Jayson & Carrie Whelpley | Tag Archive

Fia played for about 1/2 an hour with these two.

Fia played with these two kiddos for about 30 minutes.

Today is Fia’s 2nd birthday. We gave her the rest of her full name today – her middle name that is.

Sofia Amity Whelpley

Amity means “friendship” which she embodies like crazy.

We decided when she was born that we’d wait until she was 2 to give her a middle name that reflected the personality that she’s grown into. Yesterday during a layover at JFK she made friends with two little Saudi boys who were on their way to Disney world. She giggled, ran and climbed with the both of them and drew smiles and broken conversation from her parents and family.

We gave her a first name that we hope will embody her: Sofia means “wisdom“.

Her nickname, Fia, means either “firey” or “peaceful night” – she can definitely be both of those; which we like a lot.

For those of you that don’t know, Whelpley means “guarded pasture for small animals“. It’s rooted in the words “whelp” and “ley”. Whelp is easy to figure out. Ley is related to “lee” like the leeward side of an island, which is the side that is blocked from getting the strong winds. It’s safer to live there and farm there because of that protection. In our little branch of the Whelpley family we like to live this out by creating safe places for people who are in danger from the world around them, especially those who are defenseless on their own.

A Whelpley family Easter photo.

Transitioning into Transition

We’ve joined the JESUS Film Project at an interesting time. Two weeks ago with a grand total of 5 work days under my belt, I joined the rest of the Orlando-based JFP staff in a large conference room to celebrate the passing of the leadership baton. The former Executive Director of the JESUS Film Project, Jim Green, was stepping aside to allow Erick Schenkel to take the reins. In their 5 decades on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, the Greens have lead the JFP in amazing ways. Now the Schenkels represent a younger generation of leadership, and are excited about reaching people with the Gospel through film in innovative ways.

4.1 Million, 6 Months

Last time, we recommended some tools. One that I left out was Bible.is, an app available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. It comes with multiple languages of the Scriptures’ texts, audio Bibles, as well as the JESUS Film broken up into clips in 24 languages. Since September over 4.1 million clips have been viewed by around 2 million people! We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of the ways that our tools could be used in the near future!

Homepage, Homestead

Jayson’s been thrown right into the deep end with work. He has completed 1 smaller project, is wrapping up a second and will begin his largest-ever web-development project this week.

Meanwhile back on the “homestead,” Carrie’s (with the help of visiting family) has focused on getting our nest in order in hopes of having a comfortable space to entertain the neighbors we’re slowly meeting. As the Lord would have it, our townhouse sits under the only street lamp and sees lots of traffic from the school kids who have taken a liking to Fia. And just across the street, we met a young mother with 3 kids and twin boys due June 1! Pray that we would be a blessing here.

Pray For:

MyLastDayFilm.com – the project that Jayson helped to clean up and finish last week. It could be pivotal for bringing the JESUS Film to a new generation of Western youth.
A regular car-pool for Jayson so Carrie and Fia can have a car to use during the day.
The confidential project that Jayson is working on now that is tied to the initial release of our newest evangelistic film in at least 6 languages/countries this weekend – some in very sensitive locations.

Grace & Peace,