marriage in general in our culture.
“Don’t think you are the only one
Thank you Southwest Exteriors for making this story possible to share.
when you are going through a very difficult
season in your marriage,” he says.
“Couples feel so isolated and hopeless.
The reality is we are seeing thousands
of incredible stories of marriages turned
around.”
SAMI supports leaders on the front
lines of preserving marriages: couples
who walk alongside others, pastors,
counselors, or those in church marriage
ministries. All find trusted wisdom
through SAMI, which offers a system of
support via emails, videos, communication
tools, events, date nights, and
conferences to help foster marriage.
“There are hundreds of opportunities
for health and hope on the SAMI
website,” Carl adds. “In 2019 alone, there
will be more than 100
marriage events
offered through
churches in this city.
At almost every
event, there will be
couples who will
share their stories
of inspiration in a
real way.”
Carl has recruited
several couples – the
“As couples
approach a
potential crisis,
it is difficult to
know where to
go for help.
SAMI provides
that help.”
Hugglers, the Lagoudises, and the
Brugners – to express their experiences
with marriage ministry. “These three
couples have marriages that are so
inspiring,” he says. “You can see the
tenderness and connection they have
with each other.”
Rick and Sue Huggler have been
married for 35 years. They run a
marriage ministry at First Baptist
“There’s an us-ness to marriage.
Marriage is work,
but marriage is a joy.”
– Sue Huggler, lay counselor in
marriage ministry
at First Baptist Church
of Boerne
Church in Boerne. In 2009, they
connected with a few like-minded
friends, and their little nucleus began a
marriage-mentoring program that
developed into a ministry.
“We have a great heart for marriage,”
Sue says. “We know how difficult
marriage can be. We are both very type
A people; we each had careers in the
military. God clearly has a sense of
humor bringing us together,” she adds.
“We come alongside people and share
our experience. The more transparent
we are about our story, the more people
can breathe a sigh of relief: ‘If there’s
hope for the Hugglers, there’s hope for
all of us!’”
Rick extols the results they’ve
witnessed from studying the video
series “Love and Respect,” by Emerson
Eggerichs, a resource provided by SAMI.
“This summer Sue and I went through
the series with three young couples and
found it to be life-changing,” he says.
Donna and Robert Lagoudis have
been married for 26 years. They
received training to become certified
marriage
counselors
through The
Relational
Impact Group
and to lead the
marriage ministry
at Bulverde
Baptist Church.
“The key is coming alongside and
introducing couples to life-changing
tools. There’s fantastic material out
there,” Robert says. “It took us 10 years
before we read our first marriage book,”
laughs Donna.
“Early in our marriage, I read James
Dobson’s statement that marriage and
sex get better the longer you are together.
I couldn’t imagine being with
someone for 25 years and still enjoying
it,” Donna says. “When you make your
marriage a priority it can be a relationship
that is so powerful and enjoyable
you are blown away. It is a miracle, and
it is amazing.”
They credit the resource, “The Five
Love Languages,” by Gary Chapman, as
personally impactful.
“For 10 years, Robert thought my
love language was gifts. But I didn’t
want gifts. I felt guilty because I
thought there was something wrong
with me, and he thought I was ungrateful,”
Donna says.
“One day he brought the book home,
and we read it together. My love
language is acts of service. His is physical
touch. It helped us be more intentional
about how we fill each other’s
love tanks. He has learned to give me
gifts of acts of service — he built me a
chicken coop. I learned to give him foot
massages, which means a lot to him.”
The Lagoudises recommend couples
continually and mindfully spend time
“ I have served with Carl Caton, the leader of the
San Antonio Marriage Initiative, for the past
several years. He is one of the brightest, most
gifted and spiritually mature leaders I’ve ever had
the privilege to work with. He and his wife have
an extraordinarily healthy relationship, and he has
a deep desire for every marriage to be strengthened
or restored. The SA Marriage Initiative
supports the role players on the
front lines who champion
biblical marriage to make an
eternal impact on the families
in our community.“ Scott Barr, Steward of
Southwest Exteriors
The Look You Love Coming Home To
Robert and Donna Lagoudis
5 www.saBeacon.com February 2019
/www.saBeacon.com