Thank God! Matt Hill, the Campus Outreach worker who was missing in DC has been found safe. Apparently he left of his own volition, not many more details available at the moment.

If you want to follow the details you can on Facebook or Twitter

• http://www.facebook.com/findmatthill
• http://twitter.com/findmatthill

Cheers,
The Whelpleys

Matt was last seen Tuesday at around 10:30am near the Verizon Center in DC.

Matt is a coworker of Mandy, a friend of ours who works with Campus Outreach – another campus ministry that we have partnered with in DC.

We’ve never met Matt before, but you can see why this situation is scary and serious enough for us to share it with you. Here are the details as I can gather them:

Last Seen Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
Verizon Center– Washington DC
10:30 am

Last seen Driving a 1996 Black Honda Civic LX
DC Plates: DT2747
Car missing too

Family Contact: Holger Hill 704-839-9699
DC Metro Office Contact: RW Kennedy- 202-715-7300 (precinct number)
Detective McClam: 202-730-1903
Missing Persons Case # 073-157
Detective in Montgomery County: Rod Stevens

CCC's headquarters at Lake Hart, Orlando.

The Short Story

We’re going to be staying in Orlando.

The Full Story

Sometime in the next couple weeks, Carrie and I will be taking a(nother) scary step; while we’re going to be staying within Campus Crusade for Christ, we will be moving away from the Campus Ministry, at least for a season.

Over the past 4 months, since we found out that going back to DC was an option, we’ve been weighing a huge list of options where God might call us next. The options included positions somewhere on campus, off campus in a regional office, and on teams developing many of the cutting edge tools staff in the field will be using in the near future. Possible locations were as varied as Philly, Boston, the University of Virginia, Denver, Portland, and (of course) here in Orlando (among others). I’ve emailed and called about a dozen team-leaders, I visited Indianapolis & Portland, we spent hours in prayer, talked to friends and mentors for wisdom and advice… and still the decision came down to God impressing a calling just this past Monday.

As of Monday the options had been narrowed down to a position on the Metro Team in Portland, OR and one working with the Jesus Film Project here in Orlando. With three weeks until our daughter is born, five weeks until we have to move out of our apartment and eight weeks until we have to make our way to the national staff conference in Colorado – I was starting to get stressed that we weren’t landing on a decision. I had been waiting on the Lord’s leading and wondering if it was one of those times where He calls us to just make a decision and trust His goodness that we aren’t stepping out of his plan either way.

One of the awesome materinty photos that Melonie at Imago Photography did for us. Click the photo for her site.

I stole away from my desk for another 15-minutes to pray about our options, as I opened the journal that I use to keep myself focused while I pray I felt like I was finally hearing a solid answer from Him, “Here, you’re staying here.” Emotionally, my reaction was relief with an aftertaste of mourning – because that means not going back to campus, because that means not moving back to a more vibrant city, because I’m not sure it was the one that I would have ended up choosing on my own. As the reality has set in and we’re working through the red-tape of a ministry transfer, we’re settling into feeling grateful and hopeful for what lies ahead.

In the following months we’ll fill you all in on what the job will look like. For now, please pray for our transition into parenthood, and also that we would be able to prepare well for this next season of our lives & ministry.

Pray For

• We have a significant amount of financial support to raise. In the past year we’ve lost nearly $800 of monthly support. We have to make that up and cover the additional expenses that go along with parenthood and living in Orlando.
• Our daughter will be born sometime around June 3, we are supposed to move out of our apartment around June 17 and our bi-annual trip to Ft. Collins, CO will happen in mid-July. Pray for all of the details and stress that surround these transitions and travels.

This spring as we met with our director for the Mid-Atlantic region, it became clear that, for a variety of reasons, the timing isn’t right for us to return to the Washington, DC team. It’s not impossible for the future, but not likely in next few years.

This is something that is sad for us as DC had begun to feel like home – it’s a place we love and care about a lot.

It’s been an emotional time for us, but we trust the Lord and expect a clear leading from Him. Please pray for this exciting new chapter! We have narrowed down the options to a few which we are sorting and praying through. When we know what is next, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Here is what we do know:

• We want to go where God is leading and where we can most effectively help with the Great Commission.
• We still feel called to work with Campus Crusade for Christ.
• We love Washington, DC and our hearts are set on returning in the future; meanwhile we hope to live in or near a major metro area.
• We’ll be bringing another (little) Whelpley along with us.

I just got an email from American University’s chaplains’ board, and I’ve been hearing rumblings from our student-friends at AU about something going on this week on campus. On Friday, January 14 the hate-filled Westboro “Baptist” “Church” will be protesting at AU (the quotes are intentional, they are in no way really Christians and I don’t want to insult any of you who are Baptist).

I can’t figure out the specific reason why they’ve chosen AU, but my concern is not that, but the students there. Wherever Fred Phelps and his “church” (which is made up almost entirely of his offspring and their spouses), it only stirs up hatred – first theirs toward everyone else, then the hatred of everyone around them toward them and as a fallout can intensify their audience’s distrust of faith, religion and God. Please join with us this Friday to pray that students would walk away from the protest, counter protest and whatever else and would seek Truth. Pray that through this students would seek to know a God who cares about them, but cares also about dealing with their sin. Also, pray that WBC would be ignored on the whole and that even they would come to know our God of justice, grace, mercy and love.

Home!

Carrie and I love life inside the “beltway.” We’ve grown fond of our neighborhood (Waverly Hills) — employees at local shops know us

Student leaders at our place for a city-wide planning meeting before Spring Break.

by name, and neighbors invite us to dinner and visit regularly. We have served on our church’s hospitality team and have hosted a small group for Northern VA couples. We’ve even found a couple to mentor us and a marriage pastor willing to meet regularly. We really feel at home here.

We love the students and schools here too. Carrie adores mentoring several women around the city. I’ve enjoyed giving direction to the campus that is slowly evolving into an “anchor school” for the rest of our work in DC. Three students (and one of their sisters) are applying for summer project this year, alumni are sticking around to give lift to the movement, and one of our leaders is talking about interning with CCC here when she graduates. Even a student who has serious emotional and intellectual objections to the God of the Bible is continuing to come out to everything – including two identical Bible studies every week. God seems to be moving, and this is still where we hope to be.

Away!

But life and ministry have also been difficult. In keeping with what Washington’s reputation, God has used this time to dredge up lots of stuff in us – even more intensely since December. I have struggled in my job, and (since they’re so intertwined) my personal life and walk with the Lord. I say that I’ve struggled, not stumbled, because every turn feels like new growth. God has been speaking as clearly as I have ever experienced, calling me to do and not do things that have been uncomfortable, but undeniably sanctifying.

Meanwhile, as we approach our 7^th anniversary on staff (a time when many take a sabbatical from active ministry), We’ve wrestled through the where and what of God’s calling, with both short-term and long-term implications. Conversations with our leaders about both the health of the team and our own personal development have proved helpful (albeit nerve-wracking at times) as the best options were discussed.

In praying through them, it seemed that the best one for both our personal health and that of the DC Metro team long-term would be to follow our directors’ recommendations to move to Campus Crusade for Christ’s headquarters in Orlando for a year as part of a program called the “Lake Heart STINT.”

Lake Hart

The Lake Hart STINT is an 11-month commitment that lasts from this August through June 2011. In addition to serving in a position at headquarters, participants receive personal development through weekly time in large groups, small groups, one-on-one life coaching, and hearing from Campus Crusade’s top leaders. It’s a great time to step away from field ministry for a minute and have a hand in the essential behind-the-scenes work that makes the work on campuses possible. And as neither of us have had real experience in a 9 to 5 job, we’re looking forward to a more “normal” work environment for a time!

Lake Hart is the global headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ, over 900 staff work here to support local and area ministries.

Several friends have taken advantage of this opportunity and have benefited greatly both personally and professionally from a year “off the field” to be developed from angles that the pace of the campus ministry rarely allows for. It’s almost like a year-long summer project for staff, a time to “sharpen our axe” in community.

During the last couple of decades years Campus Crusade has seen significant growth worldwide.  There are now over sixty ministries within Campus Crusade for Christ.  These ministries share a common goal – to engage with a certain part of society in order to reach the world for Christ.  From students on college campuses, prisoners in cell blocks; refugees in Albania; businessmen and women in the corporate office; the homeless in the inner city to small far off villages known almost to no one, our staff members are there sharing the hope that can only be found in Jesus.

The growth of this ministry is made possible due to the talented staff serving behind the scenes. Whether it is in human resources, reimbursements, film production, graphic design, etc., there are needs to be met so the gospel can be advanced throughout the world. In order to sustain these advances and trust God for even more, we have a tremendous need to strengthen and enlarge the support structure that exists for our ministry at our World Headquarters. We are honored to help meet this need. The men and women who serve our ministry from Orlando not only enable us to be on the campus, but also reach just about every segment of society worldwide.

This is a chance for staff members like myself who have been on the campus long enough to learn core principles of ministry to take the next step in leadership and learn how to launch and sustain new ministries. Upon completion of the year, our hope is to return to the team in Washington, DC. Of course, we are learning as followers of a Holy Spirit who like the wind “blows where He will,” His people also hold their plans loosely.

Throughout this whole process, I am struck by the graciousness of our God to put us on the same page with our leaders – we’re expectant of how this will prepare us even more for a lifetime of loving our God and serving people! Thanks for your prayers and continued support that will allow us to stay focused on the mission – more details to come!

Grace & Peace,

Jayson (& Carrie)

Prayer Requests:

• That the transition would go well for us, students, and incoming staff.
• For student leaders who are taking new responsibilities seriously, that they would see much fruit in their own ministries and hearts. As we’ve passed off more to them, they’ve had great ideas and enthusiasm for prayer and evangelism.

• That we would be expectant and hopeful as we look to this season as a chance to see God’s provision. We really love DC and we’re going to miss our friends and church a whole lot.
• That we’d make the most of the 5 months until we move.

Everything was progressing great with the house until this morning when I got an email that sounded a little fishy to be coming from a realtor. So, I looked up the realtor’s office number and called her.

It was indeed too good to be true.

Please continue praying for our possible move, and that we don’t get scammed in the process.

We may have found a just-about-perfect house inside DC. We don’t want to get our hopes up, but it looks like a great arrangement so far.

Please, keep praying about this possible move – even if this one doesn’t work out we want to follow where God’s leading. Pray that He’d bring a house before us and that we’d see it when He does – and that it would work.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” – B. Franklin

The sign that said that caught students’ attention too. On April 24, we spent about 10 hours at Georgetown University for Georgetown Day, the campus’ annual excuse for an all-day block party on the quad complete with bands, free food and about 10,000 people. Georgetown Day sees a lot of alcohol consumed by students (as we got to campus at 10:30 a.m., the liquor store’s line was out the door).  Beer is on many minds already; God, maybe not.

Needless to say, our table about beer, God and happiness provoked some interesting conversations. With a survey about the Ben Franklin quote, we requested thoughts on God, the nature of love and happiness, and even the meaning of Jesus’ death. Below is a quote from a corresponding website, BeerIsProof.org:

“To Ben the issue was simple. Simple enough that a cold beer from the local pub was proof that God loved him. What about you? Consider laughter, music, sunsets at the beach and the miraculous combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Do these things suggest that the genius behind it all wants us to be happy?”

Without endorsing drinking, we managed to have over 100 conversations and at least one person who said that he wanted to invite Christ into his life.  Apparently anything can start a conversation about Jesus.

Go big or go home – and bring someone with you.

The semester is over. Students have moved home, gone to their summer projects or graduated and started “real life.” Last week at an end-of-the year retreat to help us look back before we look forward, we named as our greatest “wins” things that happened in our homes and extended “off hours” hangout times – out on the quad until midnight, at our place drinking tea over movies and life discussions, at campfires at the staff guys’ house, or at gatherings sharing home-cooked meals on couches rather than in fluorescent-lit meeting rooms facing front.

Year Two has seen God answer our prayer for genuine community marked by transformation.  Internationals, skeptics of all varieties and even a few Jewish students have hung around to consider the claims of Jesus. Things have come into the open that normally don’t.  We haven’t seen the masses come to meetings, but lives are changing. Praise God!

Lean, mean and on the scene!

This year we had a ready-made community of 9 staff and interns and three apartments to invite students into.  With the close of the year comes (hopefully temporary) end of this fun chapter. This fall, it will be just 3 of us. Some of the interns will be fundraising and going elsewhere, one is moving on to pursue a masters and the other couple will be moving to an established ministry where their gifts will be a better fit.  Every change comes with pros and cons, but we’re excited to see what the year will bring! Pray that God would fight our battles for us, and provide a way to move closer into the city.

Pray for:

• As we hope to move from Arlington into DC at some point, pray that we’d find affordable housing that can fit lots of students.
• This summer we’ll be taking classes again – this time to help us learn how to lead a team and structure a movement. We’re pining for summer project but recognize our need for training.
• We’ll be working on developing a larger support base in DC this summer before and after our assignment, pray for contacts and perseverance in that work.

RADIATE08 has come and gone. Here are a few images from the week.

Click on the individual images to read an explanation of the picture.

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