Wrights in Australia

Greetings from Down Under!

We have been horrible bloggers, and bad communicators, and really have no excuse!  Sorry!

We started the year out with Emma’s Dad’s 60th celebration on the beaches north of Sydney. It was a great weekend, and a really nice way to begin the year with our family.

We then traveled back down to Melbourne, an epic 14 hours in the car (we did stop in Canberra overnight) and got right back into the swing of things, finishing out the summer with plenty of time at the pool and in the park.

Cassia went back to school just after her 4th birthday, which we celebrated quietly (an at home movie theater – her request).  She is doing well at school although a few situations have really given us reason to think and pray, and we are now committed to sending her to a Christian school next year. We have a few local options, but are on the waiting list for our preferred school.  We are confident that God knows just where Cassia should be, and will open and close doors according to His will.

First day of school

Micah took a slow approach to the whole ‘walking milestone’ with his 18 month birthday coming and going without a step.  This was cause for some concern and the poor little guy got pinned down and x-rayed… it proved to be just the motivation he needed and he was up and going within a month… there was nothing wrong, except perhaps a stubborn streak which has become more evident the closer he gets to his second birthday.

Micah

Jason continues to be Mr IKEA (as Cassia likes to call him), and is the master of the allen key. He faithfully serves us and the Lord, and we are blessed beyond measure by his example.  He has started a new series with the youth group called “The Bible on”, it is a new hot topic each week, eg. The Bible on salvation, The Bible on homosexuality etc.

Date Night

Emma is doing what Mum’s do, and her job description changes every day! She is the treasurer at the Kindergarten which has been a fun way to use her spreadsheet skills, has taken a more active roll in the baby – 5 year old group at church, and has mastered the art of the Parisian Macaron.

Macaron

We hope to update you more regularly so you don’t have to read a novella every time you stop by!  Until then we have included a devotional Jason wrote and shared at bible study tonight.

{Inhale Grace, Exhale Grace}

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:5, 6 ESV)

“The letter” is also called the ministry of death and the ministry of condemnation. Does that sound fun?

Contrast that with the ministry of the Spirit which is described as permanent, the ministry of righteousness, and much more glorious. That’s what I’m talkin about!

This new covenant that we are in gives us boldness to be all about GRACE!

Let me explain:

God has been super gracious to us in declaring us righteous in Jesus by the power of the Spirit. He not only pours out mercy on us, but lavishes grace on us as well. He doesn’t punish us according to our sins, but chastised His Son Jesus to bring us peace with God. The justice of God that demanded our death and condemnation was satisfied by the death and resurrection of Jesus!

We in turn should act like our heavenly Father. There should be a family resemblance.

Jesus not only died for our sins, but the sins of the whole world. If this is true, why do we treat people as if they still need to punish for their shortcomings?

Why is it that we are so good at importing grace and so horrible at exporting it?

Has God not lavished His grace upon us, the undeserving? Are we guilty of being the servant who was completely forgiven the debt of millions, but wasn’t able to forgive the debt of a few dollars?

May it never be!

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8 NLT)

1) We need to inhale the grace of God. Devour the Word and marvel at His gracious Words that come out. Receive His forgiveness of sins, receive the wealth of every spiritual blessing we have in Christ, and take in the breath of His Spirit.

2) Exhale that gracious Spirit and those gracious words to others.

The real test of this out-working starts at home. Are we giving one another grace or just expecting to receive grace when we display our faults and failings?

We might say, “but it’s not fair. You don’t know what they’ve done. I told him a million times. I’m so frustrated!”

Was God fair with you or did Extend extreme amounts of grace? If anyone in the universe had the right to be frustrated and therefore ungracious, wouldn’t it be the Father?

We are without excuse. We need to repent of our ungracious attitude, words, and actions. May we breathe in deeply the grace of God and breath out deeply that grace to others. Amen.

Hello everyone,

We hope you had a great Christmas, and enjoyed time with friends and family celebrating Jesus’ birth.

We were fortunate enough to have two Christmases, one over Skype with Jason’s family, and one in Canberra with Emma’s family.  While Skype is certainly not the same as being together we are thankful that we could see each other.

Jason is now back in Melbourne seeing in the new year, and Emma has stayed in Canberra for a little more time with her parents.  We will be reunited soon, and celebrate Emma’s dad’s 60th birthday before driving back to Melbourne together.

2011 has again been a busy and unpredictable year for our family… the most notable event has been our international move, back to Australia to minister with Calvary Chapel Melbourne.  This was Emma’s 3rd international move (once as a single, once as a couple and now as a family), and by far the hardest!  Readjusting to life here has not been without it’s challenges, but God is good and the trials we have faced have united our family and strengthened our marriage in ways we could not have expected.

Jason’s 2011 has involved 2 new jobs, one short-term job at Drummond Golf, and his current job at IKEA.  Both were great blessings, and Jason is a part of the IKEA ‘people committee’ which has given him great opportunities to build relationships.  The $2 staff lunches at IKEA are also a bonus! He also has the privilege of leading the youth, helping with worship, and occasional teaching at church.

Jason and Micah

Emma has been busy this year being a wife and mother.  This job is not that different to her pre-children job as a Project Manager… it is a juggling act!  Emma has also managed to land herself the volunteer role of treasurer at Cassia’s kindergarten next year, so those PM skills will be further used!

Emma and Cassia

Cassia has changed in some of the most notable ways from this time last year.  Her social, physical and mental skills never cease to amaze us, and she is a very smart little girl.  She has an inquiring mind (why? is her favourite question), and fitted in very well at her 3 year old kindergarten program. Cassia’s 2012 goals are to learn to write all her letters, and continue to advance in her swimming skills.

Micah is of course a different little boy to one year ago!  He is becoming more vocal every day (when he can get a word in), and seems content to keep crawling for the moment. His 2012 goals include walking, staying healthy and finally getting some kind of solution for his tummy issues.

As 2012 begins we are already aware of change ahead and while at times we might prefer a quiet and predictable start to the year if we have learned nothing else in 2011 we have learned that God knows best, and that He is teaching us and molding us to be more like Him in every new challenge.

We are so thankful for each of you, and hope your 2012 will be filled with blessings, and a year to draw nearer to Jesus.

It has been a while since our last post!

Since our family camp in October we have been continuing in our usual activities.

Jason has been busy at IKEA. God has given him favor there and he has been selected to be on the ‘people committee’ which means he has an opportunity to be in contact with even more of his co-workers. Next week Jason will be heading off to the EnVision Australia Conference in Sydney.  The conference will be a great time of worship/teaching and refreshing.

Soul Surfer night at Youth Group

Emma has been busy keeping up with the kids! She had an impromptu trip to Sydney to spend some time with her brother and sister-in-law.  She was there for the filming of an Australian cooking show which she will be seen on sometime next year. She had a fun weekend but won’t be making a career change to film anytime soon!

Cassia continues to do well at school, and has also started swimming lessons!  She loves the pool and cannot get enough! We have been visiting three or four times a week!

Cassia at school

Micah is plugging along!  He still hasn’t started walking, but we are sure when he is good and ready he will take off (probably running!) Next week marks 1 year since his surgery.  We are so thankful for his and Cassia’s health.

Swimming at home!

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for Trinity Jameson.  She is the 9 year old daughter of Pastor Bryan and Heidi who we served with at WG in Orange County.  Trinity has been diagnosed with a brain tumor (Astrocytoma) which is non-curable.  She is undergoing radiation as a part of a clinical trial but there is no known medical cure.
• Please pray for the Youth, for vision and direction as we finish this year.
• Please pray for the women at CC Melbourne as we study the book of Jonah.
• Please pray for the men as the continue to meet monthly and study the word.
• Please pray for many to come to church during the upcoming Christmas season.

We appreciate your continued support and prayers, and would love to hear from you!

Hello from Phillip Island!

Waiting to go on the giant (60ft) swing

Guess who?

Right now we are spending a few days here on our church family camp. There are 60 people from CC Melbourne here and Scott Clifford from Calvary Chapel Rotorua in New Zealand has joined us to teach Philippians. Jenn and Jeff Horner from Refuge in Huntington Beach are also here helping run the kids program.

Safety first!

Since the last time we wrote we have been busy with Jason’s work grand opening, Emma and the kids visiting Canberra for Gran’s 87th birthday, and taking Micah to various Dr’s appointments.
Micah is okay but has some food allergies and we are trying to get to the bottom of them! Right now he is eating gluten free for two weeks and we are hoping to see some improvements.

Wow, theyre crazy

Please pray for:
- Continued vision and direction for us as a family.
- Unity, humility, and love to abound in the church.
- Clarity and healing with Micah’s food allergies, etc.
- Jason to be a great witness at work.
- Emma and the kids to be blessed at home.

Pastor Andrew and Micah waiting for Mummy to go on the swing

It amazes us to tell you that we have now been in Australia for 6 months.

Things in the last 6 months have been busy.  We have been through some huge changes as a family; new home, new job, new church, new friends… there has been a lot of new, which is not always easy!

The move has been different than we expected in many ways, and with that has come some trials and challenges.  The change and trials have given us great opportunities as a family to ensure our priorities are in order: God, Family, Ministry.  We were talking the other night and realized our marriage is the strongest it has ever been, and we are really enjoying our family time.  When we were living in California we were surrounded with great friends, lots to do, and were often really busy.  Our lives here have been much quieter, and that has benefited us.  I (Emma) have found more time to teach Cassia, enjoy Micah’s baby days, and experiment with my cooking some more.  Jason’s job has allowed him to be home for dinner, and to spend time with us in the evenings which we are all really enjoying because we know that his hours are about to change again, and he may not have that flexibility then.

We appreciate your continued prayers for:

• Jason’s witness at IKEA
• Our witness to our neighbours/community
• The youth to continue to grow strong in the Lord
• The details and preparation for the upcoming church camp and Calvary Chapel Conference

Here are a couple of photos of life in the last month here.

Mmm cake!

Family fun

Evening Sunset

Things have been busy here over the past few weeks. We both attended retreats (the men’s retreat one weekend, and the women’s retreat the next weekend), and Jason has started his new job at IKEA.

The men’s retreat was AWESOME!! We had various speakers such as Francis Chan, John Maxwell, and Pancho Juarez. Of course they couldn’t all make it to Australia live, so we just watched videos We had great man time and drew closer to the Lord and each other.

The women’s retreat centered around DVD studies from the Revive Our Hearts True Woman conference in 2010.  The studies were powerful, and challenging and left Emma with pages of notes and a lot to think about.  The ladies also had great times of food and fellowship, including a special tea lunch.

The womens retreat wasnt all serious studies

Jason was able to teach Micah 3-4 on Sunday night a few weeks ago. If you would like to hear the study you can listen here

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Jason’s new job is going well, and on the second day of training he was able to change from a part-time position into a full-time one!  The Lord is so good and is a great provider!  For the next month Jason will be training in the city which involves quite long days because of the commute. Please pray for strength for all of us during this time, and as he starts his new job pray that we all adjust to this new season balancing our family, ministry and his job.

Coming up this month is Jason’s birthday, a visit from Emma’s mum and hopefully an internet connection! The youth are continuing their overview of the Bible on Friday nights and will be finishing up their current series on Sunday mornings.

Praise the Lord!

• The great men’s and women’s retreats
• Jason’s full time job

Pray

• Family/Ministry/Work to be balanced
• Continued growth amongst the men and women at CC Melbourne
• For the Youth Group to continue to be united and grow

We are continuing to find our place and settle in here, we are loving it!

Praise reports:

• Jason was offered a job at Ikea and starts soon, he only has part-time hours for now, but it is a great start.
• The son of a family at our church returning to the Lord

Prayer requests:

• The upcoming men’s and women’s retreats (this weekend and next)
• Jason teaching at church Sunday night
• Jason to be able to get great hours/shifts at his new job at Ikea
  

  Cassia after her first haircut!

Another month is already over! We have had a great month, with more changes and new beginnings.

Our furniture arrived, and most of it made the journey with no problems! We really appreciate having our things back, and Cassia was particularly excited and made exclamations of joy as each item came out of its box.

Two days after our big unpack Emma, Cassia and Micah unexpectedly went back to Canberra for Emma’s uncle’s funeral. Jason stayed in Melbourne (as he had just started his new job). It was a bit of a disruption to us settling in, but it was good to be with family for the weekend, and for Jason to use the most of the time he wasn’t at work to unpack!

Another big first in our family was Cassia’s first day of school! She is attending a local 3 year old kindergarten program for 2.5 hours, two days a week. It is a great introduction to school for her, and she loved her first day!

First day - can you tell she is excited?

Micah continues to grow and change and it seems he has a ‘first’ almost every week… he can now say Poppa, wave bye-bye, clap, and on occasion blow a kiss! He is so close to crawling, but so far only goes backwards!

9 months!

As we continue to settle into ministry here we are enjoying fellowship with the kids, youth, men’s and women’s groups, and excited to see how the Lord will use us going forward.

Jason had a great time last Friday night skating with the youth.  This Friday we continue our overview of the bible.

Youth skating night

Praise the Lord!

* For His provision of work
* For our furniture arriving

Please Pray:

* For continued guidance in regards to Jason’s work, that he would perhaps find work closer to home or with more regular hours
* For us to continue to build relationships with those in the church
* For us to continue to reach out to those who don’t know Jesus yet
* For Cassia to be a witness at school, and for Emma to build relationships with the other Mums.

We have a lot to update you on!

Pastor Andrew and Micah

JOB

Jason has found some casual work at a golf shop – Drummond Golf.  He is also helping with stocktake at a local Christian bookstore where he is hoping to get an assistant manager position.

FURNITURE

Our campout is almost over!  Tomorrow our furniture and household items arrive!  They are being delivered in the afternoon and we are very excited.  While we don’t want to be too excited about ‘stuff’ it will be wonderful to have reminders of our time in the US, as well as things to make our lives easier (like pots/pans, knives, Tupperware!!)

MENS & WOMENS MINISTRY

We have attended our first men’s/women’s events and really enjoyed getting to know the people in our church and begin ministry and fellowshipping with them. The women start a new study in John tomorrow and the men are continuing to go through ‘Disciplines of a Godly Man’.

YOUTH MINISTRY

Jason has been welcomed with open arms into the youth ministry! There was a need there, and Jason has some great ideas for the youth going forward.  Last week they started an 11-week overview of the bible.

Now life is settling down we hope to bring you more regular updates!

Praise the Lord!

• For His provision of work
• For our furniture arriving (hopefully in one piece!)
• For the wonderful welcome from Calvary Melbourne

Please Pray:

• For continued guidance in regards to Jason’s work
• For us to continue to build relationships with those in the church
• For us to continue to reach out to those who don’t know Jesus yet
• For Jason to be a good witness at work

We are now in Melbourne!

Jason came down a week and a half ago to sign lease papers, and get started helping at church by teaching the youth last Friday night, and leading worship last Sunday.  Emma and the kids followed on Tuesday and we are now all together again in our new house.

The Lord has provided a beautiful house for us, and we are so excited to be here.  We are camping out for the next few weeks until our furniture and household goods arrive from the US.  Until then we are busy setting up with what we have and doing the things that are necessary after a big move.

Micah helping with the first big shop!

The next steps for us will be for us to settle in at our new church, for Jason to find a job in the area, and us to continue to find our way around our new neighbourhood.

We have already met a few families from the church and have been so blessed by the welcome and hospitality they have shown us, we are excited to really get started!!

Please pray for:

• The youth as they transition to having Jason as their Pastor
• The Lord to continue to provide the physical needs we have after moving into a new house
• The Lord to provide a job for Jason
• Cassia and Micah to continue to settle and make great friends