The Kunkel Family

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Vacation

We are grateful for a Lake House here close that our friends let us use so we can take some breaks occassionally from the norm and get some down time together. It was good to have this time after a crazy few months of life and ministry. It was hard to be there without the whole family though. Enjoy some pics below.

(Apparently sun was bright and Emma didn't want to take her pic which is the norm)

We have 2 traditions every time we go there now. One is to eat dinner one night at Cracker Barrel and the other is to go hiking with the boys on some trails not too far from where we stay. (see pic below)

We had lots of time in the water or at least the kids did.

Cuties

Dad taking Emma on a Kayak ride

Hiking with the boys

Luke won't get in the lake but enjoyed the baby pool we set up.

Beautiful Sofia

The lake was very warm.

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Jacob Joined the Space Force

A week ago we sent off another son, Jacob Daniel. Over the last year or so we have discussed his options moving forward. He is a very gifted young man. He can learn, do, fix, play about anything he puts his mind to. He enjoys working on computers and has been building and selling desktops for about a year or so. He has learned to play the keys and a little guitar. He wasn't keen on the idea of college full-time at least at this point and he liked the options the air force and space force gave him. He applied to both branches and was accepted into them both. He did very well on his ASVAB (Armed Services Test) which helped him get into the Space Force which is fairly selective. It is a new branch formed in 2019. He was the first recruit from his recruiting office to go to the Space Force.

He left for Basic Training on June 25th. So he is just beginning his second week there. It is held at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. This is the same place Ben went through basic training when he was in the Air Force. This has been a difficult season for us sending off two sons especially for Momma. Please pray for Jennifer and our family. Pray for Jacob as he goes through basic training and then to technical school in Mississippi. He will be working on cyber systems in the Space Force. (He doesn't know more specifics yet on what he will do exactly) He won't be able to visit for about 6 months. Below are some pictures of our last few days with him.

Dinner with him the night before he shipped off.

He is so great with the girls. They miss him a lot!

This was after his swearing in ceremony.

Dad in front of Air Force shield and Jake in front of Space Force shield.

Swearing In. If anyone is interested in watching the video you can see it here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1145648569998318&ref=sharing

We are so proud of Jacob and excited for what God has in store for him. Please join us in praying for him!

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Father's Day 2024

Father's day always brings up a lot of emotions in me since I lost my father when I was just four. But more so this year since we are about to send off two of our boys.

Levi just got married and he is moving to Kansas City this week were he will go to school and work. It is hard to believe that we have a son who is married. But we are happy for him and Alanna and excited for what the future holds for them!

Jake leaves next week to join the Space Force. He will spend 2 months in Texas in Basic Training and then Mississippi for his Techincal Training. Please pray for him.

We had a special Father's Day celebration Sunday evening with all the kids. I took a moment to reflect on how good God has been to me and our family. His faithfulness despite my failures overwhelm me.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Let's strive together to be the best Fathers possible to impact, disciple, raise up the next generation to know, love and follow Jesus!

New Life Network Annual Meetings

Red Nueva Vida (New Life Network) Retreat

Part of Ben's time in Guatemala was spent in meetings with Red Nueva Vida. We meet every year in a different country to share, celebrate, plan, pray and strategize for the following year.

We started our time visiting and seeing the ministry in Guatemala. There are currently two churches and two generations of disciples and churches. There will hopefully be a third generation soon. The first service was an international service celebrating the work being done globally through New Life Network. Here are some pictures of that special time:

Disicpleship before service

Servicio Global

Our friend Yeison from Colombia was ordained as Pastor

Time and service in Santa Lucia the first daughter church in Guatemala.

We had meetings Monday through Wednesday in which we learned and shared together. Here are some of the pics from that time. We started by sharing prayer requests and praying for each other.

Praying for our first missionary being sent by Guatemala to help start a new work in Honduras.

Here are some of the things we celebrated as a network during last year of ministry:

We planted 1 daughter church in Santa Lucia Milpas Altas
National Convention Colombia 2023
New Churches in Growth Cycle
Refine creative work method
Villa Mella Church (new group)
Finances to hire full time coordinators for Columbia, Chile, and Dominican Republic
Coordinator for USA, Guatemala and Europe in place
Discipleship DNA in 2 churches
We have made 3 mission trips
Completed local leadership training course
Contact with new Pastor Elido entering the network
We started prayer time with pastors
New church starting
Built relationships with pastors
Spiritual Retreats
Recorded and edited videos for Church Planting Certificate for Institute New Life Network
We opened 2 new regions (Plantar CRNVC, Huasco-north, Chile Chico-South)
Recorded Certificate for Pastoral Care lessons in New Life Institute
We opened 2 Discipleship groups
Introduced the network to 4 Pastors/Leaders