Last Saturday, May 6th, the first edition of International Digital Married Love 1 (IDML1) concluded. This was the first time that our Married Love 1 program took place completely online and with couples from all over the world. Twenty couples from 16 countries (Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, USA, Finland, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Poland, South Africa, Kenya, Philippines and Hong Kong) participated.
The program consisted of 5 sessions. Each session has 4 steps: individual reading, couple discussion, Zoom team meeting and Zoom general session. They dealt with topics such as love, communication, work, sexuality and family life.
The moderators were married people with varied professional profiles and from different continents: America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Leticia Rodriguez, Director of Family Enrichment, commented that “it is a delight to see the transformation that occurs in couples when they decide to invest time in their growth as a couple. They learn a lot from each other, feel accompanied and have a great time. It is a very enriching experience.”
Jonathan & Shelley, a couple from Hong Kong, admitted that this was their first experience with the Case Study Method and although the 1st session posed its challenges, by the end they were wishing for more. “The couples with some years of experience in case study exhibited an amazing ability to dig out issues and offer solutions. The breadth of content they came up with was astounding. And because our background and cultures are so diverse, each of us had a unique perspective. That was eye-opening,” said Jonathan.
“After the last session, my wife told me she thought the best thing she learned was that we now have some decent conversation starters for our married life. I agreed. The part that I like reading most in the handouts are the half a dozen or so questions near the end. The questions lead me to reflect on my behavior and how I deal with issues in my relationship. Before we enrolled in this program we would talk about general stuff like where to go out for dinner or where to take the kids this Sunday. After these 5 sessions, we have a wide scope of topics to discuss. Communication is key, especially now that we have such busy lives. We could miss out on something that needs resolving. It’s good that Shelley and I are on the same page,” remarked Jonathan.
An added and unexpected bonus was the camaraderie that developed between the participants from their region, namely Asia. “We would meet a few days before the main session. And because it’s a much smaller group of 4 couples, the conversation is more relaxed and we feel comfortable voicing out our views. Occasionally, we would even share anecdotes and funny stories. We all enjoy a good laugh, sometimes at my expense,” said Jonathan.
After the success of the first edition, the IFFD team has already launched the second edition which will start in April 2024. This digital course is for couples in their first 10 years of marriage who want to commit to making their marriage stronger by learning the case method, while having fun with new friends.
