Trenton's Big Day!

Last week Trenton started his first week of pre-school!

I cannot believe that he is growing up so quickly!

The night before his first day of class, Trenton helped me pick out his clothes.. he made sure to let me know that he wanted to wear his shirt with the dinosaur on the sleave,his ASU hat (Yay Go Sundevils! ) and his Thomas the train backpack.

Although it felt strange to have him gone for a few hours in the morning... it was really nice to have the extra quality time with Averi and to know that Averi could play un-assaulted by her big brother! :)

Trenton's class was learning about George Washington and he created this masterpiece of a cherry tree.. such talent! :)

He made a new friend in his class named Logan and he told me that they did not eat cookies but they ate crackers!

We praise God that Trenton has this wonderful opportunity to attend pre-school... he will be going three days of week... M,W,F.

A Face of XA

I grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago in a small town called Cary. I am the youngest of three girls in my family. We grew up in an Episcopal church and were faithful attendants. I went to Sunday school every week, attended youth group events, and was basically forced to go to church every Sunday. Although my sisters got connected with the youth, I did not. I never really cared about church, took it personal, or made any friends. I went simply because I had to, and because it was tradition.
My senior year of high school, my two older sisters were off at Arizona State, and I was home alone with my parents. I was going through a season of depression after injuring my shoulder in volleyball. During this time, I started to rebel from my parents and tried to fill the void in my heart with anything I could. I started drinking, doing drugs, and seeking numerous boys for attention. I was lonely and depressed, and I thought that these earthly things would make me feel better, but they didn’t.
After I graduated high school, I came to Arizona State following in my sisters’ footsteps. They were, and still are really involved with Chi Alpha-one as a student and the other as a recent graduate working on staff. Being the independent sister I was, I decided that I would go to Chi Alpha but not really get involved or talk to people. However, this is not what happened. I attended a ‘Back to School Prayer’ night at a chapel on campus and could not stop bawling during worship. At this point, I was completely out of my element, but knew that I wanted more of whatever it was that I experienced. I started meeting with Candi and going through The Purple Book. It was then, in the middle of Starbucks, that I prayed to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Since then, I have jumped into Chi Alpha with two feet. I have been involved with Fusion groups, one on one discipleship with Candi, Wednesday night meetings, and other various events. Through all of these events, I have not only had fun, but formed lasting, genuine relationships with people really on fire for Christ. Chi Alpha has taught me not only how to have relationships with people but also how to have a relationship with Jesus, how to pray, and how to listen to God. After this journey God has taken me on, I am really excited to see what His plan is for me next. May the glory be to Him for all He has done in my life!

A Time for refreshing...

Valentine's Day is always a time of celebration at our house. Not only because it is a time to outwardly express the inward emotions that sometimes get overrun by everyday life, but also because the preceding day is one of great importance. February 13th... Candi's birthday!!
Thanks to two of our amazing students, Maggie and Betsy Cannon, we were able to have almost the entire weekend to ourselves!! We got a Hotel for Friday and Saturday night and though it may not have been the fanciest place ever, it certainly felt like a resort retreat to us! It becomes more and more apparent that time without our kids is not only healthy, its a necessity... How else would we remember that we have other names besides "Mommy" and "Daddy"?
We spent Friday night and the first part of Saturday attending "Ignite" a marriage conference put on by our church. ( www.desertspringschurch.com ) It was a good time of being reminded of what's important and challenged to relate and communicate in an unselfish sacrificial way that will ultimately bring us closer to God and each other. One of the many challenges that I took away from our time at the conference was when one of the speakers challenged us that our wife's smile is one of the greatest indicators of our spiritual health as the leader of our marriage... Wow, gut check!
Saturday following the conference we had the opportunity to go to lunch with two couples who are good friends of ours. Before we knew it, the restaraunt had become our own mini conference as we talked over challenges we face in our marriages. What a blessing it is to have friends that we can be real with and share the joys and the struggles of life with! Saturday evening Candi and I enjoyed dinner at a great little Thai restaraunt called Latitude Eight in downtown Chandler. After dinner we wandered around the area until we found a cute little place with live music and AMAZING desserts called The Urban Tea Loft. Sunday we slept in... can I just say that again? WE SLEPT IN... Never realized how rare that would become! We then had brunch at a nice restaraunt called The Cork where they even personalized our menus with a Happy Birthday Candi message at the top!!
It was a great weekend that reminided us both of the importance of getting "away" together. As I think over the weekend I can't help but realize how blessed I feel to have such an amazing wife. Candi has been the best friend I have ever known and continues to be my biggest challenger/encourager in every stage of life. After times like this past weekend I feel I'm getting closer and closer to truly understanding what God meant by "He who finds a wife finds a good thing."... I think I may have found the BEST thing. I mean... I'm just sayin... :)

Back to the Roots

Shawn, myself and four XA students headed northwest to Hillside, AZ to attend a 35th year Anniversary service for Hillside Bible Church. This church is one of a kind.. it is in a rural community and the church consists of many ranchers from the surrounding areas and people from Bagdad, AZ (a copper mining town about 20 minutes away and my hometown).

Not only did we enjoy amazing BBQ, tons of other delicious food, great music.... we were also greeted with such love and hospitality!

We had the honor to speak at the afternoon service. Each of our XA students shared testimonies of how the Lord has transformed and renewed their lives through the ministry of Chi Alpha.

We shared from Isiaih 61 and preached a message on restoration.

"They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." Isaiah 61:4

We were blessed to be able to pray with many families and believe with them for restoration in their homes.

Hillside Bible Church has been a faithful and generous supporter of ASU Chi Alpha for over 7 years. We are so encouraged and blessed by such an amazing community!

After the service the students convinced us to take a drive to Bagdad to get to see, first hand my old stompin' ground. So we went on a little tour of Bagdad and I drove to many places that hold numerous memories in my life --- the once hospital (now clinic) where I was born... the house I was raised in... my highschool and elementary school... my grandparents old home... the church I was baptized at.. and many other places that hold memories and have their own stories. We even went to the girls' softball field and took pics in front of the scoreboard ( O the glory days of Bagdad Sultan Softball!! )

As we drove around this small community and shared different stories and memories, I was humbled and awed at God's grace and restoration in my life!

Who knew that God would redeem my life in such a way... that because of His son, Jesus Christ
I now stand renewed and restored!

It is so good to remember where God has brought us from! My heart is filled with praise and thankfulness that we serve such a faithful and gracious God. I am so glad that nothing is too big for our God.... that we can all receive His free gift of salvation!!

XA Guy: BBQ and Sports Day

While the girls gathered for breakfast some of the men of Chi Alpha came together for an afternoon of what guys do best... sports and eating. We have an awesome group of guys who have solid hearts for God and I am blessed to get to watch as they come together and form community that I believe will lead them to find purpose and passion for following God. As they continue to grow in their own personal walks with God, they are finding accountability and loving community as brothers in Christ. I feel extremely blessed and excited to get to spend time with these guys and watch as God challenges them to pursue what it is He has created them to do. We plan on many more "man times" and are believing God to bring in more and more guys who desire to find out what life as a man of God is all about. Please pray that God will challenge these young men to step up and take the role of leaders that God has purposed for them!!

XA Girl :: Breakfast

What a wonderful way to start off a Saturday morning by welcoming about 30 girls into our home! The girls brought such an amazing spread of food and we enjoyed great conversation with one another.

Indeed a blessing to look around at these beautiful women and to know that the Lord has so many great plans for their lives!

We filled out cards and drew names for our "XA Secret Sista" that we will be doing throughout the Spring semester - a great way for them to go out of their way to bless each other and learn some new things about their friends... plus I figure any excuse to give and receive presents can't be bad! :)

The coolest part of the morning was when we gathered together discussing how God wants us to learn how to truly be sisters in Christ and what that can look like.

I felt like God put this passage of scripture on my heart to pray over the girls:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." -Romans 15:5-7

God is doing a great work in these women! He is showing them they are not alone and that He created them for relationship and that we, as women of God, truly need one another!

Student Testimony!

My name is Jessie, and I started attending XA at the relationship webcast on February 1st. Less than one week later I was at the XA girls breakfast. I have never felt more welcome by a group of people than all the XA. I attended 3 XA events in less than a week and even hung out with XA people another night. This is an amazing group of people who all have God on their minds and in their hearts. I am so excited to be a part of this group. :)

Coming soon is our XA Girls' Get-Away - Feb 19-20 in Prescott, AZ. Our theme is "A Fresh Look" --- ASU will join with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Please pray that each girl would leave with a fresh perspective on how their heavenly Father views them and they will leave having experienced His love!

:: Welcome ::

Welcome to The White Pages! A place for us to celebrate the amazing journey that God is taking our family on... The White Family and our ASU Chi Alpha family!

2010 Spring Semester

We are off to an amazing start! We are absolutley amazed by the students God has entrusted under our care. What an amazing group of students that we have the privilege of getting to know and to disciple.

This semester we have started something new "Freshmen Connect" - we have invited 8 freshmen that we are meeting with ... sharing with them the vision of ASU XA and starting to lay the foundation of several of our core values... one being 1on1 discipleship.... sharing why discipleship matters and looking at the life of Jesus... the way He shared His life with others and the eternal impact He made.

We are thankful for the opportunity to start pouring into this young group of students and are believing to see a great return on investment!
2 Timothy 2:2 "The things which you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

Family Update:

Hard to believe that Trenton is now 3 years old and Averi is 16 months! These two keep us on our toes for sure!
Trenton will be starting preschool very soon... we are so thankful for God's provision and excited that Trenton will have this opportunity. I think Trenton is going to really enjoy this... since he asks us everyday "Where are we going??" and once we do go somewhere he immediately asks "What's next?"
Averi is finally walking... she took her sweet lil' time, but now is doing her wobbley walk all over the place! Averi is a climber as well.. I am not so thrilled about this.. I am thinking she has a dare devil side to her! I am proud to say that currently one of her favorite words is "shoes" , hahah... a girl after my heart! (this is Candi, if you were not sure..)
Shawn and I are keeping busy chasing after kids... Trenton, Averi and the XA kids (as Trenton refers to the students!)
We are constantly amazed by God's faithfulness and provision in our lives!

We thank each of you for your prayers, friendship, support and encouragement! Praise God that we are not alone and that we have such amazing support and people who believe in us and who desire to see God's kingdom advanced!

::Please Pray::

- Increased vision for leadership developement
- Laborers on the campus - full and part-time staff
- Katie, to raise her full support, to join us on campus
- New Computer - our current desktop is not working, pray that we can retrieve everything!
- New supporters to join our team
- Protection for our family and students on campus