An update: What's been going on with the White Family?

We are feeling more settled into our new life here in Fresno, California.  That's good. "Unsettled" feels like wearing clothes that don't fit.  We don't like that feeling.  We are still searching for our normal rhythms…especially for making time to play in the mountains, but that will come.   

Our kids are doing so well.  For those of you that read our blog that pray for our family….thank you!  We have been so thankful for the ways that they've discovered friendships, bonded together, and joined us in our life of ministry in the neighborhood.

Speaking of ministry…. it's been incredible (sign up for our newsletter at www.supportthewhites.com for stories and updates).  God could have sent us anywhere and he knew we would have said yes.  But he sent us to a place where we get to play on the same team as guys like this (seen below).  My dad has for decades been on the cutting edge of ministry in Fresno.  It feels like such a privilege to have been called to join the team of Jesus focused missional radicals seeking the shalom of Fresno.   

It's also been nice to find our rhythm of extended rest.  Once a month, instead of working six days and resting one, we rest two days.  This last month we went to the central coast to drink in some cool breeze and California sun.  

It's also been fun to preach here in Fresno.  Preaching the whole gospel is what I feel called to do, in fact, something I feel I have to do.  Jesus continues to encourage me by giving me opportunities to speak for Him across Fresno.    

It's also been fun to engage in our neighborhood.  Here I was able to talk about Jesus with a group of neighbours who gathered to celebrate Easter together.

…and yes, we still climb.  We currently have sinus infections and ear infections so we are totally out of commission….but you'll start seeing outdoor pictures soon :)  

Thanks for following our lives….sorry it's been a few weeks since we last updated our blog.  We will do better from here on out!

These are good days.

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Homes and Hearts

The front door of our house will be opened for us to move in our possessions this coming Tuesday.  Right now the house feels like a corpse….but soon we will give it a heart.

We are ready.  Ready to have rhythms again.  For us, daily rhythms are like blood in a body -- they bring life.  Our daily disciplines include sleep, coffee, scripture, prayer journaling, eating, reading, exercise, parenting, cleaning, playing, working, and ending the day with hospitality or fellowship.  It's these daily sacred tasks which give life to our family and fill our home with heart.

Right now….we have none of these rhythms…and we feel it.
And our kids feel it….they haven't slept well for the last 2 weeks.  

We are looking forward to filling our home with heart, because we know that rhythms are like blood to a body -- it makes it feel alive.

We can't wait to make our home alive for the neighborhood.  

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p.s. if you'd like to receive our newsletter we will be posting stories and specific prayer requests that we won't be sharing on FB or through our blog.  Visit http://www.supportthewhites.com/rsvp/ and watch us up-close make life-long followers of Jesus by planting a neighborhood focused church in Fresno.

A quick update on what's been going on

The Fresno Unified School District serves 90,000 meals a day.  They work hard to make them nutritious.  In fact 85% of their produce included in each meal comes from local sources!  We visited their facility to learn about the meals the kids in our neighborhood are eating.  

We also wanted to understand why the zip code we are living in has a lack of availability of fruits and vegetables in our local convenience stores and supermarkets.  

We got a private tour and saw all the food being prepared and packaged to be sent out to elementary schools across Fresno.  We wondered if Jackson was in there somewhere.  On the way home we said a prayer for all the kids in our neighbourhood who would be eating these meals that day.  We prayed, "Jesus, you fed 5000 hungry people in a day…and today you are feeding 90,000 kids across Fresno.  Thank you for loving our city."  

We are trying to listen to our city….to understand the forces at work within it.  We are learning that to love a city…you have to work to understand it.  Just like a relationship.  There isn't love without understanding. 

But here's a quick update: We plan on moving into our house early next week…something we are really excited about.  We have been meeting neighbors, sharing vision across the city, and trusting God for big things…

Big things like:  purchasing an abandoned property to turn into an urban farm that will provide access to free fruits and vegetables for the 920 homes of Jackson. 

Big things like:  Volunteer at the local elementary and begin to invest our lives into the heart beat of this neighborhood and starting an early childhood education program and tutoring club for little kids. 

Big things like:  Planting a spiritually vibrant neighborhood focused church that will start in our home and end up in a school -- a church that preaches Jesus and meets the practical needs of our neighborhood.

Thanks for following our journey, friends.  

Love you,

p.s. for our weekly blog readers…an update: we just got a check in the mail for the month of January.  Remember the story Joe tells of the the 5000….God did it!! Thank you cards are coming.  We love you.  Thank you for loving our family and taking care of us.  If you'd still like to support us, visit:  www.supportthewhites.com.  Your support will help us accomplish incredible things.

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A Short Story - Our first day in the neighborhood

It was only our first day spending time in the neighborhood.

…and we met a new friend named, M.  Barely into her 20's, M is a single mom trying hard to love and care for her kids.  The father of her child is in jail for planning a murder that a gang in the neighborhood carried out.  As we listened to her story, we were amazed that God was giving us an opportunity to peer into the neighborhood through her eyes.  She told us of many kids and families she knows who are hungry, families who don't have running water because their parents can't pay the bills, and neighbors of hers who don't have winter coats.  "There are lots of needs in this neighborhood" she said.

She told us that the challenging parts of the neighborhood are drugs, alcohol, child neglect & abuse, prostitution, and teen pregnancy.  But she didn't say, "hopelessness."  Contrary, she said that there were many people…good people…who love this neighborhood and are seeing it's renewal.  M is one of them.

As M spoke….we felt our hearts enlarging.

Our hearts are actually small…but when you let people in, they make your heart bigger.

She said, "We've tried going to church before...but the churches we visited are far away and it's a lot of gas to get there."  We are wondering if it was for people like M and her friends that Jesus sent us here.    

Our hearts are growing for this place.

If you'd like to consider joining our financial support team or receive our newsletter, please visit www.supportthewhites.com .  Your financial and prayer support are what allow our family to dedicate our lives to making life-long followers of Jesus by planting a neighbourhood focused church in the Jackson neighborhood.
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What or where is home?

As Heidi and I walked together, praying as we typically do, she paused, saying "Everything is strangely familiar but it doesn't feel like home."

She's right.  Home isn't simply geography…it's what you do with where you live and it's who you are with, that makes home…home.

We've only been here for 60 hours….it's going to take a while.

We need to learn to love Fresno -- to experience again what it can mean to live in Fresno:

Home made tamales at Christmas
Fresh fruits
Awesome Mexican food
Corn dogs at the Fresno Fair
Going on a short car ride to Yosemite/Sequoia/Central Coast
Fresno State football games
Seeing the Blossom Trail
Walking through a thick winter fog

But we also need to experience a new, growing, and vibrant downtown core and those world changers who are seeking the wellbeing of the city.  We want to serve these city influencers and join them in doing the things that Jesus does (Revelation 21:5).

The city is our sanctuary (a place of refuge or safety) and the neighbourhood is our parish (a geographical area of spiritual responsibility) -- our job as pastors is to seek the renewal and wellbeing of both.

We are looking forward to allowing Fresno to become, home.

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Arrived!

Can you believe it? During 3 days of travel, our kids did not even cry ONE TIME during this long road trip!  We were so impressed (it was a God thing, we think).

There were many moments where Heidi and I just sat quietly in the front seat -- after all…the car was strangely quiet.  It gave us time to read letters written to us for our journey.

These were letters filled with stories which made us belly laugh and cry.  They were all personal stories, written by people in our lives that love our family.  We were deeply moved.

One letter said, "You guys introduced me to Jesus, baptized me, and taught me how to follow Jesus.  I wouldn't be the man I am to day if it weren't for you."  

We are so humbled by words like that and hundreds others who've been in touch through letters, emails and Facebook -- encouraging us love Fresno, to seek its renewal and make life-long followers of Jesus by planting neighbourhood focused churches.

Our missionary journey has started well…because we know…we deeply know…that we are not alone.
  
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First day in America.

It wasn't really the "welcome to America" we were expecting.

After a snafu at the border, now delayed 3 hours into our first day of travel down to California, we were incredibly hungry.  We entered the drive thru at McDonalds (don't judge….we ordered salads) and waited for our turn to pull up to the order station.  The car in front of us finished their order and pulled away from the station, but not nearly far enough to leave us room to pull ahead and order.  So I tapped my horn to alert them to pull forward a tad to allow us to make an order.

Minutes passed, and all of the sudden the passenger of the car in front of us exited his car in a rage.  He was mad that we "honked at his girlfriend" who was driving.  I barely had enough time to lock our doors.  He approached our car, punched our window and pulled on our door handle and begged me to come outside at fight him.  He screamed, "Don't ever honk at me", he said.  He cussed us out, called us everything he could to get us to get out of the car "and settle this his way".

We just stared at him quietly.  

He didn't get the reaction he wanted….and he only got more furious….yelling a few more things to us and our kids before getting back into his car and driving away.

Heidi said quietly, "I'm scared for his girlfriend."

As I thought about all the things he said to us and our kids…I wondered if that's what our Enemy (Ephesians 6:12) is saying to us as we enter new chapter of ministry in the Jackson Neighborhood.  I'm convinced there is an Enemy who hates us more than that man ever could.

….and I hope our enemy knows we won't settle this his way.
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2 Days Left - So tired I'll be a mockingbird

Our brains are so tired.  Moving internationally has unique challenges.  It't not like moving cross provide, state, or town.  There are immigration border requirements which must be met.  We are very organized, methodical, and hard-working people (remember…we did train for Ironman with two kids)….but this "ironman" is somehow harder!

But we'll tell you….we are feeling so encouraged this evening.  Here are two emails which came today from two friends (one in his 60's the other in his 90's).  Can you find their similarity in themes?

Good morning,I was praying for you guys a couple of days ago and then had my QT... Matt 28, the Lord impressed on me verse 8 "...they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy..."The two Mary's were told by the angel to go tell the disciples "The Good News" vs. 8 is their response.They were obedient to the call and they had a purpose. (sound familiar?). Now the part that gets me... They did what they were told with "fear" and "great joy"... Again, this sounds like what you and Heidi are experiencing.Fear... So many things that can side track us, delay us or through us off course... Even paralyze us into inaction. That's why vision and purpose are so critical. And, praise God He has provided the two of you with that!Great Joy... I'm so glad these words were used. They convey the experience of opening a Christmas present and getting exactly what you wanted! But, it's also much deeper... Great joy in knowing that this journey of faith and act of obedience is not accomplished in isolation or by you and Heidi alone. It's the confident assurance that He is with you every step of the way... And your brothers and sisters in the faith (and flesh) are with you as well... praying, partnering and providing for all you need!Joseph, the antidote for fear and anxiety is knowing that Jesus is present with you... Take one minute, a deep breath, bow your head, close your eyes, another deep breath, and thank Him for His presence right now!

Or how about this email: 

Hi Joe and Heidi
Believe me, I am praying for you all.  I love you and thank the Lord for the blessings I have received from you.
Let me share with you something I read this year:  “When you see the ark...then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it...that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way before.”  Joshua 3:3-4
Truly God is going before you when you are going through this mix of emotions – both excitement and fear.  God promises that He will instruct us and teach us the way we are to go. This has been an encouragement to me and so I pass it on to encourage you.  Love to you all

The common thread in this emails are the themes of joy and excitement and fear and our hearts desire to trust God.  

So tonight….my mind is too tired to write an original thought….so I'll just be a Mockingbird and repeat the truth:  We are afraid and we are excited and Jesus is with us.

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5 Days Left - Last Minute Details & Surprises

We have been packing for 9 weeks.  Yes. We are very organized people.  But there is no way to avoid the last minute rush….or is there? (someone enlighten me!!!)

We are maxed out -- transferring our banking, exporting/importing our car, car insurance for getting down there, health insurance to protect us until we can get on US insurance, repositioning all of our giving to dozens of individuals to auto deduct from U.S. based accounts, packing, protecting furniture for travel, doing all the customs requirements (among which is:  providing a list of EVERY SINGLE THING we are taking over the boarder and it's approximate value), …..i could go on. 

Yet, I must say, that amidst the rush….we are still aware of how the Lord is using people around us to encourage us.  

Like, a woman named Nancy who called us the other day saying, "Joe and Heidi, I just want to tell you that the Lord has really layed you on my heart.  You guys are on my mind when I wake up and the last thing I am thinking about before I go to bed.  I was praying for you the other day and I feel the need to tell you that I felt the Lord's excitement for you.  I wanted to tell you that He is excited for you."

We needed that.  God is excited for us?
He celebrates and sings
    because of you (Zephaniah 3:17B) 

Or a woman named A.J. who got in touch with us recently from Fresno.  We haven't spoken in years but she felt compelled to write: "If I can be of help to you and Heidi in cleaning and prepping your home for the move-in, please let me know."

….an unexpected partner in our transition -- A friendly face saying, "I am here to help you".  That means the world to us.  It sounds a lot like Jesus.  

We are maxed out….but we are loved….and that's making all the difference.  
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6 Days Left - Spending time with people we love

Every day of our lives for the past few weeks have been spent with people we love.  Every day, all day, every meal...for weeks.  It's strange that when you know that your time is limited, every interaction and every opportunity to spend time with the people you love is extra special.

Tonight we are spending time with friends in Washington…an older couple that reminds to keeping following Jesus.

I wish my whole life were like this -- to cherish every friend and to invest in every moment you spend with the people you love.  

But often "busyness" (which really means "I establish my identity in my performance")  and the worries of this life crowd out intimate friendships.  This is a tragedy.

I've learned in the last few weeks that we are deeply loved and the many friends we have are more than simply "people who know us"….they are Jesus' presence in our lives.

Every true friend is a reminder that Jesus loves you.

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7 Days Left - Our "No New Years Resolution" Year

Typically the New Year is an opportunity to recalibrate or reset your personal or family goals.  We aren't doing that this year.

What if instead of a resolution….you chose a word.  This word would serve as a guide for your life or family.  We are pregnant with vision and it would be easy to make a set of goals and aim to achieve our vision.

This isn’t what we want.

Our word this year is:  listen.

We think this year is about spending a lot of time listening to our neighbours, listening to Fresno by seeking to better understand it,  listening for the ways God is speaking to us through new friends, and to focus on listening to one another as we all adjust to a new place.

This year our word is listen.  What’s yours?

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9 Days Left - Looking for Joy

Works of pride, by self-called creators, with their premium on originality, reduce the Creation to novelty — the faint surprises of minds incapable of wonder.

Pursuing originality, the would-be creator works alone. In loneliness one assumes a responsibility for oneself that one cannot fulfill.

Novelty is a new kind of loneliness. (Wendell Berry, What are People For)

What does this quote mean to us?…wait a second.

We all know that joy comes from gratitude.  When you can bring to mind the things you are grateful for, you begin to notice a joy that isn't dependant on circumstance arising in your heart.  As we begin 2015 coming out of the most unsettling year of our lives (in a really good way), we are beginning to talk about all the things we are grateful for.  We want….need….to experience God's joy.

OK…now back to the quote….

Here is what we are grateful for at the start of 2015:  Jesus isn't asking us to be original or to create something that hasn't been done before.  That type of novelty is a kind of loneliness that Jesus isn't requiring of us.  He's asking us to join his missionary movement in Fresno, to stand with His Church and His people and plant neighbourhood focused churches that impact their neighbourhood and make life-long followers of Jesus.  (God has been doing it since here:  Matthew 28:18­‐20; Acts 2:41‐47; Acts 16:9,12; Titus 1:5ff; Romans 15:19, 23…..and he hasn't stopped since). 

We are wearing joy by trying on gratitude.  We like how it fits.  

p.s. that's Joe running into VERY cold water this morning to celebrate the start of a new year.  He was wearing a Canada hockey jersey.  We are so grateful for nearly 10 years in Canada.  This years' gratitude started COLD.  

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11 Days Left - Inspired to pray

To many of you blog readers, 

you won't know this face. 

Their names are Ray & Corean.  

Our kids have grown up calling them Poppa and Nanna.  

They live about 1.5 hours from where we've lived for the last 9.5 years.

In 1965 they moved into a urban neighbourhood in Chicago, raised their biological and adopted children, and sought to understand the answer to the question, "If we had to prove that God were alive in this city, what would we point to in order to prove it?"

When I consider their lives….tested over the course of decades and still committed to Jesus, I can't help find myself peering into our future with a hopeful prayer:  Lord, point us to what what things reflect you in the Jackson Neighborhood and every neighbourhood in Fresno.

Once we find the people and things that reflect Him…we'll join in

….and together prove that Jesus is alive.

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13 Days Left - A Lesson from Mary

Every month I do a day of silence and solitude at a Benedictine Monastery an hour and a half from where I live in Vancouver.

There I spend time in the cathedral, listen to Jesus, sing scripture with the monks, and find quite places on the acreage for reading, writing, and journaling.

I remember once walking along the trails through the forest…..

….and coming upon a sculpture of Mary.  

At first I noticed myself slightly repulsed -- My protestant learnings were strongly at work.  And yet, I found myself strangely captivated by the sculpture's artistry…or what was behind the artistry -- Mary's story.  The artistry stopped me there, her story kept me there.

I considered a teenage girl receiving an incredible Word from God, filled with anticipation about an unknown future, in transition as her and Joseph left home, and on the night of her baby's birth unable to find a place to stay -- how difficult!  And yet Mary says, "I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said."  

As a family, we too have been filled with a Word from God -- to love Fresno and seek its renewal (spiritually, economically, relationally, etc.) by making life-long followers of Jesus in neighbourhood focused church plants across Fresno.

I have a lot to learn from Mary.  I need to learn how to say, "Lord, let it happen as you have said." When I say that to the Lord, it doesn't yet feel like I believe it.  I am learning how to have faith in only what God can do!  Simon Weil, a french philosopher and Christian mystic wrote, "Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life."  Waiting….expecting….and letting God do what God is going to do in and through our family.

This Advent….we are learning from Mary.
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Cousins belong together

Come'on parents you know what I'm talking about.

When your brothers and sisters have babies

....you feel strangely connected to them. Right?!!

Does it not feel SO GOOD 

to see "the grandkids" all hanging out together?

We know that the Christmas season can be a challenge for families

....there's lots of crap that can keep families apart.

But Moses (of the Bible) said epicly (and with echo), 

"Let my people [play]..."

so bring em' together...

because cousins belong together.

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There's something about leaving

Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons 

- Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts

We haven't lived in Fresno, California for a long time (almost 13 years for Heidi and 9 years for me). We left a long time ago.

We had to leave... to obey Jesus.

...but when we return we remember what this place represents:

It's the place of family.

It's the place of rest.

It's the place of our first ministries.

It's the place of our deepest scars but of our first faith, hopes, and loves too.

Every time we return we remember how God used this place to shape us in the season we lived in its womb.  

So we returned to Fresno

On the plane, as we looked out the window anticipating our return to Fresno, we thought, "There is the light of sabbath rest beyond the horizon.  God only knows how much we need it."

I suppose that unless you are looking for rest you'll never find it. 

We are looking....

and finding it.

In every sunset

 ....and every sunrise...

...finding the rest our souls thirst for.

"You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to You. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back.  Kindle and seize us.  Be our fire and our sweetness.  Let us love.  Let us run."

 - Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

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