Making the Right Choice

For the past several years I've told just about every young staff member that in ministry your spouse will either make you or break you. Whether you believe that or not I'm not here to argue. I'm here to testify on behalf of the above statement. It was the summer of 1974 that I started attending Woodlake church. At that time I was dating around and like most guys looking for that special person. My friend (Larry) asked me, "Who would you like to take out?" I had my eye on a girl that everyone around me seemed to be talking about but no one was asking out. I suppose they knew that she knew and thus their chance of landing her was questionably questionable. So, me being the agressive person (not, actually very shy) I said I want to take out that girl sitting right over there. No one is dating her and I want to take her out. Her name was Rhonda Burgin and she was beautiful. So Larry's mom called Rhonda's mom because know one really knew who Mike Cooper was. And Larry's mom convinced Rhonda's mom that I wasn't some crazy guy and the clearance was made for me to make that call - that I didn't look forward to making. What if she said No? Well I called and she wasn't there, she was out of town visiting her grandmother. So, the next week I called and SCORED!!!!! We set a date for August 16, 1974 and the rest is history. We were married two months and two years to the day, October 16, 1976. Our wedding announcement came out in the Tulsa World's July 4, 1976 addition.

It has been the best decision I ever made in my life. I was determined to marry someone who would keep me in church and not waiver. I've been grateful ever since. God gave me the best spouse anyone could every have. She has been my soulmate and confidant - my lover and my best friend. We have argued, fought and made up many, many times. She completes me in the ministry and I am so grateful to have such a compassionate, relational, ROCK for a wife. She's very special as many know. She is all about Relationship with others and she does this well. If you are in the ministry I can tell you - Your spouse will either make you or break you. Mine has made me who I am. To this I can testify!!

mike

Haiti Recap

The high pitch sound of honk, honk repeated over and over again along the dusty highway to nowhere. Or so it seems. One doesn’t take long to figure out why. Here driving rules seem to not apply other than whoever is going faster and bigger have the right of way; road Darwinism at its best. Although driving on the right side of the road is preferred it’s not long before a two lane road is three vehicles wide and near misses are as common as the next breath you take. The restless highway is filled with vehicles filled to overflowing and running over with passengers. If that’s not enough to add to the excitement people walking are walking on the road just inches from passing motorist. Motorcycles that seem built for one may occupy four people. Welcome to Haiti!

Cold is just the absence of heat. If you prefer your heat at minus 30 degrees or 110 degrees is just a selection of where you live unless you have no choice and you get used to it. You might think, “Why in the world would someone live in Iceland”? Or, “Why in the world would someone live near the Sahara desert?” Sometimes it’s not a matter of choice but it’s a matter of where God places you. So why leave the comforts of home (your warm spot) to travel to such extremes? Because the Lord says “Go!” At times it may not be a joy ride – then I found there’s no greater reward than being the “hands” and “feet” of God.. I decided that “miserably happy” best describes my experience.. Early in the morning when the fans quit running to conserve fuel spent to run a generator it was reasonably cool but by mid-day you longed for shade and a breeze. Early evening was relatively pleasant but by ten o’clock at night you felt miserable but “Happy.” If it were not for the fans on the ceiling and the fans littering the floor, sleep would not have existed. Ironically though I never felt like I was totally wasted during the day without energy to perform the task at hand. Probably because we where doing the Lord’s work and when you are engrossed in the Lord’s work – you become energized.

Mission work is so much more than one on one witnessing door to door in the comfort of one’s neighborhood. Missions is doing whatever needs to be done at the time whether you are pouring a concrete slap for a mission house, moving medical supplies for a clinic, loving on orphans or encouraging fellow laborers. Mission work may include helping setup order or sort out chaos. Why – so that one person, one person who matters to God, can be ministered to. That ministry may come in the form of a gentle touch or a lap to sit on, a smile or laughter. Ministry may be handing your water bottle to a Haitian man working along side you without worry of whether he practiced good hygiene. Ministry might be setting a broken arm or bandaging burned flesh, giving someone food to eat or clothing to wear. Jesus said “whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.”