Contributed by Peter Chen
On March 27 and 28, the Los Angeles community welcomed John and Helen Abelseth to conduct the Matching Preparation Seminar. The program was unique in that it was offered as an after-dinner Q&A session. Although the time spent together with the participants was relatively short, they felt deeply inspired by John and Helen’s personal testimony about their own experience with their children’s matching process.
The first evening was dedicated to the graduates of a recent Level 2 Blessing Workshop that took place in Los Angeles and the second evening was designed for any parents who wished to benefit from the Q&A session with John and Helen. Between the two evenings, we had about 50 participants, including the local Matching Supporters. One very good breakthrough experience for LA was that unlike the previous visit by John and Helen, they were able to meet some of the CARP members who wanted to receive the Matching Preparation Education. This special seminar was offered during the second day of their visit prior to the evening program. We want to capitalize on this and expand our matching education support to all community members.’
Another very positive experience was that many Japanese parents were able to participate even though to some of them the language gap was challenging. Because of their participation, many of them feel that they are now more empowered to collaborate with their children on their matching process.
All in all, the visit was an enriching and empowering experience for the participants, as well as for our local Matching Supporters. We want to thank both John and Helen for their continuous dedication and investment in the Blessed Families’ wellbeing and their successful matching experience.
