The thought of holding this event came from Mari Oquinena- fulltime pastoral worker from Philippines-over lunch at the house of Bro. Alex Nartates. I was pressed to leave right after lunch for work, so I bid everyone farewell.

While riding through the many traffic lights, it crossed my mind that Ed asked me to find some bands, which would be given to the sisters during the function. Being aware that Tuesday was just three days to go, I decided to go downtown after work and bought some silver bands as samples.

On Sunday, after we got back from CFC Anniversary feast, Cel and Lola were racking their brains over what menu to serve. Ed was planning the décor for the house and pool for this occasion.

News travelled fast over the egroups, faxes, and phone calls. All Sfcers were invited to come to Jl. Haji Saidi 1 no. 47A in Cipete on Tuesday Night 7:00 p.m. for the Affair d'amour, a talk on "Love, Sex and Romance." Heru said he would come even if they only talk about the second topic.

On Tuesday night, I arrived late since I was caught up with my assignment in the office. When I got there, I saw some sisters just getting off a taxi in a dimly lit alleyway in front of Ed's house. I waved "Hi", parked, and made my way among the cars into the house.

As I came in, I saw a big crowd has already gathered in the livingroom so we did not waste any more time. Theo requested us to gather in a circle for a short worship. We sang a couple of songs from the glory book and filled the atmosphere with praise and thanksgiving. We closed the prayer meeting by saying grace for the food, which was prepared for all of us.

Mari pulled Roncy and me aside. He suggested that we would be the emcee for a dating game and elaborated on the details. Roncy quickly grasped the whole idea while I was still in the dark.

As I made my way to the dinner table, I shook hands with some of the guests: Ramsin, Christian, Abun, and so on. After I got siomay and sausage and a drink, I moved to a corner and observed the room. Some balloons were arranged like mistletoe on top of the dinner table. Some tinsel and paper roses were decorating every corner of the room. The light was dimmed, soothing our senses. I smelled the fragrance of rose and jasmine. Searching where it came from, I made my way through the backdoor to the pool. Fragrant candles were lit on every table. Flowers and potpourri put on them poured out the beautiful scent. Floating candles, blown by the evening breeze, were swaying in the pool. Candle torches were in every corner to give more light to the poolside. Chairs were arranged around the poolside as in a beauty pageant night. I grabbed a seat by one table and relieved my mind of the burdens of the day. s work. Others followed suit and occupied the other chairs. I thought to myself, "It is so beautiful tonight, I am ready to fall in love".

Mari soon gave Roncy and me a signal that we better get started. I told Jammy, Agus, and Heru that they were elected for the Dating Game. One of the sisters was also told beforehand by Grace that she would participate in the game. I greeted everyone Good Evening, explained the game and handed the microphone to Roncy. While the guys were seated in the front of the poolside and did not know who was behind the curtain, they started answering the questions for the game.

The first question was "If I were down and blue, what song would you sing for me, and please sing a few tunes of that song." Heru. s reply was "Endless Love" and he went mimicking Lionel Richie. Jammy answered "Leaving on a Jet Plane". He must had been fascinated by the comeback of this song into the mainstream. Agus chose "Tuhan adalah Kekuatanku". Our sister chose Jammy who was defending his innocence and honesty despite being accused of being thoughtless for leaving on a jetplane while on a date.

More questions followed and all three guys answered lightheartedly. At the end, Jammy was proclaimed the winner and the moment we had been waiting has finally come. I handed a bouquet of red roses to the lucky winner and gestured him to present it to the girl. Bro. Alex Nartates asked "Do you know who is the sister behind the curtain?" "Nggak" replied Jamie. Bro. Alex Nartates explained that she is beautiful, tall, slender and long haired. He then removed the curtain and behold-there sat Bro. Raul de Villa with his big guapong ngiti. He was tall, slender, but with hair which is not quite longJ , as he just got a crewcut.

Perplexed si Jamie as the audience burst into laughter. It took a lot of craft from our Mandrake to bring back the beautiful, slender, and long-haired lady who was our sister Fang-Fang. So Jamie walked over with red roses in the hand and gave it to her. "Beso-beso... Beso-beso... Beso-beso" the audience went in one accord. So this gentlemen had to be a sport and gave an amiable cheek-to-cheek to Fang-Fang, creating a storm of whistle and standing ovation in the process.

Marie came up and started the main talk about relationships among singles. We listened attentively as he outlined what we should follow as a code of conduct.

He went into painstaking details about very relevant topics in our daily life as singles. From smoking and drinking habit, to how we should avoid necking and petting and the frenchkiss which may lead to the "point of no return." The most striking points were: "If you love a brother or a sister, you should help that brother or sister preserve his or her purity until the day he or she gets married" and others like (for the man) "If you engage in premarital sex, while fully aware that this is not right with God, then you have no right to expect your spouse not to engage in extramarital sex after marriage." He also encouraged singles to take steps into ongoing relationships and to correct a relationship if it is unholy.

When Mari concluded his talk, he gave the microphone to Ramsin and Emmeline who were going to share some things about their marriage. Ramsin started, "I was born in Iran, migrated to the United States and am now working here in Jakarta. And no, I am not Moslem." He narrated about the days he was courting Emmeline. The life he spent with her and the beautiful kids they raised together.

Emmeline was going to talk about her married life but tears were welling her eyes before she could even start.

Pulling herself together, she recounts the happy moments that they have spent together as a couple. "Three months if you are lucky" she jokingly would tell Ramsin after their first month together. There have been a lot of rainy days but she is happy to say that they have gone through it together. At present, she is thankful to be in CFC and witnessed that the family renewal is working on her and it is real. She tells us that we are lucky to have somebody that night telling us what course to take in our relationships, and how to plan ahead for our future families. As she ends up her sharing at a loss for words, Ramsin comes over and gives her a hug. All of us could not be contained from clapping our hands at that sight.

Marie and Bobby came in the midst of all this explaining that they were going to give everybody a band to wear on their wrists. The so-called chastity band would remind singles to preserve their purity. And for those who had lost theirs already, they could always claim for a "second virginity".

Bobby went on to say "I believe the role of the man can be summed up by 3 P. s; Protector, Provider, and Pastor. Tonight, on behalf of all the brothers here we are going to offer you this one song from the Carpenters: "You." Accompanied by the guitarists, all of us joined and sang in harmony.

We capped the night by giving roses to all the sisters as a sign of our brotherly love. Everyone shook hands and exchanged kisses as we proceeded to go home. Good night. Love night.

(coming up)

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por:anton_xie@yahoo.com