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| News - Local Thank You to My Parents Andrea Johnston Dear Marriage Encounter, I have sat down to write a letter to the Spirit many times and haven’t found the strength to ever send it off but last weekend I was at the M.E. Campout and kept hearing the question, “How do we get more people to come to the Campout?” I started thinking back to all the times our family went to the Campouts and I have some of the best memories from those times. It was always fun getting to see my friends and picking up where we had all left off the year before. I now go every year still so that my kids can see the love of all the couples, play and run free. It is very hard and emotional for me to go now that my husband has passed away. I still have my moments where I break down and cry. The amazing thing is even though I break down I don’t feel embarrassed, I just feel loved and safe. It is hard for me because when we got married I knew one day I wouldn’t just be a Marriage Encounter kid, I would be an active part of the community. My parents, Ray and Marisa Mackin, have given me the foundation of what a relationship is suppose to be; love, respect and a lot of hard work. They also have given me the gift of the Marriage Encounter community. When I think back M.E. has been my living angels. They have gotten me through some of the toughest times of my life. When I was in the hospital, I had a flood of letters every day just to let me know I was loved and in their prayers. After Rob died, it was the Marriage Encounter community that surrounded me during the Novena of Grace, the Rosary, and even the funeral. It was like I was a little kid once again and when my parents would go give a group hug I would run as fast as I could to get into the middle of it. All I felt was complete love. The last few years have been very difficult for me but I can still feel their arms around me, picking me up and telling me that I can do it. My friend recently said that there are no good men. I told her that my dad is a good man and all I have ever grown up around and seen is good men, men who love their family, men who love their wives and men who are not afraid to show their feelings. At the campout during mass last year, when everyone went up for communion I saw Barry Loe kiss his wife, then step behind and kiss each one of his kids as they went up. That is what I want my children to know. I want my daughter to know that there are good men and my son to know how to be that man who can kiss his family in front of everyone to see. I just want to say thank you to my parents for being active in such a wonderful community. For letting me and my children be a part of it with them and taking us to the campouts, Christmas parties and other community activities. Also, I want to say thank you for all the prayers, love and support the Marriage Encounter has given to me and my children over the years. Thank you,
The enclosed picture was taken April 1981 when Ray & Marisa Mackin came home from their Weekend. Andrea is the little girl on the right. She was only 3 years old when Mackins went on the weekend; her brother Bryce was 4, and big sister Larissa 8. The couple who wined, signed, and delivered Ray & Marisa to the Weekend got the kids involved in making the cake for them. Click here for a printable page (PDF, 82KB)
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Click for a larger image (JPG, 118KB)