Outgoing Needs

Well, I skip the country in just 2 short weeks, Lord-willing. I can't believe the time has finally come! I am very nearly at 100% covered on my monthly financial needs, thanks to 5 churches and 41 individuals/families as of June. Many more have given one-time gifts, supported through prayer, and through encouragement. I am so grateful to you and to the Lord for the teammates here in the States working as the body of Christ to allow this ministry to happen. Some have expressed interest in one-time giving toward specific needs. Well, here's your chance. :) Initial set-up fees for a ministry are rediculously expensive, and especially so because BMW doesn't have infrastructure or other teams set up yet in Vanuatu. (Lord-willing, our team will pave the way for many more to come more cheaply and easily with fewer headaches!!) Consequently, in addition to monthly support, missionaries are required to raise a one-time large lump sum for outgoing expenses as well. In looking ahead to the various areas we need to be set up in, the following document (2 pages) shows categories of needs and budget amounts in each area.

As I post more on this blog, this post will soon disappear off my main page, but I will continue to update the narrative Outgoing Needs list on the sidebar, to the right on my blog. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know. Although various items are needed at different times in the ministry (I have already dipped into my outgoing travel fund to buy tickets to leave for Vanuatu in August, for example, but won't use the bush items for several years yet), there is a reason for posting all of this and making a plea for help at this time. The reason is that, Lord-willing, all the items from this list that the Lord provides will be shipped overseas with us in summer 2010-ish. Vanuatu charges up to 35% duty fees for any items owned for less than a year so we hope to purchase as much as possible by May 2009. Items will be stored in Miles City, where we will pack and ship them off when we return to the States in 2010, Lord-willing. Thanks for your prayers for the provision of needed items and for the spiritual success of this ministry.

(Click on each document to enlarge to full size.) To give a one-time gift, please write a check to: Biblical Ministries Worldwide. On a separate sheet of paper write "Laura Thulesen, OUTGOING project." Writing this ensures your gift stays tax deductible and that I don't have to pay taxes or administrative fees on it. Therefore, the full gift goes directly to expenses listed in this document. Send to:

BMW

1595 Herrington Rd

Lawrenceville, GA 30043

July 4

Grandpa and grandma Thulesen hosted us at their home in Newell, South Dakota. My uncle and aunt John and Karen, who live nearby were able to get away from haying for a few hours on the 4th so we saw them, as well as my uncle and aunt Mike and Libby and cousin Ariel. Mike, Libby, and Ariel drove from Sheridan, Wyoming to visit. The town had a little fireworks show and just enough breeze to blow off the mosquitoes. You have to be grateful for the small stuff! :) We got to see the Plymouth Coupe car my grandpa refurbished but with all my encouraging and prodding, he still wouldn't take us for a spin - awww! :) No rest for the weary though - we headed out the next day so we could go to Plevna, Montana for a presentation on Sunday. It was a super friendly church and should be our last deputation presentation for..ever, I think, how awesome is that! We have a few other churches we'll be at the 3 Sundays to go before we head to Vanuatu but they are just visits, not presentations so we can relax a bit more. God has been faithful in providing for and preparing us!

July 08 newsletter

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Family vacation

Make a Smilebox photobook

One last family trip generously gifted us by my parents took us to the Black Hills of South Dakota for a few days. We stayed in some beautiful little cabins half an hour or so out of Rapid City, which allowed us to visit various sites in the area each day. We enjoyed the Black Hills Caverns, Storeybook Island, Old MacDonald's Farm, Reptile Gardens, Bear Country, and Roo Ranch. I also enjoyed hiking in some gorgeous areas back behind our cabins. What a pretty place and lots of family fun.

Fellowship with friends

Buffalo, Montana, the home of the free and the brave... as well as some of my dear friends from Bible school. Ryan and Jessica and their five lovely children - Abe, Hannah, Joel, Faith, and Jared - allowed me to come visit for a few days. We had lots of fun playing together, talking, laughing, and fellowshipping. Jessica taught me about making meals in a pressure cooker, which is something I'll probably be doing in Vanuatu to save on meager (solar) electricity in the bush. She's also an amazing "from scratch" cook so she's been helpful with recipes, home remedies, and simple living tips. I've joked that God has a sense of humor in sending someone like me, who's never lived that way, to a remote area to minister rather than her. He uses the weak things of the world to confound the wise, that's for sure! And, I get to learn all kinds of new things from great resources and friends who do know about all these areas in which I soon need to soon be an expert.

Garage Sale

Ahh, the beauty of getting rid of our own junk... or my case, useful items that aren't so useful in another country. :) We had a garage sale the middle of June to once again weed out some items that we won't be taking to Vanuatu. I was able to unpack all my boxes I brought to Montana (when I moved here last June), go back through them and repack everything I'm keeping for sure in tupperware tubs. Everything I'll be bringing to Vanuatu long-term is being stored here in town for the next two years. Not using my stuff the last year gave me a bit more detachment so I was able to part with more, which was nice! Houghton and Gretchen used the opportunity to fully move out of the home they've rented in Miles City and sell almost everything in their backyard. They stayed a week or so at my parents' and now are staying with Houghton's parents in Terry, Montana until we leave for Vanuatu next month. We hope to use the sale money to buy tools for use in building our bush houses in Vanuatu several years from now.

Vacation Bible School

Coalwood is a tiny country church about 60 miles from my hometown of Miles City, Montana. I've been privileged, along with my sister's family, to attend several of their evening services when I'm in town. Houghton preaches out there once a month, if we are in town. Every summer, they put on a week-long Vacation Bible School for kids in the surrounding area at a little country school. The women who put it on develop curriculum, songs, activities, and such. One of the areas of emphasis is missions so this year I got to go share with the kids. We talked about translating the Bible from an unwritten language and about learning language in general. I did a demonstration in Bislama, acting out parts of Genesis 3 for the kids to guess the content. I'm so blessed for the opportunity to encourage the next generation to be involved in God's work around the world.