Order and progress for marriages
YEAR 41 | RANDAL & VICKI MATHENY | SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (SP) BRAZIL
Vicki and I flew up to Salvador on Thursday, June 5. It’s a 2+ hour flight. Nilton B. picked us up at the airport. We stayed in his home that evening, with his wife Rose and daughter Priscila. What a beautiful family!
Friday afternoon we two couples traveled the two hours by car to São Gonçalves do Campo, in the interior of the state, where the retreat was held. I rested a bit, then after dinner I spoke for an hour in a long introduction and getting into the topic of “Order and Progress.” About 25 couples participated. Saturday we had four sessions.
My material had two parts, the first applying Romans 12 to marriage; the second, seven words for every couple to say to each other. The second is a practical way of helping couples put the principles into play.
Sunday morning I spoke for more than an hour finishing up the seven words or phrases for couples. To finish up some material, they opened up a seventh, shorter session at the end. Then several men lead us in singing, prayers, eating the Lord’s supper, and offering.
The event ended after lunch on Sunday. During lunch I did some extended counselling with a couple who were having trouble.
About 2.30 pm we drove back to Nilton and Rose’s house, where we stayed until Monday for our return flight.
Several non-Christians participated in the event. One of these couples praised the material highly. Pray these may show interest in the gospel toward conversion, and that all may work toward better marriages.
Various tidbits
- The topic title, “Order and Progress,” was borrowed from material I did on the family decades ago. It comes from the Brazilian flag.
- On the flight there, we got a brand new plane, in its second day of operation, on its fourth flight. And an empty seat next to Vicki, three seats between us!
- The last time we were at this location, to speak at an annual regional event, the temperatures were at 107ºF (42ºC). This time, in the “winter” it was much cooler, probably in the 70s and 80s.
- A shorter version of the “Seven Words for Every Couple” was published on our site years ago and then republished, often without attribution, on not a few websites, both Protestant and Catholic.
- Read about one of my main points at the retreat in this blog post, with a group photo.
- By Monday before the event I felt well enough to make the attempt to go. The Lord greatly blessed me. I made sure to rest at every opportunity. I’m back to normal, now, it seems. Thanks to all for the prayers. Not sure what I had but it flattened me out for a couple of weeks. (Do the “elderly” take longer to recover?)