A Breath of Fresh Air

Who doesn’t love spring?

The sentinel of colours provided by tulips, the nodding heads of daffodils in the breeze, the soft buds forming on the lilac bushes, the sound of childrens’ voices pent up too long indoors now squealing with delight on swings and slides, the late evening call of the robin – even the chorus of ‘ribbits’ from frogs sounds melodious! And one can inhale deeply of the early morning air and spin around in sheer delight at the freshness that is all around us!

For many, this particular time is a time of change – university classes are done, landscaping is changing the look outside the window, a new deck gives us more space to enjoy the outdoors, the smell of fresh earth accompanies the turn of the shovel for a new flower bed or a freshly seeded field, that last fitting of the bridal gown for the last to leave the nest, the last school sporting event means summer holidays are almost upon us, that lovely new baby totally eclipses everything else you do…

Change. New beginnings. Accompanied by hope.

Serena Manitoba is here to help every step of the way. If it’s time for you to consider changing to natural family planning, here are some other changes accompanied by hope for you – to your relationship, to your health, to your budget, to your confidence as a couple!

And that’s a breath of fresh air!

Contact us at the ‘Events’ page.

We Get Rave Reviews! – but you don’t have to take our word for it…

Just in case you’ve been hesitating about calling us for a class in natural family planning, here are some comments from class participants:

• I found the detailed information & relaxed presentation style worthwhile
• Getting the thermometer in our kit takes the guess work out of which one to use
  
• I found the charting practice worthwhile
• The session made us even more certain that this is a good idea
• I thank you very much for teaching us about NFP and opening our minds to having a family the NFP way
• Excellent presentation
• Never really heard much about NFP before this presentation
• I expected the session to be much more heavily weighted on the female’s responsibility. But it wasn’t!
• Easy to follow along and understand
• Well done! We need more classes like this.

We’d love to read your evaluation of one of our classes. The next class date is Monday, May 28th from 7-9 pm.

Serena Manitoba ~ Thirty Years Young in 2007

Did you know that Serena Manitoba has been helping people make important decisions regarding their fertility for thirty years?

Thirty years of winter storms have come and gone and the volunteers at Serena still keep on going. (Actually, we have had to bring in a few replacements!) And now January 2007 has also blown itself away.

The Serena Manitoba Board met in January and is busily planning events to celebrate thirty years of service to the community. Check back to see what they’ve come up with.

February is the month of St. Valentine celebrations. We are receiving many calls for natural family planning classes from people who have been struck by Cupid’s arrows and are planning to be married to their Valentine. They wisely realize that decisions about family planning are among the most important they will be making in their married life.

For you and your Valentine, the next classes in Natural Family Planning taught by accredited Serena teacher-couples are scheduled for February 19 and April 9. You can reach us on the Course Schedule page.

Sorry, no chocolates or flowers will be offered – just awesome tools and information to make your marriage last. You’ll have a myriad of opportunities to give those chocolates and flowers over the years…

ZU ZU’S PETALS

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is one of our family’s favourite movies to watch over the Christmas season. There is a scene in which George Bailey’s little daughter Zu Zu carefully wraps a rose from her teacher in her coat to keep it from getting the cold she ends up getting. When some of the rose petals come off anyway, Zu Zu pleads with her father to ‘fix it, Daddy.’ Putting aside his own desperate needs of the moment, George ‘fixes’ Zu Zu’s rose. He discreetly tucks the wilted rose petals into his pocket and lovingly presents a freshened flower to his little girl.

Having made everything right for his trusting young daughter, George leaves Zu Zu’s sickbed to go on a desperate search for an answer to his own overwhelming problem. For the sake of those who have not yet enjoyed this incredible movie, I won’t give away any more details. However, I will say that George’s needs are met when he seeks help beyond himself for the solution.

How many ‘Zu Zu’s petals’ do you have tucked away? Have you helped family, friends, gone the extra mile to make something happen for someone else? Maybe it’s time to address some of your own real needs head on and move forward – a move that may even help others as time goes by.

At Serena Manitoba we often hear, ‘Why didn’t someone tell me about natural family planning before now?’ Maybe this is your first exposure to the message and services of Serena Manitoba. Maybe this information will put some more ‘Zu Zu’s petals’ into your pocket to help someone else…

For you, and someone you may be helping, the next Natural Family Planning class is scheduled for February 19/07. We are here to help.

Just click on Course Schedule to contact us.

Remembering Last Year’s New Year’s Resolution

Do you even remember the New Year’s resolution you made in January 2006? Statistics indicate that apparently a lot of us can’t recall the resolution we made a year ago. Some of us may wish we couldn’t remember what we resolved to carry out to change our lives, and then failed to remain faithful to it!

How about you? Has your firm resolve from a year ago been life changing? For you? For your family? Relationships?

Well, the calendar is merciful and gives us another chance. I challenge you to bravely set out one more time and determine that this is the year of change and new beginnings for you.

Speaking of new beginnings, over 120 people took our Natural Family Planning classes in 2006. Wow! We’re talking about commitment, determination, increased communication in relationships, better health, and new life for some!

If you weren’t among last year’s participants who sought new empowering information about the wonderful way our bodies are made and work, no problem. You can resolve to make 2007 your year for self-knowledge in fertility awareness. We will even walk you through the year with followup sessions, charting, counselling, etc.

There is still room for you at our next class scheduled for Monday, January 8th, 2007 from 7 -9 p.m. For a new beginning, reserve your class space by calling us at 783-0091.

Looking For an Alternative to Contraception?

Many people express dismay that they haven’t heard about us at Serena Manitoba sooner. If you are someone who has been helped by the counselling and teaching in natural family planning given by our awesome teacher-couples, would you consider passing along the good news?

Here is some helpful information…

• Natural – from pubery to menopause recognize the infertile days of the menstrual cycle by observing the signs of the body.
• Effective - among the most effective means available even for long or irregular cycles
• Easy to use - requires less than 5 minutes a day
• No side effects
• Enhances your life as a couple
• Economical
  

Serena offers you a simple method, medically acclaimed:

the Sympto-Thermal Method

• based on observing the signs of fertility such as temperature and mucus
• a dynamic approach presented by qualified volunteer teacher-couples
• an internationally recognized expertise

This information is available on our Serena brochure. Let us know if you would like some copies to spread the good news about natural family planning.

<ahref="mailto:serenamb@mts.net">Email Linda</a>

Some Awesome People in the World of Serena Manitoba

The last month has been humming with activity that included preparing for an NFP class, meeting with the WRHA, co-ordinating several presentations about Serena, having the privilege of participating in some of these events myself, meeting with a very lively group of young people who fielded a lot of good questions, preparing Christmas mailouts, attending the AGM of one of our funders, and getting appreciation gifts for some of the awesome people at the MHC.

Let me tell you about some of these wonderful people…

Friendly and helpful Paulette in the mailroom helps out with faxes, unjamming the photocopy machine, calls to let me know about registered letters… and keeps me up to date on her family of horses!

The very helpful people at the front desk of the Misericordia Health Centre pleasantly pass along packages of charts and information packages, receive payments and boxes of thermometers, and notify me to come by and pick them up.

The very patient and ever-helpful guys in Security open the copy room for me after hours so that I can do my photocopying when umpteen others aren’t waiting in line while I make multiple copies of reports, kit materials, flyers, etc. They also unlock the classrooms and boardrooms for me, the swimming pool for an early morning dip for some Serena volunteers – as well as making comments to be careful when walking to my vehicle after late classes, etc. They have even unlocked my office door for me (without comment) when I locked myself out. How good is that?!

And the people in housekeeping – they don’t just empty my waste baskets, you just can’t beat them for finding locations to host the classes, juggle dates, and hey, you should see the shiny new floor in the Serena office that quickly came about as a result of a casual comment about the great job they were doing stripping and polishing the floor in an adjoining office!

What would Serena be without volunteers? We know we can count on several couples who are experienced users of NFP to humbly present their story, and to enthusiastically pass along the information of natural family planning to others.

The awesome Serena Manitoba teacher-couples gave 120 people full instruction in natural family planning so far this year. When you add preparation time, followup sessions, and telephone counselling to actual class time, that’s an awful lot of volunteer hours, folks! God bless them!

Our next scheduled class will be on January 8, 2007 from 7-9 p.m. Remember this is a great session for beginners in natural family planning, or a wonderful refresher for those who may have taken a class some time ago. It also serves as a wonderful opportunity for those working in the area of marriage preparation to audit a class. You are most welcome! Just call us to make arrangements at 783-0091, or toll free at 1-866-317-5362.

Wishing you a wonderful season filled with life-giving experiences shared with family, friends, co-workers, and perhaps some new acquaintances. Let’s remember to open our hearts and homes to those less fortunate. Afterall, who would appreciate it more?

Merry Christmas!