love rekindled
Remembering the 2009 “God’s Kingdom Couples Growth Camp” in Pennsylvania
Photography/Liao Meihui
The three-and-a-half-day "God's Kingdom Couple Growth Camp" ended successfully after each couple made vows to each other. All students agreed that the results far exceeded expectations!
life changing
"In just four days, I learned how to understand each other and God better in a married life. My heart changed from being unwilling to participate to repenting before God and my wife."
"During the camp, God, who works miracles, made me see my shortcomings and renew my covenant with Him and my spouse."
Wounds healed
"My enlightened heart was opened, and I deeply understood my husband's love and tolerance. I could not feel it before, but this time I began to feel his love, and I also received the love of Heavenly Father from him. Thank you for the teacher's teaching and classmates' encouragement , and everyone’s companionship along the way.”
Confess each other's crimes
Although the altar is just a temporary small wooden table and the colors of the cushions are different, when we kneel down to receive Holy Communion, we can feel the holiness of the altar. Every couple seriously confesses their sins to God and to their spouse. One husband said, "I don't know why, but I feel like crying as soon as I kneel down." It is the Holy Spirit who personally cleanses our hearts and leads us to bring the entangled past events and scars to the Lord to cancel them out.
renew covenant
In the warm sunshine of the afternoon, in the quiet and beautiful garden of Maria Monastery, I effortlessly wrote down the vows to my husband. When my husband and I declared our vows to each other, we found that it was everything the other needed; it was the key to rebuilding our relationship, and we once again marveled and thanked the all-knowing God!
new outlook
Sometimes the teachings of the Bible alone cannot be applied to solve all problems in life. I have participated in similar camps, and most of them focused on the teachings of the Bible, but I felt that they only stayed at the intellectual level and did not shake the soul. In this camp, two teachers demonstrated by their own example and practiced the communication methods of husband and wife on the spot. They used empathy and the language of love to make us understand that there are many communication differences and obstacles between husband and wife, and we need to learn to make our spouse feel loved. Methods.
new mission
On the second day of the camp, couples are asked to jointly write out the mission of marriage. This is not only suitable for newlyweds or newly married couples, but also allows couples who have been married for 10 or 20 years to rethink the purpose of marriage.
new understanding
In general, traditional Chinese churches rarely touch upon the concepts and teachings on sexual relations between husband and wife. As a result, many Christian couples suffer mental and physical harm due to the lack of correct understanding and appropriate counseling. Thank God, the two teachers used their professionalism to guide us correctly in this regard.
new announcement
Write a love letter to your spouse and publicly declare your renewed marriage vows before God and brothers and sisters. Thank the Lord, with pen and paper, we can once again convey the message of love to each other.
In the camp, every morning, we worship, morning prayer, and spiritual practice together to position our minds; our hearts are open to God and we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit; the noise of the world and the lies of the evil one no longer have any effect.
The two teachers used their incomparable patience and rich practical experience to teach us the correct communication methods. Help us share our opinions and difficulties with candid guidance without pressure. They even paid the price of prayer, praying day and night for the different needs of the couples.
Every couple has some hidden problems. When we are willing to face it bravely and seek help, God will bless us. Time will not automatically solve problems. Marriage requires a caring couple to work together to water and nurture it. I hope you will make a wise decision soon, invest time and pay the price to manage the relationship between husband and wife. We sincerely invite you to experience the "God's Kingdom Couple Growth Camp" to rekindle love!
The vows of the student couple (excerpt)
husband:"I would like to work hard to learn the unconditional and selfless love of Jesus and love you forever until I see the face of the Lord Jesus."
wife:"From today on, I would like to respect you more, treat you more tenderly, and use you as an arm I can rely on. Thank you for everything you have done for me."
husband:"I pray, asking God to lead our marriage, to stay in Him all our lives, and to keep the marriage covenant according to His holy words. I would like to enter your inner world, understand you, laugh with you, cry with you, and share all your worries heavy burden."
wife:"I would like to treat you kindly and not speak harshly to you when we encounter disputes. I would like to grow with you and bring our shortcomings to God for help."
husband:"I am willing to be a husband who loves you, respects you 100%, and will always take care of you. I am willing to be a responsible husband who can be the head of the family spiritually."
wife:"I am willing to love you with kindness, respect, tolerance, consideration, and perfection throughout my life, and spend every day with you in this world."
husband:"When I offend you, please give me the courage to go to the altar to confess my sins to you and ask for forgiveness. I want to thank God for giving you to me as my life-long partner, and ask God to teach me and love you more. .
wife:"You are such a simple, enthusiastic brother who is willing to help others. I would like to see you through the eyes of Heavenly Father. Thank God for giving me this special status to be your helper so that you can be more loved by God. Get it!"