Haircut

I got my hair cut this weekend to donate to the American Cancer Society.  Unfortunately, my hair is so thin it'll be a very small donation, but it was fun to do and I think I'll grow it out and do it again!  Vanuatu was very hair-growing friendly so shouldn't be a problem to grow it long again when I get there.  :)

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Thulesen family home on the range

We had a Thulesen family get-together (minus my Uncle Dick, who visited a few weeks later) in September and went out to see the ranch that my dad and his siblings all grew up on.  Gretch and I had never been out there so it was a great opportunity to see a bit of the Thulesen family history in person.  Now the deck that my parents are building has rocks incorporated from this homestead since they brought some back into town.

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Carving Pumpkins

My parents grew a nice big garden to share with us since we were around this year.  And that meant pumpkin carving! :)

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36 years!

My parents celebrated their 36th anniversary this week.  We took them out to a new Chinese place in town for a family lunch.  Congratulations to them!  :) 

Canning

Today my mom taught us canning and we also tried out a nifty juice extractor to can some apple juice!  We did pretty much everything wrong with the pressure cooker canner (a new thing for all of us) but mistakes make the best teacher, right?  We'll try again next month maybe making soup or canning meat, but for now we have a few pints of green beans and apple juice, and a couple quarts of apple butter to eat.  Yum.

Missionary Medical Intensive

Gretchen and I just got back from a medical intensive designed for missionaries ministering in rural areas who may not have medical help accessible in an emergency.  We trained with a group in North Carolina in their program called Missionary Medical Intensive.  Click here to check out the organization  Originally it was meant for EMTs and nurses, but they've dumbed it down some for us laypeople.  :)  It was hands down the best training I've been to in a decade.  They were very God-focused, hands-on, practical, and had excellent, humble, relational teachers (doctors and nurses).  The other students were great to get to know as well.  I had a fantastic roommate, Erika, and our friend Christina who we met in Vanuatu came the same time so we were able to have some time with her as well!  Here are pics.

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I also thank God for good health during the time!

Also, the 2nd week we were gone, Houghton was able to go to a solar/water/septic training as well to help fill in the gaps of understanding in those areas. We are so thankful for these opportunities to be better prepared for our long-term ministry in Vanuatu!