Slide Show of WBC Awana Grand Prix!

You Are Invited...

Everyone is welcome to our Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day services.

Aussie culture will bring many unchurched to church during this time.

Door hangers have been distributed to homes in the surrounding suburbs inviting them.

Pray God saves many through our special services.

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so excited about celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! May your Christmas be a Joyous one and filled with many blessings as you glorify HIM.

Thank you to those that have prayed for us, encouraged us through cards, gifts and phone calls and have supported us financially. You are a blessing to our family and ministry here in Western Australia!

We miss you and hope you visit us soon or we get to see you in Spring 2011 when we plan to come “home” for a visit.

With Love,

The Munn Family

Nanny's visit!

The kid were so excited to have Nanny visiting for one whole month! Nanny taught the girls how to do watercolor painting. They miss their Nanny and want to know when she will come back for a visit with Grandpa Ed.

A great photo of the kids with Nanny!

MY MOMMY!

IT'S HERE!!!!

The Awana Grand Prix Track is HERE!!!!

Lori's mom(Annette) arrived August 19th from Charlotte, NC with the track in tow plus all her luggage with extra goodies we asked her to bring. Let me tell you this was not an easy task.

First we ordered the track from the USA and shipped it to Annette to bring on the plane with her in order to save $1,000 to ship direct to AU.

Well, it arrived safely to her home but found out her domestic flight to LA. wouldn't allow it on the plane! So, she quickly sent it to LA to Matthew's cousin's house. His cousin was to take it to the LA airport in 4 days and meet Annette there to check it onto Quantas Airlines. Quantas Airlines checked it as oversized, extra luggage and we only had to pay an extra $50!

Eventually, Annette arrived in Sydney. She still needed to get onto another plane to go to Perth. In Sydney, she needed to get off the plane, get all her luggage and go through customs. Not a major deal...she just got a trolley for all her lugguage and this oversized box and made it through customs...now the tricky part...She needed to take all of her luggage upstairs to take a train to the domestic side of the airport for her last flight.

Well, this oversized box wasn't easy to get into the elevator! Stuggling to get this all into the elevator, GOD sent her an angel. A woman saw Annette's plight and urged her husband to "help the lady"! He did. Not only did he help her get onto the elevator, he carried this box to the train and he and his wife got on the train with Annette and took the box all the way to where it needed to be checked onto the flight. This couple had a several hour wait for their next flight. Annette was so thankful and told them they were angels sent from God. The couple didn't know how to respond to that comment and smiled and went on their way.

Annette arrived in Perth 4 + hours later and the track arrived in one piece!

Below is a photo of Matthew carrying the box for Annette out of the airport.

Why go through all this trouble just for a track you ask? Well, our Awana Grand Prix track was an old wooden track in need of repairs. The Grand Prix Races is one of our biggest outreaches and more than half of those that go to Awana do not attend our church or are unchurched. These new tracks were not available in Australia so we had to order from the USA. There was much anticipation and excitement from our Awana kids & leaders knowing a fast,cool, new track was on it's way. We were also humbled and thankful to have a church in the USA love us enough to raise funds during their VBS program in the summer to help us purchase this track. SO, THANK YOU Grace Church of Normal, Illinois. We love you and miss you!

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WBC Women's Retreat

Our ladies ministry is called WOW ( Women of Worth). On Aug 21st weekend, WOW had their 1st annual weekend retreat. I say 1st because no one can remember when the last retreat was held but do remember hearing there was one years ago?

I found the perfect place to have this weekend. It was at Orchard Glory Farm Resort in Bindoon, WA. You can look it up on the web to see photos. It was beautiful and the ladies felt pampered to stay in such nice/clean facilities.

Some of us during free time Sat. afternoon took a 1/2 ride north to a little town called New Norcia. It has a monestary with 5 monks still living there. We took a tour of the town. You can google New Norcia in WA too to see and read about this historical town. The ride there was worth just viewing the canola fields in full bloom. I will post a photo!

I had the privilege to organize this retreat for 55 ladies. We had a wonderful speaker who challenged us to "Walk more intimately with God".

After reading over the survey's filled out at the end of the weekend, the comments were all positive. The ladies were blessed, refreshed & challenged and look forward to next year's retreat to be held late September. So, if anyone is interested in attending that retreat, start booking your flights soon!

Praise God for my neighbor, Marrianne, attending the weekend and 2 others that are not Christians. Seeds of God's Love for them were planted.

Also, my mom arrived 2 days prior to the weekend and I was blessed to have my mom share this special time with me.

Thank you for praying for this special weekend. God worked in mighty ways!

3x3 Basketball Tournament Slideshow

Long Awaited Update...and Prayer Request.

G'day Family & Friends,

Thank you for being patient with our lack of updates. Here is a catch up with some Aussie speak too. These last 2 months have been full on & we have felt flat out with our Sr. Pastor Colin away for 3 months on his long service leave. My incoming phone calls & emails increased rapidly upon Colin's departure. It was a heavy but worthwhile experience to juggle a lot of Colin's responsibilities too. Because we asked for specific prayer last time, we think it is important for us to share the results.

We were pleasantly surprised with how our After-school program at a local primary school ended. Some of the more difficult kids also responded to us with pleas to return next term. God touched our hearts for these kids who spend way too much time in day cares & not nearly enough with mums & dads.

Thank you for praying for our second 3x3 Teen Basketball Tournament.  At least 75% of players were unchurched! A professional Basketball player also attended to sign autographs & let us quawk at his 214cm  frame (7' 1") as he swooshed his shots, after eating a trough of Sausage Sizzels (Aussie hot dogs).

The all day Oz Family Life Marriage Seminar @ our church had 24 couples attend. It was so good to "tune up" the marriage. I  needed to be reminded often how to keep the fire going & the ears open! A secret for all my fellow blokes; keep the ears open & the fire can burn quite a bit longer between tune ups.

Listen to this: Grace Church in Normal ran an Aussie themed VBS program in late June. We were thrilled to hear they chose our Awana children's ministry as their mission to support through the VBS giving. We split the cost of a new Grand Prix Derby Race Track. Our kids will be jumping like roos when it arrives this next week. Prayer Request: We are seeking to get it on the airplane at LAX with Lori's mom this Monday Night & that it also arrives safely with her on Wednesday morning. 

What about our AU VISA? Long story short! We finally received another 2 yr. Temporary Workers Visa. But due to my caseworker's miscommunication we had to start all over with the Permanent Residency Visa. I mailed the completed application "packet" today with the US$2,116.09 fee! Good news is they said it will not take too long. I asked how long is not too long. She replied; 6-8 months! Aussie speak for "sometime in the distant future but no idea when"! 

Did you pray for our friend YV to be pregnant? Well, she is now 14 weeks pregnant!  And our friend AW is attending church & working towards healing psychologically.

Ministry to Neighbours? Lori established a beautiful friendship with our neighbor, Marianne, & also joined a workout gym with her for 3 months. She will be attending the Women's Retreat next weekend. Please pray for Marianne to respond positively to the love of Christ Jesus. 

Lori organized this Women's Retreat. 54 ladies Christians & non, will be attending the 3 day retreat. Extra special is Lori's mom will also be attending, while I will lead the 5 Munnsters thru the weekend without mum. Anyone interested in coming out to help me?

Lori's hobby of photography continues to bless people as she recently photographed 15 families on a Saturday afternoon to raise money for our church building fund.  The results have been very positive, so this may be a good start for her business to grow.

 

Lori started a Bible study group on Wed. mornings about 1 yr ago with 8 ladies. Last term they split the group of 14 into 2 groups & next term Lori expects her group to begin with 11 ladies. How exciting is this? One of the ladies planning to come has been on the pray list for salvation! 

Matthew is now the Small Group Teacher for his Tuesday night group. Our church Missions Ministry may also come under his oversight in the next several months. It needs to be overhauled for effective Sending & Discipleship purposes. 

In two weeks, we are also providing a community care professional seminar; Why you need a will & other estate issues. Please pray this is a big hit for the Lord, as this has the potential to open many doors to the lives of people in our community with the church's ability to help meet both basic & spiritual needs.

Next time, I will share about our follow up plans & the event we are helping to plan to reach hundreds of people at one time just before Christmas! 

Well,  this is a bit long, but as you can see God is working in tremendous ways & we are trying to hold on & keep up! Thank you for praying, giving and encouraging. 

We'll leave the light on for ya!  

A video for Grace Church but for all to enjoy too!

Here is the link to you tube to view the video in a larger formatt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldou2i6iQzM

Prayer Request In The Praises

We Need The Power Of God Unleashed Here!

1. Matthew is used of God as the main preacher until the beginning of Aug. & he balances ministry & home life well.

2. Outreach: The 50 kids at the Public School After School Program experience God's love through us.

3. Outreach: 3x3 Teen Basketball Tournament July 11th for players to be 75% unchurched. 

4. Discipleship: Pray for Lori as she plans a long over due Aug 21st Women's Retreat for 60 women & all the details come together for God to be glorified.  

5.  Discipleship: Oz Family Life Marriage Seminar August 1st. For Full attendance as this is a new type of ministry event in our area.

6. Our home church, in Illinois, Grace Church's "Aussie" themed VBS in late June to be effective in reaching families in need of a church home. 

7. Lori would like to pursue photography as a career. Pray for the legal & business logistics to come together at the right time.

8. We are trying to apply for permanent residency, but the process is so long over what seems bureaucratic silliness. Please pray we receive our medical forms by June 8th!

9. Y.V. to remain pregnant in this incredible answer to prayer.

10 A.W. to be set free in Jesus Christ from psychological torture.

11. Our neighbours come to Christ Jesus this year.

Thank you for joining us in faith! We need you!

Mother's Day Celebration

Mother's Day at church was a special day. Matthew preached, there was special music and Lori gave her testimony on how she became a mother. (you can listen to the sermon & testimony by going to www.wbcinc.org.au)

Madison & Morgan were video taped giving special messages to Sugar, Nanny and Grandma Rita.

Lori had her picture taken with her children that think she "ROCKS"

And our friends from Illinois (the Semlows) were in Ethiopia on Mother's Day bringing home 3 siblings to be their "forever" family. Praise the Lord! (to read more about their journey log onto: www.semlowadoption.blogspot.com).  Please keep them in your prayers for this adjustment time!

God's Beauty!

After church, walking to our car, this is the amazing sky God gave us!  I happened to have my camera with me that morning.  How artistic is our Creator!  I think it is the most beautiful painting I have ever seen!   

The photo above this one is the sunset he gave us the very next night on the twins' birthday. They were so excited to see this sky that they urged me to photograph it!  The sun is much hotter here and because of that, I think it makes the sunsets more colorful and fiery! Amazing!

A Little Easter Fun...

Our dessert on Good Friday evening

After watching the Easter Musical this Friday morning at church, our children knew exactly why we were thanking Jesus!  It was a special time to go around the table and say what we wanted to "thank" Jesus for...and Mikah was the first to say "For dying on the cross for our sins". BINGO!  We are so thankful as parents that our children are beginning to understand the real meaning of Easter. 

Easter Funtastic Update

Well, here it is..the update to our "Easter Funtastic" outreach. A big thank you to those who prayed for us. The Lord answered in a mighty way! It was a beautiful sunny day with over 300 people in attendance. Praise the Lord! The majority of people were not from our church. It was exciting to see invited school friends & neighbors too. It was a fun filled 1 1/2 hours.

We started with facepainting & balloon animals then added a "Lollieman" chase (see the photos), followed by a juggling act, fun sing-a-longs, a ventriloquist who shared the story of the three trees, a massive candy filled egg hunt & water balloon games. In between these events, the kids enjoyed more face painting, balloon animals & cooled off with free icy poles. Adult (guest) door prizes (chocolate!) were also a big hit. To be in the drawing, adults filled out an interest questionnaire. They were asked to tick any of the listed topics they would like to know more about. Some of the topics of interest: How to find the right church for my family; How to forgive & receive forgiveness from others; Activities for single parents; Basic computer skills; How to relate to my teenager.... Matthew is now trying to fast track some of these needs with the right church people connection & a few workshops in the new future that can also meet these needs. We have been blessed & hope you will be too as you read this & watch the slide show. Wishing you all a joyous Resurrection Weekend!

Easter Funtastic...PLEASE PRAY.....

9:30-11:30 AM Saturday morning, April 4th (your Friday night), is our Easter Funtastic Outreach.  This is a free event put on by our church and being held at the local public school!

Please pray:

 1. Hundreds of unchurched people will attend 

2. The Story of Easter will be clear 

3. A Funtastic time will be had by all

 4. God will be glorified all over the place. 

 

Three local public elementary schools have passed out our fliers to almost a thousand children. This event will have jugglers, face painters, balloon animals, circus tricks, a Ventriloquist sharing the Story of Easter and a lot more. The weather is too be 82 degrees! We will also be inviting people to our Easter services.

What will God do? We will let you know!

Wilson gets Baptized...

March 29th was a very exciting time at church. We had 9 people get baptized this Sunday!  Praise the Lord.  Listening to their testimonies was so encouraging.  

One of those people who got baptized was Wilson.  He is the man we asked you to pray for about being discipled.  He recently moved to Australia from Brazil with his wife and young child. After visiting our church one Sunday, He and his wife accepted Christ as their personal Savior. 

Well, he was the last to get baptized that day. He gave his testimony about how life had been good for him...easy...no worries...and how prideful he was because of his success in work, athletics & other things.  He thanked the Lord for breaking down the wall of pride in his life and showing him his sin and his need for a Savior.  He was in tears and so were most of us listening to him... very moving.  Well, here is a photo of Wilson. The joy on his face when he comes out of the water says it all! ( that is his little boy, Daniel, behind him watching and holding his towel for him)

Lori's Dad visits Australia!

Lori's dad arrived in Sydney, Australia Feb 6th.  Just in time for their big heat wave (over 1oo degrees). He traveled around Sydney, to Hobart (Tasmania) and arrived in Perth, Feb 11th.  It was a very exciting time for the children to see their "Pop Pop" since we haven't seen him for 2 years.  We celebrated his birthday and Lori guided him around the Perth area during the days while the kids were in school.  We look forward to Pop Pop coming back to visit again soon!!!

First Day of School

Feb. 3rd was the first day of the school year for Western Australia.  The public school children all wear school uniforms. The kids were so excited for school to start and to wear their new sneakers! This was officially Mikah's first day in public school, too! She is in the Kindy program 2 full days a week. 

Australia Day- January 26th

Australia Day is very much like our 4th of July ...bbq's, family time, parades & fireworks. Here is a definition of Australia Day for those of you who like more history....

Australia Day, also known as Anniversary Day and Foundation Day^[1], is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the unfurling of the British flag at Sydney Cove and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia.

Australia Day is an official public holiday in every state and territory of Australia, and is marked by the Order of Australia andAustralian of the Year awards, along with an address from the Prime Minister.

Records of the celebration of Australia Day date back to 1808, with Governor Lachlan Macquarie having held the first official celebration of Australia Day in 1818. In 2004, an estimated 7.5 million people attended Australia Day celebrations and functions across the country.

Australia Day is seen as controversial by some historians. Alongside proposals to change the date of Australia Day, there have been significant protests from the Indigenous Australian community. Many Indigenous Australians see Australia Day as a celebration of the destruction of Indigenous culture by British colonialism. Since 1988, "Invasion Day" protests have been held supporting this view. In light of these concerns, proposals to change the date of Australia Day to other dates have been made.

   

Our Family Vacation to Albany...

Matthew had a week's vacation Jan 5th - 12th. We were invited by friends in church to rent a cabin at the Baptist Camp Grounds in Albany (approx. 5 1/2 hrs. south). There were six other families with children from our church that joined us. It was a great time. Our children freely ran around the camp grounds with their friends. For the parents, it was a relief not to wonder where our kids were all the time or worry about their safety. We fished, swam in the ocean (most days), collected shells, played games, read several books! and relaxed. It was a refreshing time. Hope you enjoy our photos.

Hooping it up!

On January 24, we inaugurated our renovated parking lot basketball courts with an outreach. We planned a competitive tournament of basketball. 48 of the 66 young people playing were not church kids. The weather was hot, the games were fun, the food was inexpensive, the music was loud, the gospel seed of John 14:6 was planted & connections to our community were developed. We have been encouraged by the unchurched to do it again. Anyone for a game of B.Ball?

The Harvest is Plentiful

Please pray for the Discipleship of
Wilson and Renata new believers from Brazil.
Bradley and Lee-Ann new believers from South Africa.


( Bradley & Lee-Ann)

"I Have Never Spoken about God"

(Our friend, Michelle, who invited this friend...)

On Carol’s Night, I spoke for about 5 minutes on how as a child I had a decent understanding that Christmas was about Jesus being born, but after my family left the church my understanding of the true meaning of Christmas become muddled with the extras of Christmas; presents, Santa, and so forth. Then as a teenager my life was all about me, until God got a hold of me at age 18. My first Christmas as a follower of Jesus was exciting and fresh. Even what was considered traditional had special meaning to me. One song in particular had a few verses that I have remembered for years. O’ Holy Night: Fall on your knees, Hear the angels voices”. I then shared the story in Luke 2:8-15. The angels knew this was about the glory of God and the Shepherds responded. The intent of the birth of Jesus Christ was to manifest the glory of God throughout the earth to all men, women, boys and girls who receive His favour. His favour is for you to come “fall on your knees and worship him”.

And then invited everyone to receive the peace of God by responding to His favour, for without this favour how can you really experience the true meaning and glory of Christmas?

I offered a gospel booklet to those interested in knowing how they could know God personally. The next day I realized most of the booklets were gone! My friend then told me one of his wife’s guest they thought was least likely to respond; looked at her that evening and said, I just realized for the first time; I have never spoken to my kids about God”! (Pray for Michelle's friend to share Jesus with her kids! The oldest child is 12 years old).

The Gospel Through Words & Candy

Carol’s Night is a traditional Aussie event. Unchurched Aussies are willing to come to this
Christmas type of service. It is a very joyous time for Carol singing, special musical items, a special event church choir, and a story time for kids. Well, usually for kids! The story this year was the making of the candy cane. After the story we had children pass around candy canes to everyone with a little note attached to each that shared the gospel meaning behind the candy cane. During the two services over 600 people heard the gospel message. One friend took extra candy canes and the story to give to her relatives coming for Christmas dinner. Here is the story if you have never heard it:
The Candy Cane Story
A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.
The candy maker then shaped his cane into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.