Photobooks

These are photobooks that Matthew has made with Blurb.

Korea in photos! There were so many photos we had to do two books.

Fall and Winter August 2008-March 2009 | Make Your Own Book

Spring and Summer March-May 2009 | Make Your Own Book

These are othere photobooks Matthew has made.

Yap

Beyond the Edges by D Matthew White | Make Your Own Book

Colorado

Colorado | Make Your Own Book

And our honeymoon

First Kiss | Make Your Own Book

Team Black & Valentine's Day

Last year Agents White & White were stationed in South Korea and gave out carnations in black bags with Bible verses for Team Black. This year Nashville, TN was the target.

To disguise themselves they dressed up and had ballet tickets to the "American Originals" show. (Which was fantastic.)







This year there weren't black bags but instead Wal-Mart bags.



11 Wal-Mart bags, and 1 Michigan ABC bag.

Inside these disguises were....




These were distributed to those needing lunches as Agent White & White made their way to the Nashville Ballet.


Now, in case that confused anyone.... Matthew and I had a date planned for the ballet and Matthew felt impressed to do something for the homeless that we see in a park we pass on the way to the ballet theater. So we packed a small lunch and included a Steps to Christ in each bag with a little message and information about the Nashville Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Matthew handed these out with a "Happy Valentine's Day!"

We hope that you will join us in prayer over these little packages and that those books will be a blessing and a life changing experience.





For another awesome Team Black story see what Kristin did!

Cheap Grace

“You know the school board isn’t as careful as they should be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you know Becky* and how she was kicked out last year?”
“Yeah.”

“Well I heard that she’s coming back. After all the fuss the board put up about making her leave, and now just because she wrote a letter and threw a few Bible verses in it, they’re letting her back in.”

I heard that conversation sometime during my sophomore year of high school. I do not remember who I heard it from, or why I took it to be true, but I did. Later on I was involved in another similar conversation and I felt informed as I voiced what I’d heard.

It was at a restaurant with my friends we were finishing our food as we discussed a few of the students who had been asked to leave our school and about them returning next year.

“Well,” I piped up. “All they’ll have to do to come back is write a letter and throw in a few Bible verses and the board will accept them back in.”

Some of my friends nodded and looked like they agreed.

“That’s not true,” Mr. Johnson*, a father to one of my friends and a board member, began. “The board goes through a lot of consideration as they choose to reaccept a student.”

I felt frustrated because I felt that my information proved to be more accurate because the students who were kicked out were always accepted back in. If we were a Christian institute and had standards to uphold how could we be so cheap with grace?

Looking back now I feel like Simon looking down on the sinful woman as she anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume.



Luke chapter seven tells this story,

36Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.

41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

49The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

50Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Desire of Ages p. 567-568 speaks volumes to my heart as I remember those haughty words and thoughts I spoke that evening.

“Simon's coldness and neglect toward the Saviour showed how little he appreciated the mercy he had received. He had thought he honored Jesus by inviting Him to his house. But he now saw himself as he really was. While he thought himself reading his Guest, his Guest had been reading him. He saw how true Christ's judgment of him was. His religion had been a robe of Pharisaism. He had despised the compassion of Jesus. He had not recognized Him as the representative of God. While Mary was a sinner pardoned, he was a sinner unpardoned. The rigid rule of justice he had desired to enforce against her condemned him.

Simon was touched by the kindness of Jesus in not openly rebuking him before the guests. He had not been treated as he desired Mary to be treated. He saw that Jesus did not wish to expose his guilt to others, but sought by a true statement of the case to convince his mind, and by pitying kindness to subdue his heart. Stern denunciation would have hardened Simon against repentance, but patient admonition convinced him of his error. He saw the magnitude of the debt which he owed his Lord. His pride was humbled, he repented, and the proud Pharisee became a lowly, self-sacrificing disciple.”

I was Simon. Only inviting Jesus into my house. Letting others see that I was a Christian, but He did not dwell in me, and I did not see my own sinfulness and I should have. I wore the Pharisee robes and prayed head held high. In about a year I would learn the cry of the sinner and realize my own forsakenness. I would behold the magnitude of my debt and learn that grace is never cheap when you beg for it yourself.
















By: Beth-Anne
*Names have been changed

Childhood vs. Adulthood

From the time I was seven until fourteen I went to Brownsmills Seventh-day Adventist Church when I visited my father in New Jersey.

After the congregational prayer we would sing, “Hear Our Prayer O Lord.”

Hear our prayer O Lord
Hear our prayer O Lord
Incline Thine ear to us
And grant us Thy peace
Amen



As a child I hated that song. It didn’t make any sense to me. Why would we ask God, even plead with Him to hear our prayers when we knew that He did. In the Bible it clearly says that God hears us when we pray. I had been taught from a very young age that Jesus loved me and loved to talk to me, and prayer was how I talked to Him. So, why would I plead with Jesus, after praying to Him, to hear me? It didn’t make any sense. I never sang those words at Brownsmills SDA Church. I refused to sing something I felt showed that I did not believe what God had already blatantly stated in His Word: He hears us.

Since that time I have been to many churches. And I have not been to one that sang “Hear Our Prayer O Lord” as the habitual post-prayer song. Until this past July. I am now twenty-three years old, married, and have moved into my first USA home. We attend the Cookeville Seventh-day Adventist Church. The first Sabbath we visited the church I was enjoying the service when I was caught off guard by the tune and words that the congregation sung after the prayer.

Hear our prayer O Lord
Hear our prayer O Lord
Incline Thine ear to us
And grant us Thy peace
Amen


As the music filled the church I smiled cynically as I recalled the sentiments I’d had as a youth.

I called my dad after church and said, “You’ll never guess what song we sing after prayer!” As a child I had explained to him my frustration and complete dislike for the song.



However, I noticed something has begun to change. I sing the song now. I hear my heart crying out to God in the words, “Hear my prayer O Lord, hear my prayer O Lord…” I ache to know that He hears me, that He listens to my voice and that I will have His peace. Sabbath after Sabbath I have now sung, “Incline Thy ear to me, and grant me Thy peace.”

And it makes me wonder. What is the difference between the child and the adult? Is it that now in my maturity I realize my lowly position and my need to prostrate myself before God so that He will turn His ear toward me? Is it because of the disappointments and struggles I have gone through spiritually that make me want to beg God to even hear my prayer?

In my heart I have questioned whether it is maturity that makes me sing these words or the loss of childlike faith and implicit trust which sang “Jesus loves me this I know.”



by: Beth-Anne

Flying to America via Japan

So Sunday, May 31st 2009 I woke up to find our apartment cleaned up and ready for us to leave. Matthew had stayed up all night to finishing cleaning and packing for me because I was still recovering from my appendix surgery. I have the greatest husband.



Joony, one of Matthew's students came to say goodbye to us at the school and Ruth and Cleo with Pastor Kim took us to the airport. Ruth and Cleo came because Pastor Ryu and his wife were also flying to America, but they were doing recruiting. So Cleo and Ruth went to see them and us off.

Yes, I am wearing a dress on the airplane. A dress and sneakers because I couldn't bear the thought of wearing jeans the whole airplane ride back, since my surgery still made my stomach sore.

Pastor Kim, me, Ruth, and Cleo. We're so awesome.

Pastor Kim, me, Matthew, and Ruth.

We had a snack as we waited for Pastor Ryu to come and then we all said our goodbyes and headed to the plane. Our goodbyes were almost over, but since Pastor Ryu and his wife were flying on the same plane to Japan we had one more goodbye left.

This is our last picture in Korea.




This is Korea from the airplane, our last glimpses of the place we called home for about 10 months.

Traveling, especially by plane is very weird. It's almost like time travel or something because you get inside and then after a period of time you can be somewhere completely different.

The flight to Japan was short and then we said our last goodbye.

We were ready for some hellos!

Looking at shops and watching tons of people go by with face masks.

We had a 8-9 hour layover in Japan. So we tried to find some places to sleep, especially since Matthew hadn't had any sleep. We got some French fries from McDonald's because we were starving. Somehow our vegetarian meals had not been ordered. Then walked down until we found some empty chairs.

Storing our bags underneath I laid on the chairs and Matthew lay on the ground to keep the bags against/with us at all times.

Matthew woke up before I did. We wrapped the jackets around our heads to keep out the light and then Matthew gave me his jacket because I was so cold.

Peaking out of my cave.

This is money we got in change. We could use the US Dollar but we got change in the local currency.

It so happens that we went to sleep by Starbucks and were really excited because they had one veggie sandwich! So for our mid-day snack we had half a veggie sandwich each....

And white chocolate mocha....mmm. My favorite.

Then Matthew tried to throw paint on me and got the whole place messy!

So we decided to get more French fries because we were still hungry and weren't sure about the meals on the long flight.

This was a banner by the McDonalds, it showed other cuisine we could dine on. We chose McDonalds.

This was the awesome waiting area. There were regular seats in the other areas but this was where we decided to wait because it was more comfortable and I could lay down. This is also where they had "art" splattered on the walls. It was colorful and pleasant to be around.

After eating, waiting, sleeping, eating, waiting and more waiting we finally got on our flight to America.

We were going home.