Setpember 28th- Good bye's are always hard.

Today, we spent the day packing and finalizing things around our house.   It was not an easy day, but it was an exciting day.   It's always hard to think about leaving the people you have lived your daily lives with for the past 10 years.   We have seen people come to Christ, we have seen families healed, we have seen our church grow. We have seen people start to read their Bibles, and we have started to see so many good things.  Not because of us... But, because of what God is doing in Perth, Australia.  But, the reality is... We can't do what we do in Perth, Australia without the prayers and support of our sending churches! And, although, it is bitter sweet to leave.... It is amazing to think about the reality of us, getting to return to America and tell them all the AMAZING things God has done in the past 5 years. Because, we want to celebrate with all of you.. what God has been doing.  So, although, it is hard to leave.. We are also excited to return to the states and connect with each and every single one of you! Our faithful prayer and financial team!   But, before we boarded the plane we still had some serious and important business to do!

Makayla had asked a few months ago to get baptized.  And, it had been put off because it was winter and it was cold. But, one of the things she had mentioned to Chris and I was that she wanted to be baptized before we left Australia. Because, the Landsdale Wesleyan Church, was her church family. She had mentioned how amazing it would be to be baptized in the US with her real family. But, we told her it was her choice. And, in the end, she came to a very good place. And, that reality was that we now have Christians in Australia and they are "our" church.  There are  people who pour into her life, and she pours into other people's lives there (australia). And, she felt that if she were to get baptized. Australia is where it should happen. And, at her friend's house.

We gathered for an early church service at 3:00 and then headed up to where the baptism would be.   Afterwards it was a really special time. many photos were taken. and, then we headed back to the church to celebrate with dinner!  It was so special to see all the families that came to say good bye to us. And, even more special to hear some stories from people of the first time we had met, that we weren't even aware of!

After dinner. We headed back to our house, for a final "bag" weighing session just to make double sure each bag was under 50 pounds. And, then we received hugs, shared tears, and headed off to the airport.

When we arrived at the airport it was a final check-in and off to customs. After we cleared customs we all just kind of slumped in a chair until our plane loaded.

Makayla and I were still unwell.  We even had a few minutes to stop into the dr's office and grab an antibiotic on our way out! But, despite how tired, and emotionally exhausted we were, we knew that in less than 36 hours we would hug our parents which we hadn't seen in a long time and, our children would embrace their grandparents and their cousins!  This is a time that you look forward to, the whole time you are flying.  After all literally sitting on a plane for 24 hours is a LONG ride.  But, the hugs of family feel so AMAZING on the other side!

September 22nd-28th PACKING UP AND MOVING INTO STORAGE

This week we spent the entire week, packing up and moving our stuff and our belongings into the church office in our home for storage.  God has been opening doors and putting everyone where they needed to be at the exact moment.   We have all been unwell, Makayla needed two days off of school and Brayden also had two days off of school, but packing up continued on.   When I say that God had everyone right where he wanted them, that is an understatement.  

God has provided a beautiful mum with three children to rent our parsonage while we are away. And, also, God has provided an amazing College student to rent the granny flat attached to our house. Together we believe the bills for the parsonage will be covered while we are away. Chris and I did not know either of these people, but God put our friends in the right places at the right time to hear about them, and therefore we were able to give these people a great place to live.

While Chris is away God has provided a wonderful Pastor Lindsay Cameron to fill the pulpit at our church for the next 6 months. Please remember to pray for Pastor Lindsay as he connects the people of our community to the word of God on a weekly basis.

Also, please continue to pray for Mark and Dawnielle. They will be staying on in Australia while we are away to be the Family Ministry Coordinators. They will carry on our AWANA, and Youth, and Bible Studies.

When it comes time to pack up it is always hard sorting through stuff, and thinking what needs to be accessible and what doesn't to the church!  We were able to move a few shelving units of Church material to the church or to the Mattesons.  And, then we did seem to get all of our personal belongings into the office, and we did seem to get everything tidied and cleaned.   I had an amazing friend Amanda who came over and helped me on the Sunday to finish up the final touches and she also went back, and did my carpets and mopped the hardwood floors, so they would be clean too. Like, I said God just walked us through a great departure.  

September 17th-21st District Conference & Southern District Kids Camp

  On Wednesday we flew  five hours to participate in our district conference.   We flew in late, and as we got off the plane, we quickly remembered we were flying budget, as we walked off the plane onto the tar mac and then into a small metal shed to collect our luggage! We then took a taxi to kingsley where we will stay the next two nights.  Thursday we spent the day showing Mark Matteson around the city and visiting the Victoria Markets.     We took the train and trams into the heart of the city. The Victoria Markets take up an entire block and if an item was every sold or thought of being sold in Australia, you can probably buy it there at the Victoria Markets.   Every three meters there is a new vender and rain or sunshine, these people are out selling their items.   We did a bit of shopping, since we are going home to the US we thought we would buy some Christmas presents! So, that was fun.  
On friday morning we woke up early and loaded up the trailer with sound equipment, to help the conference staff. We then took the train into the city and helped everybody ramp up for the start of District Conference.   District Conference is such an amazing time because you get to see all that God is doing across the churches in our District.  The Southern District covers a huge area.  All of Western Australia South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.  This is a huge area. But, God has blessed us with pastors and lay people and churches who are spreading the word of God.   WE heard beautiful music by the "Upper Room" and "Sunraysia" Church.  It truly was a special weekend.  Some of the service was in Tongan and some in English. New pastors were ordained  and then business of course was handled!   Because of our tour in the US this year to raise support for 6 months, Chris has stepped down from the board, but others have stepped up to the call and we have an amazing group of leaders who are going to lead the district forward.  

Melissa ran a kids camp the entire time the conference was going.  It can be quite ovewhelming. It was 20 hours of curriculum planning in three days. But, she always has a blast ministering and pouring into the kids.  She carried her theme from our kids camp over and expanded on it. So, they journeyed on adventures in Candy land and learned how to live a sweet life in Jesus!





Buble Gum- Stick with Jesus
Fairy Floss (Cotton Candy)- Build your life on the Rock
Mint- Only Jesus can offer forgiveness.
Hard Candy-  Hard times will come, and we need to wait upon the Lord and seek him.
Sour Patches-  Use Kind loving, caring Words, not sour ones
Chocolate- We're all different and God made us different with different ingredients but we're all still sweet to him and each of us matter the same





The kid completed crafts and had all kind of fun.  The children also shared a song in the Sunday Service.
Before we left, the kids were already counting down how many days till we would see them again, and have another District Kids Camp Meeting.

AWANA Adventure CAMP September 13th-15th

AWANA Adventure Camp was an amazing time! We had so much fun, getting to know all the kids from our AWANA program out in the bush. We canoed, bush walked, swam, rode a flying fox (zipline), and we had so much fun outdoors. We spent time around a campfire, and learnt about how we need to "Stick with Jesus", wait for God in the hard times, and we talked about living a sweet life instead of a sour life.  We had such an amazing time!

Our group except Melissa (taking the photo!).  We had so much fun bleaching the shirts the kids had on. We took $2 shirts and laid an A on top and then sprayed with water and 1 teaspoon of bleach to made these super cool shirts. The kids LOVED them.  And, the bushwalking up massive hills, and giant rocks, was just so beautiful and amazing.  God has really made some beautiful country for us to explore in Australia

Home Ministries

Our family is coming home on September 28th! Our kids are super excited. The last time we did home ministries was in 2009.  So, our children don't really know what we will be getting ourselves into. But, we are so excited to travel our supporting churches and update them with what God has been doing here in Perth, Australia.   He has been changing people's lives, families lives,  and God is on the move here in Perth, Australia. So, we cannot wait to get our funds raised and then return to Perth, to continue ministering here.

The Matteson family (which arrived in July)  will be carrying on our work here in Perth, for the next 6 months.  We will still continue to Skype in and continue our district roles, while we are in the States.  Then, we will return to Perth, Australia in April 2015 once we have reached full support.   We are looking for about 20-25 new churches, as well as we hope to renew all of our current support.   We are so thankful to the 100 + people and churches who have stood by our side and continue to pray and support our family every day.

  Please do continue to send your support in while we are stateside, as we will still need to pay our bills in Australia, and also, now in the states while we travel.

Please email us at georgefamilyinaustralia@Hotmail.com to book a time for us to come visit your church.  We are available weekends, weekdays, and anytime you want us. At the moment, we are currently only booked on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, of October. So, the rest of our schedule is completely open. Please book as soon as you can so, that you can have your preferred date!

Looking forward to catching up with you all,
Chris, Melissa and family

AGM'S and Zone business

Our district a year ago, split into zones, and Chris has been the  Zone coordinator for Western Australia for the last year.  Included in his job has been meeting with pastors, organizing camps, and over seeing the Wesleyan women, youth, kids, and men's ministries for the zone. Also, part of the job is to conduct the AGM's for the 3 other churches in WA.     We visited Peace Lake on Sunday the 24th of August,  Which was a very special time. Chris preached, and then we had their AGM. The service was conducted in English and also in Tongan.  

Then, last weekend  the 31st, we drove 5 hours to Albany, and then drove 2 hours to Katanning, and then 4 hours home and preached in both churches.

This past  week we conducted John Wesley's AGM and then drove home on father's day and had church at Landsdale.

I guess, where I was going with all of this is... It has been a great time for us to get our children into the routine, of doing lot's of driving on a Sunday.   Because, on September 29th, we will be arriving in the USA, to start fundraising to go back to Australia. We have just finished a five year term, in Australia and will be returning in April 2015 to Australia for another 4 years

The Georges