Friend. Joyful. Fun. Hard worker. Unselfish. Dedicated Christian. These are just a few of the words fellow Challengers use to describe Terry White.
White, 16, drowned May 31 while on a missions trip with youth and adults from several Shelby County churches.
The trip, sponsored by First Baptist Church, Columbiana, involved more than 40 individuals in a variety of activities in three Baldwin County migrant camps. The group stayed at Camp Dixie, a Lutheran-owned facility, and worked with John Long, director of missions for Baldwin Baptist Association.
White was a member of Providence Baptist Church, an African- American church in Shelby, but attended Challengers and other youth activities at First Baptist, Columbiana, routinely. White received his state plaque and his first Greatest Commandment Award in April for accomplishments in Challengers and had made application to work as a counselor at Royal Ambassadors camps this summer at Shocco Springs Conference Center.
Challengers is the missions education organization for 10-12 graders sponsored by the North American Mission Board.
“Terry was a fine, fine young man from a good family,” said Barbara Joiner, the trip’s coordinator and author for Woman’s Missionary Union’s New Hope Publishers. Joiner, who has been conducting migrant camp trips for First Baptist, Columbiana, for 32 years, said this was the first tragedy on one of the trips.
“I don’t understand it,” she said, “but I believe we will all come through this experience. God will help us. And I believe it is going to make our church have a softer heart about missions and about loving kids.”
First Baptist, Columbiana, Pastor Mike Miller, echoed Joiner’s comments in his sermon to the congregation June 4.
“We grieve deeply for Terry’s loss and are all asking why,” Miller said. “But we will never know the reason why this side of heaven. We are in the dark now, but that is where our faith comes in. We must trust God to guide us from this point on.”
James Shiflett, White’s Challenger leader, was on the beach near where White and the other dozen youth were playing in the water. While there are no eyewitnesses to what happened, Shiflett said he believes White accidentally stepped into a huge hole in the bay off Camp Dixie and was overcome immediately by the water.
“The water in the bay is about three feet deep except for one spot,” explained Shiflett, describing the spot as a pear-shaped hole with a 50-foot expansion at its widest point. “There, the water drops to about five feet and gets deeper in the middle.”
White and several youth were playing in the shallow water when he suddenly disappeared without any cry for help. An immediate search began, including diving into the deeper water. Several minutes later two of White’s peers found him at the narrow end of the pear-shaped hole. Shiflett and several of the youth began CPR immediately. Camp staff took over when they reached him. He was evacuated by ambulance to a medical helicopter launch pad, but time of death was called before he left the ambulance.
Shiflett spoke at White’s funeral, held at First Baptist, Columbiana, June 4. He shared memories of White that he compiled with the help of the other Challengers, who served as pallbearers during the service.
“Terry was the challenger,” Shiflett said. “He challenged all of us as individuals and as a group. He loved basketball and helping others. He did things unselfishly and kept God first at all times.”
Recalling White’s testimony during the Monday evening worship service at migrant camp, Shiflett said, “Terry told us that he was getting a blessing from being at migrant camp and that he knew he was where God wanted him to be.”
White’s uncle, Leslie Whiting Sr., told the group of more than 600 about White’s expectations of working at migrant camp.
“Terry told me the Saturday before he left how much he was looking forward to working at migrant camp and sharing with others about Jesus,” Whiting said. “Terry could have been somewhere else last week having fun, but he chose to give his time helping others.
“We all make choices,” Whiting concluded. “Terry made the choice to follow Jesus.”
In addition to Whiting, White is survived by his parents, Norman and Quilla White of Shelby; a younger sister, Taree LaShe White; grandparents; and a host of extended family members.
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