As our dear friend Rod would say, "Celebrate Recovery is the best place to be on a Thursday night." And we couldn't agree more. Please join us as we work through our hurts, habits and hang ups and receive healing.
It is a privilege for us to share a testimony with you of a married couple who attends Celebrate Recovery. Their story is a testament to God’s unfailing love.
Their names are Miguel and Lorena.
Their names are Miguel and Lorena.
When Miguel and Lorena were first married Miguel had very high expectations of Lorena and felt frustrated and confused when his way of leading his family didn’t work. Over the course of time their discussions turned into disagreements which turned into arguments. Their problems grew bigger and if you were to ask Miguel he, at the time, would blame Lorena; he would refer to her as a trouble maker. He realized later that his own pride was stopping him from recognizing his own fault and failure.
Their physical and verbal abuse towards one another was affecting their son. They ended up separating and during this time Miguel realized that while he was able to hide this part of his life from those around him, he could not hide from God. God was working on his heart and he knew he needed to repent.
Lorena was a new believer and did not understand the meaning of a wife submitting to her husband. She was an independent woman with a good job, her own home and she was successfully raising her son as a single mom. The word ‘submit’ was not a part of her vocabulary. In her new-believer mind she thought that marrying a Christian would make life easier but the changes were difficult. She did not know how to depend on a man. The power struggle lasted four and a half years. She made it very clear to him that she and her son did not need him. She did not respect Miguel.
The couple moved to Rosarito and started attending Calvary Chapel. Their Pastors along with brothers and sisters in the Lord tried to help but they were rebellious and chose to mask their problems. They pretended that everything was good until they were unable to keep it hidden. They were on their way to a divorce.
Miguel’s pride in not wanting to recognize that he was wrong held him back from leading his family well. Christian brothers from church starting holding him accountable and as much as it hurt to admit the truth he couldn’t hide his sin anymore. At the encouragement of friends both Miguel and Lorena started attending the Celebrate Recovery program. Miguel was convinced that he didn’t need the program for himself but insisted that they both go so that he could make sure Lorena was attending – she was the one that needed to change, not him.
Lorena started attending so that people would see that she was the victim in their marriage. She wanted people to see that she was the one that moved away from family and a good job to endure a dysfunctional marriage. Going through the step studies of Celebrate Recovery she realized that she was not just a victim but also a victimizer. They were both at fault. They were both prideful and hard-hearted. They treated each other wrong and did not honor God.
Their physical and verbal abuse towards one another was affecting their son. They ended up separating and during this time Miguel realized that while he was able to hide this part of his life from those around him, he could not hide from God. God was working on his heart and he knew he needed to repent.
Lorena was a new believer and did not understand the meaning of a wife submitting to her husband. She was an independent woman with a good job, her own home and she was successfully raising her son as a single mom. The word ‘submit’ was not a part of her vocabulary. In her new-believer mind she thought that marrying a Christian would make life easier but the changes were difficult. She did not know how to depend on a man. The power struggle lasted four and a half years. She made it very clear to him that she and her son did not need him. She did not respect Miguel.
The couple moved to Rosarito and started attending Calvary Chapel. Their Pastors along with brothers and sisters in the Lord tried to help but they were rebellious and chose to mask their problems. They pretended that everything was good until they were unable to keep it hidden. They were on their way to a divorce.
Miguel’s pride in not wanting to recognize that he was wrong held him back from leading his family well. Christian brothers from church starting holding him accountable and as much as it hurt to admit the truth he couldn’t hide his sin anymore. At the encouragement of friends both Miguel and Lorena started attending the Celebrate Recovery program. Miguel was convinced that he didn’t need the program for himself but insisted that they both go so that he could make sure Lorena was attending – she was the one that needed to change, not him.
Lorena started attending so that people would see that she was the victim in their marriage. She wanted people to see that she was the one that moved away from family and a good job to endure a dysfunctional marriage. Going through the step studies of Celebrate Recovery she realized that she was not just a victim but also a victimizer. They were both at fault. They were both prideful and hard-hearted. They treated each other wrong and did not honor God.
Miguel and Lorena are not perfect but they are walking the road of recovery together, hand in hand; it is painful at times but definitely worth it. God is restoring their marriage and it is because of His unfailing love and mercy that they are able to share this part of their journey with us.
~ Please continue to pray for our sister in Christ, Cheryl, as she learns to live life without her partner in ministry, Rod.
~ Please pray for our team as we continue to realize how many different 'hats' Rod wore and as we learn to walk forward filling in where he used to be.
~ Praise God with us for bringing Mitch and Joy into the Recovery Ministry, for equipping them with the tools needed to help lead this ministry. Pray that they will be used by God to further His Kingdom.
~ Pray for those within the program who are working on their hurts, habits and hang ups that they would feel the love of God being poured out on them as they find healing in Him.
~ Please pray for our team as we continue to realize how many different 'hats' Rod wore and as we learn to walk forward filling in where he used to be.
~ Praise God with us for bringing Mitch and Joy into the Recovery Ministry, for equipping them with the tools needed to help lead this ministry. Pray that they will be used by God to further His Kingdom.
~ Pray for those within the program who are working on their hurts, habits and hang ups that they would feel the love of God being poured out on them as they find healing in Him.
We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to our Third Annual Celebrate Recovery One Day Seminar at Calvary Chapel Rosarito. This bilingual event will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Special Guests will be Cesar and Olga Villarreal.
If you or someone you know is interested in raising funds for this event to provide the meal and the materials for the day please click on the button below to make a donation. Any church or family teams interested in coming down that weekend to help us set up, serve and clean up would be appreciated; please connect with us on FaceBook or via email for more details on where you would be able to serve.
If you or someone you know is interested in raising funds for this event to provide the meal and the materials for the day please click on the button below to make a donation. Any church or family teams interested in coming down that weekend to help us set up, serve and clean up would be appreciated; please connect with us on FaceBook or via email for more details on where you would be able to serve.
Thank you for your love, your words of encouragement, your prayers and your financial gifts. Thank you for walking the Road to Recovery with us.
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