Dan and I have been the leaders of the St. Monica’s sharing group now for 2 years. We enjoy getting together once a month to share a presentation and 10/10. Our group is an active one and varies in numbers of participants each month. I feel we have become family to each other and will help whenever needed.
We donate a basket annually to the Marriage Day Ball as well as to the Atlanta area Marriage Encounter Reunion Weekend at Red Top. To help offset costs for Red Top we provide an item or two for the silent auction as well as a “live auction” item, which is a themed party at one of our houses for 6-8 couples. We enjoy doing this and it always brings us closer!
At least once a year we host the Ablaze Breakfast at our church where we cook breakfast for over 200 people and share information about our group and Marriage Encounter. For over 10 years we have hosted the Valentine’s Day Ball with homemade desserts from our WEDS members. For the past 2 years we have partnered with the Knights of Columbus so that we could enjoy the Ball more ourselves. We have donated $500 each year to the GA/TN WEDS community.
Life changed very quickly for us as Dan had a massive stroke on August 19. For the first week after the stroke, Dan was critical. We were blessed with numerous visits and meals from Jerry & Beth Decatrel, Robert & Cindy Laarhoven, and Dave & Dorothy Markert. Denise & Eric Hoell brought games, which we played along with Jeff & Susie Parow. Other visits to the Rehab hospital were from Christine & Mark Alestra and their sons, Larry & Arlene Butler, and Dave Markert.
While all of this was happening at the hospital, I had help at home trying to prepare the new bedroom and bathroom on the main level for Dan. Dorothy and Cindy made sure I had what I needed, including the hospital bed sheets and medical equipment needed to make it easier for us.
We had a garage sale to get rid of a few things and make room for our son and his wife to move into our basement, and Suzanne & Toby Hinton helped all day. Suzanne helped with the basement sale while Toby put together an outside bar for Dan. He also cleaned up our front yard by cutting down random trees and vines. Pine straw was laid down that made our yard 100 times better! During the sale, Victor & Allesandra Alcoreza and Dorothy & Dave Markert came to help too. That day, not only was the garage sale a success, Dan’s 75-gallon fish tank base was made with doors and painted. The front yard was cleaned up, and furniture was moved around the house. Dan’s office was moved to make room for our new Master Bedroom.
Christine & Mark Alestra stepped up and took over the leadership responsibilities, so I didn’t have to worry about meetings and getting information out to the group. I truly appreciated this gesture as I didn’t want our group to “miss a beat” and I was able to focus on Dan. After we got home, Denise and Dorothy each helped me with Dan. Denise & Eric also purchased a new helmet for Dan that was needed to protect his skull.
We are truly blessed with what we have achieved in our WEDS group, and I am beyond blessed with what they have done to help Dan & I over the last 10-11 weeks!
We appreciate the nomination, but more importantly, the prayers we’ve been given!
Submitted by Dan & Ann Foster, St. Monica Sharing Group Leaders