We
arrived in Pass Christian, Mississippi on Sunday to a church called Goodwill
Missionary Baptist church, which RJC has had an incredible relationship with
over the years with our ALSO Gulf Coast trip.
Going in the church a lot of us didn't know what to expect. We were greeted with loud and engaged speaking as well as singing. It
was different from our church in the sense that no one would talk during the
sermon or say anything, its quiet. In the Goodwill church when the pastor was
talking people were talking, laughing and answering him. The sermon was called
'The Gift that Keeps on Forgiving', where we learned about forgiveness and how
we can't receive it if we don’t give it. He made sure to reinforce that we do not
count the number of times that we forgive people we forgive 70x7 times. Throughout the sermon, Pastor Toussaint would say 'Can I get a witness?' and
people from all over would answer. He was really honest and open with the
congregation about his experiences. The music was fantastic, the singing was
incredible, moving some of us even to tears (Karalee). Returning students
pointed out that the 'sunglassed bass guitarist' was still there J. We especially enjoyed the solos done by two young boys
(Afro with glasses <3).
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| RJC Alabama Choir at the Goodwill Baptist Church |
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| Mikayla and Ryan |
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| Kelsi and Mieke present the church with a portion of the funds raised in the Have a Heart Fundraiser . It was an answer to prayer as now the church can continue providing meals for volunteers in the area. |
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| Who wouldn't want to tithe after this sermon on stewardship! |
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| Congregational Song |
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| Look Jim . . . they have 3 points in Pass Christian too! |
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| The many faces of Pastor Toussaint |
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| Can I have a Witness? |
They served us a delicious home cooked meal including, beans, spaghetti, potato salad, garlic bread and a fabulous dessert served with a heaping of southern hospitality. A number of us had the opportunity to talk to the members of the church, which was especially heart warming.
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| The lovely people of Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church |
We had extra time after the service so we stopped at a nearby beach, where Mieke sat in bird poop, (good luck?).
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| Only Katie had trouble with jumping on 3! |
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| Katie and her parents stroll along the Gulf of Mexico along the shore where Katrina was at her worst. |
After that we got to head to a swamp tour, where we checked out alligators, wild pigs (and piglets), boat raced and we all had a good laugh as the boat drivers were hilarious.
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| The alligators were just coming out of hibernation. |
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| The Blue Heron. |
We arrived at Camp Christian late in the evening. Tomorrow we begin our Also week activities. We are ready to WORK!
Written by: Kelsi , Mieke, Cheyenne
