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February 2019

Alums helping strengthen marriages with retreats

Sherman and Tammy Aten first made music together as members of Spirit of America on the Wayland campus. Their duet - "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes - might have started before the Atens were wed, 但当这对夫妇鼓励其他人保持坚强时，这句话时不时会被重复.

The couple has spent most of their marriage in an itinerant music ministry around the world and hosting marriage conferences aimed at helping couples strengthen their bond. The Atens' Three2One Marriage Retreats are focused on the biblical marriage relationship of the husband, wife and God, with the name referring both to Ecclesiastes verse (4:12) "a cord of three strands is not easily broken" and to their anniversary on the 31^st of August.

Originally, the marriage retreats were a side gig they worked in around their busy schedule of revivals at numerous churches. 他们之前曾在生命之路的秋季婚姻节活动上做过演讲, then in the mid-1990s their board of directors suggested the Atens host their own events for couples.

"The last few years, churches are having less revivals and there is more of a desperate need for help with families and marriages," says Sherman, EX'85. "Now we host conferences all over the U.S. 到目前为止，今年我们将在葡萄牙、卢森堡、西班牙、乌克兰和墨西哥. It's really growing."

A growing need

Sherman says he believes the growth is due to many young couples who don't have the foundation of biblical marriage to model and who are juggling so many other challenges in today's society, 让他们更加努力地保持婚姻的健康和牢固. Their schedule of conferences - both timing and location - are set primarily by request of churches who want the service for their members or their entire community in some cases.

Tammy notes that the breakout classes on topics like parenting, 解决冲突和财务问题是会议与会者的热门话题, often including engaged couples that want to get a jump on tips for making their marriages strong.

"Our passion these last few years is for these millennials, and (the material) is so foreign to them in a culture where folks, today, just live together," says Tammy, a 1985 music graduate. “看着他们的脸，看着他们第一次学习东西是很有趣的, things from the Bible and otherwise."

A different experience

Their home church in Granbury, Acton Baptist, hosts a conference on Valentine's Day weekend, and the Atens note that all ages and backgrounds of couples are in attendance at many of their events. Even couples married many decades benefit from the material as a refresher (or as new information to them!) and are encouragement for newly-married men and women. Several things set their events apart from others.

“我们的静修活动的不同之处在于，它不仅仅是关于信息和课程. 我们有大约六对夫妇帮助我们教学，”谢尔曼说. “这种静修是为情侣们设计的，让他们‘离开’彼此有时间. 如今，这种情况通常不会经常发生，所以我们专注于此.

"We try to have a date night offered so they have to plan something with their spouse; we offer men's and women's breakout times, a couples' communion closing ceremony and a vow renewal. 我们试图让它成为一个广泛的经验，而不仅仅是听教学."

Sherman said many churches will keep them over on Sundays and have the retreat material bleed into the morning service. He said in most cases, that involves bringing the church staff and their wives onto the stage and they share one-liners of advice on seven main topics.

塔米指出，世代相传的祝福或诅咒往往会影响婚姻的成功, and that is addressed in one of the retreat breakouts. Couples create a family tree, with each person noting things their families modeled well or poorly. 然后鼓励他们保留积极的方面，把其他方面抛在脑后.

Words of wisdom

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, the Atens shared some nuggets of advice for Wayland alumni couples regardless of how many years married or their backgrounds.

"Two things really made people think about it being a sacred thing, even though in our culture it is not given the respect it deserves. This idea of 'marriage' started with God; it was His idea to begin with!" notes Sherman. "First, your marriage is your second greatest testimony under 你的个人证词，引用我们已故的朋友兼主讲人乔恩·兰德尔斯的话. It speaks loudly, and everyone is watching that. Second, your marriage is a legacy. Someday you will be someone's ancestor; what will the generation have known about your marriage?"

For more information, see the Atens' website at www.a10s.org/3-to-1 or their Facebook page.

Devotional: God has prepared great things for us

I Corinthians 2.v.9: " No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him". 旧约中翻译类似经文的经文还有以赛亚书64章, verse 4, and 65, verse 17.

These verses are so important to each of our lives to recall regularly and share with each other. I would like to share with you about some of the things the Heavenly father has brought about in my life, my husband's, and now a very large family.

I came to Wayland Baptist College in Plainview, Texas, in 1951 from my home in Borger, Texas. Dr. Bill Marshall was the president then, 他有一架小飞机，用来招募学生来那里. Often he took a student to go with him.

The first day of classes for me was upstairs in Gates Hall, and as I came down the steps, a very tall student walked near the steps and stood in front of me on the landing; he held out a picture of me in his hand. I was startled and asked where had gotten the picture. He explained his trip with Dr. Bill Marshall to Borger; a friend of mine had given him the picture and told him I was coming to college there.

Edward S. 年底毕业，山姆大叔在朝鲜战争期间想要他. And Ed wanted me to go with him ASAP! So that summer Dr. Bill flew to Borger and married us in First Baptist Church.

Never in our greatest imaginations could we dreamed of, 想到宇宙的创造者为我们和我们的大家庭所做的一切!

LaVaye Billings earned her bachelor's degree at Wayland in 1959 and celebrated her 85th birthday in 2018. 她是德克萨斯州兰帕萨斯第一浸信会的活跃成员. She and husband Edward, who died in June 2013, 有四个孩子，一群孙子和曾孙.

High schoolers needed for Kaleo experience

Wayland's KALEO program is now accepting nominations for high schoolers who are interested in participating in a special program designed to help students discern God's call on their lives. KALEO focuses on the TRANSFORMATIONAL aspects of the call of God for Christian leadership in the lives of junior and senior high school students. 青年神学院的实施包括两个阶段的过程. It features a month-long immersion experience made up of three immersion spheres and three thresholds. After the one-month immersion experience, participants continue with a yearlong mentoring component.

The program is covered in part by a grant by the Lilly Foundation, with student participants raising the remainder of the cost from church friends and family as support for their journey.

"Adolescents are in a crucial stage of developing identity through an interaction with the world around them. A student's ecology and life experiences foster space to explore metaphysical questions: Where are they, who are they, what are the problems, what are the solutions, what is my purpose?" says program coordinators. "KALEO is an intentional effort to cultivate learning 有利于实践学习和身份形成的环境, critical biblical inquiry, and preparation for Christian service."

The deadline to register is March 18. For more information, visit the KALEO website here.

From the History Files

Hardly anyone who attended Wayland on the Plainview campus doesn't know the storied history between the women's basketball team. 自20世纪40年代该项目启动以来，飞行皇后队一直是校园的中流砥柱, 最早为女性运动员提供奖学金的大学之一.

Starting early on, 皇后队通过招募顶尖人才而声名鹊起, most of whom ironically came from smaller towns in a radius near Plainview where the women's game was gaining ground. Though from humble beginnings, many of these young ladies became All Americans and helped the Queens bring home trophies year after year.

One of those trophies came in 1959, with Coach Harley Redin at the coaching helm and team sponsors Wilda and Claude Hutcherson always nearby. That was 60 years ago this spring, 今年是女王们获得其他几个头衔的里程碑. Their 1974 title celebrates 45 years, 自1983年赢得全国冠军以来，已经过去了35年.

皇后区再次被奈史密斯篮球名人堂提名, with hopes that this third year will be the charm the team needs to receive national recognition. A social media 由飞行皇后基金会赞助的活动正在进行中, aimed at spreading the renown farther and wider. You can help by liking the Queens Foundation page on Facebook and sharing the various posts using the hashtag #InducttheFlyingQueens. An announcement will be made in April about the voting outcome.

Alums find love 67 years after dating in college

随着2018年接近尾声，韦兰的绰号“婚礼钟声大学”变得真实起来. 具有讽刺意味的是，这是在两位校友离开校园60多年后才发生的.

Cortland Savage, BA'54, and Peggy Messenger Fenn, EX'52, married in December at her home in Roswell, N.M., after reconnecting a few years back and rekindling a romance the two started as Wayland students.

1951年夏天，科特兰和佩吉在她的家乡得克萨斯州迪米特初次见面. 科特兰是国际合唱团招募团队的一员，他们参观了佩吉的教堂, and he asked to meet the pretty young lady. They got to spend some time together, 他在阿拉斯加服役时，整个夏天都在互相通信. 1951年秋天开学时，科特兰回来了，佩吉是一名新生. The pair started dating officially and were an item.

Separate lives

By 1952, however, 佩吉对大学里的一段认真的恋情并不感到兴奋, and the pair eventually broke up but remained friends. The next year, she transferred to another school and Cortland stayed to finish his degree at Wayland.

"By 1953, we had 'turned the page,'" says Cortland, 86, who has kept up with classmates from the 1950s for decades. After graduation, he served two years in the U.S. 在休斯敦的一所教堂工作之前，他完成了神学院学位. He married and had two sons, raising his family in Beaumont.

17年后，科特兰的第一次婚姻结束了，他搬到了奥兰治县, Texas, 在那里，他在成人缓刑中工作，并担任了35年的生物职业音乐部长. 他于1982年与简结婚，她于2016年12月在阿灵顿去世.

Meanwhile, Peggy was living a similar life in New Mexico. She married Joe Fenn in 1953 and the couple had two sons. 他们在阿特西亚建立了一个家，并开始了成功的杂货生意. 乔于1995年去世，佩吉一直是一个寡妇，她说她对约会不太感兴趣.

Reconnecting years later

"I never in my life ever thought I would remarry. (Cortland) came along and changed everything," said Peggy, now 85.

An ardent fan of keeping in touch, 科特兰说，他第一次给佩吉寄生日贺卡是在2017年, much like he had done with many classmates over the years. 这张卡片被转发到了佩吉在罗斯威尔的新家，这让她非常惊讶.

"Shortly after my birthday in August, I got a birthday card addressed to Peggy Joan Messenger Fenn, and I knew it had to be from someone who really knew me. 当我看到角落里写着谁的名字时，我简直不敢相信，”她回忆道. “他是我第一个真正的爱人，我不确定是否应该联系他. 我为此祈祷了两个星期，然后我觉得上帝让我联系他. I called Cortland, and we talked for about two hours."

The next few months were a repeat. 科特兰寄来了一张感恩节卡片，佩吉打电话向他表示感谢并拜访他. He mailed a Christmas card, she called to catch up. 收到情人节贺卡时，她由衷地感到高兴. She knew there was more behind the card than the simple greeting.

“他又寄了一封信，我们开始每隔几周通信一次. He kept mentioning how far Roswell was from Fort Worth and was trying to figure out how to come see me," she said. Her son picked Cortland up and delivered him to Roswell in his private plane and they finally had some time face-to-face to catch up.

Making it official

"We had seven days together and after about two days in, it was like we had picked up where we left off. 他对我来说并不陌生，我觉得和他在一起很舒服，”佩吉笑着说. “我心里七上八下，我想我85岁的时候肯定不会爱上他. But I had to admit I was. We professed our love to each other and then he had to come home."

下次科特兰去罗斯威尔看望佩吉时，他向她求婚. She said yes, 两人计划在罗斯威尔举行一场简单的婚礼，那里不久将成为他们的共同住所. Their happily ever after started Dec. 27.

科特兰和佩吉完全同意一件事:上帝是他们重燃爱情故事的幕后推手.

"We know that the good Lord was in it all the way," Peggy says. "He brought us together after all those years."

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