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| Family - Fun Wesley P. Guin returns from visit in Hawaii 11-13 June, 2004 I am attending another educational experience in my journey with the Worldwide Marriage Encounter family. I am now in Houston, Texas, quite a change from the Hawaiian Islands. Ricky & Jo Ann Viernes filled my belly with chocolate covered macadamia nuts and brought me to their Leading Through Relationship training. This workshop experience is presented to newly processed leaders in Worldwide Marriage Encounter to help them learn the Marriage Encounter values of shepherd leadership. While at the LTR I was given to Adrian & Sophie Annal.
Adrian & Sophie live in Hannibal, New York and said they were going to take me white water rafting. As a penguin this sounds EXCITING! The eMatrimony editors were also at the LTR and they took my journal so they could update all of you on my travels. The editors are also going to try to improve the instructions that go with my journal so my travels will be sent to eMatrimony on a more regular basis and will include more photos. It is pretty amazing to me that since July of 2003, when I started my travels with WWME, I have been in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Hawaii and Texas, I have seen both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans and I’ve been in France. I have traveled and stayed with priests, couples, and families. I have been to Love Circles, a leadership selection process, a Team Enrichment/Sweep and a LTR training. I hope in my future to include many more photos of the WWME families I meet. 1 May, 2004 So many wonderful things happened to me during my stay here in Hawaii. I am now at the Viernes’ home in an area of Oahu called Hawaii Kai. They have a 12 year old daughter named Kelly and she and I have become good friends. She taught me how to do the hula and some easy piano pieces. She picked out a flower lei for me to wear. While at the Viernes’ house, I heard them getting excited about an ME Weekend on the island of Maui. They were so happy when a priest was found to present the Weekend, and he was none other than Fr. Frank Diffley. He was a former presenting priest for Hawaii until he retired to Maryknoll, New York several years ago. Ricky & JoAnn were afraid that they were going to have to cancel the Maui Weekend if no priest came forward, but God truly provides! Fr, Frank stayed with the former Hawaii exec couple while on Maui – Hilton & Maria Unemori, before coming to Oahu for a few days to stay with us. On Tuesday, April 27, a group of ME couples took Fr. Frank and Fr. Pete Peterson to a lovely dinner at Sam Snead’s Tavern. They brought home some fish for me. Right after Fr. Frank returned to New York more guests arrived from what I keep hearing referred to as “the Mainland”, John & Regina Rupport and Dean & Claire Simmonich came to present the Community Leadership Training Experience (CLTE) to couples from Worldwide Marriage Encounter, Engaged Encounter, and Retrouvaille. Hawaii calls those three groups a“triministry” for families. Couples came from Maui, the Big Island of Hawaii and as far away as Guam. I’m sitting right with the presenting teams and it’s funny watching the couples blowing feathers on a sheet. March 2004 While in San Francisco, I got the chance to meet Modesto & Aileen Cordero during their last Section Board meeting as execs from Section 12, Hawaii area. The distance between Hawaii and California made it more difficult for them to say good bye this time. I understand how they must feel because of all the friends I have had to say good bye to already. I told them that distance doesn’t matter where there is love and they wanted to show me their state. They took me to Hawaii where I have been eating pineapples and surfing on the North Shore. I can’t believe how beautiful it is and how warm compared with the other places I have been, although the warmth of the ME people is the same every where I go. I went to the selection of the new execs where all the presenting team couples from all the islands met. It was a room full of love, excitement, expectation and prayers. I felt the Holy Spirit work there and by midafternoon they selected Ricky & Jo Ann Viernes as their new leaders. Everybody here in Hawaii was excited to see me and to know about the places I have been. I felt like a celebrity. I have mixed emotions because I don’t want to leave Hawaii but if I don’t leave I will miss knowing more couples in exciting communities and places. Aloha! 23 February, 2004 Well, it is Monday night and guess what, I’m at another Love Circle over at the Reynolds’. They call it Hearts Afire deeper Love Circle. They talked about SEX! Wow, I was sure impressed by the openness in the sharing. This group sure has a very special connection to one another. It felt so good to be a part of their meeting. I am becoming so educated about God and Love in my travels. I don’t know where I am off to next but I’m sure looking forward to it. 22 February, 2004 Boy, have I been busy. Today I was at the Reunion for the February 13 -15 Weekend. What a great turnout both by the new couples as well as the veteran couples! We had to meet in two separate rooms. The presenting team from the Weekend met with the “newbees” and the Crawfords met with the veterans. They were both great sessions, there is so much excitement about the growth of the organization in the Sacramento area. Lots of new blood with some great ideas and lots of energy! Watch out, Northern Lights. I forgot to mention the Hood children, two boys and a precious girl (whose names I forget), who were a tremendous help to the adults before and after the Valentine Day Dance. You should have seen them decorating and helping set up and take down tables and chairs. Did I tell you about the belly rubbing dancing I saw to all those love songs? Lots of fun, love, and kissing was had by the lovers. 21 February, 2004 I rested all week and now it is Saturday, Feb. 21 and I’m getting a tummy tuck, or “re-do” or whatever, and I’m going to look super! That was tasty, mmm! I’m full of tasty fruits, but I hear they must be eaten before Ash Wednesday in just 4 days. Tonight I went down to Stockton to visit friends, Robert & Dawn Cruz and their Love Circle; Dave & Bobbie Gouker, PJ & Cathy Halligan and Michael & Marie Porter. This is the end of the first Love Circle for Porter’s and Halligan’s and guess what, we have two couples who will join this Circle within the month! The two new couples made the Valentine’s Weekend in Sacramento. Tonight’s Circle is the sixth night of the Light Circle, where the couples have written a special love letter to another couple in the Circle. These couples also shared their individual strengths and weaknesses. The they put together a puzzle of the Body of Christ. The Rupport’s brought me back home to their house to get a good nights sleep because tomorrow we meet with three groups. I’m pooped, Good night! 16 February, 2004 All I know is that I’m on my way to the Sacramento Zone Board. I will be passed from Barry & Julia Reynolds back to John & Regina Ruport. There were so many hors d’oeuvres left over from the Sacramento Valentine’s Dance in Fair Oakes at St. Mel’s Hall that Dennis & Connie Crawford invited all us Zone Board members to their home in Auburn so we could enjoy some vegetable soup & bread and talk about that dance and the great 29 couple Valentine’s ME Weekend we had in Sacramento. 15 February, 2004 Guess where I was yesterday? I spent from 12 noon – 12 midnight, all Valentine’s Day, getting ready for & enjoying the first dance in a long time sponsored by Marriage Encounter. We decorated, moved tables & removed tables until it was just right. The hall was beautiful. The DJ was powerful, the disco ball a glance back in time, it was very romantic. There was more great food than I have ever seen and great hors d’oeuvres. There were plenty of kiddies and the most fun baby sitters ever, 3 very pretty ladies, who played & played with us kids. At the end of the dance we kids got to go out and do the “penguin” hokey pokey. Whew, that tuckered me plum out. My Lady, Our Lady of Guadalupe, accompanied us, so I had to be on my best behavior. 03 February, 2004 I enjoyed John & Regina’s 6th child & 2nd son, Benny’s 27th birthday. 20 people enjoyed chicken picatta & shrimp scampi. There a lot of flurry at the Sacramento, Reno, Stockton, Santa Rosa executive’s (John & Regina) house. Three week old Augustine lives there with mommy, Mary Elizabeth (also Encountered) and Augustine’s father comes on weekends. The Sacramento area has a Valentine’s Dance on Saturday February 14 right smack in the middle of their 22 couple Weekend February 13-15. The Rupert’s are taking good care of me & keeping me away from Oreo & Nicky, two dogs who could easily team me to shreds! My belly of treats needs replenishing – I’m looking tired and lean & I really want to look my best. I sure hope John & Regina write my home town to let the folks know what I’ve been up to. 01 February, 2004 I almost forgot to tell you I spent the weekend January 30 –February 1 at the Radisson Hotel in Stockton at the Section 12 Team Enrichment/Sweep. Gil & Rose Apodaca from Los Angeles and Mark & Roseanne Sandersfeld from Iowa came to present the weekend to 17 team couples. That was one powerful bunch of lovers, drinking passion tea from Friday night on . . . They told us the Sharing Guidelines so I promised I wouldn’t take anything I heard outside of the Hotel! Section 12’s Our Lady of Guadalupe statue was with us all weekend. 28 January, 2004 I’m back with Dawn & Robert Cruz. I sure had a lot of fun with the Halligans. Lake Tahoe was so pretty. Today I went to work with Dawn because I heard she works with children and I love children. I sat in circle time and sang lots of songs even got lots of hugs from the children. I played with something that was soft and pink and the kids were pulling it apart and throwing it. That was fun. I had a good time wit the Section 12 couples. It got cold some nights in Stockton but Dawn & Robert covered me up. I had to close my eyes a few times in the evening because they were doing some kinky stuff. That’s what love is all about. I will miss Stockton, I hope I will be back soon. I am off to Orangevale again with John & Regina Ruport. 26 January, 2004 WHOA! Boy what a weekend I had up in Tahoe California with Cathy & PJ Halligan, their two sons John & Lucas, Uncle Brian & his girls Halley and Erin with their friend Erin. It felt good to be in freezing weather tubing down the mountains at Heavenly Ski Park. The drive back to Stockton Sunday afternoon was breathtaking with snow on the trees from Saturday’s storm. We stopped at Kirkwood Inn for lunch then in Jackson to do some antique shopping. A wonderful time was had by all and I will be going back to Dawn & Robert Cruz’ to spend the rest of the week before I am off to more adventures with ME families.
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