BLACK COUPLES "SMOKEY MOUNTAIN" GETAWAY

I believe marriage is the most important relationship God created. From it…flow the purposes of life. From it…families are formed. Values are passed down to generations. and for some couples, it’s the ultimate goal.

But marriages are made up flawed people. Flawed people who’ve done and experienced things. People whose issues can wreak so much havoc on a relationship that it sometimes makes you regret the day you ever met them.

But God uses our flaws, like a chisel, to sculpt each of us into a better…stronger person. And it’s those better stronger sculpted people that work together to fulfill the purpose for which He put you together.

But sometimes, those flaws make us weaker. Some people can’t withstand the sculpting pressure all couples undergo…and they break. They never make it to the point where God uses their relationship to fulfill the purpose for which He brought them together.

So we built the Relationship Bootcamp for Couples because we believe that our flaws…and our mate’s flaws…don’t have to break us. They don’t have to ruin our hopes for a happy loving trusting relationship. Rather, if the two of you can improve your communication, then you’ll be able to work through the flaws and overcome them…together. And if the man knows how to lead in such a way that his woman can respect and trust him, then she will actually want to follow him as a leader. Then the two of you can work together, pursue the purpose for which you were called, and like each other during the process.

One of the best environments where a couple’s relationship thrives is among other couples who share the same relationship status and relationship goals. Studies have shown that people get inspired and motivated when they’re in a small group of like-minded couples who are all striving to overcome their obstacles to achieve their goals. They feed off each other’s energy. They draw from each other’s collective experiences.

I’m not just talking about activities at the Bootcamp. I’m talking about everyday life. And that’s what my wife (Bernie) and I have added to the Relationship Bootcamp: ‘Groups’.

We’re hosting Bootcamps for small groups of like-minded couples in similar relationship statuses. The purpose of these groups is to make your relationship stronger by connecting your relationship with a small group of like-minded couples who are also ferociously fighting thru obstacles and similar life struggles to achieve their relationship goals. These Groups also give you an opportunity to expand your circle of couples who have the same relationship status as you and also share common relationship goals.

That is what Bernie and I did when we got engaged in 1996. We surrounded ourselves around a small group of couples who were committed to making their marriage work. And we’ve maintained that same small core group of friends throughout our marriage. Now, we are looking to expand our circle to like-minded couples who are dead-set on fighting and clawing their way thru any obstacle so they can enjoy a happy loving trusting relationship…just like us.

The Relationship Bootcamp for Couples is a 3-hour fun, exciting, and action-packed program specifically designed to improve the communication, trust, and leadership in your relationship.

We use physical obstacles and problem-solving activities to observe and evaluate the leadership dynamics, communication skills, willingness to adapt, thresholds for patience and sacrifice, and other relational attributes…in your relationship.

After each activity, we do a debrief to discuss what you observed and what we observed. We identify the core strengths of your relationships…and the inherent threats or weaknesses. Then we’ll show you exactly how to overcome them it…because knowing what your threats and weaknesses are and knowing how to overcome them are two different things!

By the end of Bootcamp, you’ll know exactly what both of you need to do to improve the communication, trust, and leadership in your relationship – and have fun while doing it.

Honestly, Bernie and I didn’t know what we were doing when we started the Bootcamp in 2000. Bernie and I never dated. We went straight from being co-worker…to being engaged (that’s a long story). After a yearlong engagement, we got married in October 1997. From the get-go, couples would ofter ask us how we solved our problems in our marriage. We willingly shared our solutions. But what perplexed me was we had only been married 6 months…and these couples had been married 5, 6, 10 years.

After doing this for several years, I decided to write down some of our solution (because I got tired of repeating myself). Then Bernie had the idea of turning it into a business. And that was the birthed of the Pre-Marital Bootcamp in 2000. At first, we focused solely on engaged couples. In 2005 we had our first married couples. As we started getting more clients, we decided to back to school to get some actual training to learn how to better serve our clients. In 2006, we bought 14-acres and built Fort Wiggins, our private facility where we currently run our Bootcamps.

Through the years, Bernie and I have experienced communication challenges, multiple shifts in priorities, financial setbacks, the passing of a parent, struggles with conflicting goals, unhappiness, and a host of other issues that plague couples. But we also experienced happiness just being together, being on one accord, accomplished family goals, financial success, unity against external opposition, and fun.

All of these dynamics has built a fortified force…an unbreakable entity that we call The Wiggins Household. With support from family and a small core group of like-minded couples who share our same values and relationship goals, we avail ourselves to fulfill the purpose of our higher calling: to help couples make their relationships work.