"A serving of Biblical wisdom with a dash of friendly fun and scoop of excellent eats" might describe well our monthly matrimonios' (married couples') meetings. Last night fifteen couples enjoyed sharing laughter and life experiences and learning life-changing truths from God's Word together.
To get the ball rolling (no pun intended!) we began the meeting with a couples' ping-pong competition. Only this one didn't involve paddles, but merely a lot of hot air! Each couple tried to blow the ball over to the opposing couples' side and off the table to earn bragging rights. Pedro had set up a bracket to ensure everyone competed and he led us all the way through to the final round, which was a face-off between our visiting missionary speaker and wife vs. a young married couple from church. The latter won, but both put forth their best effort amidst laughter and cheers.
Our second game had the dual purpose of icebreaker and marriage builder, as it involved giving each couple a set of questions with instructions to answer three now (with the rest for "homework") and be prepared to share one out loud with the group. The questions included: How did we meet? Where and when did we have our first kiss? What were our first impressions of each other? About what things do we fight? What is our favorite romantic movie? What was our favorite date or trip together? How did you propose to me? Where did we go on our honeymoon?
It's amazing how answering a single question for the group's benefit can open a window into knowing someone and there was clapping and more laughter as some sweet and some hilarious stories were shared. One couple shared that both their first kiss and marriage proposal were in a cemetary, while another said they met in prison (only not as inmates - both worked for organizations which provided resources to the prison, and they even shared their first "date" over coffee at the prison snack shop!)
Our third game was definitely unforgettable. The instructions called for the husband and wife to make it from point A to point B with the wife's feet on top of the husband's feet, which isn't as easy as it may sound. Two couples raced each other to the finish line. If nothing else, it was a unique test of each spouse's faith in the other!
Following the games and announcements, the teaching time centered on "4 Rules of Communication" in marriage. Our colleague Scott Russell from Santiago did an excellent job sharing these important principles from God's Word and how they apply to our marriage relationships.
The final part of the night was our monthly "once." (By the way, for a great description of this uniquely Chilean meal, read this blog post I recently stumbled upon!) Each couple provides some contribution and this month we enjoyed cheese empanadas, tuna sandwiches, chips with spicy Chilean dip, olives, cheese and a smorgasboard of delicious desserts. With three or four couples around a table, the last half hour or so was spent getting to know one another better - or in our table's case, answering some more of the icebreaker questions together!
To get the ball rolling (no pun intended!) we began the meeting with a couples' ping-pong competition. Only this one didn't involve paddles, but merely a lot of hot air! Each couple tried to blow the ball over to the opposing couples' side and off the table to earn bragging rights. Pedro had set up a bracket to ensure everyone competed and he led us all the way through to the final round, which was a face-off between our visiting missionary speaker and wife vs. a young married couple from church. The latter won, but both put forth their best effort amidst laughter and cheers.
Our second game had the dual purpose of icebreaker and marriage builder, as it involved giving each couple a set of questions with instructions to answer three now (with the rest for "homework") and be prepared to share one out loud with the group. The questions included: How did we meet? Where and when did we have our first kiss? What were our first impressions of each other? About what things do we fight? What is our favorite romantic movie? What was our favorite date or trip together? How did you propose to me? Where did we go on our honeymoon?
It's amazing how answering a single question for the group's benefit can open a window into knowing someone and there was clapping and more laughter as some sweet and some hilarious stories were shared. One couple shared that both their first kiss and marriage proposal were in a cemetary, while another said they met in prison (only not as inmates - both worked for organizations which provided resources to the prison, and they even shared their first "date" over coffee at the prison snack shop!)
Our third game was definitely unforgettable. The instructions called for the husband and wife to make it from point A to point B with the wife's feet on top of the husband's feet, which isn't as easy as it may sound. Two couples raced each other to the finish line. If nothing else, it was a unique test of each spouse's faith in the other!
Following the games and announcements, the teaching time centered on "4 Rules of Communication" in marriage. Our colleague Scott Russell from Santiago did an excellent job sharing these important principles from God's Word and how they apply to our marriage relationships.
The final part of the night was our monthly "once." (By the way, for a great description of this uniquely Chilean meal, read this blog post I recently stumbled upon!) Each couple provides some contribution and this month we enjoyed cheese empanadas, tuna sandwiches, chips with spicy Chilean dip, olives, cheese and a smorgasboard of delicious desserts. With three or four couples around a table, the last half hour or so was spent getting to know one another better - or in our table's case, answering some more of the icebreaker questions together!
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