Summary

   ​After the virtual meetings, “Our Family…Our Wealth", 1 and 2, over a period of two years, the family committee in the dioceses of Sidon and Deir Al Qamar launched the First Missionary Family Camp, entitled: “Our Family... Our Wealth -3-“, from the 3rd to the 6th of August in the "House of Pentecost" at Kfarfalous. The program of the camp was divided into several sections. Before noon, the committee members participated in Biblical, spiritual topics; in the afternoon, they engaged in special relational and upbringing topics. Then, they went to the villages, and the day ended with an evaluation evening. On the first day, we participated with the pastor of the diocese, Archbishop Elie Beshara Al-Haddad the following topic: "The family and the Church's view of society". His Eminence emphasized on the role of the family in society, that is the family is God's plan, it's the most obvious plan through which God’s work is manifested; fatherhood and motherhood are an invitation to participate in the work of creation. He praised the role of St. Joseph, his message, and his obedience, as it is an "act of humility" for the two partners to occupy in their marital journey. He also shed light on the virtues that develop love between the partners: accepting the other and each other develops love and strengthens it; creative courage transforms problems into joy and escaping difficulties into confrontation. It also grants sharing and mutual giving, praying and reading the Bible that gives a new formula of communication where meditating on God's words gives us mercy and helps us accept the other in Christianity. On the second day, we shared the topic “Marriage and the Family in the Bible " with Father Wissam Wakim. He started from the Old Testament, with Adam and Eve being the first family in history, and that every family is a reflection of God's image. Father Wakim focused on the importance of integration between spouses, equality, and the unity of the two. He also explained that the first enemy of the man is loneliness, so he stressed the importance of marriage, cohabitation and decisions sharing. He came to prayer, which is a connection with God and a connection with the other. A praying family can face life's obstacles more easily as well as its togetherness in facing pain thus relieving its stress. He also emphasized on the importance of transition from natural religiosity to true faith. He was cited from the following books, Book of Tobit, Book of Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Genesis One and Two. At noon, on the second day, Father Joseph Abi Aoun, President of The Monastery of Our Lady of the Hill and the Head of the Family Committee in the Maronite Diocese of Sidon, held a surprise visit that put in a pleasant atmosphere of love and continuous cooperation between the two dioceses. As for the afternoon, the committee lived its own upbringing for two whole days, and Mr. Joseph Al Khoury, Director of Metanoia Listening Center, activated relational topics for the committee members who participated individually and in pairs, and then in front of the group. We headed for two nights in a row to the following villages: Kfarhouna, Mrah Al Hbas, Wadi Al Laymoun and Ain Al Delb, where each couple of the family committee was active in one of the parishes with the families who participated in the meetings. Topics were meaningful and straight to the point regarding the couples' life. The first day's topic was "Communication and Conversation" where we aimed to help the couples to know each other more and to understand each other's behavior, shedding light on the difference between the nature of men and women, as well as stressing on the expression of their love that sometimes can be declared in their actions and other times with their words. Everyone has their own way of expression and our role is to help partners identify their feelings. The second day's topic was about "evaluating the quality of the relationship". We aimed through this topic to shed light on their relationship deeply and we put some questions that helped them dive into their affairs more broadly, and they discovered in the end the quality of their relationship. Some of the spouses need to build friendship between each other and some of them need to work on their communication skills and their future in addition to growing tenderness between them as a couple. The participants shared the topic. Each couple had an individual assessment on the quality of their relationship, then they shared their assessments in pairs. After that, they participated to share their ideas either individually or in pairs in front of everybody else. These topics helped couples to look through their relationship and to think of new ways of communication. In addition, it helped them to pray with each other the "testament prayer". At the end of the camp, on Sunday, August 6, 2023, the feast of Transfiguration, the committee invited the couples who participated in these meetings to participate in the divine sacrifice celebrated by Father Youssef Dandan in the Church of "House of Pentecost" Kfarfalous, after which a cake was cut to celebrate the occasion. Thanks to everyone who arranged, followed and participated in the completion of this camp. Thanks to the parishes that welcomed us, the priests who accompanied us, and to the participated families. Thanks to ACN Association that funded this camp and that always supports all our activities. Thanks to the pastor of the diocese, His Eminence, Bishop Elie Bechara Al-Haddad, for his constant support, for his love and care, for greeting us and sharing these precious times with us.