Mexico-Seven Weeks of Marriage Transformation

by Jayna Richardson

Omar and Miriam’s marriage was in trouble after years of poor communication, unfaithfulness, and disagreements on how to parent their two young boys. Omar would often leave home without telling Miriam where he was going or when he would return. Miriam felt lonely and neglected.

When Omar and Miriam first began attending John and Shirley Wind’s HomeBuilders group in Yucatan, Mexico, they seemed very cold to each other and wouldn’t even sit close together. “There were five couples who participated,” says John, “and this couple really stood out. It was obvious that he had been dragged in. He didn’t seem to have a lot of interest in being there.” But over the course of seven weeks, God did some very special things in their lives.

One night, the couples wrote love letters to each other and read them out loud to their spouses over dinner. Omar starting reading his letter to Miriam and expressed his love in ways he had never done before. “My love, I ask you to forgive me for failing you when I was walking in the way of the world,” he said. “You are the best gift that God has given me.” Eventually, he couldn’t even continue reading—he was crying. He handed the letter to Miriam. She finished reading the letter and was so touched by his expressions of love and repentance for the ways he had hurt her that she began crying, too.

Other couples in the group experienced breakthroughs in their marriages as well as they confessed their love and asked each other for forgiveness for the ways they had failed. “The love letters are more than just a romantic thing,” says Shirley. “It’s something God can really use to save their marriage. We have seen over and over again how God has used that to break through in marriages.”

A couple of weeks after the HomeBuilders study ended, the five couples got together for a special dinner to reflect on their time together as a group. They began discussing how they had changed after being involved in HomeBuilders. One couple said they were communicating better. Another couple said they had started praying together regularly—something they hadn’t tried before. Another couple said that they had started dating each other again.

HomeBuilders leaders across the world have seen time and time again that God can use these groups to save marriages and draw couples closer to Him. And now Omar and Miriam are living proof.

Vida en Familia Hoy
By Michelle Hill

In January 2011, I had the chance to be part of a “fact-finding” trip to Quito, Ecuador. Why Quito? Quito is headquarters for HCJB Global’s Spanish ministry, and HCJB takes care of the re-creation, production, and distribution of Vida en Familia Hoy—the Spanish version of FamilyLife Today.

Tears streamed down my face for two hours as I sat in a meeting the second morning with the HCJB team. We went around the table and each person shared how God is using FamilyLife content in their lives. Their stories were so impacting—marriages healed, relationships with God strengthened, child issues resolved.

Mercedes, the voice of Barbara Rainey, shared how her marriage was saved and her relationship with God was revived. She and her husband are now meeting weekly with 14 struggling couples and use the radio broadcasts to mentor them. Mercedes’ husband is battling cancer and she wanted to resign from her position with HCJB to be home with him during this time.  He wouldn’t allow her, reminding her that God used this broadcast to heal their lives (and many others), and she owed it to God to continue in this ministry.

Lorena prayed and prayed for an older woman to mentor her. She feels that God answered than prayer with Barbara Rainey, who is mentoring her via her radio. Maria said that God’s words flow through each transcript she re-creates for us; many days she has to stop work to take in what He is showing her.

The team also shared how a radio station in Peru began airing Vida en Familia Hoy to combat the attack of “witchcraft.” What was the spell, you may ask? To break up marriages and families. There’s also the professor at a local university using the radio broadcast for her ethics class—students are required to listen to the programs and write a report on the values found inside.

Many others told how God was showing them areas in their lives they didn’t know were lacking. As each person shared, I realized that God’s truth is piercing many hearts starting with these leaders who produce the program.

Later that week, the HCJB host, my interpreter, and I drove into the jungle to meet with an HCJB affiliate station. The morning show host, Keta, has a renewed marriage and relationship with God because of what He taught her through our broadcast. Bonus: during this time He also healed her body from stomach cancer. As she interviewed us, she was flooded with many texts from listeners. They wanted to send along their blessings for the type of broadcast we provided them. There is no other Spanish radio program quite like Vida en Familia Hoy that talks frankly about marriage and family from God’s standpoint while holding strongly to the truths of Scripture.

HCJB is an incredible ministry, and it was a joy to spend just a week witnessing how God is using everyone on this team to share His precious gift, to declare His praises, and to bring Him glory.

Guatemala

The Kekchi people of Guatemala
By Gabe Buchholtz

Traveling in a 4x4 truck to get up into the mountains in a remote area of northern Guatemala, it felt more like we were on our way to an extreme wilderness expedition than a FamilyLife marriage seminar. We were on our way to lead a seminar for the Kekchi people, descendants of the Mayan civilization. The couples woke up early in the morning to hike down mountain trails, some walking great distances in order to attend. Although over 100 people made it to the seminar, the parking lot outside the church where we met remained empty—these couples don’t own vehicles. Many do not read or write.

The Kekchi people have been evangelized within the past seven years through the work of Campus Crusade for Christ in Guatemala. Anibal Duarte, the National Director for Guatemala, organized the effort and gave leadership to that work using, among other things, a tool called Proclaimer: A solar powered/hand-cranked audio device that contains the New Testament in the Kekchi language.  Anibal and his team would gather people together in homes, play the audio recording of God’s Word, and then watch as God moved on the hearts of the Kekchi people, many of whom prayed to receive Christ.  Because they were meeting in homes, the Kekchi people just naturally formed home churches.  There are now some 3,000 home churches in that region; nearly all of these were planted in the seven years since Campus Crusade began ministering in the area.

The marriage seminar, presented by Dr. Leonel Motta and his wife, Miriam, was an incredible success.  (Dr. Motta serves at the Director of FamilyLife for Latin America.)Twenty of the pastors signed up for more training; they want to introduce HomeBuilders small group studies to the other couples in their house churches. The Kekchi people have a very unique culture and history, but the biblical principles for marriage apply to them just as they do in every other culture around the world.

Please pray with us that the pastors will be able to start HomeBuilders groups and continue spreading the gospel to one million Kekchi people in this region!
 

Ecuador

God’s Provision in Ecuador
By Armando Tamayo

A while ago, I had told my wife, Moni, we needed some money for the children. My comment was that it would be good for us to pray that God will provide.

God has given us the privilege of having a ministry with couples. We see the ministry increasing and enjoy seeing the significant changes that God does in them. It hurts that we see homes being destroyed every day, so we eagerly work to see lives changed.

A year ago, I met a young couple with many problems that seemed very difficult to resolve. But God in His grace gave us the opportunity to guide them. One day they told me they would like to pay for what we have done for them. However, I told them that God is the One who is doing the work through the lives of others who believe in this ministry.

Later, we met and they told me, “You do not want us to pay for your ministry, but we have decided to provide money for your family!” That was a “WOW.” They did not know of our prayers, and yet God provided for us what we asked of God.
 

Ecuador

HomeBuilders in Guayaquil, Ecuador and beyond

The Galapagos Islands are on the “hot list” for people looking for an eco-tourism experience.  The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle in 1835.  But soon, something else will be happening on the Galapagos Islands.  Something called “HomeBuilders.”

Antonio Arboleda Procafuerte will be the man pioneering this new work to strengthen families and marriages on the islands that are home to about 40,000 people.  The arrival of HomeBuilders to the islands began when Antonia and Martha attended a “Day to Remember” seminar in Guayaquil, Ecuador in mid-2009.  They were tremendously blessed by that experience and had their first exposure to the HomeBuilders small group study.

At that time, Antonio and Martha did not see themselves as leaders or pioneers for the cause of marriage and family.  Antonio works as a flight engineer in the Ecuadorian Air Force and frequently flies to the air base on the islands which are located in the Pacific Ocean, 600 miles from the west coast of Ecuador.

But God began to work in their hearts as they were experiencing a renewed commitment in their marriage through the projects they completed in their HomeBuilders study.  As they discussed and prayed about what God would have them do, they sensed God’s leading to start a HomeBuilders group. They decided Antonio would invite the people that he knows on the Galapagos Islands.  The call to be a HomeBuilders pioneer was reinforced in early June 2010 when Antonio and Martha participated in a FamilyLife Movement Maker training in Guayaquil.

The purpose of this training was to help couples build ministry teams.  The training gave them insight as to how God uses couples for His purposes when they are willing to step out in faith and trust Him for the results.   Antonio believes that he must help the couples on the islands by introducing them to HomeBuilders.  He knows that the practical, biblical principles that he and Martha experienced will be a big encouragement for others.  He is sure the couples have a felt need to know more about improving communication in their marriage, resolving conflict, and receiving their spouses as a gift from God.

The Galapagos Islands have been a favorite destination for eco-tourism.  Now the islands will become a beach-head for strengthening marriages and families when couples soon begin participating in HomeBuilders studies and learn to apply biblical principles for marriage in their own relationships.

Trinidad and Tobago 

FamilyLife in Trinidad and Tobago was launched several years ago through the leadership of Steve and Cecile Mohammed and the influence of a key business couple, Subesh and Debbie Ramjattan. Each year the Trinidad team conducts a national Weekend to Remember conference.

After their annual Weekend to Remember conference, FamilyLife Global staff conducted a Movement Maker training with the Trinidad team. One of training activities involved having the team evaluate each stage in the family life cycle and identify the issues and needs unique to their culture. The second part of the activity focused on how to address those issues and needs. The family life cycle covers these stages: independence, marriage, parenting, empty nest, and retirement years.

From that group activity, the Trinidad team has launched several ministry initiatives and outreaches to address the different needs in their culture. One is a monthly event called “Mastering Family Building Series.”  These short, interactive seminars on marriage and parenting are open to the public and address the specific stages of the family cycle. At one meeting, over 100 kids aged 10-18 came with their parents.

One couple on the team has developed a weekly two-hour radio program called “Love of a Lifetime.” The owner of a secular radio station invited them to address family and marriage issues.

Another couple on the team launched a HomeBuilders movement and has already seen 150 couples involved this past year. One of their groups was a HomeBuilders for engaged couples. Often, their meetings would go until 1:30 AM with the couples eager to learn more.  The Trinidad team is making a difference!

Latin America

Eighty radio outlets throughout 17 countries are broadcasting Vida en Familia Hoy, FamilyLife’s Spanish radio broadcast.  For the first time, these audiences are hearing the message of God’s blueprints for marriage in Spanish.  This is the first time FamilyLife Today is broadcasted in a different language.  These are exciting days!

FamilyLife has partnered with HCJB Global on this project.  HCJB is assisting with translation, production, and distribution of the radio program from their headquarters in Quito, Ecuador.  HCJB also helped in obtaining the actors who voice the parts of Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Lepine.  The program is 15 minutes in length.

Some of the countries that broadcast Vida en Familia Hoy include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, the US, and Venezuela.
 

Listener comments:

"Vida en Familia Hoy has brought a huge blessing.  It has inspired and strengthened the faith of many people.  We thank you for being such a blessing and we hope to work together for a long time.  We bless you and thank God for your lives.”
—Radio Salem, Mexico

“This is a super program. It’s real.  There are things that need to change so that we can reach people who are used to moving quickly and have a different world view; and that is Vida en Familia Hoy.  It reaches, it reaches, it reaches.  Thank God for this program.”
—Radio Municipal, Peru
 

Guatemala

Esdras and Rosita Perez, FamilyLife staff, have a new HomeBuilders group they are leading for deaf couples. The couples cannot hear or talk, but with the help of an interpreter, they are being helped with their problems.
 

Ecuador

A New Style of Life in Ecuador
“Despite having 17 years of marriage, we had not understood the importance of the rescue of the family. We appreciate very much the training we received to guide other military families in our beloved Ecuador.”

A pilot project for the strengthening of 120 families in the San Eduardo Base began with marriage seminar workshops planned by Alfredo and Amparo Figueroa—“The Five Threats to Marriage” and “How to Resolve Conflict.”

They decided to follow up this project by selecting ten couples trained as facilitators to provide care to 20 marriages that were having serious conflicts. They used the HomeBuilders Couples Series title Building Your Marriage. As a result, from November 2007 until June 2008, cases of domestic abuse have considerably decreased according to the Department of Housing Prosecutor.

Parallel to this project, the New Life Training Center was begun with 15 military couples. They were trained in basic aspects of how to share their faith. This training helped develop three additional leader couples. This new project is called “A New Way of Life” and ministers to the families of the Armed Forces of Ecuador. It includes clubs for couples and young people which help improve family relationships. Another result is improved performance and potential of each military person serving our society. “The strength of a nation is in the strength of their families” is the motto for the Armed Forces. That is why in the coming months, there will be more FamilyLife workshops for couples.

A marriage seminar for 400 couples was presented with the principles of the Word of God and how to restore and strengthen marriages. Plans for continued growth will be through their involvement in HomeBuilders small groups beginning next year. We are preparing facilitator couples from the New Life Training Center to lead groups of seven to ten couples. This is a dream come true for God to be in the Navy of Ecuador providing eternal principles for homes. 
 

Chile

Marriage Conference a Great Success!
The first FamilyLife Conference for Chile took place in Santiago in 2006.  Thirty-one couples from two churches and the community of Lonquen participated in "A Day to Remember".  During that weekend these couples were treated to talks on The Five Threats to Marital Unity, The Roles of the Husband and Wife in Marriage, Sexual Intimacy in Marriage, Resolving Conflicts in Marriage, and The Marriage Pact: Understanding the Secret of Marital Harmony.  After each session the couples were given projects to implement what they learned.  Couples spoke highly of how the conference met a need in their marriage to pull away from the business of everyday life and talk about issues important to having a strong marriage.

The Church of Lonquen that sponsored the conference continues to involve people who came to that conference in HomeBuilders small groups.  Seven couples at the conference committed to meet in small groups to discuss the contents of the conference.  The pastor of this church located in an affluent area said, "Marriage conferences like this one and the small groups studies that follow are some of the most effective ways to reach out to people here in this community."  Chileans value family and since many families and marriages are in crisis these days, the FamilyLife marriage conferences that are based on biblical values and a Christ-centered approach to marriage are a great way to serve the community and reach out.
 

Mexico

How God Used a Healed Marriage
Antonio and Dolores faced significant real-life adjustments when they first were married in Cancun, Mexico.  They were both in a routine of independent living for several years prior to marrying.  Their independence led to significant problems in communication.  The problems were so severe that Dolores concluded that divorce was the only solution. 

They began meeting with a missionary couple, John and Shirley Wind, who gave them godly counseling and introduced them to the HomeBuilders Couples Series.  Antonio and Dolores worked through their issues of poor communication skills and self-centeredness.  They began to realize that not only did God have a blueprint for marriage, He also had a plan and a purpose for marriage.  They really were challenged and changed by the blueprints for marriage they found in the HomeBuilders studies.

Dolores said:  "God used the HomeBuilders studies to heal our marriage relationship and gave us a new pattern for communication.  Our marriage would never have survived without godly counseling and the HomeBuilders materials."

So how does God use a "healed marriage"?  Antonio and Dolores lead  HomeBuilders groups. "We see the results of marriages that are being strengthened."  Antonio and Dolores are also part of the FamilyLife leadership team for the city of Cancun.  They have joined with other couples to train more couples to be HomeBuilders leaders and to help organize and host Weekend to Remember events and exposure events in the city.

Editor's note:  John and Shirley Wind attended Global Outreach training in Little Rock in 2004 and City Ministry Team training in Guatemala in 2005.  God has used them to build a FamilyLife team of volunteers in Mirada, Mexico.  The FamilyLife team in Mirada then helped to start another FamilyLife team in Cancun.  The Global Outreach strategy for launching spiritual movements really equips couples to reach out to other couples to help make "every home a godly home." 
 

San Salvador

Movement Making in Latin America

"Only as small-group spiritual movements multiply abundantly
is the Great Commission likely to be fulfilled."  -Steve Douglas, CCCI

Latin America is experiencing the tremors of spiritual movements in many ways. One of our international representatives flew to Latin America to work with Leonel Motta, FamilyLife director of Latin America, in several diverse ministry activities.
 

Movement Maker training with Pastors

Manuel and Ceci Avendano attended City Ministry Directors in 2005 and made a 3-5 year strategy to expand their outreach to families.  When they returned to El Salvador they recruited a team of couples--all pastors from churches in San Salvador. 

They gathered this team of 11 couples and helped them develop an outreach ministry to families in their churches and communities.  At the end of the Movement Maker training, each couple presented their five-year plan using FamilyLife resources and strategies.  They caught the vision of building a spiritual movement throughout the city of San Salvador and to other regions in El Salvador.

The Avendanos also hosted a parenting seminar (35 attended) plus two seminars for men and women (97 attended).  The good news is that Manuel and Ceci were not the lead couple for each of these events.  They had brought together a team, trained them, and then delegated these events to each of the couples.
 

On the College Campus

The moral climate on the campus of The University of Jose Matias Delgado was wide open to casual sex...not just between boyfriend and girlfriend, but between students just hanging out together. At the invitation of Professor Stella de Arias, Gabe Buchholtz presented a four-hour lecture series to 50 students using the Before You Leap seminar material as a guest lecturer. 

As a result, 27 students asked for follow-up information to attend additional seminars and to participate in small group discussions--all led by Campus Crusade student leaders and staff.  They really wanted to know how God's principles could change their lives and their lifestyles.  These students have a great interest to learn how to develop lasting relationships, and they have a great need to hear the gospel.  Before You Leap covers it all!