into her left arm: a PICC line by inside of elbow under big white patch with IV tubes junction attached for at least three different kinds of inputs

Into her right leg foot: a PICC line on top of foot under big patch with IV junction for at least two (maybe its three now) inputs

Left foot, big toe: Oxygen in blood sensor with a little red light that’s on all the time and blinking

Left lower leg: Blood pressure cuff (works most of the time, sometime they replace it!)

Addie is wearing a special hospital shirt, a children’s long shirt (gown) with ties in the back and with nice pictures of animals and things that are bright and cheery as you know, Addie’s eyes are also trying to watch everyone and everything, because so much has happened and keeps happening to her. She is tired-looking and starting to lose some hair from the medicines, but she’s not giving up. She moves her arms and legs and lets us know she’s still there because Jesus lives inside her heart—and she is HIS precious child.

Pray the new medicine Addie is getting this week will give her calm and fewer “owies.” Keep thanking God that His eyes are always on Addie, just like they are on each of you everywhere you are. And Lily and Zoe, just keep praying for Jesus to hold cousin Addie with His special hands and loving arms like the Bible story about Jesus the Good Shepherd and the little lambs.

And every time you pray for her, you can make the same motions to show how you are keeping her in your hearts and prayers—and looking ahead with HOPE to the day your hands and arms and faces will touch each other again.

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world—red and yellow, black, and white--all are precious in HIS sight!

love,
Papa Dan