Oceania

Fiji

Before You Leap" Singles conference in Fiji. Impacting the next generation!

• Number of students attended 52
• Prayed to receive Christ 28
• Rededicated my life to Christ & prayed to receive the Holy Spirit 21
• Commitments to purity 50

Comments from conferees:

“It has inspired me to look back at my past relationship; am reminded that God has a plan for me and I must respect Him in decisions regarding my spouse. Appreciate the emphasis that was placed on purity and submitting to God’s authority. This Seminar must be introduced to all the senior students.”

“Seminar has given me new insights into relationship; to be mindful about all the decisions I make; love the seminar – very educational.”

“I need to think first before opening my heart to someone; to pray for my life and the life of my future spouse; to put God first; there are consequences to bad relationships.”

“Taught me to learn to make the right choices.”

“Seminar has been an eye opener – appreciate the frank talk.”

“Enabled me to be more careful in my future decision making; I’ve already had boyfriends and realize that most of the things I did were wrong and honestly regret them.”

“Taught me importance of: knowing each well; setting priorities right; gifting of my purity to my spouse is precious.”

“Didn’t bother at all but after first day, I couldn’t wait to hear the rest the next day; seminar has encouraged me a lot – appreciate the way the speakers related to their experiences.”

“The Seminar really meant a lot to me as a teenager – particularly in decision making regarding relationships.”

“I was challenged about having relationships; Seminar has specified that God has a plan for us already, about our future so He knows about our future spouse.”

New Zealand

How God Healed a Doctor’s Marriage
John, a leading breast surgeon in New Zealand, had a reputation for "playing the field"—in other words, being unfaithful to his wife, Jenni. She wanted to save her failing marriage and sought the counsel of the FamilyLife staff.

Jenni, a very attractive woman, told how she was sick of being a "doormat", how she was weary of the infidelity, the mistrust, and the sham of a marriage. She said that John was never home before 10 p.m. at night and he had no relationship with their children. She knew what her husband was up to but he did not seem to care—even though he claimed to be a Christian. She said John knew how to wear a mask. A highly intelligent and good-looking man, he would treat his wife with courtesy in public but in private he abused and mistreated her. After 20 years of this "marriage" she had had enough. What could the FamilyLife do to help?

They prayed with her, but deep down wondered what they could possibly do to help them. To the FamilyLife team’s amazement they soon found that the couple had registered for their "Rekindling the Romance" event. At the event, John felt somewhat suspicious when it became evident that Jenni already knew the staff and there was a tense moment or two. However, the couple seemed to get through the day pretty well.

Then again to the staff’s surprise, they discovered that Jenni and her husband were booked for the "Weekend to Remember" conference in Palmerston North for the following month. The staff person that ran the event told how he had "connected" with John and how John seemed to really enjoy the conference.

Well, imagine the staff’s delight when Jenni and John registered for the "Understanding One Another" event two months later. One staff person at that event noticed this couple and the friends that came with them. They were sitting at the back of the room laughing amongst themselves and enjoying the occasion.

One of the leaders of FamilyLife in New Zealand said then John and Jenni wanted to attend a HomeBuilders Group on Raising Children of Faith! In this study the FamilyLife director got to know them well and were pleased at their progress.

At the second session, John arrived without his Bible and said that he wanted to go home and get it. While he was gone, his wife Jenni exclaimed "I can't believe it. If you had told me that my husband would be like this in three months I would have laughed in your face! He is such a delight to be with. He is home every night, and reading Scriptures to the children around the dinner table. Unbelievable!"

When he returned, the session began and John shared that he had arranged a secret getaway for his wife in Europe, Las Vegas and San Francisco for three weeks as a celebration of her birthday. As you can imagine, Jenni was blown away. He then asked if the group would delay the meetings until they got back as he did not want to miss a session.

John has continued to grow. He is so excited about the FamilyLife conference and how much he has learned in the process. The Homebuilders Group ended with a special session of Dennis Rainey's video message called "The Fear of the Lord” from the Building your Mates Self-esteem series". Praise God for what He has done in saving this marriage using FamilyLife resources.

Another New Zealand changed lives story:
In 1979, after living together for 18 months, Dave and Joan were married. From the very beginning their marriage was turbulent. Dave loved his motorbikes and was heavily into cannabis, speed, and LSD. He was stoned most of the time. It wasn't long before he and Joan both got involved in separate affairs, even separating for a few months, but then just drifting along together for a while.

In yet another attempt to keep the family together, Joan left her job and the young man she was living with and again went back home. Dave set up another business, and Joan got a new job. Together once more, Dave and Joan struggled along for a few more years living in a marriage where intimacy was almost non-existent and they continued to blame each other.

In 1998, Joan again met somebody else and this time left Dave and the boys “for good” assuring Dave that this was it and that she wanted nothing else to do with him. She concluded that at age 13 and 15 the boys now were old enough to understand.

Sick of the struggle, and encouraged by a very good friend, Dave attended church at the Salvation Army and gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Overnight he was cured of his addiction to cannabis. Dave began to read the Bible and true transformation took place in his heart. A little later Dave sent some flowers with a card to Joan quoting John 8:32 and a miracle occurred in Joan's heart.

At 1 p.m. one stormy night, Joan moved home to try one more time. Life was still very hard but things seemed to be getting better at home as they started out on their new Christian walk. Soon afterwards, Dave heard an advertisement on the radio for a FamilyLife Marriage Conference and reluctantly Joan agreed to go with him. The conference proved to be a major turning point in their lives, and they heard some profound messages about how God had a plan for their marriage.

Following the weekend conference, life for Dave, Joan and the boys just got better and better. True deep love grew like they had never experienced before. On December 10, 1999, they got “remarried” in a church in front of their friends and family.

Here's what Dave and Joan have to say today:

“Our life now is so good; our love and marriage strong, our children stable and we have experienced a miracle from God to whom all the credit must go. We now want to do anything we can, to help others avoid the misery we put ourselves through and help build a better world, one home, one family at a time.”

Dave and Joan served on the planning committee for the FamilyLife Conference in Auckland. They play a vital role in helping couples build strong godly marriages.