Asia

Hope Floats—FamilyLife Philippines

by Marife M. Palima
 
   “Some men showed courage throughout their lives; others sailed with the wind until the decisive moment when their conscience and events propelled them into the center of the storm,” wrote John F. Kennedy in his Pulitzer-prize winning book, Profiles in Courage.  It takes courage to take decisive and extraordinary actions.  It takes courage to engage in a battle.
  
 Today, we all find ourselves in a battleground.  A different kind of war heavily pounds  right on our front doors—husbands who do not lead and serve, wives who won't submit and show support; couples do not keep their vows, violence creeps in, children are neglected, homes are torn apart.  Every day, the hearts of fathers, mothers, and children are right in the line of fire.  Sadly, homes are not bulletproof.  It's just a matter of time when each home will get caught in the crossfire of family disintegration if we do not join the fray and gird ourselves for this battle.  It is a costly fight.  And it may be the most important battle we ever fight. 

 Over the last 14 years, FamilyLife Philippines has taken this battle cry across the country.  Through “I Still Do” marriage seminars, Weekend to Remember getaways, parenting seminars, HomeBuilders, and partnerships with like-minded groups and churches, we continue to help transform families to become lighthouses in their community and agents of change in this and succeeding generations for God's glory. 

 Take Tony and Esther Royeca's story.  In the first eight years of their marriage, they were preoccupied with church planting.  Pastor Tony shared, “We were highly committed to serving the Lord, but we were struggling.” The demands of ministry, home life, and mid-life transitions had slowly weighed them down.  They felt there was no one to turn to at the peak of their struggle. In 1998, the Lord paved the way for them to fly to Davao for a Weekend to Remember (WTR) marriage conference.  At the WTR, God spoke to both of them in ways they could not ignore.  Tony said, “It is important to know the biblical principles for marriage. When we understand the biblical basis, we can choose to pursue God's plan and purposes.  After the WTR, I realized that my wife is not a hindrance, not an enemy. I have learned to accept her as a gift from God.” 

 Coming home from the conference, they began to follow God's blueprint and by His grace, changes took place in their marriage.  This life-changing experience also moved them to organize a WTR in their area the following year. One hundred couples attended the conference in the Tacloban area.  Soon, they became FamilyLife's Champion Couple in Tacloban City and led a HomeBuilders group among pastors to mobilize them to reach out to families in their respective communities.

 Their commitment in pursuing God's agenda for the family bore fruit not just among the couples in their group but beyond. FamilyLife was tasked and given permission by the local government to conduct “I Still Do” marriage seminars in 100 barangays (districts)!   Of the 100, their team has reached about 30-40 barangays in the last few years.   Pastor Tony and Esther described this experience as a “journey of personal life transformation.”  They enthused, “We have caught the vision.” 

 Pastor Lito Gomez caught the same vision. Invited by Pastor Tony to attend a WTR in 2004, God has been using him to start weekly couples meetings in his neighboring barangays!
  
 And as God has used FamilyLife's marriage seminars and conferences to bring help and hope, He also makes use of HomeBuilders groups as a discipleship tool among couples.  This is the place where we see significant changes and God's work up close and personal.  When God begins to transform a marriage, hope floats indeed! His power makes it possible for couples to keep their marriage covenant.

 The war for the family rages.  If this and the future generations truly matter to us, then let us gird ourselves up for this battle.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand strong against the threats and schemes of the real enemy.  Stand your ground, put on your shoes and your helmet and take the Word of God with you as your sword.  March on and fight for the destiny of your family!

Kazakhstan

FamilyLife Training

“We were at the edge of divorce and now have steps to continue our marriage.” 
                              —Kazakh Seminar Attendee

The Kazakhs are an Asiatic or Mongol people who look a lot like American Eskimos. Northwestern China is on their eastern border. Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union in Central Asia until its breakup in 1992. Therefore, a lot of ethnic Russians, a mostly Slavic Occidental people, emigrated there during the 20th century and remain today. Most of the population is Muslim with a few remnants of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Two of our staff traveled through 14 time zones from home to Almaty, Kazakhstan to conduct two types of trainings and a demonstration event. Fifteen couples attended the training, including couples from Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Turkey.

Two of the couples that had attended the trainings conducted two HomeBuilders groups, and they expanded to 17 groups. Now they were ready to expand with additional leaders and speakers, plus begin to establish FamilyLife in a few neighboring countries.

In keeping with the new FamilyLife Global strategy, our representatives wanted to demonstrate a more reproducible marriage event rather than the hotel-based Weekend to Remember. They used the one-day Couples Relationship Seminar (CRS). God gave them a seminar that was extraordinary.

The Kazakh leaders decided without any suggestion from our team to replace their interpreter with a more experienced professional, prior to the marriage seminar. That was such a relief, but he created yet another challenge. The audience really warmed up and started laughing regularly at the speakers' jokes and stories. So did the interpreter. Although our staff had gone over their jokes with him in advance to prevent this from happening, the interpreter stopped the seminar a dozen or more times by laughing too hard to deliver the punch line of the jokes.

Three expatriate couples serving as missionaries in Kazakhstan attended the training and seminar. One of these couples approached the speakers with some special marriage needs about living and serving overseas. The speakers gave some solid advice, which they received very willingly.

Like all Couples Relationship Seminars, the day had a session where the audience is divided into HomeBuilders style groups to discuss marriage principles. Several people continued their discussions through the teatime that followed.

After the seminar the guests were treated to a romantic dinner. Everyone considered the seminar to be a tremendous success. The audience of 103 was over half non-Christians. Seven individuals indicated decisions that they received Christ, a significant result in a Muslim culture. Twenty-two signed up to join HomeBuilders groups.

In spite of the challenges, the week for the International Leadership Conference and marriage seminar went splendidly. The hosts and those trained were ecstatic about the results.

Comments from conferees:

“I really loved everything, can't choose one thing. My wife and I began to understand. God helped me to come. A few days ago I had a crash in my life, I turned to God‑he helped me to come here today. I now understand many things. Thank you.” 
                              (He received Christ)

“I was nervous‑we were all part of the team. I looked at different nationalistic parts of our team and yet we all reflected God. My prayer was that God would put each of us at the right place in the group. I approached two women and said to them "Are you aware there are people here who don't know Christ?" And they said, "That would be us!" 
                              --An ILC trainee who shared Christ with them

“This was our first conference as a couple like this. We were participants, observers, and helpers. Nothing like this is in Uzbekistan. We are so thankful to see it with our own eyes. Our prayer was to start this. Lord how do we build this for our people?”

“For the first time in 20 years I received a love letter from my husband.”

“I told a widow who wanted to come. 'No, this is not for you.' But, she begged me. I was trying to understand her reason for coming. She came to me after and said; 'Now I know what to tell my children.' Thank you for your prayers‑ hat I did yesterday was of God.”

“I was not sure how I fit as a single person. And I just want you to know how important this has been for me. My parents were divorced when I was 7 years old. They had no problems before then. Just one huge argument. They were beating each other and separated forever. They had never communicated and just lived in only their own worlds. I had never wanted to marry. I'm 27. Two months ago I prayed God would change my heart. At the seminar, I was able to forgive my parents for not being an example or teaching me. I am ready to follow whatever God has for me now.”
               --translator for the conference