The following were comments made on Facebook by members of First Baptist Church of Rincon about the youth group visiting from Colombes, France. Each has given their permission to share their thoughts:
Christina Cleveland Glendye I was not able to be around them a whole lot, but when I was, I was so blessed! Sherri, thank you for everything you did to make this trip so special and meaningful to them!
Elodie Couratier Lockhart Are you done drying your eyes? lol It was great week!
Sherri Gordy Yeah, thanks for making me cry! You could have translated Pastor Thierry’s words into something funny! I was truly overwhelmed with his kind words and humble appreciation. It was a very great week.
Becky Harrison Cowart A BIG thank you Sherri!! There are no words to express the amazing job you did this week. The French group were deeply touched and blessed and we were touched and blessed as well. Thank you for letting God use you in such a wonderful way.
Dana Brackett Flood Sherri, you are amazing! From the itinerary, the daily dinner groups, tickets, phone calls, text, everything was detailed perfectly! God blessed our family with this experience!
Elodie Couratier Lockhart @ Sherri… I cried because you cried and because I was feeling the same as Pastor Thierry…. You did a great job! God is awesome!
Pastor Thierry Auguste called me from France this morning to say that they had a good trip home and he received many text messages from the parents of the youth saying they cannot stop talking about the wonderful time they had in America. Pastor Thierry wanted to thank the Lord and thank our church and especially Sherri Gordy, our organizer, for making it such a great experience of ministry and fellowship.
The youth group from Centre Evangelique Protestant of Colombes, France departed on Sunday afternoon, October 30. Donna, the bus driver, is the red-haired lady standing, and Elodie, our French church member who translated, is sitting below Donna. Their airplane departed the Savannah airport shortly after 4:00 p.m. (16:00 hours) on Sunday.
While riding canoes in the Ebenezer Creek, the French youth saw an alligator on the shore!
The French team road canoes down the Ebenezer Creek north of Rincon, and saw beautiful cypress trees in the water.
The youth from Colombes, France sang at the Country Carnival at First Baptist Church of Rincon.
French youth group were amazed at the action at the American football game.
The French team enjoyed shopping in Savannah on Saturday. Sherri Gordy (wearing the “Georgia” shirt) was the American coordinator for the trip. She did a wonderful job, and Sherri was able to join us. We were also very grateful to the host homes and to the bus drivers: Donna Avera, Larry Matthews and Bryan Gilde.
The French team enjoyed seeing an American football game. They really enjoyed the atmosphere of the game and the very good team from Savannah Christian School, which won 45-0.
The French youth group sang at the Country Carnival at First Baptist Church of Rincon. This was an outdoor festival for families of the community at the church.
Pastor Thierry finds a crab on Tybee beach.
Youth from France ride the ferry across the Savannah River, looking back at the city of Savannah.
Youth from Colombes, France visit the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah.
The youth group from France enjoyed touring Savannah on Thursday. They visited the beach at Tybee Island, and saw dolphins in the ocean and even found a crab on the beach.
They visited First African Baptist Church, the oldest black church in North America, and saw where it is believed that escaping slaves were hidden in the “underground railroad.”
They saw the beautiful cathedral of St. John the Baptist, and the fountain at Forsyth Park. After walking on River Street, they rode a ferry across the Savannah River to come home, tired from a long day.
The youth from Colombes, France visited Old Fort Jackson, a fort on the Savannah River. The guide pretended to be a Confederate soldier who had the youth pretend to be soldiers and march into the fort.
Bob Rogers 