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| Family - Weekend Effect The Weekend Lives On Bill & Mary Ann Vena We would like to share a wonderful and blessed experience of this past weekend, April 30, May 1, and 2. We are Bill & Ann Vena, and we live in Pomona, California. We made our original Marriage Encounter weekend on September 18, 19, 20, 1981. We presented our first weekend as a presenting team on April 30, May 1 & 2, 1982. This past weekend was the 22nd anniversary of our “Rookie Rookie” Weekend. After our weekend, we began dialoguing with our children, all four boys, and we continue to do that today, with the boys and their wives, almost 24 years later. When we made our weekend in 1981, our boys were 10, 9, 3, and 1 year old. Today, three of them are married, and between them we have 6 grandchildren.
The special and blessed event of this last weekend is that, on the anniversary of our Rookie weekend 22 years ago, our son and daughter in law, Tony & Kristy Vena, were also a part of the presenting team with us on the weekend. Our oldest son and daughter-in-law, Bill & Sherry Vena, are a presenting team in the Las Vegas area, and were also part of the team presenting a weekend in Las Vegas on that same weekend. So, all of us were sharing our stories, in different parts of the country, on the same exact weekend, on the anniversary of our very first weekend as a presenting team. We do consider it an "It's a Miracle" story since we all ended up sharing our sacrament on the same weekend, on our 22nd anniversary of our Rookie Weekend. While we were on the weekend, I kept envisioning Jesus standing by Bill & Sherry in Las Vegas as they were giving the same talks at the same time. I saw Jesus standing by Tony & Kristy as they sat at the table with Father sharing their love, their brokenness, and their joy, as tears filled our eyes witnessing Christ in the flesh. I felt Jesus sitting by us, Bill & Mary Ann, with his arms wrapped around us with a big smile on His beautiful face as He said, "For your faithfulness to Me, I give you this gift to share with your children on this special weekend." As I am writing this letter, again, my eyes are blurred with tears of thankfulness. We never got tired of sharing our dialogue with our children, never saw it as a burden, but only as a blessing to be shared for a lifetime. Our Lord blessed us in many, many ways through our 36 years as a sacramental couple, but to experience being part of the presenting team with your children, is a 200 on a scale of 1 - 10. The blessed feeling makes you want to fall on your knees in thanksgiving. It sounds like a children's choir when their voices bring chills to your body and tears to your eyes. We just wanted to share this special gift that we have been given with all couples. When we made our weekend 24 years ago, we asked the priest, Fr. Chuck Seuver, "Do you think the marriage encounter weekend will be around when our children grow up and get married?" His answer to us was, "If you live the concepts of this weekend in your home, and make the first Catholics you evangelize your own children, you will have changed the world in a wondrous way. We believed him, we trusted him, and took his words very seriously. We thank God for Father Chuck Seuver and the wisdom he shared with us so many years ago. Thank you all for your support, your love, and your excitement for our Mission in our church. May God continue to bless you all with His Peace, Love, and Passion. Bill & Mary Ann Vena Click here for a printable page (PDF, 8KB)
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