The Local News - End of Year Local News DEC 2018 ENG FN | Page 5

End of year special edition
LOCAL NEWS | UCKG.ORG | 020 7686 6000
Reuniting my broken family
Agony and torment
were the only things
left after certain
events took place
in the Cassandra
family. Never did it
cross their minds
that there was hope
after great despair.
Find out how this
family avoided
becoming one
more statistic.
L
ídia: ‘Just leave, get out! I can’t take
this anymore.’ These were my last
words to my husband. My words had
inflicted more pain than anything
I had ever done. He got up, took his
things, and left. As he closed the door,
I broke down in tears, regretting every
word that I had said, but it was too
late. The truth was that he had never
done anything wrong; in fact, he was
caring, loving, and did all he could to
support me, and I was the one with
the issues.’
Joāo: ‘I couldn’t believe my wife had
just kicked me out of the house. I
knew we were not sweethearts but
reaching this point was troubling
me. Sometime after I left, I began
seeing various women, but I was
never really at peace.’
Lídia: ‘To deal with the break-
up, I began demanding attention
from my so-called friends, but
things only got worse because our
friendship was based on gossip
and lies. At home, I felt guilty
because I couldn’t bear seeing
my children miss their father – it
felt like a stab in my heart. When
would this pain ever end?’
WE ARE FOREVER
GRATEFUL TO
THE UNIVERSAL
Lídia and Joāo didn’t believe they
would ever get back together,
but what they didn’t know was
that their eldest daughter, Dirce,
was attending meetings at the
Universal Church – including the
Sunday services. As each month
went by, Dirce began to learn the
power of faith, and consequently,
she became more confident that
her family would be restored.
Dirce: ‘I really believed that
my family could change
due to hearing a story
similar to mine where the
family managed to come
back together. I told myself
that the same could happen
with us too. I started to
reach out to my family and
I began to use my faith by
attending the Family Day
meetings on Thursdays. My
goal was to see my parents
back together one day.’
João: ‘I remember my
daughter inviting me to the
Universal Church. I was
happy to hear that she still
thought of me. That day, I
attended the church and saw my
wife, and from then on, a small
spark kindled inside me. Later, my
daughter told me that her mother
would like to speak to me, so I went
to her house and we opened up. I
left and took some time to think
about what was said, and after
around one month we decided
to get back together. Since then,
we’ve never stopped attending
the church and investing in our
relationship. Today, our family
has become a strong unit. We are
forever grateful to the Universal
Church because it has taught us
the true meaning of family.’
Dirce: ‘Everything has changed
because today we are connected
to the right source of power: God.
Now, I can proudly say that I have a
united and happy family.’
The recipe for
a su
family gatherin ccessful
g cake
unite
Follow this easy recipe to help
s in your family.
tion
nec
and/or mend broken con
INGREDIENTS
e up;
• 1kg of smiles when you wak
ily members before you
• 200g of kisses for your fam
e;
leave and when you arrive hom
s your family. Do
• 220g of kind gestures toward
ase them;
something that you know will ple
shows how much you
• 2 tsp of listening ears. This
care for them;
m. Always spend quality
• 3 tbsp of alone time with the
the ones who need
time with your family, they are
100% quality time!
you the most. But make sure it’s
nes, social media,
pho
.
This means no distractions (i.e
ien
red ts to the recipe
TV, etc. Adding these extra ing
may spoil the final outcome);
t families don’t exist
• 300g of forgiveness. Perfec
t. But when we are
fec
because people are not per
ose love instead of
cho
willing to forgive daily and
our homes;
in
hate, we maintain peace with
r family and appreciate
• 10.000kg of Love. Love you
all, they will always
every single one of them. After
happens.
be your family no matter what
onious,
Joāo, Lídia and Dirce Cassandra
Now bake the cake and enjoy a harm
unified and loving home!
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