Visible Invisibility: Life on Two Spectrums
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Visible Invisibility: Life on Two Spectrums

A lot of times I feel visible invisibility. Mental illness is labeled the disease of the lonely. Autism is a conduit of the lonely. Living with both a mental illness and autism is extremely difficult. Some symptoms are similar, but then there are other symptoms that exacerbate each other. There are many times I want to be alone; but then there…

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Why Ukraine?
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Why Ukraine?

I didn’t pick Ukraine. I never thought I would ever serve abroad. It is extremely difficult to live out of your comfort zone when you have Asperger’s. God showed how my story prepared me to…

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Parents
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Parents

When I was born, I only slept two hours every 12 hours. I didn’t cry, I screamed. My parents took me to specialist after specialist. We ended up at…

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Fireflies…
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Fireflies…

My thoughts are fireflies dancing with the heat of a mid-summer night. The glistening yellow beacons pierce the emptiness of the black heavens. I’m an observer while my sanity escapes from the mania of madness. It fills the atmosphere in a pastoral dance….

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Bipolar and God
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Bipolar and God

How can bipolar disorder be a blessing from God? It seems like a strange question. God uses everything for His glory. God doesn’t do evil…

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I Have a Story to Tell
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

I Have a Story to Tell

I have a story to tell, that God wrote for me. How did a Christian with Bipolar and Asperger’s end up serving in Ukraine? The world and even some Christians see a very broken person, but God sees His glory in my affliction. I have been to Ukraine…

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Teaching Linda
Patricia Pfister Shovlin Patricia Pfister Shovlin

Teaching Linda

I met Linda when she first came into Sykesville Middle School as a sixth grader. I had taught her older sister and her mother was a volunteer for the team I taught on, so I was familiar with…

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Autism Awesomeness Month
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Autism Awesomeness Month

I was that weird out of place kid. The one that never fit in with any group in school. Even the weirdos didn’t accept me. School was a navigational nightmare. As soon as I got into the routine, summer recess began. I loved summertime, I was free to ride my bike …

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Hope
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Hope

Life is a battle with or without afflicted by mental illness. I live in a fallen world marred by my sins and sins of others. Suffering is a reminder of what Jesus endured for us to mend our relationship with God. The Bible instructions us…

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Blame
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Blame

I blamed God. I blamed Him a lot. I was angry toward God. How could he make me intelligent, but then give me such a serious mental illness. Why would…

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Employment with Bipolar and Asperger’s
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Employment with Bipolar and Asperger’s

The world is a very difficult place to navigate with Bipolar Disorder and Asperger’s: I feel like I am at the right address but on the wrong planet. Earth is a labyrinth of sensory overload, and emotional confusion. Most humans live with developed…

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Christmas Holiday and Mental Illness/Asperger’s
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Christmas Holiday and Mental Illness/Asperger’s

Christmas time can be especially difficult for those suffering mental illness, because the struggles don’t take a break for Christmas. I try to navigate a maze with an overwhelming stimulation of sight and sound. My structure is dismantled because of

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Pray, Go, Give… Hope
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Pray, Go, Give… Hope

Thank you for helping me serve the Lord’s Kingdom in Ukraine and Eastern Europe for many years! On behalf of  Wings of Faith community (in Rivne, Ukraine), thank you. Last October, I answered God’s call to Live on Mission. SALT has agreed to be…

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Living through a pandemic with bipolar and Asperger’s
Linda Bunk Linda Bunk

Living through a pandemic with bipolar and Asperger’s

In mid-March 2020, the world seemed to shut down like someone pulled the plug. I was scheduled to go on a mission trip to Ukraine, and that was canceled. This was terrible, because I love serving in Ukraine. My church became virtual. At first, my mood was optimistic. Most people were calling this a lockdown, quarantine, or shut down. I looked at it as a staycation. But then I developed mania and felt like a wild animal…

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