Marriage Enrichment Retreat 1

Coffs Harbour, 6-7 October 2025

There were six couples who attended the Marriage Enrichment Retreat (MER) 1 at Coffs Harbour. These couples invested time in listening to the seven talks, had one-on-one with each other to discuss in prayerful manner how to build a marriage and family in accordance with God’s plan and rediscovered each other during the long weekend of October.

The testimonies below are testament on the community’s works in bringing family in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth. We are thankful for the support from the speakers and the elders.

Thank you to the service team. The MER provided us with the opportunity to have focused discussions between myself and Jenny. We learnt a lot and the reflections allowed us to revisit our previous hurts and processed healing along the way. We pray to apply the learnings moving forward.

-            Alvin and Jenny

Thankful for all the service team both local and from Sydney. This retreat allowed us to revisit in real sense our married and family life. Our love for our children sometimes is expressed in ways that are not perfect, and the talks made us reflect on this. This brings humility to us, to ask for forgiveness from them. Being open on areas for improvement is a good start for us to grow.

-            Vic and Gemma

Raising children who are teenagers is posing a challenge to us. The talks reminded us of the importance of active listening for an effective communication and allowed us to revisit the important values we want our children to grow up with.

-            Mel and Niel

The seminar affirmed our faith that our struggles in life, if surrendered to God, will be bearable. As we learnt from our parents, it is also our desire that we can pass on the faith to our children. We realised that living out our faith in practice, at home and in our marriage, is especially important. We recognised that we are each a blessing to each other as husband and wife.

-            Shirley and Ian

Thankful to all the speakers and service team. We have realised how beautiful the retreat is to each couple. In our five years as member of the community, this is the first time we had the opportunity to attend the retreat. The culture in Australia is different and can provide another layer of challenge in raising our kids. All the talks have opened our eyes, we learnt a lot, and we are praying that we can move forward with God on our side. One realisation is the reality that God will love us even in our imperfection.

-            Dennis and Vanessa

Growing up in an imperfect family is not a hindrance to start a new family founded on love, respect, and faith. The talk on healing allowed us to revisit our past hurts and begin the healing process. Very thankful for the opportunity to discuss and plan on ways we can improve our marriage and family life. We hope that this will be the beginning of adapting the right way to communicate with each other.

- Jen and Jay