Call to prayer for a Landsdale family

Please pray for the family of Sam Trott. He is a little boy that has changed the Landsdale community for forever! He was a son, brother, grandson and friend to Many of the landsdale playgroup children. His smile was huge and he was 2 1/2 years old. But, he will be forever missed and he rests now in heaven. He drowned in the lake near our home and his family and our small community will never be the same again. a candle vigil was held this evening in Australia. But please life up in prayer his family. His sibling, his parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. Pray that God would be their source of strength in a dark time where there is no understanding.  Also, please pray for our churc as they had scheduled a carols in the park this Friday. It will change in many was as it should, but pray that we would hAve sensitive hearts and be calling on God for direction  and guidance.

Ohio- Indiana

This week we have been travelling from NY to Indiana. We visited with and thanked our family, financial, and prayer partners in Elida! The Kern family has blessed us in many ways. 2 years ago, this family gave a huge donation to our ministry when our support was low.  So, it was super special to stop and thank them in person.  It is always so fun to see how God is moving and blessing those who support us and God is blessing this family beyond measure!  This family is a little extra special because they are our cousins! And, the kids loved every minute they were there! The girls painted nails and stayed up late talking into the night. 

 Then we headed onto Marion, IN.   In Marion, we have connected with Melissa's aunt and Uncle Bill and Daphne Foster.  It was really special to spend time with them.  They served 30 years in Australia with Global Partners. So, it is always special to share time with them!   We also had the wonderful privilege to share at Chapel Pike in Marion, IN which was our home church after Chris and I were married almost 14 years ago.   Makayla and Laura had an extra special time at Chapel Pike, because they had an all-nighter! So, they had the privilege to participate with this youth group and have a great time doing something they had never done before! 

  When then headed onto IWU.  Laura found IWU to be completely exciting! She has never seen a University with so much love for God and such a willingness to share it with everyone around.  The whole time we were there you could see God everywhere, and that was just amazing to her.   We ended up with lot's of IWU paraphernalia and had a great time showing the kids where we lived, worked, and of course all of the great friends we still have there on the campus. 

- Pray for Laura as she seeks God's will for her life and seeks him to discover the call He has for her.  She will be starting her senior year of High school in February.

We also had the opportunity while at IWU to meet with World Christian Fellowship and share our ministry with the students and even had the awesome opportunity to share a few minutes  with a Youth ministry class.

- Pray for the students of the Youth Ministry class. We pray that God would call one of them to step out and join our team in Perth.

We also had the privilege to catch up with some retired Global Partners Missionaries and current ones.  This is always a special time as we learn from them and grow!  One of those special meetings was with Dr. Jim Lo.  He has been a mentor of ours for years! And, even just a meal with him and regular chatting felt like old times. :)    We were also able to visit a chapel service.


Today we headed to Noblesville, IN.  We are staying at a missionary house there, for the next 10 days.  We will be completing some Global Partners training and visiting churches around here.  Pray for us as we finalize our Global Partners Budget for our next 5 year term. Pray for us as we  seek God's direction in our lives and draw closer to him this week through our leadership team at Global Partners!

- Pray for our children this week as they will take an education assessment to make sure that they are staying up to speed and are doing emotionally, physically, and mentally   well...  We believe the children will do well, but just pray for them to have a positive attitude when they meet with the assessor.

Hard to believe that all this was accomplished in less than 4 days! But, God is good and he gives us the strength to continue travelling raising support and raising prayers partners so we can get back to Australia as soon as possible!

Thanksgiving November 27th

One of the best parts of being home raising support is spending holidays with our families. Thanksgiving day we were able to spend the day with Chris's family and then thanksgiving night we went to the airport and picked up Laura! She flew from Australia to spend two months with us. Laura is a student in our church we are mentoring. She is a leader for our AWANA program. And she has such an amazing heart to follow and serve god. While she is here she will get to visit churches with our family as well as she will get to to attend FOLLOW, international conference and also the gathering as well as many other youth events while she is here. She will also get to visit IWU and Houghton and see what a Christian college or university looks like. Pray that. God would lay a passion and a desire on her heart while she is here for her future,

Friday we spent the day with Melissa's family having thanksgiving and sledding. It was such a wonderful time with so many great memories.

Icy roads! . November 23

This past weekend God protected our family in amazing ways. Recently we started to drive to a church in Western Pennsylvania just before thanksgiving and we were up in the hills just 20 miles west  of Williamsport and all of a sudden we realised that it had gotten really cold and there was a flash freeze. Cars were sliding off the road, and we found ourself in a little town in a valley between some really steep big mountains. As we kept trying to get out of the town their were lines of trucks everywhere. Because the roads were closed.  Everyone we spoke too, was pretty much a hunter and not from where we were. Luckily there was a little place we could stop. While we we're inside we were able to call the pastor of the church we were travelling to and he mentioned the roads were better the more west we could get. There was some very kind people who gave us directions as there was no cell phone reception . We followed 44 down through the valley. And then came to a point whee we sat at the bottom of a very large hill for an hour waiting for a snow plow to come through and salt. Then They opened the roads but were instructed to not go over 20 miles per hour. God protected our family because our car never slid once And we were kept very safe. But,  our three hour trip turned into a 7 hour trip.  We covet your prayers for our family as we travel!! After we arrived we had a wonderful weekend visiting and sharing with Hyde Wesleyan and Ashland Wesleyan.  We are so thankful to have them as part of the team ministering in Perth Australia through support and prayers.

Prayer Requests for the George Family

Dear Prayer Partners and supporters. Whiles we are home in the states completing partnership development there are a few specific things we would like you to be aware of and praying for:

1)  For our support.

                          - Our account has actually dropped into the negatives by $4000 because the last three months we have not met our target for financial donations and we needed to purchase plane tickets for our family to return to the USA.   I think that people have slowed down there giving because we were returning.. However, we actually need all of our faith promise partners to continue giving even while we are stateside.     

              For example: this month October... so far only 1/10th of our donations have come in.   

PRAYER NEED- Please pray that our partners would continue to give while we are stateside.  Because we need all of our donations to continue to come in so that the ministries can continue to run in Australia while we are here in the US. And, especially so we can do our partnership development in 6 months.

2) Currently we need to raise
                        - 200 prayer partners
                        - $25,000 in Faith Promise  ( New partners)  Our new budget will take effect in December.
                        -$26,000 in one time gifts

PRAYER NEED- Please pray that we would be able to connect with new churches that have not heard about our ministry in Australia.  Please pray specifically for Chris and I as we contact churches in our home districts in CNY and WNY. Pray that they would be open to hearing what God is doing in Australia and willing to partner through financial means or prayer.Pray that we would be able to fill our schedule with connecting with all of our current partners as well as book in the new churches.

3) Pray for the Staff of the Landsdale Church while we are away.
                   -Please pray for the Matteson Family-  The landsdale Community Church brought them on staff for one year to be our Family Ministry Coordinators while Chris and I were on partnership development.  Please pray for guidance, strength, wisdom, courage, and of course blessings as they are working hard every day with the families of the Landsdale Church while they keep our small groups, AWANA, and Youth Group ministries continuing in our absence.  This is a big job!!

                   - Please pray for Lindsay and Rosalea Cameron- Lindsay will be the supply pastor of the Landsdale Community Church while we are here in on partnership development. Pray for the Cameron's to also connect with our families and be able to minister to these families in a way we have not been able to!  We pray that God would bless them as they work full time, study, and pastor the Landsdale church.

4)  Please pray for the ministries of the landsdale Church
                             - AWANA (kids ministry)
                             - Youth Group
                             - Small group Bible Studies
                             -Young Adults
                             - Carols in the Park
                             -Family Outreach events

5) Please pray for Chris and I as we are stateside and continue to carry out our local church and  district responsibilities for Australia.  Pray that we would have time to achieve goals that we were not able to do while in Australia due to time constraints. Pray for us as we offer guidance and council from here and that God would guide and direct everything we say and do.

6)   Pray for us to connect with people here to help us grow spiritually so that we can take back amazing perspective and ideas and creativity when we go back to Australia.

7) Pray for us to have driving mercies and for our car to not have any mechanical dramas!

8) Pray for our Travel Schedule Pray for the churches we have been to and for their missions committees. Pray for the churches especially as they are taking faith promises and discerning where God wants them to partner and how they can make missions a part of their church ministries!  Please pray for us as we book up the rest of our schedule.

October 3-5    Eastern Hills
October 12th- Horseheads
October 16th- First Wesleyan -Easton, MD
October 19th- Lyncourt Wesleyan
October 20th- Pastors of New York, Houghton
October 21st- FLN
October 23rd-  Warren Wesleyan
October 24- Pastor Wives of WNY
October 25- Warren Wesleyan
October 26- Brookside, Wellsville, NY
November 1-3-  Pine Meadows
November 9th- McCrea Brook Wesleyan
November 9-30th. Pray for us to confirm these bookings so we can add them to our schedule!
December 1-15th Pray for us to connect with our supporting churches in Indiana and book them up immediately!
December -8th-12th  Global Partners Training
December 13th-30th Pray for us to book churches into our schedule for this Christmas time.
January 4th- Rockhill Wesleyan Church - NC


We are so blessed to have an amazing team.   We are so grateful to have you praying for us! Please know that as you pray for us, we are praying for you and your local churches and that God would give you an outpouring of his love, guidance, and strength.

God bless,
The Georges

We want to connect with you!

Over the next 6 months our family will be travelling and visiting churches and individuals to raise support. Sometimes we visit churches on a Sunday morning, afternoon or evening.  But, we also visit churches every day of the week to visit their small groups, youth groups, kids programs, Sunday schools, or special weekend or week night mission events. See, we love them all! Because it is here that we get to connect and partner with those God has called to equip us to go back to Australia.  Without all these amazing people holding us up and being our support we would not be able to minister in Perth, Australia.  We even like doing family game nights, or special outreach events. So, whatever your need, let us know and we will do our best to make ourselves available.  

If we are not booked in yet at your church please contact us by email at georgefamilyinaustralia@hotmail.com  

or 

phone at 716-498-1388.

God bless, 

Chris, Melissa, and family

October 2nd. New York State!!!!

Grandma and Papa George with Uncle Doug and the kids

We have safely arrived in the USA.. And, our kids are having so much fun realizing how different life is here from Australia. Chris and I grew up here so we don't always see all the differences. but, our car rides are anything but quiet.  The whole time we drive, we hear from the back seat...

- Did you see that?
- Wow!!! look at that HUGE truck!
- There are no fences here!
- Did you see that school bus?
- Look at all the trees with coloured (australian spelling!) leaves?

Grandma Wilday and Aunt Nicole with the kids

The list is non ending.. And, then the super market... our visit to TOPS.. was nothing short!  We entered the cereal aisle and, the kids were so overwhelmed. In Australia we have a short aisle of cereal. So, I can't wait till we go to Walmart... or Wegmans... or some other stores.   The kids are amazed by the cheap prices.... and the variety of food, and candy, and ice cream, and so many options to choose from.  Let's not forget.. the apple cider and the donuts!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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





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





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

AWANA Adventure CAMP September 13th-15th

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

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

Home Ministries

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

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

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

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

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

AGM'S and Zone business

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

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

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

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

The Georges

UPWARD

Upward Sports camp has been going amazing today..  Today was super busy as we settled 130 kids into their group. But,  God has used us to touch 130+ kids lives. God has been with every coach, and station leader, and we have had a really smooth start to camp. God has been holding our hands, giving us strength, and especially the courage we need to be bold about who Jesus is! Here are some pictures of what has been going on.   I want to share a special story though. Because, today we had a lady come in, and she said she drives through Landsdale every day but, today she for some reason she drove past the driveway to her house. And, the first place to turn around was in the car park. Now, when she saw all the children playing soccer and the girl cheerleading, she felt that deep inside she NEEDED to let her children attend. And, their family is Muslim. But, I believe that God had a plan for this family.   I hope that everyone on our UPWARD ministry team will make themselves open and ready to clearly share about how they have met Christ with the kids in their group this week.

Upward Sports Camp Preparation Day!

Today, the entire day was spent preparing for Upward Sports Camp which starts tomorrow! For the first time ever we had over 30 people come together and prepare for our ministry outreach event. We had a session where we all learned the safety and insurance procedures, and then the rest of the day learning how to connect and communicate with the kids.  Afterwards the cheer coaches and station leaders practiced for cheer camp, and then we spent the entire rest of the day putting together sports kits that each child would receive. We were incredibly blessed to have UPWARD, Eastern Hills, and the Landsdale Church come together and work as a team. UPWARD was able to provide us with amazing uniforms and drink bottle and pom poms. Then the coaches, station leaders, and team members were put together by Landsdale Community WMC and  the Eastern Hills Team from the USA. Inside the kids bags they received a drink bottle, a uniform, a bracelet, and the soccer players received socks and a soccer ball, while the cheerleaders received pom poms, and other girly things!   But, it was so amazing to stand together with a team that God had pulled together all the way from Buffallo, NY to Perth, Australia. And, all of us were working OUTSIDE of our comfort zone. Yet God was going to use us, to work in these 132 kids lives because we were willing to step out in faith and trust God to carry us through the upcoming week.  We were so proud of the Landsdale parents and youth that stepped up to help!  I know that God has amazing things in store for this week not only in the hearts of the kids who are going to join us, but also in the hearts of those who are going to help us!  I am so excited I can barely sleep!  Although, I am still up at 2:00am prepping for camp.  But, it just seems that there are so many things we could still be working on.  So, pray for Chris and I as we continue to work on everything and keep it all running smoothly.  May we be God's hands and feet this week!
Melissa
PS below are pictures of the teams and the bags we prepared.

Women's Retreat July 4th-6th

This past weekend was completely amazing. We had the Western Australia Wesleyan Women's  Zone Retreat.  I was completely exhausted as I had to pull a few sleepless nights to get everything together for the weekend, but I also couldn't have pulled it off with out Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church from Clarence, NY. I can't give enough praise to God for supplying a missions team to come help us here in Western Australia! It was extra special because I had lot's of extra help this year, so we were able to give the Wesleyan Women's committee of Western Australia a break, and they were able to sit back and enjoy the weekend. The theme for the weekend was "freedom in Christ."  It was truly special in every way because.
1) We had the most women ever attend from the Landsdale Church
2) We were able to grow in Christ
3) we were able to meet new people and grow new relationships
4) God used every women on the team from Eastern Hills to connect with someone this weekend.

It was truly remarkable. Even I felt as if God was refreshing me and speaking to my heart.

Below are a few pics from the amazing weekend. Thanks again, to everyone who helped make it a success!

Matteson's have arrived!

The Matteson's have arrived in Perth, Australia!   We are so excited that they are going to be here in time for UPWARD sports camp! We can't wait to partner with them and we can't wait to see what God is going to do through their amazing family.
Pray for them as they

• Settle in to School
• Meet new friends
• Build relationships
• Start small group studies
• Help at UPWARD this week

We are so thankful to God for bringing this team to us.  They even had God with them down to the last moment's of arriving in Perth. As, there was a storm that came through and a lot of planes were delayed coming out of the airport they were at, but for some reason their plane was allowed to go, and they had a completely smooth trip to Australia.

The American Team has arrived!!!

Today is a day our children incredibly enjoy! Tonight we picked up the American team! They are here to support our Upwards Soccer/Cheer camp and also our Zone Women's Retreat. We are so excited to meet this team that God has called to partner with us here in Australia for the next 14 days and are super grateful to the Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church from Clarence, Ny for sending them our way!   We are extremely looking forward to what God is going to do through them.

Permanent Residency

Today is the day we have been waiting for!!! We have been granted Permanent Residency in Australia. Thank you for your prayers. It has been a long 4 years of working to achieve this goal! And  we are just amazed at how God uses us to bring people to Him in Australia! And that God had blessed us with this honour and privilege. We are blessed!

Praise God!!! Matteson's 100% funded

Today, is the day we stand in amazement and know that God has called this family to join us here in Perth, Australia. God has called an army of prayer partners and an Army of people to financially partner with this amazing family to use them and change lives of Australians. They are coming to change peoples lives for eternity! There is no greater place to be, then right in the center of Gods will. And, he has definitely called them here to Australia to partner with the ministry! In less than 3 weeks they raised 40% of their budget. Our God is amazing. Please pray for a few loose ends.
1. We need their visa approved. They will be coming in on a 90 day visitors visa then swapping over to a longer one. Please pray that the government would quickly make a decision on their longer visa.
2. Pray that we find them housing.
3. Pray for their family as they are saying good by and packing up to come here.
4. Pray for them to have strength. They have had a crazy whirlwind of a week.

And, most of all thank you for your prayers!!! god has heard all of us and has moved his mighty hand. Thank you for partnering with us to change lives!!

Praises and Prayer Requests

Prayer Requests Pray for Upward Sports Camp registrations and for the Camp which starts July 7th-12th Pray for Women's Retreat July 4th-6th Pray for our family to receive Permanent Residency in Australia Pray for Mark and Dawnielle Matteson to reach full support and arrive before July 1st Pray for the Eastern Hills Missions Team as they arrive here on July1st Pray for Chris as he leads a men's retreat June 20th-22nd

Praises Praise God for confirming in our hearts, this is where he wants us! Praise God for holding our family in his hands! Praise God that 12 people came to Christ! Praise God for an awesome youth camp! Praise God for blessing our church as we work on the "thankful heart" series

Matteson Family!

Today is the day we ask all of our supporters to make a faith promise or onetime gift to Mark and Dawnielle Matteson! 

Who are Mark and Dawnielle?  They and their three children will be joining our family here in Perth, to help carry the work load.  Chris and I have had one sunday off in 5 years, and work atleast 100 hours a week!  They are coming to help us minister in this community.   We are desperate for more hands, and have been praying for God to open a door for another family to join us! And, he has called the Matteson's to come serve.


They have raised 73% of  their support  since January! And, they are hoping to leave for Perth, Australia to work at our church by July 1st!!!!   Yesterday was Mark's last day of work in the USA... Their estate sale is today and tomorrow, and they have already rented out their house.   They are convinced and so are we the God has called their family to move here to be God's hands and feet.

We are so excited about the doors God has opened for this family to come work with us for an entire year.   They and we would really like them to get here in time for Upward Sports camp (July 8-12th) as this will be a great time for them to start to meet the community.  It allows us to have more kids at the camp, and we don't want them sitting in the USA, when God has so much in store for them here. 

With all that said...  Here are your options to help this family minister in Perth, Australia.

1) join their prayer team!?  
2) Can you give a one time gift, now? 
3) Sign up in faith,  promising to give a specific amount sometime within the next 12 months!

We know, that God will get them here, in his time. But, we also, know that it takes lot's of people standing behind the missionary to allow them to be the hands and feet of God.  

We appreciate all the support all of you have given to us.. and that is why at this time in the 11th hour of them raising support, we have come to those we love and know to ask you to help this beautiful family!   Please click on the link below to pray or give!

God bless,
The George's

http://www.wesleyan.org/gp/minfo/WM29-0096

Permanent Residency!!!!

Please continue to pray for  our family to receive Permanent Residency in Australia. We applied back in November and slowly but surely they keep asking us for more stuff. But, we think we are down to their last request.   and, let's be frankly honest.. It has not been cheap. so far, it has cost our family over $10,000 sine November to meet their requests, and demands.  Everything from, paperwork and a flat out 8,000 fee and then physicals, and exams, and tests, and blood work, and eye exams, and new passports for the boys because theirs were baby pictures, and the list is non ending.  But, we think this is their last request... FBI fingerprinting! These were turned in over a month ago.. But, the FBI has FINALLY taken out their payment for the fingerprinting process. Would you please pray for us that the FBI would actually process these quickly, and then that we would get the results quickly returned to us, so that we can turn them in, here in Australia.  We feel that we are on the final leg of getting permanent Residency.  This is such an important hurdle for our family to get over and approved, so that we can stay ministering here in Perth, Australia.   Please pray that:
1) The government would favour our applications
2) that FBI fingerprint would get turned around quickly.
3) That we could receive our answer soon!!!!

A thankful heart!

   We have been going through a series recently on stewardship with our church.  And, being thankful to God.   When we least expect it, God has always got our back.  We thought we would take a week and focus on tithing and ask everyone to bring their gifts to the Lord. Then, on  Thursday we received a call from Bunnings that they had a cancel on a sausage sizzle.   Our church is a little behind. And June is the last month of the financial calendar in Australia, and there were lots of things we had wanted to do as a church and hadn't been able to do yet.  But, God he knows our heart, and he knows our desires, and he knows we want to move in our community. So, out of the complete "nowhere!" God drops this special opportunity in our lap for us to sell sausages for our local building store! Not only did we meet some families and their kids are going to join our soccer camp.  But, we were able to triple what our tithe was... on the next day.. Because we were willing to go and work and serve our community...   God, opened the door we were just willing and ready to do whatever was needed to meet his amazing opportunity. 

Best Easter ever!!

Today was a very special day! Not just because we were celebrating Easter, but because God called people to him. We had our regular evening service and Chris and I had been praying all week along with many of you that his would move in People's lives.. But, tonight we had 10 people accept Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. It was such a heart Moving moment. Such a God moving moment. We had 10 people give their lives to Christ and many more commit to draw closer to him and to really stand for Christ in their life. Chris preached on being made new in Christ and God just used him in an amazing way. The children were out with me in Sunday school getting the same message and all of them were confidently wearing their crowns they made, that protested out loud that Jesus made them new!!! What a great day! Pray for these individual's that we would be able to give them the tools to grow in Christ and to understand what an awesome decision they have made!   Thank you for your prayers!!!

Also we still have not heard anything on our PR so please keep that in your prayers...

In 5 hours we leave for youth camp. The theme is 4 real! Pray that god would move In the teens lives we  are taking and that Chris  and I would say the right things that they need to hear and that we also would be great listeners. We have a 3 1/2 hour drive in the car so looking forward to hearing them all chatter on the way there! Please pray every day for us on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!!!

Palm Sunday

Today was an awesome community outreach day as we had over 80 children come to our community Easter egg hunt. It was an extra special day as we had craft booths and lots of stations where kids could think about what the true meaning of Easter was. We also had a message time where Melissa shared with all the families the "best gift they were ever given" at the end of her sermon the children could come up and accept a gift of they wanted to believe in Jesus. It was quite moving to see the kids who were touched by today. Afterwards we had a movie night and we finally succeeded at getting people to stay for "church" we had at least 60 people stay and watch the veggie tales movie an Easter carol. It was truly a special day!! We also had the most volunteers we have ever had at a church event. There were 31... It was really a god moving day as we stood there and could see a glimpse of what God had in store for his church here in Western Australia.

Praising God!

This week we have so much to be thankful for.

On Saturday a group of Wesleyan women came together and I had prepared stamping card kits for the ladies to complete as well as we had a bible study and shared life together in fellowship . It was a lot of fun!

Secondly we had our first AWANA awards night for 2014 on Sunday. The kids are learning lots of scripture and are really learning how to apply it to their lives.  It was a great time for them to show off all they have learnt . I spent an entire two days sewing lanyards so the kids would have something to put their new badges on .

On Monday we had our immigration appointment. We left at 9:30 and arrived home at 2:45. We spent all day in a cramped office having medicals, X-rays, eye exams, our weight taken, blood pressure, physicals, and blood exams. We have now officially turned everything in for our permanent residency and would definitely appreciate your prayers for us to get approved. There is nothing more we can do, it is now a waiting game for the immigration office to make up their minds.

On Tuesday Luke came home from the hospital and is now resting in his own bed! This is amazing considering the original plan was that Luke would be in for a few weeks. Please continue to pray for him to regain his strength and energy and for him to continue to heal quickly. The doctor has actually said he believes he has gotten all of the tumour which is huge!

On Wednesday we partnered with the school and helped them put on an amazing ANZAC service. The school even let Chris do a pastoral prayer at the service.

Today our AWANA group committed our first RAK! Better known as a random act of kindness. All term the kids have been preparing thank you eggs. They have stuffed plastic eggs with words of thanks, kindness, and of course yummy chocolates to say thank you to the teachers of our local primary school. Then we dressed up as an Easter bunny and delivered them secretly! It was a lot of fun, but most importantly hopefully will soften their hearts to hear the word of god.

This is just a normal week of busy here in Australia, but we only accomplish as much as we do because we have an amazing team that prays for us!!! Thank you for your prayers and especially for your financial support. Continue to pray for us this weekend as we have our Easter egg hunt on Sunday at 4:00pm. Pray that the community would hear God speak to them and that families would come and enjoy time together as they participate in activities, and especially as they sit and here our message of the greatest gift ever given to them on Easter is free, as well as we will be showing the veggie tales an Easter carol from 6:00pm onwards. Can't wait to see what god is going to do this weekend.

Luke's surgery went well!

Luke is out of surgery and moving his right and left side! So, at this point everyone is very pleased! Praise God!!

Prayer requests

Today at noon our Aussie brother Luke will be having brain surgery to remove a tumor. Please pray with us for a safe surgery and for removal of the whole thing. The tumor is non cancerous. But, this is his second surgery in four years as it keeps continuing to grow.

Permanent Residency Sponsorship

Praise the Lord.  We have received word from the immigration department that the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia has received approval to sponsor us for a permanent residency visa.  This is a big step in the right direction.  We have also received a list of things that they immigration department would like in order to approve our visa application.  Pray that we will be able to get all of the things that they want in a timely manner and that they would look favourably on our application.  Having permanent residency would relieve a lot of stress when we are on partnership development as we wouldn't have to apply for any further visas to serve in Australia.  Thank you for your prayers.

Community Connections


With every day that we are privileged to serve here in Australia our prayer is that God would help us to make connections with people that will have an impact on eternity.  We try to be involved with as many things in our community and with our neighbours as we can and hope and pray that through those connections avenues are opened to share Christ with those we interact with.  I was reminded again last week of the quote that holds true for our ministry here in Australia, "people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care".  This week, we have a great opportunity to connect our church with the community through the Landsdale Community Neighbour Day.  We will be handing out information about our church, selling scarfs to raise funds for youth camp and selling cool drinks to those in attendance.  Pray that God would open up opportunities for us to connect with people and that He would use us in a special way to show His love.  Pray not only for the planting of seeds, but pray for a harvest as we see others come to Christ. 


Sunday we will be holding a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle for a fundraiser.  We are given two of these a year and they are always a great money maker.  Pray that we would sell a lot of sausages and make enough funds to run the ministries and things that the church is wanting to do. 

Western Australia family camp

Yesterday evening we started our WA camp. Please pray for God to shine through this camp. So far we have found it difficult to get our families to actually attend the rallies. Pray that we would have the words to say. We have 11 families tenting from Landsdale which is awesome! So, pray that Chris and I would be able to sit and chill with families and not be running non stop, which so far is the way it has felt. Pray that we have meaningful "real" conversations.  Camping with 80 people so far has been fun, but pray that god would be the center of All that we do!

Kids Club and Youth Starts on Friday the 14th!

On Friday Valentine's Day will be a very exciting day for our kids and youth ministry.  Chris and I have been working hard over the past few summer weeks to do a complete overhaul on our children's ministry and our youth group.   With the children's ministry we have finally been able to purchase AWANA here in Australia and are super excited to see the potential of outreach it will have here. Melissa has for the past 9 years been spending lot's of time programming and sorting out every week the kids ministry items that we would include.   I am very excited to see what God has in store for our new AWANA program.  
The Youth have been getting together over the summer still on Sunday nights and it has been vital to see them all continue to grow in their faith spite all that has happened in our church recently with the loss of one of our youth. But, God has been faithful and has been in the midst of all our conversations and the youth have seen God already at work through all of this in their own lives.
Pray for Chris and I this week as we try to book accommodation for our youth camp that will be around Easter time.


We will kick Friday off with an Olympic party for both groups and focus on Finishing the race with Jesus Christ as our first love! 

First day of School!!!

First Day of School 2014

Today was our children's first day of school for 2014.  School starts in February in Australia. So, Makayla is now entering 5th grade, Dawson is entering 3rd grade, and Brayden is entering Pre Primary.  The kids are super excited about their teachers and are really excited to go to school.   Pray for Brayden this week as he actually only knows one child in his class, Dawson knows a small handful, and Makayla has gone into her class with 12 friends. Pray that they would be able to stand strong and be a Christian influence around their friends. Pray for them to have the strength to invite their friends to our afterschool program, and pray for them to do well.   As we start school, I am as a parent worried about the realities that this year  of school holds for us.

1) Both Makayla and Dawson sit the NAPLAN. NAPLAN is an Australia test probably similar to your Regents state type exams. So, the children sit them and then it places them amongst other children in Australia. Pray that our kids will learn and understand the concepts they are learning. 

2) With us coming home in November to do home ministries after being in Australia 5 years, our children will be missing about 7 weeks of school at the end of the year. Pray that our children will build strong bonds with their teachers so, that they are willing to meet us half way and help us educate our children from a long distance away!

3) Next week I step down as the school's P&C secretary. I have loved the job, but really felt God asking me to step away from a lot of the "smaller" jobs I was doing and really focus on the church this year.  I know that God will show me how to still connect with people and will open doors for me to meet people still. But, pray that someone would step up and take on the job.

We love the school we are a part of. We have been blessed to have children who have been able to hold their own, so they could attend a public school in Australia and meet great people and build great friendships!   God has truly blessed us with the community we are apart of. and, God has build a relationship  with the school so far that is amazing. Pray that we would continue to build our bond between our church and school and that our church would have a great influence on our community school.

Bethany's Memorial Service

A date has been decided for the memorial service and Chris and I have been asked to take part in it. Chris will be officiating the service and they have asked me to give a eulogy.   Please pray for us and the Nichols family as we put plans together and meet with a local catholic school.  They have so far been willing for us to have a Wesleyan Methodist service in their chapel. Pray that God would guide and direct us all as we make preparations and final details.  Pray for Chris and I, that God would direct our thoughts as we write and prepare, especially for Chris as he writes the sermon that he will give and myself as I write the eulogy.  The service will be held on Friday the 7th at 5:00pm, Perth, Australian time.  Which is Friday the 7th at 4:00am USA time.

On a flight

Please continue to pray for Phil and Kathi. They are on a flight home as I am typing this. The flight is very long. Pray for comfort, peace, and rest in the flight . Pray for their thoughts as well. Because even when you fly that long on a good day, all you have are your thoughts and memories you think of. Please pray for this family in this time of grief and mourning. Pray for the boys as we meet them at the airport.

Pray for Phil and kathi

Please continue to keep Beth's parents in your prayers. Their flight to Australia has been delayed two days because of the snow storms PA is receiving. Please pray that god would give them patience and peace as they wait to return to Australia with Beth's ashes. The boys have been doing really well. We have had them for lunch and dinner everyday. I kind of feel like everyone is in the eye if the storm. We know what reality is... But, it will hit us all when the whole family is home And in their own house and Beth is not there.   Please pray for Chris and I as he officiates the funeral, and as I write and give the eulogy. Pray that I would have the words to say.  

I also want to stop here for a moment. Because this is a private blog. And those of you who receive it, know that it is our prayer and praise page for our ministry here. Last week I upset and hurt someone's feelings by what I wrote. I do not know who that person is and I can't write back to them. But, I didn't mean for what I wrote to be taken the way, they read it and am very sorry. I was writing my blog with only 2 hrs of sleep in 5 days and realised as soon as they sent me an anonymous letter that what I had written was not... What I meant. I am very sorry. And I do hope that, that person checks back in. As I would never write something to be judgemental. There was nothing judging... Just concern for peace and comfort in a time that is unexplainable and so painful. I also was writing  through tears and did not re read. So please forgive my writing. ... I have waited a while because I thought I might not write anymore on this blog as I felt really bad that I had hurt someone's feelings. But, I think maybe I will learn from this experience and make sure I read what I write before I post it off my phone.

Continue to keep our church in your prayers as we have our regular daily happenings, please pray that we would find someone to rent the granny flat on the parsonage. Pray that our AwAna material would arrive so we can run kids club and that it can run smoothly especially with is having to train staff and everyone move around a bit.  

God has been good this week in a million ways, and given us strength and guidance through a lot we have never experienced before.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  

Melissa

Prayer Requests Pray for Kids Club and our Church Weekly Ministries as they start back up the First Week of February when school Starts again. Pray for Labour Day Family Camp Feb. 28th-March 2nd, 2014 Pray for our church, youth, family, and kids club as they mourn the loss of Bethany Pray for the Nichols Family as the mourn the loss of Bethany Pray for Melissa as she mentors another GP missionary in NZ. Pray for Chris as he starts to oversee the WA zone of churches and give leadership to the pastors Pray for our New DS Phil Hotchkin

Praises Praise God we have been having more consistency in attendance from families at church. Praise God Rachel and Laura were baptized! Praise God for being our Comforter, Rock, and Stronghold! 1/19/14 Praise God for all that he has blessed the LCWMC with in 2013! We now have a parsonage.

24 hours!

The Last 24 hours have been a whirlwind
.Yesterday, as soon as we heard, we went and got the boys and got them on Skype to hear the news.   We then talked, and looked at pictures of Beth, and sat...  Then starhaving to call and visit church people. I was able to do about 3 hours.. And, then I just hit a wall.. But, a warm shower and back on my way I was.  We then opened our home to Bethany's closest friends, who came and God was in our home and with us every minutes of this day! Because I was able to share about Bethany loving God, and I was able to comfort her closest friends with God's help. Pray for Sophie, Angela, and Paul, Rachel, Laura, Levon, and Ellie.  I have spoken to and sat with all of them except Ellie.  They shared how they met Beth, they shared some of their favourite stories of Beth, and it was just an amazing time that God ordained.   God has given us strength, and words, and comfort in unimaginable ways today! He has been right here in our home, being our rock, and comforter, and strong hold.   Pray for Chris and I as our church does not have a building. We are going to have to find one big enough for us to hire to have Bethany's service at. Pray for Chris, I have been married to him 13 years, and I have never seen him cry, like he has.  But, he has also been so strong for our family and everyone. I am really blessed to be married to such an incredible man.   God is here, and he is working, and he has a plan!   We are just waiting to see what today will hold. 


Thank you all for your prayers, words,  and comfort in a time like this.

Unexpected!

The last 5 days of my life have been unexpected. I have been thinking of what to write here because I think I am still in shock from this entire situation.  Bethany was a  part of my everyday life. I could stop and list here all the things she was to me.   She was the very first girl to ever come to our kids club.  The first one to accept Christ, the first one to blossom and have fruit, she was my best friend, and if you look on facebook and spoke to her, She saw me as her 2nd mum.  She even had a bedroom at our house.  She was the one who took care of my kids when we had to fly interstate, She was the one who came and sat with any of my kids when they were sick, And, she was the perfect example of why Chris and I are missionaries in Australia. We came here to bring people to Christ!  And, that is what we did with Bethany.  Bethany has led her mum and her three brothers to a Christian faith. Bethany has brought her two friends to church and we were able to pray with them a year back now and they accepted Christ. she has helped heal families and given hope to sooo many people.   She was so concerned about making sure everyone else was okay and doing well. Which actually was a trait she learned from her own parents.   She was born into a beautiful family with amazing parents and brothers.   She was always loved!  Bethany has been a leader in our kids club for the last 5 years, and whenever I questioned anything or needed an extra hand, or anything... she was the one I called on.  Even today, 24 hours later, as I write this I have to be honest... I am overcome with emotion, and can't imagine what her parents have been through, and am just broken, fingers numb, and heart pouring out.  Our children went to sleep crying last night and have been super emotional because Bethany was the bigger member in our family. She's been on every camp, and I have so many good and amazing memories, and rest assured that she in Heaven... That will pull us through, times like this.  But, if I were to be honest... On a day like this.... This is how you feel.   These are the emotions.  And, I know that I can't wait to wrap my arms around her mum and dad and just hug them.  The boys, I have already been with, and shared a moment in time that will forever be the darkest day of their life.   They are coping.  I think at this moment that is the word, coping.