Fia and mommy playing together yesterday.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

It’s enamoring to watch our daughter Fia grow. We’ve even tried “Peekaboo,” but it will be a while until she gets object permanence. For now, she doesn’t cry when I leave because no face and no voice mean no Mommy. Similarly, a book I read recently challenged me on how easily I forget the plight (physical and spiritual) of those without Christ. From my middle-class-American bubble, it is embarrassingly easy to lose myself in social obligations, consumer pursuits, and what a friend aptly calls “first-world problems.” From this groggy place, the realities of pain and hell can feel pretend.

New Life, New Hope

In some places, reality is harder to forget. As Jayson starts with the JESUS Film Project, I’ve picked up The Touch of Jesus by Paul Eschleman (JFP’s first director). Chapter 1 tells of Marie and Willie Erasmus who pioneered the film in a South African refugee camp that sounds much like Somalia today–civil war, government atrocities, famine, disease, and treks across perilous terrain. Eschleman recounts the details:

They had no water and little food. One meal a day from the meager relief rations barely staved off [starvation]. The fetid, striking odor of human excrement gagged the senses. And always the blank, staring eyes—beyond feeling.  A dress here or a blouse given there yielded no comment. What good is a dress when your baby is dying of malnutrition or diarrhea, and your husband is gone?

As the team set up [the film], curiosity began to build…But something was wrong…the team heard witch doctors chanting and saw them throwing bones on the ground in satanic rituals…For three hours [the JFP team] implored God to send His blessings, bind the power of the evil one, and open the eyes of the spiritually blind…They asked God to tear down the spiritual walls as He had destroyed the walls of Jericho…The witch doctors stopped their dancing… more than a thousand people crowded into a small dusty clearing.

“During [the crucifixion]” Marie said, “we sensed something unusual happening. Everyone began to cry—the women and the men—a mournful wailing that gradually rose from the crowd in a relentless crescendo.”…[The people] beat their breasts and cried out, “Oh, God! Oh, God!”…Everywhere people were confessing their sins. The film was forgotten… [The film team] couldn’t speak…One by one, the team members themselves fell to their knees confessing their own sins.

Willie went to the interpreter. “We need to finish the film so they will know the good news of the resurrection.”…They saw the burial of Christ, and then—the resurrection. The interpreter explained, “Jesus died to make the payment for our sins. But death could not hold Him.”…The crowd exploded as if a dam had burst. Everyone began cheering and dancing… An invitation was given for all of those who wanted to receive Christ…The following Sunday, five hundred new believers showed up trying to get into the forty-person church.

Wow! Praise God for the way his Spirit moves when his people pray!

Fia has learned how to smile!

Changes, Changes Everywhere

In the past 8 weeks everything has changed – well, just about everything. Our jobs, our family, our location, our organization’s name. Everything except the God that has led us here and His calling on our lives.

And not a Wink to Sleep

The biggest change happened on June 9th. Our beautiful daughter Sofia (or “Fia”) was born at 2:20pm after 26 hours at the hospital. Since then it’s been a roller-coaster ride. Eight days later we had packed up our apartment in Orlando and left to drive to Carrie’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania with a stop-over at Jayson’s parents’ house in North Carolina. A piece of advice — avoid 1,000-mile road trips with a 1-week-old.

In the past 7 weeks we’ve struggled to get Fia to nurse and gain weight. This affected our summer plans – the biannual staff conference is going on as I type, but we were granted an exemption due to these unforeseen difficulties. There was good news at today’s appointment; she’s up to a sturdy 8 lbs and the 6th percentile!

All Tribes Both Great and Small

In our May letter, we mentioned that Jayson will be working with the Jesus Film Project at our headquarters in Orlando. The past few weeks have given much clarity to the picture of his new job.
In the past 30 years Campus Crusade for Christ has translated the Jesus Film into almost 1,200 languages. It has been (through the work of CCC and other organizations) viewed more than 6.3 billion times. It’s is the goal of Jayson’s team to enable the next 6.3 billion to happen in the next 10 years.

The primary focus of Jayson’s new team is the growing mass of people connected to the internet around the world. A 2008 study concluded that India had 81 million people on the internet; further studies estimate that number to increase to between 237 and 276 million by 2015. If you consider India along with China, Indonesia, Russia and Brazil (representing 45% of the world’s population) – the number grows to 1.2 billion people by 2015, more than three times the number of internet users in the US and Japan combined!

The demographics of the world are changing as well. Each week more than 11 million people around the world are moving into cities – that’s the equivalent of the entire New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas each month! In cities they’ll encounter media and film as well as new ideas, cultures and faiths. This is where we’re aiming.

As the number and quality of Jesus Film Project resources continues to increase, our goal is to engage the spiritual journey of billions of people immediately before and after their choice to follow Christ. In the coming months, I’ll try to feature some of them on our website Whelpley.org.

Campus Crusade for Christ will be known as "Cru" in the US.

Rime and Reasons

The other big news is Campus Crusade for Christ’s name change. Beginning in 2012, Campus Crusade for Christ inside the United States will become known simply as “Cru”. (Internationally, very few of our ministries still go by our current name anyway, most have chosen Agape, Power to Change or something else.)

In the US, our name has become a liability. As our leaders did due diligence in considering a change, they found that 20% of people who say they are willing to have conversations about Jesus declined to do so when they heard our name. That’s 1 in 5 people who are willing to talk about our Savior who are turned off by what we call ourselves! This can not be.

We have changed our name because we want Jesus Christ to be glorified. Since the announcement, some commentators have accused us of being ashamed of the name of Christ – we are not. Every part of this choice is so that more people will be able to hear Jesus’ name in conversations built on trust and friendship. We’ve been told we need to “take a stand for Christ,” but mere stand-taking is for Pharisees, moving forward with the Gospel is what Jesus has called us to. Just having our Savior’s title in our name is setting the bar too low – it is in action that we desire to be faithful in bringing people to worship of Jesus Christ.

Please, rest assured – we (personally and corporately) are still completely sold out for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are pursuing all to bring glory and honor to His name! We have not changed who we are – merely our name. “A rose by any other name…”

Pray For

• Sofia’s continued health and growth and for her feedings to get easier.
• Our time raising support. We must be at 100% before moving back to Orlando.
• The negative media coverage of our name, that it would somehow serve to glorify Jesus according to Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:8.

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.

On our recent "Babymoon" trip to Key West!

“Isms” by the Book

Serving with a large organization has its perks, like partnerships with the nation’s prominent seminaries. This winter, we finished Christian Worldview, the 8th of our 11 required grad-level courses. We loved it! Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Exis- tentialism, Monism, Postmodernism — is it just me, or does getting a new handle on these “isms” make your brain tingle?

Worldview at Stardust

Even the worst textbooks follow certain rules. They have a table of contents, chapters to outline, and a tidy index in the back. People, however, do not.
We met Pouya at our favorite coffee shop, as our class had us try the new “Perspective” conversation cards. A philosophy- major-turned-med-student whose earliest memories involve a fast exodus from Iran while grieving family killed in the bombings, Pouya had found spirituality relevant since childhood.

For two hours, we watched the “isms” come to life in Pouya’s eclectic views on human nature, Jesus, and life’s purpose. We haven’t seen him since, but I loved his intrigue at Jayson’s con- trast between Pouya’s behavior-based reading of the Bible and the good news of Jesus as a permanent remedy for our selfish heart condition. “I’ve never heard it put like that,” he told us.

Worldview in PCB, Florida

Thousands of Cru students also met worldview in real time on the beach in Panama City Beach with the spring break crowds. This month’s Big Break conference emphasized listening and asking good questions to understand people’s views and to share the gospel in a relevant way.

We couldn’t go this year, but one update reported the following:

“5900 conversations and more than 2000 people heard the gospel and more than 200 were saved by him in 6 days. Praise the Only God!”

Visit WJHG.com to see the local NBC affiliate’s coverage of the weeks.

Prayer & Praises

• Pray for Pouya to hunger for truth and search the Bible for answers in the midst of a very busy schedule.
• Pray for CCC staff and others serving in Japan who are trusting God to meet practical and spiritual needs.
• We started birth classes — June 3 is coming fast!

Jayson at his desk.

Wait, What’s Jayson’s Job?

Can you imagine trying to read a newspaper without sections or headlines, find a book in a library without catalogs, deliver a package in a city without street addresses, or shop in a store without racks or aisles? This is the stuff of nightmares! Throughout history, the usefulness of information has always depended on the systems that make it accessible. Now, the internet has opened floodgates for information in many ways, but like any good thing in large quantity, its hassle outweighs its worth without someone to filter, order, clarify, and deliver it.

To meet this need for our staff, volunteers and partners, Campus Crusade looks to my (Jayson’s) team — Web Publishing — to keep CCC’s public website, donation site and “StaffWeb” intranet site streamlined and valuable to users.

Most international organizations our size would have a web-development team of 15-20; we’re working with 7. This need for qualified staff has, in the past, put StaffWeb behind the game with awkward links, confusing titles and outdated resources. When staff have trouble getting what they need – ministry and fund-raising tools, communication from leadership or legal advice, for instance – the field ministries (and lost students) suffer notably.

Overhaul!

In 2009, the team began a major overhaul to redesign the site and move to a new software system, a projected 6-month endeavor. After unforeseen hardware, software and staffing problems, it’s now in month 25 and the new launch is in sight.This has made for stretched abilities but also stretched faith, as we trust that the Lord’s timing is perfect. Meanwhile, I’ve been energized by both my team and role here, learning valuable new skills and gaining an appreciation for those who work behind the scenes. Thanks again for praying!

Prayer & Praises:

• The rollout of the new StaffWeb seems to be almost complete, but bumps are still cropping up every day which can be discouraging.
• Carrie’s team met winter deadlines for 2 videos!
• Our Stint group is seeking to know and follow the Lord’s lead in upcoming placement decisions.
• If you didn’t see our Christmas photo, we’re having a baby girl in June! Pray that the Whelpley ladies keep the weight gain to themselves!

Floridians!

As of last Wednesday, the Whelpleys are legal Floridians (even if Jayson likes to have fun with his license)! Thanks to some above-and-beyond-type friends (thanks, Heralds!), we’re shipped and settled in a spacious two-bedroom place that’s ours for the year. The surplus of toll roads and strip malls will take some getting used to, but make a worthy trade for a breathtaking sky and an extra growing season to play in the community garden. As always, let us know if you’re coming to town — we have a bed to make for you now! For those who follow on Twitter and Facebook, the dog is gone.

Stinters!

On arrival, we were intercepted promptly by Campus Crusade’s “Lake Hart Stint” leadership team who oversees our development and helps the 45 adults in our program and their 26 kids to bond with each other and God. This group of shepherds goes to great lengths to provide us with regular one-on-one coaching, small process groups, and guest speakers who have already probed the depths of such topics as forgiveness, contemplative prayer, and desert faith. Despite what you’d guess of a group converging from 10 countries, our 2010 group has, according to these leaders, already connected more socially than they’ve ever seen this early on! With Jayson here, is this really surprising?

GenX.5-ers?

Many sources mark “Generation X” as ranging from 1961-81 and the “Millennials” as 1980-2000. What does this say of two border kids born in late1980? On one hand, we may relate to more aspects of American culture. On the other hand, we also earned somewhat obsolete degrees in fields that changed radically just after we left: for Carrie in art, the digital revolution; for Jayson in communications, online social networking. Still, both of us have been refreshed by operating in our fields again, though not without a learning curve. Look for more to come soon on our office roles. Thanks again for all your prayers and support!

PRAY FOR:

• Our “Lake Hart Stint” group to continue to embrace all God has for us this year (roles, relationships, transition), especially the kids, and families returning from abroad.
• Our teams (the Design “LAB” and Web Publishing) to be productive and finding a rhythm, even with new members in the mix.
• Field staff and student leaders back on campus, as they sprint toward Fall Retreat!

Thanks for your prayers!
Jayson & Carrie

Creation Festival Recap

Our booth at the Creation Festival was a success (you can see pictures on our website)! The hope was to connect students who want to reach their classmates for Christ – both in college and high school – to staff who can coach and support them. Besides an unspeakable quantity of dust, we brought home names of around 75 students, parents, pastors and volunteers, the majority of whom were interested in reaching high schoolers. Not realizing what a youth-group hub the festival is, we had expected more college interest. Still, we’re thrilled, as Student Venture (CCC’s high school ministry) recently came under the umbrella of the collegiate ministry –and will feed solid leaders into college campuses all over the region!

Home is Where Your Good Pillow Is

Well, here we are back “home” in the cozy apartment that will only be ours for another three weeks when we start preparing for the mid-August move to the Sunshine State! It’s been a summer of regrouping, reconnecting, reflecting, and rejoicing in the midst of much road time (some planned, some incidental). This past week included a wedding (Carrie’s baby sister) and a funeral (Carrie’s grandfather) and saw me drive to PA and back twice to see family and get them to airports.  Even in the craziness, I was able to keep a date with my brother (who lives in Nashville) as we both passed through DC. Praise God for so many sweet moments and meals shared with friends and family, with or without AC!

Three Weeks & Counting

Our hope for June 2011 is that we will be moving back to DC to continue minister here. Accordingly, our regional leadership has allowed us to invest the remainder of this summer shoring up our financial support in hopes of a speedy reentry when we return.  Pray with us that the Lord would raise up a new group of committed partners in the DC area and finish well here, even in the short weeks we have left.

Please Pray

Creation Festival

In the past 7 years that we’ve been with Campus Crusade, we’ve had a lot of ideas, one of which I have shared with some of you. Every year, there are a number of Christian music and arts festivals around the country. When I had the chance to go to some in college, I remember thinking it odd that organizations like ours didn’t have booths to connect interested youth with movements at their schools. This summer we get to help move in that direction! From June 28 – July 3 we’ll join another staff member and 4 students in Mt. Union, PA to invite college students to partner with us to reach their campuses. Last year was the first for anything like this and the result was 8 new movements in our region! So, if you’re attending Creation ‘10, stop by our booth and say hi!

Jobs!

In anticipating our move to Orlando, we’ve been eagerly speculating what our roles will be upon arrival. During our application process for the program in March, we outlined what kind of things we enjoy, wanted to learn, and felt prepared to do. Just last week we heard back from the placement team! And (drum roll…) our job titles will be as follows:

• Jayson: Content Manager for StaffWeb (All-Staff Intranet Site)
• Carrie: Campus Minitry Media Lab Project Manager

While we’re still figuring out exactly what those words mean, the small glimpses of have been both intimidating and invigorating. Jayson will be helping staff all over the world access vital information ranging from legal issues to encouragement from our senior leadership. Carrie will be helping the teams that design the media (everything from conference ads to websites) that engage students and partners with the heart and vision of our ministry.

We’re trusting the Lord that the coming year will be fruitful for our own growth as well as that of His kingdom. Thank you again for everything you do to make it possible for us to be here!

Please Pray For:

• Our times in the Word. As we step into roles that we feel unprepared for, 2 Timothy reminds us that it is used to, “equip his people to do every good work.”
• Every weekend in June has one or both of us out of town. Please pray for rest in our home when we are able to be here & strength while we’re not.
• For the students’ summer Bible study that starts next Tuesday.

Jayson & Carrie

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.

Back!

“Where are you from? What’s your major? Where are you from…” This time of year, this is the sound that rings back when your head hits the pillow.  Classes in the District have officially started, along with all that goes with it — tables at club fairs, brightly colored fliers, free stuff, new faces and the ever-present aroma of cheap burgers from orientation events.  Today at Georgetown, the music on the quad from a huge beginning-of-the-year church service for freshman and a few lingering parents reminds last spring’s party ground that it is time to get serious again.

Georgetown, along with American University, will probably be one of our strongest movements this fall, as we have become part of the Campus Ministry communities there and have freedom to meet more students and hold events.  Please pray that these relationships with other groups will only grow and that God would show us how to contribute as team players to the good reputation of Jesus.  It is the body of Christ (not just Cru) that is able to reach the whole city.

Connecting the Dots

September is always stirring with transition, but this year even more.  Between the reality of a much smaller staff team and so many of last year’s students leaving town for various reasons, it is a perfect time to zoom out to focus on who is here.  Due partly to a national push within Campus Crusade to mobilize Cru alumni and partly to an accidental bunch of potential volunteers, we’ve been spending our time in between the club fairs trying to connect some of the dots here.

What could it look like if a city full of Type-A twenty-somethings caught a vision for reaching out to the students around them? If the graduating seniors from thriving Cru movements like Virginia Tech and James Madison University had a clear place to invest themselves when they moved back home to our doorstep? We’re praying to find out. By Fall Retreat (October 9-11), we hope to have a small army of 20 volunteers, trained and moving toward a clear vision.

In the Wings

One of the advantages of living in a high-profile city is that you can get more press — Washington, DC has been on a list of the Top 10 priority cities within our organization for several years now.  As a result, two other metro staff teams, one from Chicago and the other from St. Louis, have volunteered to come here for a few days this October just to give lift to what we’re doing.  You may remember our incoming spring breakers two years ago — this is a big deal! Pray for wisdom as we think through the best way to put them to use, and we’ll keep you posted!

Grace & Peace,
Jayson & Carrie

Pray for:

Praise God for a summer of excellent training and sufficient funding for it! Thanks everyone!

Pray that the several non-Christians who’ve been investigating our groups would stick around.

Pray that our team and students will stay in good health through the fall flu season & that the presence of the H1N1 virus here would not keep people from our Fall Retreat.

Pray that our two new staff would be able to return from fundraising quickly to turn our 3-person team into 5!