I recently read a blogpost I wrote four years ago right before we left to pick up our youngest three children from Rwanda. Like reading an old journal, I was transported back to another time, to a complex of emotions and reflections that seem far gone but whose power still holds sway as I look back … More Gundersen Year in Review (2015)
The new and revised 18-volume Pictorial Library of Bible Lands by Todd Bolen is a landmark achievement. These volumes contain more than 17,500 high-resolution photos of the lands and islands, sites and landscapes, roads and ruins, digs and artifacts, cultures and climates of the Bible. The vantage points vary from aerial to close-up to panoramic. Lighting, weather, season, … More Review of The Pictorial Library of Bible Lands by Todd Bolen
Three weeks ago, we were packing up the last of our belongings, saying final goodbyes to friends and co-workers and church family, madly finishing up projects to prepare for the new Dean, and preparing for our cross-country move into the next season of our lives. Three weeks from now, I’ll be exploring a brand new … More The Incredible Journey
There are some things you just never dream of doing. There are other things that you’ll only do if opportunity beats down your door with a sledgehammer. And sometimes both kinds of things hit you all at once. So what happens when you combine the cost of living in Southern California, the upcoming bill for a … More Gunner at GAP
Mother’s Day is a travesty. Like setting aside one single solitary day to memorialize our fallen soldiers who give their short lives for our lifelong freedom, we’ve set aside one single solitary day to celebrate our mothers who give the incalculable gift of their life and love to their children. Not that any mother will … More Thanks, Mom
The men below form the team that God has brought to The Master’s College dormitories to oversee, love, care for, instruct, disciple, counsel, challenge, and train the next generation of the church’s men. On either side of me are the four male Resident Directors I’ve served with this year, men of character, passion, humility, integrity, … More Men at Work
This past year, four tremendous guys served with me in leading the OMC. Juan Moncayo, Nate Brooks, Cameron Knox, and Peter Bugbee. Fellow OMC’er Cole Jeffrey, who has the “It” factor in photography, took the picture (and many others).
After a full day on Saturday, Cindi and I awoke on Sunday with a full day planned. We headed out the door and drove two miles through downtown toward the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. This park is crowned by the 63-story St. Louis Arch which stands on the western bank of the Mississippi as the welcoming gatekeeper … More St. Louis, Missouri (2)
Last year I climbed Half-Dome in Yosemite National Park with the four-man team of guy RDs. This past week we made a longer return trip (minus Siona and plus Joe) for our last hurrah as a team since two of us are moving into new positions. We took it a bit easier this time and thoroughly enjoyed the recently-opened … More Yosemite National Park
At 11:36 A.M. Pacific Standard Time on Friday, November 16 at the Children’s Court in Monterrey Park, California, Judge John L. Henning declared that Judah David Mukisa Gundersen is the legal son of David and Cynthia Gundersen, with all the rights and privileges of a natural born child, including inheritance. We swore under oath that we … More Judah David Mukisa Gundersen
Some may be wondering about the wildfires in Southern California and if Santa Clarita and TMC have been affected. The strong Santa Ana winds are driving numerous fires out of control as they often do in SoCal. As I write this on Sunday at 10:30pm PST, the closest fires to TMC and our extension-campus dorm are in Canyon … More Wildfires in Southern California
Judah came home on July 13, three months ago this weekend. Here are some pictures taken by my brother Mike at my intramural flag football game on Saturday, October 13. Judah is happy, healthy, and precious. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
This week has been SLS Retreat (Servant Leadership Staff), last week was RA Retreat (Resident Assistants), and the week before that was RD Retreat (Resident Directors). That sums up my August and explains my online absence during the past few weeks. Tomorrow is WOW Saturday (Week of Welcome), and we have thirty-four new students checking into the … More The First Few Weeks of August
Three thousand years ago, Solomon wrote a very simple and beautiful Hebrew poem. One of the lines says, “Behold, children are a gift from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Over the past three thousand years, the truth of his song has not changed. We have beheld, and we agree. At this time last week, Cindi and … More The First Week of Psalm 127:3
It’s 11:13pm on Saturday night as I begin writing. Cindi has been asleep in our bed since 8:30pm, hopefully resting and recuperating from jet lag, physical sickness, and a week of emotional and circumstantial intensity on another continent with the most precious thing in a mother’s world at stake. Judah has been asleep in his crib since … More The First Hours: Judah Comes Home
I have a number of things I’d like to write about and share, but various aspects of the adoption are in full force right now and I feel compelled to let people know what’s going on. Just so you know that I hope to keep other content coming, as well. I never posted all our … More Ridiculous Video of Judah
