Barry Dundas

Colorado Adventure #4

Tonight I write in a very relaxed state, but not because I am well rested from vacation.  Actually my body reminded me once again that vacation is exhausting.  I always try to pack more into one day than I should and never get enough rest.  I am on vacation so I have to be doing something.  This morning I woke up way too early to the sound of what must have been 1000 girl scouts getting ready to leave for the day.  I think they have very room in the lodge booked that does not belong to East Heights.  After a day that included rock wall climbing and 18 holes of golf (don't ask my score, I stopped keeping track after I scored a 10 on hole one), my body was reminding me that I am not used to that kind of physical activity.  It doesn't help that there is a shortage on oxygen here in the mountains.  At the end of another day full of activities I was beat, but there was one more excursion on the agenda.  Just a few miles down the road is a town called Hot Sulphur Springs.  The name gives it away.  Located in this little town is the Hot Sulphur Springs Resort and Spa with 23 different pools of hot water.  The coolest pool was about 94 degrees and the hottest went up to 112 degrees.  After an hour and half two things had happened to my body.  I was completely relaxed and rejuvenated and I smelled like rotten eggs.  I think the smell well wash off.  All I know is that sitting in hot natural spring water watching the sunset over the Colorado Mountains is a pretty good day.  Every day is a gift from God, but some days God's grace is a little more visible.

Colorado Adventure #3

One of the more obvious characteristics of the Rocky Mountains this year are the number of brown pine trees.  They are impossible to miss.  Evergreen trees turn brown for only one reason, they have died.  This morning we had a presentation on the cause of all the brown trees.  The culprit is a little bug (or a variety of bugs) called the Mountain Pine Beetle.  The beetles dig into the bark, lay their eggs and the baby beetles feed on the tree, ultimately killing it.  Then they fly to the next tree and the process begins again.  It is a natural process, but it is also devastating to the forest when the outbreak reaches this level.  The beetle does have some natural enemies like the woodpecker and can be treated chemically (although that has some nasty side effects to the rest of the environment), but one the most effective controls is extreme cold.  It takes thirty consecutive days of temperatures constantly below thirty degrees to kill the beetles.  That should not be a problem in the mountains of Colorado, but with rising global temperatures, that has not happened in many years.  Drought conditions only add to the problem as it weakens trees and makes them more susceptible to the Pine Beetles.  Chances are that a forest fire will some day begin among the dead trees and spread like wildfire (I guess that is why they call it a wildfire).  In the next few years, the mountains in this area could look very different.  Two of the children were talking tonight about our surroundings.  One of the girls made this insightful comment, "This isn't a forest, its just a bunch of trees!"  In a few years, she may be more prophetic then she knows.

The Dundas family adventure for the day was to attempt the rock climbing wall, something we have never done before.  All four of the Dundas clan found success on the wall, none more then Kyle Dundas who was transformed into Spiderman as he practically ran to the top.  I think it is time for a family membership to the Kansas Cliff Club.  The lesson of the day, you are never too old or too young to try something new.  Sometimes we discover that we can do much more than we ever thought or imagined.

Colorado Adventure #2

The food at the YMCA of the Rockies is pretty good, but I have a small dilemma.  We only purchased breakfast and supper and since it is all you can eat, I am working hard to get my money's worth (Years of practice at Feeder Friday).  I tend to over eat at breakfast so I don't have to eat much at lunch.  Then I am starving by dinner time so I overeat again.  I spend my day either miserably full or in anticipation of my next meal because I have not eaten for 8 hours.  I am embarrassed that my definition of hunger is that I have not gorged myself for 8 hours.

The highlight of the day was a family canoe outing on a reservoir here in the mountains.  It was a perfect day for canoing and it was a first for Kyle.  He absolutely loved it although he was also interested in a little swimming.  We tried to explain that the water at 8000 feet might be a little cold, but that was of no concern to him.  Finally he asked if there were sharks in the water and as responsible parents we told him yes.  That was the end of the swimming conversation.  While on the water it was impossible not to soak in the beauty of the day.  At least for a moment, everything seemed so right in the world.  I was spending the day with my family, watching my children have the time of their life, soaking up the incredible goodness of God's creation.  It was hard to believe that only a few hours early I was reading news stories about violence in the Middle East.  How can we hear a voice cry out peace, peace when there is not peace?  How could I deserve this grace while others cannot even imagine the stillness I experienced today?  It all reminds me of a Rich Mullins song.

Well, sometimes my life just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small

So hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It's so hot inside my soul
I swear there must be blisters on my heart

So hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

Surrender don't come natural to me
I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
Now I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees

And this Salvation Army band is playing this hymn
And Your grace rings out so deep
It makes my resistance seem so thin

I'm singing hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

Colorado Adventure #1

Today is the first day of the East Heights United Methodist Church Great Colorado Family Vacation.  Eight families (nine if you include the Calhouns showing up to greet everyone) arrived at the YMCA of the Rockies between 3:00 and 5:30 pm to begin our week together.  In the tradition of Mark Calhoun and his great adventure to China/South Korea I am attempting to reflect on our experiences so that others can join the fun.  If you followed Mark on his trip, you may need to lower your expectations now.  First, I plan to post very few pictures unlike the 2200 Mark took in China/South Korea.  Second, I anticipate the spiritual depth to remain in the shallow end of the pool compared to the deep sea diving that Mark experienced on his journey.  The biggest theological question to this point is can a group of eight families which include 19 children (7 under the age of 3) survive together in the same lodge for 5 days?  Our hope is to make it through the week without voting anyone off the island.  So far spirits are high and the fellowship is good even if we never experience a moment that does not consist of some level of chaos.

The day began for the Dundas family at the Bison United Methodist Church where we heard our good friend Kathy Bannister preach an interesting sermon on knowing.  She asked the question "How do we know what we believe?"  After a refresher course on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, tradition, reason and experience) she entered dangerous heretical territory by suggesting a fifth leg to a doctrine that most United Methodists hold sacred.  Kathy suggested the fifth element is imagination, being able to imagine what you cannot see.  For example imagining peace in a world of violence or imagining an end to poverty in a world of inequality.  We know the kingdom of God not just through scripture, tradition, reason or experience but because God has given us the ability to imagine a world that is unlike anything we have ever seen.  As we begin this week together in Colorado, I believe that imagination may be the key to a successful adventure.  Can we imagine eight families living together, willing to work out any possible differences even when we grow weary and short tempered.  I hope so or maybe I should say, "I imagine so!"