Following their participation in a REAPP workshop at YWAM-Champagne's Family Resources Centre in France, a couple from Mulhouse, in the east of the country recently invited us to run a workshop in their local church. Part of the leadership team, they had successfully run a Marriage Course for a dozen couples in their church, with growing interest and realization from the congregation of what a positive boost to their relationships a marriage enrichment course could bring.

The presentations of biblically-based teaching and preventative tools, interspersed with interactive exercises prepared individually and later shared between spouses and the group on a volunteer-only basis were very much appreciated. The short role plays of real life situations we performed with various outcomes brought the teaching to life, as well as contributing to creating a relaxed atmosphere (there's nothing like laughing at yourself in order to discover your blind spots!).

For some participants, it was a revelation to realize that anger, a sense of loss or even jealousy are legitimate emotions given by God for a purpose. Some had been battling and trying to banish these from their palette of emotions for years, rather than accepting them as neutral sentiments and seeking to find their causes, or learning to express them in healthy, non-destructive ways.

The closing ceremony, as couples shared Communion together, renewed their marriage vows and brought new commitments before the Lord was a special, sometimes emotional one, as each individual realized the impact of re-affirming their love for their spouse.

We look forward to having Andrea & Angela Fresz run a REAPP Facilitators Training course on our Base in April 2012, and have already invited the 30 couples who have attended a REAPP workshop with us to consider participating in this training so that the benefits of this teaching can be multiplied throughout the french-speaking world and beyond.

We were also excited to hear of the REAPP workshop with a special focus on intercultural marriages to be organised at the Hainichen YWAM Base in Germany next January, as we see this as a growing need in our nation too.

Hilary & Richard