Family Retreat 2013

(This letter was read during the report from the Family Retreat on September 29. You may hear more stories and view photos on BMUCs’ YouTube channel, )

Until this weekend, I thought that change at BMU, change of breathing life and fellowship inside these walls on Carleton Street was something unattainable. But the program created by Lori and Lys, encouraged by their passion, brought out the best in them, as well as the rest of the BMU community in Aptos.

The telltale sign was the circle time among adults, feeling safe and secure enough to share a piece of their personal life story. Self disclosure, whether embarrassing moments or trials and tribulations is not an easy thing to share in public, yet that’s what I witnessed. I learned so much more about the other attendees in about an hour. It was truly a connecting time.

I also enjoyed the Bingo Question game where the kids and adults participated. Although, not nearly as deep, it was a lot of fun for all of the participants learning new facts about their BMU friends.

This weekend was the beginning of a leap of change. However, real change requires 10,000 steps, and this weekend represented a jump in that direction. If we want change, we need to continue this work, to keep the passion and energy moving in this direction of breathing life and love among our members.

Jaime Fukumae