God has blessed us with the exciting news that we are going to have a new little George join our family. This is very exciting yet scarey at the same time becusae we are venturing into being outnumbered territory! So far the pregnancy has gone well. Pray for Melissa as she is VERY tired and having to face all day sickness. Hopefully this will pass in the next few weeks. We have neer had an ultrasound this early with either of our other two children. But, here is our first picture of this baby at only 7 weeks. We are now 9 weeks.

Also pray for Melissa as she has committed to directing our district Children's camp in Meblourne in September and this is a HUGE time commitment. Please pray that God would give her the energy and time to be able to direct this camp to the best of her ability. It will be just her and one other lady, as it is during our district conference that goes for three days. So, we will only have the children 7 hours a day. But, pray that Melissa will know how to plan this whole event.

Makayla turned 5!

Our little girl is 5. Hard to believe. We have been blessed with her joyfull presence for the last 5 years. She is spontaneous, outgoing, full of laughter, always smiling, and the sweetest thing we know. And, she is God's little girl. She loves Jesus with her whole heart and loves to tell the world. For her birthday this year, we decided to invite all the girls from her class, since we have been encouraging her all year to make friends, we felt it was only right to invite all her friends. So, she decided to have a princess party, which was fine with us. She dressed up thanks to Grandma Wilday as Cinderella, and she had a day full of fun.

August 10th, the 3rd church in Perth, Australia was officially started. A pastor named Tony has come from Melbourne who is a Tongan pastor and is starting a church plant south of the City. There were probably 100 people in attendance as people from our other two churches also attended. But, there were probably atleast 40 Tongan people there which is very exciting! This church is not only going to be reaching Tongan's but it will also be a multicultural church plant. Please pray for Pastor Tony and his family as the venture to fulfill what God has called them to do. They had a beautifull worship team that sang in english and in their native tongue. The teens and worship team also did some "action songs" to some music and it was beautifull!

August 3, 2008
Was an exciting day to look forward to where our church is headed. Chris preached on vision for our church, and we had a wonderfull time of fellowship after the service. We even had a new couple ( from NZ) in our midst on that evening. After the serice we had pizza and we got down to business with the D.S.. Our church is so willing to do whatever God has called them to. Since I was the treasurer for the last year, because NO ONE would do it, I had to give a vision to the church with the D.S. help of the church stepping up to take a big step of faith. We have paid all of our bills for the past three years. But, the church has yet to start to take on any responsibility of paying a pastor. So, praise God! A decision was made to start to put away a PAstor's salary of one day a week, so that the church hopefully by the end of our next career term. (4 years!) would be able to afford a pastor full time! This is a huge step of faith. There were definitely some concerns. It means the church would need to bring in 2x as mush tithe as it did last year. But, you know what! Our God is good! And, our God is bigger than any of the problems we face. And, our people know that, so they have taken a leap of faith! Many other things exciting happened as well. One of our church members has answered God's all on her life to be a chaplain in the public school system. So, now she is going to start classes to become a lay minister! God is good, and our church is ready to look forward to the future of what HE holds for the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Laser Tag is Awesome!

I don't know how many of you have ever been to a good laser tag place and had about 15 people that you know all running around in the dark shooting one another. But if you have never been, go, it is a blast. I like it better in comparison to paint ball because I am allergic to pain and paintballs hurt. Lasers only hurt your ego.

We took two cars and a van to Darklight and had a wonderful time together. The unity within the youth grew before our very eyes and we have a new vision and passion to see God move in the lives of these young people. Please pray for them and us as we continue to run our youth group on Friday nights. Pray that we would see growth and the unity in the group would grow even more. Along with that, our youth centre is growing a bit. We now have 2 ping pong tables, 2 air hockey tables, 1 table soccer table, xbox, and playstation 2 with SingStar on the big screen. We have a great time with these teens and can't wait to see what God uses them to accomplish for His glory.

Sunday was a first for me. It was the first time that I have every had to call another pastor on my staff and ask them to preach for me because I was up with the flu all night. It broke my heart to not be able to give the message and lead the service and to be honest, I felt a little bad that I sat here on the couch "feeling better" during church while other's did what I had prepared to do. I am not a control freak, I just hated putting the extra pressure on everyone else when I had prepared everything all during the week. I am glad that I got rest and am over the flu now though and will be back in the saddle this week. Melissa told me last night that the service went well and Phil did a great job. Thanks Phil for stepping up to the plate when I needed you.

Well, I guess that is all for this post, but remember to keep us in prayer as we are in the process of applying for career missionary status and we are waiting to hear about our permanent residency visa. Pray that final dates for our travel home can be set and we can start to book churches in the US to visit while we are home. Thanks for your prayers, you are awesome.

Blessings!

I am preparing a sermon for this week on blessings. We have been going through a stewardship series and even though sometimes I hate "talking money" at church, it has been good and I am really looking forward to shining some light on how blessed we are as "middle-class" australians. It is amazing how God will often times put me through things throughout the week that gives me a better understanding of the sermon that He is preparing in my heart and mind. If I am preaching on anger, I will have a very trying week; if I am preaching on money, the temptation to buy things will be great, and so on... As I am preparing to talk about blessings this week, it gives me an opportunity to thank God for the things that He gives us and the things that He blesses us with.

To make a long story short, I got an e-mail this morning that the house that we own in Indiana (USA) will have renters in it starting next week. We have had renters in it but they moved out a week ago and we were worried that the house was going to set empty for a few months before we found someone to rent. What a blessing. A great weight is lifted off our shoulders when there is someone in the house (paying the mortgage with their rent).

I also think about my family. I have a wonderful wife who is the greatest helper both in life and in the ministry and couldn't ask for anyone better. God truly blessed me with a wonderful partner. I have two beautiful kids that are growing and learning every day. My daughter will be turning 5 on 08-08-08 (isn't that cool?) and is an outgoing girl that I love to be around. My son is a 2 year old miniature me. He is growing up so fast and just last week started stringing full sentences together. He is so good with a ball that I am sure he will make us millions someday.

I don't know about you, but I am a blessed man!

Side note... The other day I had a conversation with Makayla that worries me to great lengths. It went a bit like this...:

Mak: "Daddy, I am having a princess party for my birthday."

Dad: "Oh yeh, well that means that I can be your prince!"

Mak: "No, Ethan is my prince" (boy from school)

Dad: "You don't want daddy to be your prince?"

Mak: "No, I don't need you."

I may be in trouble... any advise from the "dad pool" out there.

Chic is finished for this term. Some of the girls have said they would like to come back and do it again. So, we will see. But, they had a really good time. Unfortunately we ended up with 15 girls in the end that came the last 5 weeks. But, the director has learned a lesson and next term we will not hand pick the girls. We will have the entire gym class, so that we are not competing with dance, and various other gym activities. The girls received a certificate for completing the program.

Side note: three girls were from Landsdale where Chris and I live. Tessa, Kristy, and Georgina. I ran into these girls the other day down at the shops. And, they said that they would like to come to youth group and hang out. Please pray for these girls. They need to make the first step to want to come. I have given them my information. And, we are offering for all the youth group to go laser tagging next week. Please pray that these girls will join us. We hopefully will have a party room for two hours and play two games of laser tag. So, Chris really wants to speak to the teens and talk to them about getting to know who Jesus Christ is.

Kids Club term 2 awards night
Last night we had term two kids club awards night. It went really well. We had 38 people at church. We had two mothers come who have not come before. So, that is exciting. And we were missing 6 regulars. So, the church is starting to grow slowly but surely. Pray for our committed families that they would make the new families feel welcome and that they would strike up conversations with the new people.

The piano concert last week, we are still finalizing how much money was raised from it. But, we do know that there was over 500 people who attended and that, that is amazing! Because, there are only 40 people in the inner city church. So, many people came who do not attend our church. Pray that these people would have made a connection in their heart with God and that they would be willing to come back for church.

Well, I need to go clean my house that has been demolished from this weekend! We hope you all have a great week, and that God will bless you all . We have seen God's hand at work in our lives and it is because you pray for us! Thank you! and may God's blessing be poured onto you!

George family

On june 26th I finally found out I did not get the job. I am okay with it. It would have been an AWESOME opportunity to meet families. Apparently someone applied who has an elementary teaching degree. So, obviously they deserve the job. I am a bit overloaded right now anyways. I am currently enrolloed in two FLAME correspondance classes through the WEsleyan church, and I am directing a kids camp in September for the entire district. So, God has given me enough on my plate already. Thank you to everyone who prayed. Amazingly, I have a really good peace. God has spoken to my heart. Thank you for praying for me! I appreciate it greatly! Your prayers have made a difference. God has settled my heart.

I found out today they are going to make a decision this sunday on the fab 4' teacher position. Please pray that if it is God's will I will get the job.
Thank you,
Melissa George

Correspondence Courses

Chris and I are licensed pastors in the Wesleyan Church, but this November we will be ordained! But, to be ordained I need to finish two more classes. This has been a step of faith, because unfortunately My time is very busy, but also our finances have been extremely tight considering the American dollar is EVEN with the Australian dollar. Because I need to get these classes done, I have stepped out in faith that God will provide the funds. Please pray with me that God will bless us with a way to pay for these classes.

AWESOME OPPORTUNITY

Recently I was asked by Makayla's teacher from last year to apply for a position in Landsdale. She is stepping down as of term 3 in July. So, I have prayed and received a green light from global partners to apply for this position. Please pray that I would have God's guidance and full confirmation before I say yes. So, what is so cool about this opportunity. I have been praying for a way to meet families in the community. And, I was thinking of opening a piano studio, or something that I could just work 5-6 hours a week at, so that I could meet families. Problem was that I would always be meeting the SAME families. However, this teaching position. Is 3-4 year olds, held at the community hall where we have church. And, is only 4 hours a week. I used to teach preschool years back and actual took a few college classes on early childhood education. So, I have applied. Here is the coolest part! I work on 4 hours a week, 2 hours prep time.. So, only 6 hours a week. Also, I would have two classes with 20 students and a parent is required to attend with each child. So, I will meet 40 FAMILIES a year in landsdale. Also, when the kids age out at the end of the year, they will age into our churches Kids club. How cool is that. God could not have brought a more awesome opportunity about. Please pray for me as I apply and I had two major conflicts with me accepting this job. 1) I already committed to direct a kids camp in Melbourne in September and would miss two days of classes. 2) We will return at the end of this year to raise funds to become career missionaries so I would miss 4 weeks of classes when we do that as well. So, I could definitely use your prayers.

Chic!

I have been teaching this term in the public high school a class by scripture union called Chic! It has been fun, trying, hard, enjoyable, yet God is using me to make a difference in 7 girls lives. These girls have been chosen to be in this program because of their behavioural problems at school.
Week 1- went great
Week 2- went alright till last 5 minutes, and one of the girls tried to beat another girl with a stick. And, I had to intervene. etc.
week 3- Went alright, except for the fact that I felt like the lesson didn't address any issues. So. then came week 4.
week 4- I followed up with the girls on the issue of inner beauty and how they are who they are on the inside, I actually got through to a lot of the girls, and they now respect me, and two of the girls even told the others to stop talking because they wanted to hear what I had to say.

Although, I have had many emotions about this program, and about working in the school. I believe God is using me and I would like you to pray for the following girls, that they would see Jesus in and through me as I share my life with them. I am not actually allowed to say the word God, and things but when the girls specifically ask me questions I am allowed to answer. So, pray that the girls would open up and continue to talk with me and ask me questions.
The girls are: Natalie (sweetheart, becoming my friend and completely respects me), Megan, Alicia (Rough on the outside, but genuinely I think just needs to know someone cares), Tessa (Real sweety, not sure why she is in this group yet), Monique, (Fighter, till the end, ad feisty!), Georgina, (First week she was in my group, gave a hard time at first, but by the end of the session she was on my side and working with me instead of against me), and Kristy.

If you could pray for them I would GREATLY appreciate it!
Thanks so much,
Melissa

Young Adult weekend in Katanning

This past weekend, we took 5 young Adults to a church in Katanning W.A. Our D.S. rode with us as well. He is Visiting all the way from Melbourne! (5 hours flight to us). We were hoping for more, but with finals in UNI only two weeks away. Many young adults needed to stay home and study. It was a 4 hour drive South East. As we arrived we had many ideas of what Katanning would be. But, had no idea that we would see how God is moving in the town of Katanning. The church is about 6 years old. It started with a Pastor who felt that God called him to holiness and from there out they now run about 50. This pastor is wanting to retire. But, God uses him every day and every Sunday to minister to the people of Katanning. We had wonderful conversations and met many people who will be in our prayers often! As we arrived this "little" town did happen to have a target, two banks, a bakery, a store that was open on Sunday morning when Melissa realized she forgot baking soda and we were making waffles! We stayed on an old boarding girl schools campus owned by the Baptist church. (Farmers daughters would stay at the school during the week and go home on weekends). We had an incredible time and on the way there we passed through a town called "Wagin" pronounced waa jing with a long A! This town had the biggest ram in the southern hemisphere. We had a wonderful time and couldn't believe it took us 3 years to finally get out there! We plan to go back and help the pastor when he would like to take a sunday off or just go out and be guest speakers. Their church service is in the morning so we would make it back in time for Landsdale. Now about our young adults. Chris and I got to know Rick Ray, Rina, Fei, and Joshua, Young who runs the Young adults ministry at the John Wesley Church came with us as well. The young adults who came with us actually attend both the Landsdale and John Wesley church, but have been attracted to our church by Pastor Young who is teaching them English. Rick Ray is a third generation Christian from Korea. Fei from China Recently accepted Christ just about 6 months ago, and has really shown growth. Rina, and Joshua also from Korea have shown growth But over all we really bonded. We stayed up till 1AM playing UNO, because no body could win.

We played all kinds of thinking games, (they like those), and just silly games! Chris and I had a wonderful time "pretending to be young adults" Although, I would like to think we still are considering we are only 27! But, God moved in us and in them, and you could see as they talked with the people in the Katanning church, that God was working in the young adults lives! Fei speaks English really well, but the rest of them, are just learning. So, it was definitely a fun experience had, but as they got to know us they were much more comfortable with trying to speak to us. Pray that as we are now home, we will be able to continue to grow our relationship with the Young adults and bring them closer to having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Youth Group IGNITES!

Our Ignite youth centre Friday night had 28 youth attend! A couple of weeks ago we had this same situation however Chris and I were caught off guard. But, not this time. The teens read the rules signed youth group contracts on behaviour! And, we actually had a blast! We played group games, and were actually able to facilitate activities! It was SO much fun! Pray for us as we have to decide how to respond to this. 16 of these guys were footy players, and we want to reach them for Christ. Yet, there are some social issues that are a problem. Pray for the church as we make some decisions about how to conduct the youth centre, and whether or not we should move it to another time. The most major problem is that after the games the parents stand outside the hall drinking and having a good ol' time. However, we are a Christian organization and we do not carry a liquor license which is REQUIRED in Australia. So, we are praying for God to show us the way as we discuss this with the footy group and find an alternative solution without loosing the footy boys! We believe that God is starting to change them and they are starting to open up to us. When it was time to close we literally had to almost kick the kids out! Because, they would not leave! WE praise God for such problems and hope that you will pray with us as we seek an answer!

Friends Night at church

Also, Sunday night we had Friends night at church. A teen that I have been bringing to church named Cindy has been coming for about 8 months! This Sunday night her dad came to church and brought her 3 siblings! HOW EXCITING! God is moving here, and he is starting to change lives! Tun, Cindy's dad would like to come back. Please pray for Tun and his family!

Asking for Prayer for our Young Adult Camp!

This week our DS is coming out and we are taking the Young Adults away on a 36 hour camp! Chris and I will be running Bible Studies and group games to build leadership and a bond between all of them. Pray that we would have a good trip and that they would unite together! Also, we are Sunday morning visiting a town called Katanning which is a sheep farm town 4 hours from Perth. On Sunday morning the church will be bringing in members! WE will be there to show them our support and to also build a bridge between us and them! We will be leaving our kids in Perth. Pray that this time would be a time of bonding, that our children will do well with out us, and that an unbreakable bond and growth in who our young adults are in Christ would be made!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was full of celebrations at church. The children made Trivets at Kids Club for their moms so we handed those out as well as the church gave to every mother a candle that said faith. We started this week our sermon series on Family and what better way to start than on Mother's Day. Chris preached an excellent sermon on what a Godly mother looks like. Funny enough, one of his points was that a Godly Mother keeps herself physically healthy. Funny enough though I was sick so everyone snickered on that point. He wasn't necessarily talking about sickness, he was talking about physically healthy. But, everyone had a good laugh and looked at me since I was SICK!

We had 33 people at church which was exciting. Our family is a bit ill at the moment with a pretty bad cold. So, pray for us to recover quickly, since the doctor has no appointments for two days! :) I have already been sick for a week, and seem to not be getting better, but we will be patient and wait it out. We have challenged every person to have a friend in church next week. Please pray for our church families as we would love to see this happen! We thank you for your prayers Chris and I feel them especially on the days when we are sick and have so much work to do for the kingdom! But, God is good and he never gives us more than we can handle.

I just wanted to post on here Happy Mother's Day to my Mother!

My mother has been a Godly example to me my whole life. She is full of love, patience, kindness, gentleness, and she is devoted to being a follower of Christ! I thank my mother for the impact she has had in my life. Whenever I am out of patience with my kids I stop and think how my mom would have reacted and it would have been with complete control and patience! I hope I am a mother like her! I love getting to talk on the phone everyweek with her and hear how she is doing and get tid bits of advice from her! I love you Mom! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! XXOO

Signs, signs everywhere...I have been going through a series entitled "Road signs in the Bible". We looked at the "one way" sign where Jesus says that He is the only way to the Father. Then we looked at the "do not enter" sign where we talked about dealing with and resisting temptation. We looked at the "detour ahead" sign where we talked about times in our life when we seem to go down a different path than what we planned. This week, I will try to encourage everyone to stay on the path and run the race to completion with the "no U-turn" message. I plan my series topics well in advance and never really know what to expect when I start writing them. This series took a surprising twist and has focused much on the life of Joseph (from the OT). How he was able to handle the temptation from Potiphar's wife and then all of the detours that he faced and yet was able to still trust in his God. My life is much different than his but I think I have gained more from this series than many of my congregation. It's funny how God does that sometimes. I have heard of preaching to the choir, but what do you call it when the the preacher is preaching to the preacher... hmm!

Things are going well at the moment and we are beginning to feel the coolness of the nights as summer has officially ended. Today is our day to relax and it will be spent cleaning our house (it is easier said than done with two small kids) and spending time together at home. School goes back tomorrow for term 2 and so things will seem to be "normal" again.

The past week has been the first week of School Holidays here in Australia. It is hard to believe that term one is already over. As quickly as term one has flown so has Kids Club and Youth Group. We had our Kids Club Awards night for Term 1. All the children who attended to get their sashes had perfect attendance! Isn't that unbelievable! It excites me to know that they have so much fun being there that they come every week. I and the children have learned so many cool lessons about the fruit of the Spirit, about being Strong and Courageous about our faith, and about sharing our faith. The children sang three songs for their parents and we really did have a good time rewarding them for their work and effort. We also had one student, Thereza memorize the books of the NT and earned a Hands On Bible. (The Bible challenge is one we ran last year, and have promised that we will keep it running for the time being because our kids need Bibles in their hands that they can take home and be reading with their families!)
Term One is also always slow on attendance and we graduated 5 children to youth group. However, we have already had three families contact us and say they would like their children to participate during Term 2. So, I look forward to the next term! Please pray that people in the community would learn of Kids Club. And, that we would be overwhelmed with Children. For Once I have extra teachers! As I pray, please pray with me that next term we would have 4 children for every teacher,(20!)

Thank you to the Avon Wesleyn Church for your Easter Package
We received a wonderful Easter Package on the Thursday before Good Friday. It had suckers for the kids, and Easter books, and bunnies that sang Jesus Loves Me and little socks which Makayla won't take off her feet! And, wall hangings, and dish cloths, and all kinds of goodies! We are truly spoiled!

I can't explain the power in a package. Other than the Package is loaded with so much of God's providence for us and His care. At times when we miss our family the most and have been very homesick, we receive a package reminding us of what God has called us to do and reminding us that He knows we miss our family and friends, but at the same time He has called us Here to further His kingdom and we will do that! However, receiving a package was just the icing on a wonderfull weekend we spent doing ministry! We were spoiled with a little taste of home! Thank you so much!

Thank you to the Hyde Wesleyan Church and David and Melinda Finlay
for all their work in sending us a Valentine's Package! WE greatly appreciated it. It was such a lift for us. It arrived the day after Chris's Parents left. And, it made us feel very loved. Inside the box were all kinds of goodies God was providing for us right now! Inside were two toothbrushes, and floss! (YEAH!) we actually just that morning were saying we really needed money to go out on and get these. Also, inside was WINTER clothes for Dawson! WE desperately needed these! Somehow the boy came on this journey with no larger clothes! I guess I thought ahead for Makayla but not for Dawson. Also, was little valentine's bags and the coolest gumball machine ever! Also inside were two little gift bags for mommy and daddy! We greatly appreciate all you have done for us. It made us feel so special and cared for! Thank you almost doesn't sound like enough! We are truly blessed by your care! May God bless you abundantly in return! Here are some pics of the kids with some of the things in the package.

Our Easter Weekend!

It is the Tuesday after Easter and I can literally feel that the pace of my life as a pastor has slowed down from what it was last week. Easter is a very busy time for those of us in ministry, but it is so worth it and I wouldn't trade it for much of anything in this world. I know that many of you out there are interested in knowing about our weekend so I will do my best to update you on our Easter experience.

Greenwood High School: On Thursday afternoon, I went to one of the local senior high schools with my Bible, some words that I believe God gave me and absolutely no idea what to expect. As I entered the school I felt confident that God was with me (thanks much in part to your prayers). We went to the music room as the lunch bell rang and we waited to see if any of the students would give up their lunch to come hear an Easter message. We had 12 students and about 6 faculty who came for the time and I believe it went very well. It was the first time that we had tried anything like this in the school and I was encouraged by it. Some guys from our church are going to be playing basketball in the school during the lunch hour beginning in a few weeks. We are so excited about the connections that we are able to make and the ministry that we can have in the public school system.

Easter Sunday: I brought the message at both the church in the city as well as our church here in Landsdale. Both of the congregations had good responses to the message and we were very excited to have some visitor at Landsdale. Thanks Melissa for putting up invitations down at the supermarket. Please pray that we can draw our visitors back for another service.

Easter Monday: Yesterday, we went down to our Aussie family's house for an Easter meal. It was a good time all together and we all have so much chocolate we don't know what to do with it! We are so thankful for all that we have and wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who remember to pray for our family and support us as we are in Australia. Thank you and God bless you and your family.

Easter Eggs: I am not sure of where this tradition came from but people all around the world over the last week have coloured eggs for Easter. You hard boil them and then you use food colouring and crayons and other things to decorate these eggs. That isn't the funny bit, it is what people do with them after they are finished that is funny. We used to keep them in the door of the refigerator and we would go and get one, crack it and enjoy it for a snack. My brother and I would always crack the eggs by smashing them on our heads (yes, that is what happened to us). This tradition stopped when my brother smashed an egg that wasn't hard boiled over his head. My son, has found his own way of getting the eggs open. A tennis racket! In the picture below, you can see my son hitting an egg with a racket straight at everyone who is sitting on the couch.

We hope that all of you had a wonderful Easter and that you were able to celebrate the Risen Saviour with your family and friends.