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eMatrimony.org Supporting, Encouraging, and Challenging the WWME Community |
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| News - International Presbyterian Marriage Encounter Spreading Across Africa Walt & Marlene Estelle In 2000, Presbyterian Expression of Worldwide Marriage Encounter ventured forth to the continent of Africa. Their goal was to work with a small group of Presbyterians who were given a dream of establishing their faith expression of Marriage Encounter in Kenya. From the first encounter of Bill & Carolyn McQuiston and Rev. Darel & Joretta Griffin with a clergy from a small rural community in central Kenya, contacts were made and seeds planted. Trips have been made every year but one since 2000 with 2 to 6 US couples making the trek to give Weekends, train team, develop community and encourage dialogue. Communities have been established across the country and the Kenyans are now giving up to 6 weekends a year on their own. It has worked and the Kenyan community is well established working under the license of USPME. Along the way the US teams have underwritten work with water distribution projects, grist mills, medical clinics and orphanages and there has been a lot of bang for the buck. But the work in Africa is not finished. While preparing to return this year to finish workshopping some of the newer team and train leaders to do their own Deeper team training weekends, an enquiry came through the PME web page from Cameroon. In one section of the country there was a large group of Presbyterian couples who had experienced the Weekend through Worldwide in Cameroon and now they wanted to start a Presbyterian expression. What could be done? Tickets had already been purchased for round trip travel to Kenya and penalties would surely cost if changes were made. Funds were more than short – they were non-existent for expanding more than already planned. But the dream and the time of action coincided. A decision was made and the team decided that they could delay personal trips and combine award miles together with a partner airline of Kenya Air. But would there be seats available for four? A phone call answered the question as the tickets popped up one after another and all was set to fly from Nairobi to Cameroon – one side of the continent to the other. It was like finding dollars instead of dimes or nickels under the pillow from the tooth fairy. So, Rev. Walt & Marlene Estelle of Spokane, WA and Herb & Jean Ward of Mt. Prospect, IL, will leave for London, arriving there August 3 and then depart for Nairobi, Kenya on the 4th Over the first weekend they will workshop new team that were on Deepers they presented last year and encourage them in their writing. On August 10 they will depart on Kenya Air for Douala, Cameroon. They will be met by community couples at the airport. On Wednesday evening they will meet with the Moderator and Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Cameroon Presbyterian Church. The next morning they will leave for an eight hour drive to Bamenda where there is an active Marriage Encounter community. Over 48 Presbyterian couples comprise this grouping and they have been actively supported and encouraged by the Worldwide (Catholic) community who provided their Weekends. On their own they meet four times a year for their own gatherings. Wards and Estelles will then give a Deeper Weekend for 15 couples at a Guest House owned by the Cameroon Presbyterian Church. If all goes well and everyone approves, either Sunday or Monday they will gather the community together and present by-laws, elect interim leaders and come under the umbrella of USPME, similar to the Kenya agreement. Because of the love initially shared by Worldwide in providing these couples their original Weekends, it is the hope to accomplish in a short week what could have taken years. Sometimes impossible dreams happen slowly, sometimes quicker than we can imagine.
When all is done in Cameroon, Wards and Estelles return to Nairobi to process more workshopping with new team and help present another Deeper for their community. We are so thankful for the Kenyan community. They now have had almost 300 couples on weekends (six presented entirely by Kenyan team and nearly 100 on either a community or team Deeper. After finishing the work for this year the US team will then return home during the last days of August. Of course all of this is happening because of the help of many people. Presbyterian Marriage Encounter is one of the smaller protestant expressions and funds are limited. But at the core of it has always been Worldwide Marriage Encounter. From the time in 1971 that a clergy couple on a Catholic Weekend were told they were to start the Presbyterian expression, to this current effort, Worldwide has been there encouraging with word and substance. Each outreach trip to Kenya has been kick-started by matching grants from Worldwide. This year they have again made a substantial grant and donations to match it have been coming in. But even so, with airfares rising, and diminished Weekend receipts, it has been a challenge for the outreach team. We are still trying to operate on nickels and dimes instead of dollars. And we can do that, but the Lord is still calling us to fill many dreams. If you would like to help in this critical Kenya-Cameroon outreach trip, you can send tax deductible donations made to Presbyterian Marriage Encounter and marked for African Outreach to our PME finance couple: Carl & Nadine Parker There could be other ways you can help give. Maybe you have a good, but currently undersized lap top you want to replace. Maybe you have air miles that can be donated. Give us a call and we can dream together. Walt & Marlene Estelle
As all expressions are challenged to fill Weekends here it seems that the Holy Spirit is moving wildly through the church and its ministries in developing countries of the world. Marriage Encounter seems to be caught up in the world wide movement to build healthy relationships – even in the midst of the challenges of resources and disease that would seem to quench the spirit. But not so. There is a freshness and vibrancy that reminds us of our roots in the 60’s and 70’s. This is still the time to sow. Click here for a printable version (PDF, 79KB)
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