A Trip to Hayward

One of the amazing things about cataract surgery is that the recovery period doesn't come with a lot of restrictions.  It's pretty much limited to don't press or rub your eyes and don't let shower water hit you directly in the eye.  Otherwise, he's free to do whatever he wants, including playing golf and running.  

We knew before we came to California that Pastor Julio and Patty were going to be in the area while we were here.  They are presenting a family conference in a Hispanic church in Hayward; so we told them we would come to one of the evening services.

Because the rush-hour traffic across the Dumbarton Bridge between Sunnyvale and Hayward can be crazy, we left about 3:00 p.m. and arrived with no major delays.  We were able to explore the city and walk through the rather quaint, but almost empty (more shops were out of business than were open) stores.  The city hall and other government buildings were quite impressive, though.

We also had time to drive to Garin Regional Park and do a bit of walking.  We weren't dressed for hiking, so we didn't wander far from the parking lot.  These two pictures don't do justice to the scenery--the rolling hills were much greener than they appear.  

Iglesia Bautista La Roca wasn't too far from the park so we were one of the first to arrive.  Pastor Julio and Patty are in the area all week talking about how to have strong marriages and families.

We felt right at home in the Hispanic service!  Pastor Julio even played the piano for one of the hymns we sang.

After the service we went out to eat with Pastor Carlos, his daughter, Rebeca, (his wife, Isa, is battling cancer and her counts were too low for her to come to the service), Pastor Julio and Patty.  Carlos and his wife are both Salvadorans who worshipped at our church in San Salvador before moving to California to plant their current church. 

Pink Sunglasses and Blue Hearing Aids

On Saturday and Sunday afternoon we joined about 40 other couples from all four of the Vida Nueva sites at the "Love and Respect" mini-conference.  Sandy and Lori Shook, the conference leaders, came all the way from Bell Shoals Baptist Church, in Florida, to share with us. 

David translated as Sandy and Lori presented

 One the church's 2014 goals is to begin a ministry to strengthen couples/marriages.  So, this conference was the first step.  Sandy and Lori presented the material they use in the classes they give at their church, but, in addition, they taught the group "how to present" the material to others.  The goal is that many of the 40+ couples who attended will form the base of the new ministry and that there will be Love and Respect classes/small groups formed in all of four of our sites.

Sandy and Lori are gifted teachers; they are transparent about their relationship (both the highs and lows) and their love for each other is obvious.  We laughed along with them as they explained that women see through "pink" sunglasses and hear with "pink" hearing aids, while men see through "blue" sunglasses and hear with "blue" hearing aids.  No wonder that, from time to time, it can be difficult for couples to communicate clearly.  They encouraged us to follow God's marriage plan: Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church; wives see to it that you respect your husbands!

The materials they covered came from Dr. Emerson Eggerich's book, "Love and Respect" and Gary Chapman's book, "The Five Love Languages."  Each couple had the opportunity to take the love language quiz.  Now each husband and each wife is aware of the love language of his/her spouse.  This knowledge can be a very powerful tool in strengthening a couple's relationship.

The conference finished with a dinner on Sunday evening.  Wives were served by their husbands!  

 One of the 40+ happy couples!

Group photo on the stage at the Lourdes church

Husbands in the food line while wives wait at the table.