Australia Day Fires!

Today is Australia Day. And, when we sat down at lunch at a friends house, we received a phone call from a family in our church telling us we needed to come home right away as there was a terrible fire in Landsdale. Chris quickly loaded up the car and he ran home to turn off the air and close all windows on our house. But, as he arrived the fire was incredible close. About 1 block away! And, if you did a straight b-line to the fire there were only 10 houses between us and them. Chris collected our important belongings, because FESA suggested that we be prepared to leave, and so he grabbed our passports, and our computers, and pictures albums, and that was it. There were 80 fire men, three helicopters, and many VERY hard workers. Who worked very hard on the ground in really hot weather to keep everyone's homes safe. In the end no homes were lost. But, we did find out that the fire started by another person in our suburb burning rubbish! So, it was a mistake. But, we are at a complete fire ban. So, I am sure these people will be in some pretty big trouble. We have lived here over 6 years, and this is the CLOSEST fire we have ever had to us, and it honestly was a bit concerning. Especially since we knew people who were even closer to the fire than we were...
PRAISE GOD, for his protection over all the homes in Lansdale. The fire was moving at 3 metres high, and over 100 metres an hour. So, God is sooo good!!!!

YOUTH CAMP 2011

This weekend was an incredible weekend of team work! The theme was a survivor theme, and the kids were awesome at helping out cooking meals and putting up the tents. But, it was hard work for them to pull off their tasks that they needed to accomplish.

We had a few injuries this past weekend. But, God was there and was protecting people and keeping them safe! We had one girl fall down crossing a river, and she banged her face on a rock. But, luckily she did not hit her head on the dangerous spot, and even though she passed out and gave us a HUGE scare, she did not have a concussion. And, God protected her!

The teens got to hear some testimonies, and were challenged that this school year, would be a year that they commit their lives first to Christ, and then let him guide their lives this year. Each teen was given a bible! We had 12 teens who participated on the weekend, and it was HEAPS of fun. It was exhausting hard work, but a joy to get to spend three days with all the teens!

Please pray for us this weekend as we take the teenagers on a teen camp! Chris, Darrek, and myself will be going down to a town called Dwellingup out in the bush, where there are no toilets, and electricity for two nights and three days to do a youth camp! Esepcially pray for me as I do not have a voice, at the current time due to, too much singing and talking this past week at the Holiday Kids Clubs!

Harrisdale Holiday Kids Club

After we did a week of Kids Club in Landsdale, we travelled 45 minutes south each day the next week to do the same Holiday Kids Club at a church plant in Harrisdale which is south of the City of Perth. The Kids Club ran every day from 3-5 in the afternoon. We had between 8-16 kids that were involved in this program. This church has not had any services yet and this was a major outreach to the community. God was amazing and we had people who came out and showed interest in what was going on through out the week. We had to be a bit more creative as we did not have a building to pull this off in, and I ended up loosing my voice by the third day, because I had done way to much talking the week before! But, we had a wonderful week, but was very exhausting. Our kids were going to bed late, and they had School swimming lessons that we had to be at every day in the morning by 7:30! So, it was a very exhausting week, but God is good to those who work hard and Our children were super excited to get to participate in the Holiday Kids Club Again! Pray for these families that were impacted this week, that they will continue to be interested in the Harrisdale church plant and that they will even call it home!

An exciting aspect to this week was that we took teenagers down with us every day to help us run the holiday kids club. And, these teens were impacted incredibly, just by serving!

Holiday Kids Club 2011

Our week of Kids Club was amazing and we had many new visitors that have not attended kids Club before. The kids Learned that
-God is With us
-God is Powerful
-God Does what he says he'll do
-God gives us life
-God cares for us!

We had some awesome turn out. We had 26 children and then adults and teenagers write their names on the walls of the Israelites house instead of putting blood above the door frame the chidren put hearts and then their name in the heart, saying that they were committed to Loving God! And, then the second day, we told about, how God sent his son Jesus and then we gave them an opportunity to ask for forgiveness adn write their name on the cross and pray for Jesus to come into their hearts and be forgiven! All the children got up and made commitments it was an amazing turn out and the kids were so excited about the week!

Thank you to Brookside Wesleyan for donating all the materials for this Holiday Kids Club we had. It was a fantastic week full of exciting twists and turns and seeing God work in the childrens lives was unforgettable! I hope you enjoy the picture I have posted below!
Melissa

Holiday Kid's Club

This week (10-14 January) we are holding our Holiday Kid's Club program (VBS). We were very excited about the response that we were getting and anticipated that we would have at least half of our regular Kid's Club kids and possibly a few visitors. Today was the first day of "Crocodile Dock" and we had a great time. There were 21 kids in attendance and several teen and adult helpers. God blessed our time and many kids were able to hear through the program that God is with them.
Please continue to pray this week for the ministry of our Holiday Kid's Club. Pray that God would speak into the lives of their families and open up opportunities for us to minister to them.

The Carols in The Park

On WEdnesday the 8th of december we received the final stam of approval for the carols in the Park! God blessed us with it right when we ABSOLUTELY needed it. Immediately we advertised. Chris and Darrek (our intern from Bethany) letterboxed ALL of landsdale... It was ALOT of walking and they did it very quickly. Then, we sent home invitations with all the children from school. And, God blessed our event. There were atlesat 400 people who came out and joined us and sang christmas carols, and saw the kids club perform the live nativity as well as sing O come let us adore him. And, the evening was just Phenomenal! It was TRULY a community event in many sorts. There were jumy castles, and ice cream, and a dance troupe, and our kids club, and singing, and people who were out to be joyful about Christmas! It was truly a wonderful night. I will post some picture below so you can see a glimpse of what God did!

Carols in The Park.

This week is the big Carols in the Park that we have been gearing up for. There are a few things we would like you to pray for.

1) The Health Department has STILL yet to stamp our application! Therefore as of this morning we were still unable to provide a sausage sizzle or sell cupcakes on Friday night.

2) We have been given the go ahead to hand out advertisements. But, please pray that MANY people would read the advertisements and come out to the Carols in the PArk on Friday night.

3) Please pray for the KIDS CLUB. As they will be performing a skit and singing a song on Friday night.

4) Please also pray for our Kids Club closing Finale on Sunday night at 5:30. Please pray that we would get ALL of our Kids Club families to church for the evening to experience what our church is like!

OUR FINANCIAL STATUS!
Please pray with Chris and I as we contact our prayer partners and faith promise partners to renew this support. We have been here exactly one year on the field. And, God has done so many good things! But, recently we had a review on our support that is coming in. And, for the Last year God has been good and all our support came in! TOTAL PRAISE!

But, as we were reviewing the budget, some needs and concerns needed to be changed and met. Unfortunately in Western Australia there have been some big changes in the government and how they run the electric, gas, and water billing. The state used to GIVE the utility companies money to lower the actual cost of everyone's bills. . And, now there are so many people in Perth they have decided not to offer the grant anymore to the Companies.

This in turn has caused some major complications for families in WA because our utility bills have ACTUALLY doubled. As this news was coming out we thought we would hang in there and see what it really looked like and start being more cautious about our utility usage. However the bills have been rolling in since June and between us and GP we have decided that our budget needed to be changed.

Also the exchange rate between australia and the USA which used to be at .80 where our budget was done. has gone equal! So, therefore that means our US dollar is now equal to the AUS dollar.. :( Which is causing complications as well.. With all that said.

Just recently our BUDGET was adjusted and from now on you will see that we are in need of MORE support both in financial partners and in individuals and one time gifts!

GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL over the last year! And, when the fiscal year ended all our support had come in! This is something to be VERY THANKFUL for! GOD MET OUR NEEDS AND we pray every day for all of you that through your support of giving and prayers, that GOD would inturn bless your lives and speak to you in ways you never thought imagineable! Our God is all sufficient and MIGHTY!

WE KNOW THAT GOD HAS SO MUCH IN STORE THIS YEAR FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO ARE PART OF Our SUPPORT NETWORK! Thank you for all you do!!!

KIDS CLUB
God has been so good. And, you know how Chris and I have been asking you to pray for relationships that we have been building. The last three weeks of Kids Club there have been 5 extra new kids attending! THis is fantastic! And, truly is exciting. One of these families Chris and I have been building a relationship with in particular and God is so good. Through this relationships their kids have started to attend Kids Club! And, have been asking to come back week after week! Pray that God would speak to these parents as they see their children sing about JEsus and go home and talk about Jesus in their lives.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Monda was my birthday and believe it or not I turned the big 30! But, God made something very evident to me on my special day. And, it was this... This was the FIRST year that I had people stopping in the house all day, and ringing me, and wishing me happy birthday. And, I know I turned 30! Which is an important mile stone in Australia. But, the point that God made to me was that Many of my NON church friends spoilt me. And, these are relationships that Chris and I had built in the last year. We have been building these relationships and showing these people who Christ is through our lives. But, now we are just praying for those seeds (LIVES) to grow(accept Christ) and flourish into followers of Christ! Please pray that God would continue to show Chris and I how to care for these families and "water" and "feed" them with God's word. So, that NEXT year on my birthday I can say that These families are now our chuch families!

On a side note... I am so thankful I am a child of God and that I have had 30 years of going to church and I wouldn't change one moment of the 30 years God has given me! I am TRULY a blessed child of God!!!

DOWN WITH THE FLU!
Last weekend we had planned this huge picnic. We were all excited about it, had families from church and kids club coming. really made an effort for it to be a fantastic day And, Walah! Friday at 7:00 Dawson came down with the flu. And, before you knew it we were all sick!
On the Wednesday Brayden made a visit to the childrens hospital because he had been vomiting and couldnt stop. The dr.s thought it was a reaction to the amoxycillin he had taken twice. But, as it turns out 48 hours later... I would say he had the flu or (gastro) as they call it in Australia! I was very dissappointing we had to cancel the picnic. Sometimes things just don't work out even though we put all our efforts and try our best. But, the wonderful thing is, that God opens doors and gives us opportunities every day! On a brighter note.
Chris has been talking with a dad at school pick up! His name is Terry and Terry came up to me and was telling me how excited he was that Chris and I are in Australia and he was really interested in what we are doing here. He and his two sons will be joining us for dinner on the 4th of December. Would you pray for Terry and his two sons and for Chris and I as we reach out to this dad and his family!

Update on Irene's Sister.
Over the past few weeks I have asked all of our prayer partners to pray for Irene's sister in the USA who needs a kidney transplant. Today I was standing outside Makayla's classroom and Irene came running up to me with a great big smile on her face! She was sooo excited to give me the news that her sisters kidney activity was up 4%! Irene said that God was listening and he was hearing our prayers!

On Friday Irene's son Ricky came to Kids Club for the first time! THIS WAS VERY EXCITING!
God is movig in Irene's life. thank you for your prayers!!!

You never know what to expect!
On Tuesday Makayla's teacher still needed a parent to go on their class field trip to the farm. I was going to stay home and help Stephanie and Darrek settle in, but Makayla's teacher was desperate so in the end I said I would go...

When I arrived I found out that there was not room on the bus and I would have to drive... :(
Then I found out I could not be with Makayla. At first I was a bit disappointed, but I was determined I was not going to let this ruin my day.

I had 6 children and we had a wonderful day until the rain came. All day long children kept running up to me and saying hi and giving me high 5's. And, the kids in my group kept asking me how I knew those kids.. And, I would just say "The go to after school kids club on Fridays! One little boy in my group asked if he could come. And, I just mentioned to him that he could have his mum talk to me after school.

The fantastic news is that God was in the midst of that entire day. And, on Friday Alex came to Kids Club! And, he is So excited t0 be there and cant wait to come back next week!

What if I hadn't volunteered? Alex would not be coming to church. God is in the midst 0f everything we do! He has given us opportunities, we just have to be looking for them and open and ready to use them!

Pray that Alex and his family would start to build a connection with our church family and that they would come to know who Christ is.

Dawson's Specialist appt.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Dawsons specialist appt with an occupational therapist. Dawson has not done well settling this year into school. He has done well with making friends, but has not found himself on very many "green lights" Which is a good thing. He has seemed to have MANY red lights (disciplinary light). Although this may sound bad, the teacher and I sat and talked because Dawson is not INTENTIONALLY naughty, but even though he is very sportsy. He runs into people and falls down and does all kinds f silly things. But, in the silly, we have decided to look deeper and see if we can find why.

The specialist has found Dawson has low body tone. And, that he has at risk posture control and at risk bilateral control. So, Dawson will be starting physical therapy.

The goood news is that in the midst of all this, I have gone and spoken with the principal and suggested that Dawson have a bit more structure int he classroom. And, AMAZING we are on week three of the term and we have had ONLY green lights! So, please pray for Dawson and that he would understand what it is that people are asking f him, and that he would find the growth he needs through this physical therapy so he can function properly next year.

The Thornton's have Arrived.

Last night the Thornton's arrived. It has been an exciting await as Chris and I have waited 6 years for someone to join us here 0n the field in Australia.

They arrived with all their luggage and our kids were SO excited to meet them and of course their little handsome baby Grayson. The Thorntn's had a perfect flight and everything fell into place. Thanks to your prayers Grayson slept practically the whole way here. Our first night was a bit of up and down f0r everyone, but please continue to pray that we would all settle in and things would fall into place, and that our house would become a home fr the Thornton's fr the next 5 months.

Thank you for praying for Luke, he is continuing to get better every day! God is so good, and Luke has been telling everyone who visits him, that today they need to get their lives straight with Christ, because you never know how much time you have.

Luke has been home since Saturday and he has been doing everything for himself, and today he even walked all the way to the park, and shot some hoops. He was totally exhausted and laid on the couch the rest of the day, but pray that Luke would continue to recover and get all he rest he needs to recover! Thank you for your prayers... We greatly appreciate them.

Thornton's Leave this Saturday for Australia!
Over the past week God has done some pretty incredible things! The first thing I would like to share with you, is that the Thornton's have their VISA and will be flying here to join us in Australia on Saturday! God just blows us away with his timing and perfection!

A week ago the Thornton's received a letter from the Immigration dept. stating their VISA was on hold until a problem had been solved. Immediately the Wesleyan church of Australia contacted the immigration dept. and found out that we needed to renew every three years a document, and our three years had been up. So, immediately the form was filled out and our fee was paid and everything on our end was turned in Monday night... When we called to make sure they had received it, we were told it could take 21 days, before they would start to process the Thornton's VISA. We were quite saddened by this news and resorted to praying! :)

Tuesday morning we woke up, and on Facebook Darrek had posted that he HAD his VISA. I was quite shocked and thought at first it was an error.. I even woke Chris up at 5:30am to tell him he needed to get up and get a hold of Darrek to find out why he THOUGHT he had his VISA. But, my point is... God is just AMAZING! because, Darrek did actually have his VISA. What they had told us would take 21 days just to start... was finished and finalized in less than 12 hours! Isn't God good!

Continue to pray this weekend for the Darrek, Stephanie, and Grayson as they fly here and start their internship here in the land down under!

God is SOOOO Good,
Melissa

Dear Prayer Partners,
We desperately need your prayers for a few things this week. Sometimes when things seem to get hard and you think you can't take much more.. Life gets a whole lot harder. And, God teaches us that HE is the source of strength for everything. This week has been very exhausting, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

Chris's best friend, and Australian brother Luke was diagnosed on WEdnesday with a brain tumor. We have spent every holiday in Australia with Luke and his family, and we treat them as if they were our own. Our kids even call him Uncle. But, when we found this out, Chris and I dropped everything so that we would be praying, and supporting, and giving Luke all the support we could. The situation for Luke was as bad as it could get. But, the cool thing is, we serve a God who loves us and will do the impossible to remind us that HE holds our lives in His hand.

Let me write for you the verse Luke was comforted by, that he posted on facebook just before his surgery.

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak, the Lord delivers him in times

of trouble, the Lord will protect him and preserve his life, He will bless him in

the land and nit surrender him to the desires of his foes. The Lord will

sustain him on his sick bed and restore him from his bed of illness

God has taken care of Luke and brought him through surgery on Friday morning. The Dr.s and Nurses were amazed that Luke even walked into the hospital with no symptoms, other than a headache. The tumor was very larger, one of the largest the Dr. has ever seen of that kind. But, God's hand was at work to get Luke to everywhere he needed to be, so that he would get admitted and so that the brain tumor would be found before it was too late.

Since the surgery Luke has come leaps and bounds. But, only because he has stayed faithful and trusted God to know that HE would carry him through. There will still be hard times as he continues to recover. Recovering from brain surgery is not SHORT, but I pray that this story would give you a reminder of God's promise to you too. And, also I am asking that you would take time to pray for Luke and ask God to continue to give him the strength he needs to recover from this operation...

GOD IS GOOD
This week I have had a dear friend find out that her sister in America needs a kidney transplant. Irene is here in Australia. But, she wants to go through the process to probably be a donor, and she was very scared, worried, not for herself, but her sister. But, we serve a BIG GOD who so just soooo good. Because, the day I found this out, Randy and Linda Freeman (Our Pastor to Missionaries) were actually making their first ever visit to us in Perth! Randy had a kidney transplant a few years ago, and he was able to share with Irene many facts, and details, and thoughts, and most importantly we were able to tell her that we would be praying for her! But, God is amazing. He puts everyone right where they need to be at the right time!

As a side note, we had a wonderful time sharing our lives with Randy and Linda and giving them just a sample of what our life is like here in the land down under!

Could you please continue to pray for Irene and her sister in NJ?

We honestly do covet your prayers! It is through your prayers that God uses us in the MOST UNEXPECTED WAYS to reach people here in Australia!

Pray for Strength for our Family!

This is the last week of term 3 in Australian School. Our kids are weary. But, not only is our family weary. It seems that everyone we know is weary. And, a lot of people are facing some really hard stuff right now.

Chris just spent three days in Melbourne for our district Conference. It was a great time to catch up with pastors from our district as well as to see what God is doing across the district! Chris attending district conference is a BIG reminder of how different things are here in Australia than how they would occur in America. Chris boarded an airplane and flew 4 hours to Melbourne, on the EAST Coast. He then got in a car and drove a few hours to where the meetings occurred. Because of the cost this year, the kids and I stayed behind. IT was a good thing we did. God knew we needed to be here.

This weekend we had the teen girls stay and have a sleep over all weekend. They were such a help to me,but I had some FANTASTIC conversations with them.

A family that has been key in our church, lost their grandfather. He had been ill with Alzheimers but they were unaware he was actually that sick. So, it was quite a surprise that he had passed away.

We have had a HUGE unspoken request for a family that we know. And, it is really just a totally shocking heart wrenching conversation that I had with this family. But, could you please pray for "Jessi " this week. Pray for Understanding, reconciliation, peace, culture shock, this family I believe is really being targetted by the Devil. Please pray that God would hold this family together and that the family would turn to HIM and seek what is best. There is going to be some real listening, understand, and compromising that will need to take place.

Then, on top of all that. The devil seemed to know Chris was away.. Because instead of life being easy things just fell apart, our car broke down, The cars at church on Sunday night all got broken into (Luckily, I left my car unlocked so there was no broken windows etc. on our car, and the list goes on., but the kids and Chris are all sick with a dry cough.

With all that said.. Would you please lift our family up in prayer and just ask for us to come to God and find rest and strength, and for us to turn all this into being a "light" for Christ in our community.

INTERNS COMING!

Praise God! Darrek and Stephanie have raised enough support for them to join us in Australia.
We have had to revamp a few things. But, God has TRULY blessed their support and we have received word that they should be arriving in October!

Pray for Chris and I as we prepare for them to come. We will be rearranging the house and moving ourselves into Brayden's bedroom and the boys will now be sharing a room, so that we can put the Thornton's and their bubby Grayson in the front bedroom of our house for the next 5 months!

Our kids are truly excited to have visitors and Chris and I are excited that God is bringing this family to help us in the efforts of planting a church here in Landsdale.

Pray that the Thornton's would receive their VISA quickly as you all know in the past this has been very hard for our family to obtain. Luckily they will be applying for a shorter visa, so we believe it should be a much quicker process.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! GOD HAS MOVED MANY PEOPLE TO GIVE TO THE THORNTON'S AND, GOD HAS HEAR YOUR PRAYERS AND HE HAS ANSWERED THEM!!!!

Australian Father's Day!

On Satuday we celebrated Australian Father's Day. The men came to our house and had a wonderful breakfast made by Melissa as well as then they headed out for a Father, Son day on the Golf Course. Chris had a wonderful time taking Dawson for the first time and when Dawson returned you should have seen the smile on his face! He was SOOO excited for the time he had spent with his Ddddy.

God has brought three families close to us. But, God has opened a door recently for Chris to get together with the men from these families on a weekly basis and golf. Funny enough when Chris had this thought, he wasn't sure how he would fund the golfing and how it would all work out. But, God has supplied the extra money we needed for him to do 9 holes of golf each monday with these three guys! But, most importantly each week they get to discuss christian thought, and ideas, and this is the first time since we have been here that Chris has really been able to share with three non christian Men on a weekly basis the grace of Jesus Christ!

A highlight that has come out of this is, one of the guys has quit smoking and it has now been 3 weeks. But, throughout this, we believe that it has been GOD who led his heart as we had never actually talked to him about it, yet he came to us for support as his friends, and we believe that it is God who is carrying him through and we pray that Matt*** will realize the difference this time, and realize he has been able to quit this time... because we are praying for Him and that he has God helping him!

Kids Club is continuing to grow!

Kids Club has continued to grow and we have gained 7 children that are under 5! We really need more help and today I am asking that you would start praying for God to show us people that can help us with the Kids Club.

I have an idea to use the parents who are willing to stay. But, these parents are not Christians.. So, please pray that God would use us to reach these parents through Kids Club!

On a praise!!! We have had differently families volunteer each week for Snack! So, this is saving Chris and I personally money, that we were having to use each week to supply snack, but most importantly the parents are then staying and getting involved!

Makayla's Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Makayla's birthday! Was a fantastic time. We had 20 little girls and 3 boys running around our house! We invited parents to stay and had a little pop star party. It was truly a fun time of getting to know all the girls in Makayla's class as well as the mum's who stayed for the party. We were also blessed by a family in our church who brought us Dinner on Makayla's birthday so after her big party, I didn't have to cook! We were truly blessed!

As Makayla turns 7, we have so much to be grateful for! But, most importantly I praise God that she has accepted Jesus Christ as her personal saviour and that she is more than EXCITED to share every day with all of her friends that they need Jesus too!

We now have 5 kids from Makayla's class at school that come to Kid's Club. And, 6 other children from her grade (1) that come to Kids Club! Chris and I are very active at helping out in her classroom and have built relationships with all the families and parents.. It is very time consuming and lot's of work! But, these families notice a difference in our family. And, that difference is Jesus Christ!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAKAYLA!

WE LOVE YOU

and PRAISE GOD

for BLESSING our

FAMILY WITH YOU!!!!!!!!

Annual General Meeting.

On Augst 1st we had our Annual General meeting. Our D.S. flew 5 hours on an airplane to join us for this meeting. At church the Kids Club children sang a special song and Chris preached and then after the service it was a time to eat together, fellowship, and then we reflected and praised God for all he had done over the past year. As well as it was a time for us to look forward as a church and pray for God to bless where he is going to take us this year! We had the largest attendance we have ever had and the new family the Smythe's we have been asking you to pray for attended the meeting and are interested now in membership classes. God is good. this family has been attending regularly and we believe that because you have been praying, God has been moving in their hearts. a few exciting things we have to look forward to, that we approved at the meeting.
1. The church will be filing for permanent residency for Chris and I so that we do not need to keep applying for visas all the time.

2. They approved the Thornton's (BBC student) to intern under Chris.

3. We have agreed that we will organize for the entire community a Carol's by Candelight service this year. This is alot of work and will occur on the footy oval. but, the whole community will be invited to an outdoor's Christmas carol singing ut most importantly we will be sharing the true meaning of Christmas. "Carols by Candelight" are huge here in Australia. People love to come out and sing Christmas carols.

PRAY-that we will get the church on board with the carols by candelight.
PRAY- that the Thornton's will reach full support through Global PArtners to join us on the field. They need to raise $33,000.
PRAY- that we will be able to start processing the paperwork for our Permanent Residency Application soon!

School Holidays
Over the school Holidays Chris and I were blessed with the opportunity to run some family events. The first week we visited Caversham, which is a wildlife park. We had 5 families participate and it was a wonderful time to just work on building relationships.


The second week we had a movie night! Chris and I were really excited about this because the whole evening was focused around Toy Story 1. But, the evening was focused on God's idea of friendships. The children made their own pizzas, the adults had pizza and salad, and the we played fun games that focused on friendship. Chris and I were so excited because there were 24 people who attended. These are families that attend our kids club, and not our church, yet. So, we are working on building relationships and reaching out to these families.

Over the school holidays we also had two families that had babies and one family that the dad had a torn achilles and a family whose father had emergency surgery. We took meals to all of these families and the kids made cards and we have been reaching out to these families as well..

I say all this to ask you to pray for us as we are reaching out to these families. Help us to say the right words and to connect with these families on a spiritual level.

Thank you so much for your prayers, they are chaning lives.
Melissa

Western Australia Woman's Retreat

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at our Western Australia Wesleyan Woman's Retreat. We had 15 ladies who came for the whole weekend. God moved in so many ways. Two ladies and myself join on the retreat from our church plant which was very exciting. The weekend was themed around "Heart Spa" by Group. however, instead of doing small group type meetings. We actually dove into the Bible and did whole sessions on the scripture. I preached 4 times over the weekend and did small group sessions as well as we did a beyond the page scrap booking journal. Which for many of the ladies this was the first time they "scrap booked" a craft. It was an incredible time and God was there and met us as we came to Him. He moved in people lives and hearts. I could go on forever about the weekend. But, Let me just share a few thoughts with you from the weekend and what God impressed upon my heart to share with the ladies.

*Rest - Come to me all you who are weary and Burdened and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus wants us to Call on Him, Accept Him, and learn from Him.
*Reflection- Isaiah 55:1-6 Come to Him, Listen to Him,
*Renewed- Psalm 23: The Lord wants to offer us Rest. He is the Healer, He is the protector and comforter, and Encourager.
*Refreshment-John 13. Love like Jesus, Love by being Humble, Love by being a servant, and Love requires sacrifice.


Over the weekend there was tears of joy, tears of compassion, and tears of love! God moved in many people's lives.


Hear a few stories of how God moved:

There was a lady on the camp who's husband is a post man.
He has been working really hard, because his job was for two people and he
normally shared the job but he was unable to find anyone. So, he has been
working tremendous hours since February.

On the camp there was a lady who's husband had lost his job and was looking
for work! These two wives called their husbands immediately. And, the man who
needed a job started training yesterday, on Wednesday 7/15! God knew where these
woman needed to be. This was his way of providing rest to these
woman! She had come with this burden and this concern, and God met it!

We participated in a foot washing on Sunday before we served communion. I felt led to do this activity before we took communion. And, really felt like Christ wanted me to tell the ladies to LOVE like He did. Humble ourselves, serve the other woman and there was a moment quite a long one where no one was moving but then God spoke to these ladies and one at a time they would go to another lady and they would tell them what GOD had laid on their hearts to share, words of encouragement, and support, or forgiveness, and they would then go and sit in the chair and was the other's feet! It was an incredible moment. At times there would be one woman in the chair and 3-4 woman serving that lady, but passing the warm water over her feet and then the ladies taking turns rubbings the feet and really making that woman know... that they wanted to LOVE her just as Christ does.

There was one girl who could not get out of her seat, she just could not LET
anyone do such a task for her... And, she did get up and wash her mother's
feet. But, when God spoke to the mother to wash her daughter's feet. The
daughter could not let her! She was squirming, and you could see God working and then , God opened the floodgates, and the whole room was in tears as we saw her go through the emotions of what God was doing in her life! Unbelievable!

God knew there we're woman who had faced a challenging year, there was a lady whom had recently lost her baby after carrying it for 7 1/2 months, there was a mother who had been told her daughter had sickle cell anemia, ( PRAISE GOD SHE RECEIVED A REPORT THE DAY BEFORE CAMP IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE) And, the woman had been pray for a different result for two weeks!

God knew these woman we're coming broken, and hurt, and tired, and exhausted. But, There is nothing more moving than to hear woman WORSHIP, to see their LIVES being touched, to see them GROW in Love together, and to see them go DEEPER with Christ. This is what we experienced this past weekend! God was there and He met us and He has offered us Rest, Reflection, Renewal, and Refreshment! Know today as you read this... He offers all this for you too!!!!!

Thank you for your prayers. People praying for this weekend is what held me strong. As a stay at home mum, I was worried about having the time to write the sermons and to prepare the entire camp from beginning to end. And, God saw me through! But, I believe it was because you pray for us and you support us to be here to minister to the people of Western Australia!

Thank you! May God reach out and touch your life in a way this week that will remind you to find Rest in HIM! He is all that we need.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:6

An exciting day at Kids Club!

Yesterday we had 19 kids at Kids Club! It was an amazing afternoon. It was actually the last day for semester two here in Australia. Tomorrow we will be having the Awards Ceremony and I can't wait to see what new Kids Club families will attend church for the first time! Please pray with us that these families will be excited and hungry to hear what Jesus has in store for them. Chris will be sharing an evangelistic message. The whole term was on two verses.

Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

And,

For God so loved the world He gave His one and only begotten son,

that whoever believes in Him will not perish but, have Eternal Life. John 3:16.

The kids will be singing songs, sharing their memory verses for the term, and special things they really enjoyed. After the service we will be sharing dinner together. There will be 3-5 new families coming tomorrow night. Please pray that nothing would get in the way of them attending! I will follow up tomorrow with a post of a picture of them receiving their badges.

Thank you for your prayers! Melissa

Creating a PASSION for EVANGELISM

We have been focusing on the book just walk across the room for the past few weeks at church. This evening Chris shared on the Woman at the well and some points that we can learn from Jesus on how to tell people about Christ.

1. Bridge The Chasm- Be willing to talk to people different than you
2. Ask a question- Always will start a conversation
3. Practice patience- Don't be in a hurry. Take time to talk.
4. Avoid Rabbit trails- need I say more.
5. Give hope to the hopeless- Jesus can offer hope to those around you in need.

Afterwards though we did a hands on activity. We gave each family a packet of sticky notes and texters (markers) to write on the stickit notes. Then we went and stuck the notes to all the chairs. Chris had set up an extra 60 chairs in the hall. Then after people put the notes on the chairs we went aroudn prayed for those people. Makayla stayed right with me the whole time. She wrote her friends names on "HER" notes and Dawson stuck them to the chair. WE then went as a family and prayed for the chairs. I got to a chair that had "Braydens" name on it. And, Makayla says. I wrote Braydens name becuase I hope he chooses Jesus to live in his heart when he gets older. So, we sat and put Brayden in the chair and prayed for him! I praise God we have children who see the need for people to have Jesus. Yet, they have not forgotten their own little brother! It was one of those heart moving moments where you praise JESUS for all HE has done in our lives! And, let me tell you.... It is alot!!!!

Afterwards we sang Praises for all HE is going to do through us being his hands and feet. It was truly a heart moving moment.

Friday June 4th was an amazing afternoon at Kids Club. We have been talking about John 3:16 and Love and what Love is and friendship. And, we had finally made it to the week where we talk about God sending Jesus to be our best friend. And, we shared with the Kids how Jesus has died on the cross to forgive their sins and He wants to be their best friend. We focused on the verse from Rev. 3:20

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and

open the door, I will come in... nd we will be friends. " Revelation 3:20

And I was amazed by God! We had three children make re commitments. but, we had 6 children commit their lives to Christ for the first time! What an awesome time! God was moving in ways I had not expected. I thought if one child made a decision that afternoon that it would be awesome. But, God is good and He surprises me in ways I could have never drempt up. A boy who is typically out of control and in trouble every week, was very quiet and listening while I was speaking. I thought for the past 10 week that he had not learned anything at all at kids Club. But, he was one of the first children to raise his hand. He was so excited to accept Jesus. He is the FIRST christian in his family.

I hope you will pray with me for these children that God will SHINE through them and that their families will come to know Christ because of what God has done in their lives.

Sharing Christ with Friends

This week Makayla was invited to a birthday party. She was talking about what kind of a birthday present she was going to get. Then, she looked at me and asked if she could get her friend one of her favorite books. And, I said sure if we can find it. What one is it? Then she said "Gigi God's little princess treasury". She said that she wants her friend to know she is God's princess. I was so proud of her, what a wonderful idea! Makayla has a passion and desire to see her friends know Jesus! And, I am so proud to have a daughter who is proud of being a christian and willing to share it with everyone.

Term two of school has started here in Australia. And, along with it we have been having excellent attendance at kids club. We have been having between 12-14 kids. And, we are focusing on friendship. Please pray for the next two weeks, because we are going to have the kids focus on bringing a friend. But, als pray for Chris and I as we have been pretty overwhelmed during kids club. We have had kids from ages 3-10. And, for some reason the older kids seem to misbehave more than the younger kids. So, please help us soak kids Club in prayer. We also have had three new kids from the Easter Egg Hunt and a few more say they are going to start coming. This is fantastic news.

The church is starting this sunday a series on evangelism. We are going to focus as a church on reaching the families that attend Kids Club, but do not attend church yet. This is a huge step. Sometimes it almost feels like our church has two different churches. Becuase on fridays at kids club we have only one family that actually comes to our church, which is incredible! We are reaching families, we just need to pull them in. And, our youth group is really strong with families that attend our church.

Recently we had a new girl named Michelle come to youth group. She is quite quiet and reserved. But, as I have gotten to know her, she is an incredibly strong person. I would like you to all start praying fr Michelle .Michelle is a cancer survivor. She had brain cancer and her parents just asked me to start teaching her piano lessons as well. I ask you to pray fr her because her family is not Christian. But, I believe that God has a plan fr this family and for Michelle's life. So, please help us in praying for God to open a path for us to share Jesus with her family!

PRAISE GOD!
Chris and I have been praying for God to call others to join us here in Perth. We have plenty of work to share responsibilities with a team. And, God has answered that prayer. There is a couple from Bethany Bible College that will be joining us as soon as their support is raised for 6 months! They are partnered with Global partners just like we are but they will e coming for a short stay. The goal is for the Thornton family to arrive in September. They are actually having a baby any day now! She is full term! And, then once the baby has his shots and they have raised support and prayer partners they will be on their way. They will be doing an internship here. So, Darrek will receive college credit for his time here! But, we are so excited to have them join us! Pray that God would work through this couple that they would raise their support quickly... If any of you would like to support this family for 6 months or give a one time donation please email chris and I at georgefamilyinaustrlia@hotmail.com. We coul not be more excited! Praise God for his answers to our prayers! Chris and I have been praying for 5 years for someone to join us here in Perth. This couple will be the 1st!!! How exciting!!!

Holiday Kids Club

This week went off without any complications. We had 20 different kids come through our doors as well as 7 teen helpers and 5 adults and two babies! The kids learned to Plunge into Obedience, Worship, Courage, Faith, and Service. The kids did some awesome crafts and were really taking in and understanding what it was that we were teaching. Everyday the kids had a take home project they needed to complete to get a sticker on their "Theme Park Pass". They did what mum and dad asked the first time. They told there parents why they love Jesus and want to worship him. They went home and did something they were too scared to do,but Jesus gave them the courage. They took home to their families and invite to come to church on Sunday night, and the last day they made thank you notes and had the job of going home and serving their family. This week just flew by and it truly was a wonderful time of worship with the kids. The most interesting thing is we had 9 families come through our doors that DO NOT attend our church! These are families that we are reaching out too. Please pray that these families will come on Sunday night and that God will speak to their hearts.
Below are some pics of the week.

Girls doing a grade 1 rapid in a canoe and terrified! :)

Adventure Youth Camp
Chris and I took the teens on a 34 hour camp down south to a state forest park. Perth was hit with a really bad storm two weeks ago, and since we had the rain the water levels have been up.And, they were up high enough for us to canoe down the Murray river. We used Dunnies (out houses), slept in tents, and the teens that went had a blast. In the end we only had three come with us! But, what an opportunity for Chris and I to share our lives and build bonds with these teens. We had been studying at youth group fears! And, this camping trip was a perfect way for us to end term 1. The park also raised the fire ban so we were able to have a campfire. All of these kids had never gone camping this far out in the bush before.Here in Oz you cannot get stuff to have smores. So, Chris and I made our own Australian version and shared them with the teens. We had a quokka and also a kangaroo, visit our campsite. we HAD NO SNAKES!, which was my biggest fear. And, we had a wonderful time. I was exhausted. I feel really "OLD!" when I only get three hours of sleep!
About canoeing. We had many things we had to face while going down the river. All canoes here are made out of bendable HEAY plastic. Good thing. Because the water was Black and you could not see any rocks in the water! We did not do any grade two or three rapids. But, we did do a grade one! And, I will post the video if I can get it to upload becuase it is hilarious! Then, we had to put our canoes under a log while we climbed over it, and one spot we all had to get out and balance on a log while we put the canoe over a log that was just sticking out of the water. IT was an adventure for sure and the whole time I had brayden strapped to the front of me in a baby bjorn. So, it was quite the journey. Thank you for your prayers. Two of the teens that did go on this trip are new to the YG and it was AWESOME for Chris and I to build relationships with them. Those two teens are planning on helping us at VBS next week. So, God is moving in hearts and doing things Chris and I never expected!

Easter Egg Hunt

Thank you to everyone who prayed for the Easter Egg Hunt. It went off perfectly. We had many families come. We had over 115 people at it! Which is wonderful! The church members worked awfully hard to help put it all together. Here are a few pictures from the day. We were able to share the story of "The Three Trees" and tell people that it was a day to celebrate because Jesus is alive! A very exciting part of the Easter Egg Hunt was when I did the registrations. Becuase, I actually knew many of the families. Also, there were 5 families that came from the play group I am a part of. And, there were 5 families from Makayla's school. And, all of our kids club kids were there. And, then there were still yet about another 10 families we did not know yet! So, God is good. Thank you for your prayers. We took pictures of all the kids and people with the Easter Bunny. I am quickly trying to edit them all so that we can hand deliver them this week on School Holidays. Please pray for Chris and I as we deliver these pictures and thank the people for coming. While we are there we are going to share with them about Kids Club and ask them to come back and visit church!

Cross Neclace table grade 1-3 egg hunt group

Celebrating 5 Years!

Sunday night was a night for celebrations. We invited the John Wesley church to come join us as we celebrated in what God has done through the landsdale church. A 5 minute video was made with pictures sharing where God has taken us!

Our daughter Makayla and a friend Nikita opened the service with a special song called Sing Praise!

Then we had a testimony from Glynis a lady in our church. She did an awesome job! the Jist of her testimony was life is so much better, and different when you walk with the Lord. There is someone there to help you to pray to, there is someone there to share the joys and the sorrows with who loves her. She did a wonderful job!

We installed our first LAC. Local advisory committee.

We commissioned Phil and Karen Hotchkin the pastors Chris and I have been

partnering with ever since we arrived to go do another church plant south of the Perth City.

Chris preached on the Israelites and how it took them 40 years to do what they could have done in 10-11 days. And, encouraged us to follow and trust God and have a clean heart so that he can take Landsdale where he wants to take us!

Then we had dinner! What a wonderful evening!

This picture is of the 5 pastors who planted the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church. Rev. Phil Hotchkin and his wife, Young Min Yoo, and Rev.'s Chirstopher and Melissa George

God is Moving.

Last week Chris was on youtube and he watched John James testimony from the Newsboys. He commented to me "How do I get this guy to Perth!". Then on Thursday night we received an email from another youth group in the area inviting us to come to an event called BAM, The next day! And, Chris called the church to see what they were doing. ... And, they were having John James there to speak! This is totally a God thing. We quickly called everyone on Friday morning and changed youth group to an outing and went! We had all 7 kids we took make a commitment! God was there and our teens were listening. We then had the wonderful opportunity to come back to our house and talk with them all and pray. We can't wait to talk one on one with these teens and find out where God is leading them.

Today we also had 12 kids at Kids Club. So, the first day we had three, then we had 6, and this week 12! Pray that we continue to grow and that if we need help we find volunteers who are willing to join us and help at kids club. On a side note Makayla has a very good friend that has been allowed to start coming to Kids Club. And, I praise God that Makayla feels comfortable enough to invite people. And, I praise God that this door of reaching her friend for Christ has been opened.

Baptism

Today we went down to the City and one the River front we baptized to members of our congregation! This was a very exciting day for Chris and I. This is a couple who used to attend our Young Adult Bible Study in our first term here in Australia. We then went to Singapore and married them in '07, And, they recently moved back to Australia in August '09 and lived in our house till Christmas. But, the thing is that this married couple has decided to proclaim their faith in Jesus and share it with the church. They stood in the water and shared their testimonies. And, God has done soooo much in their lives! But, it was exciting for Chris and I to get to stand with them and pariticipate in their baptism.

I would like to share a bit of Graces* story with you. I am going to give her a different name. Because she comes from China. Her parents are high up in the Government and when she first went home to tell her parents she was a Christian they would not even let her bring a Bible into the house. But, it is hard for her to know that when she decided to become a Christian she turns her back on EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in her family. She has been dating a Christian for the past three years. And, her parents recently even made her sign a contract or Christmas stating she would not marry the Christian because they have spies here in Australia watching everything she does. But, she stood there in the water today and proclaimed her faith! And, she said I don't know where I will turn the only place I can turn is to God! And, that is the point of being a Christian. We must rely on God to guide us and direct us and lead us. Please, pray for her. It reminded me of what we as Americans take for granted! Becoming a Christian in America does not mean we say good bye to our family. But, in other countries and other cultures when you become a Christian you are persecuted. So, please continue to pray for Grace*!

*Name Changed for security reasons.

Church in the Park
Unfortunately we had to change our 5 year anniversary for two weeks. But, the awesome thing is that we got to have church in the park last night. WE set up two tents and had church underneath them. WE actually had quite a few people askus what we were doing. And, this may be a good opportunity for us to make more people aware of our church! But, we had a wonderful service and snag with just a guitar and we were all reminded of how nice it is to just come and worship with out all the "extra" stuff we seem to expect in church every week!

Play Group
This morning I had play group and only one mum showed up. I was a bit dissapointed. But, something cool came from it. I was sitting there talking with Daphne and found out that once she attended a play group in Zambia. She is actually from Mauritius and her husband ishere studying for college. But, I think they may have decided to stay in Australia. But, she told me that she had done a book by Rick Warren. Daphne does not attend church, and she is not a Christian. And, I was really wanting to share a devotion every week during our play group. And, she was the one I was worried about being turned off! And, next thing you know she is telling me about how she loved that play group! So, God has opened the door. Pray with me as I walk through it. Obviously since it is a play group we will do a very short "Lift up" moment from the Bible. But, pray with me as I decide what this will look like! Also, another friend of mine has decided to join, she is Catholic, but I do not know yet whethere she has accepted Christ as her saviour.

Here is a little bit of the Special that was sang on the Church Camp.

Mandurah Family Church Camp

The past four days were spent camping in 100, 102.2, 104, 102.2 degree weather. Needless to say it was like an oven! This weather in Perth is very unusual. It gets hot but not normally for a week at a time. The whole time we were gone to Gold Coast our children were enduring this weather. And, just for the record the air conditioner in our house is not working! So, it was very miserable weather to be having.

Spite the weather the camp was still a SUCCESS! We had 43 people join us between the Landsdale and John Wesley Church. There were 21 that joined us from the Landsdale church. God is good. We arrived home Thursday night from the Pastors Conference and Friday morning was a bit of a blur. We packed our bags, loaded the car. We fit everything in, but the stroller and our mattress so we took those to the other Pastors house and he put them in his trailer and away we headed down south. It was only an hour and a half drive. And, we got there and we set up our tent, and a sun shelter, and then we just relaxed until people came. As each family arrived we would help them set up their tent etc. Chris and I were incharge of planning the camp and activities, Pastor Phil did all the planning for meals and cooking. Every camper volunteered twice to help with a meal. And Pastor young was in charge of worship.

On Saturday we had a worship service. Wilson the young adult from Zimbabwe who lived with us for 15 months from 07-09 spoke. HE did a tremendous job and he has grown up SO much in the past year while we have been gone! God used him in wonderful ways. We had pool time and then we ate lunch and headed to the beach. Saturday night we went to a place called Kings Carnival and they gave us a great rate ad everyone was able to play mini golf and go on rides. On Sunday we had two church services we had extras join us just for this day that did not come on the camp. But we had two lay people in the John Wesley church share. God used Pella and Ashley in so many ways to work on people's hearts. It was truly touching and the worship was excellent. We then prayed for two families who announced they were having babies on the camp. We also were treated by a special Zimbabwean special. If you would like to see more pics check out my facebook page. But, I will post some pictures here. It was a great time of building relationships being pushed to Lean on God and make him our first love and to follow him with everything in us. I also did children's sessions. We did one where I challenged the kids to jump into obedience like the Disciples did when catching fish. The did what Jesus asked and they caught so many fish the nets were breaking. The second session I encouraged them to Jump into courage. As the disciples did when they were on the boat and Jesus quieted the seas. It was a tremendously wonderful camp. Here are three highlights I would like to share about.

1. A dear friend of mine brought her two children. She used to attend our church regularly but has not attended at all in over a year! So, we were very glad to see her come on the camp. I believe God worked on her heart pray for me as I follow up with her.

2. My best friend here who does not attend church. Had many excuses NOT to come on the camp. And, she had many things come up. But, God worked it out for her to come on the camp on Sunday afternoon and stay till Monday. She did not attend the church service. But, she talked with people and her husband was able to build some relationships. Pray for me as I follow up with her.

3. A lady in our church was touched by the African singing. It reminded her of good times and home and she had not heard our South Africans sing. And, she was truly touched. God has been providing things for Glynis that she didn't even know she really needed yet. But, I believe God touches those who follow him. And, I believe this is why Glynis is seeing God's hand in her life right now. She is a strong hold in our church. And, she is strong in her faith.

thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for us as this month is very heavily busy with many things going on. I will post those in the prayer column. But, please remember to pray for the ministry here in Landsdale! thank you so much! May God bless you!

National Pastors Conference

After 5 1/2 hours on airplanes and 8 hours total of travel time we landed at the Gold Coast airport on the East coast. We had a short drive to Tweed Heads where we stayed in our accomodation. The accomodation was wonderful. They were self serve apartments. So, they came with clean sheets etc. And, then you had to tidy them up before you left. But, they were very nice. The first evening we started a 24 hour fast and focused on prayer for the nation. This is the first time Chris and I have gotten to see the Australian Church Pastors and Leadership as a whole. It was truly wonderful. It is a group of people who know everybody and we never saw anyone just sitting there. Everyone was talking to everyone else and it was just truly an wonderful experience. We were not left just standing there either. Many people were always introducing themselves and asking us where we were pastoring with which we loved to respond Perth!

Amidst the fasting, prayer sessions, and prayer walk. We had some wonderful speakers. The National Superintendent gave a call for us to partner with him in spreading the vision for an Undivided heart. He talked about in spiritual ways between us and God, our churches, and as a country.

A vision was given for the Australian church which now consists of 78 churches in the whole country (Which is the size of the USA) to get on board the vision of 150 churches by 2020. This means every church is to plant atleast one church in the next 10 years! This is a leap of faith. Becuase this means we need more pastors, we need more lay workers, we need more money.... But, we prayed that we would be faithful to not give silly excuses and that we would pray to God and see where it is he wants us to plant next.

We then had church planting seminars and had the Superintendent for the Solomon Islands share along with a missionary that Australia has sent out to the islands.

We called Makayla and Dawson every day in Perth and they seemed to be doing well. They had a wonderful time and when we returned asked "When do you go away again! We had alot of fun!" So, thank you for your prayers. They worked. I will admit that they did miss us! They were a bit sulky on the last day we were gone. But, they were VERY excited to pick us up at the airport for the first time ever.

One cool point I want to share with you is... not spiritual just informational. The hotel we stayed in was on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In our hotel room we were in New South Wales. but, if we crossed the street to McDonald's we were in Queensland. Therefore there was an hour difference every time we crossed the street! How crazy would that be. So, basically if it was midnight in the hotel we could go across the street and Mcdonald's would still be open because it was only 11.

All in all the trip was wonderful and it was really a wonderful experience for us to see what we are apart of in Australia. We are just a small part in a passionate team to see the Country of Australia reached for Christ!

Thank you for all your prayers! They impacted our family over the past four days and we felt the power of your prayers! Thank you.