Author: Haley Cooke

I can say this again….Wow what an experience Costa Rica has been! This year in only 2 days a HOME has been built for not one but two families! I am thankful for another amazing experience with co-workers and the beautiful people of Costa Rica. Time away from DOW work to do the Lord’s work.

Traveling: Now this was a new experience to say the least…. from leaving Abilene one morning, spending over 12 hours hanging out in Dallas, to then chilling in Miami… let’s just say we were all happy to get to Costa Rica. As a disclaimer: we saved money, but I think we will all choose to spend it next year! All 5 crazies are in the image below!

Day one of the build: Starting off with the concrete slab, our team quickly got to work! Most of us were on the previous trip last year and worked well as a team together building the home last year. I believe the only new additions were those painting for our home. Our awesome team is pictures above! One great thing about working with people you have already done something like this with is knowing what is happening or about to occur and where to step in and start working. We all quickly found hammers and began framing the house. Once the 4 framed walls were up, the internal framed walls went up and then the exterior and interior walls (painted by our newest team members) were next. Windows were put in and all the trusses for the roof were put up on just day one! The plywood went on the roof and the tar paper was put on before it was time to go due to the rain!!!

Day two of the build: We added the remaining interior walls, as well as the trim inside and outside of the home! The roof was finished on both houses by the awesome roofing team and we all found roles to fill in to wrap up the build. At one point I was painting, and another I was added trim. One minute I was sweeping with the broken broom… while another minute I was trying not to fall off the ladder! The electricity was finished up, everything was looking great with all the touch ups and fresh paint inside and out….and we finished the home in just TWO days! Another thing I truly enjoy about these trips is the laughter. I find so much JOY in working with my co-workers, the moments of hard work followed by acting a fool. See image of FUN below, as well as the final view at the end of two hard working days! 😉

Day three on the build site: Since we finished the building part and all the touch ups yesterday, all we needed to do today was finish up cleaning the work site and prepare the homes for the family to come home. We prepped the home with the built bunk bed, the full size bed, the tables and chairs and once the family returned – all the things that they purchased! It was a beautiful site to see and what a humbling experience to share in His great work in Costa Rica. We ended up having additional time so we got to see parts of Costa Rica we had not seen which was a neat experience!

This is definitely a trip that you have to experience for yourself to fully understand! My hope in the years to come is that more people will step up and step in to doing His GREAT WORK where ever we go!

God is good! ALL the time!

Testing for Mini Sabb 2022

Wow what an experience Costa Rica has been! In just 3 days a HOME has been built for not one but two families! It will be hard to put into words my thoughts and my feelings, but I will try to provide for everyone a play by play of each day!

Day one: From a slab of concrete to four wall frames being built and stood up. The start of a roof with half of the trusses put up and three open window holes just waiting for someone to look out of them. I got to spend time holding sweet baby Matias in the early morning when the walls began to be built. For this mama heart – I needed that time holding him. There is something about holding a precious baby, seeing your brothers and sisters in Christ work for God’s glory, and being in the presence of the Lord! I enjoyed singing in broken Spanish (of course) to Baby Matias before getting to work. I have never built walls before, but with much help from others – I can say I have now done that! After a yummy and needed lunch, the team got back to business and moved forward with the behind the scenes of painting the trusses, the trimming, and the exterior walls of the home. Today’s weather was great, spirits were high, and hammers were working hard!

Day two: From four walls frames to a fully enclosed home! Slap on some interior paint and add in the glass windows! From half the trusses being put up yesterday to a full roof with partial shingles today. Man… a lot of hard work went into today! I played several roles today – painter, cleaner, runner, etc. I enjoyed getting to play a part in several jobs over the course of the day which allowed me the opportunity to work with many of my co-workers. It amazes me the way God connects His people to work together for His purpose. During lunch, I spent some time playing soccer with the kiddos which was a lot of fun and brought me back to reality that these kiddos live in. Dirt roads, bare feet, the JOY of having a new soccer ball – this is very humbling. Again, the weather was great for, our teams were trekking along, and I walked away today amazed at how much work was completed within just these past two days!

Day three: From painted walls to trimmed and finished exterior and interior walls, from a few shingles to a fully shingled roof! From a concrete slab to now a beautiful home! Today was all about finishing up, wrapping up final touches to jobs, helping anyone and everyone that needed a runner, cleaner, or just support (sometimes literally holding them up). I enjoyed seeing the final product of three hard days of work, seeing the smiles on co-workers faces, and seeing the beauty of the relationships that had been built internally and with the families in the neighborhood. Today I got to hold sweet Isaac, another precious little boy that God just knew I needed for my mama heart. I prayed over his sweet soul, his future, and his family.

I would have to say again, words are hard. This is definitely a trip that you have to experience for yourself to fully understand the magnitude of the work that is done, but also to understand the amazing opportunity it is to serve a family for His glory. I am thankful for the chance to serve the Lord, to love on these families, and to go physically.

I am thankful for this time of Sabbatical. This time to serve, this time to grow in my relationship with the Lord, and selfishly the time next week to rest for my mental health. It has been a hard year – despite the pandemic, despite the changes in the world. The personal break from work – the mental break from some challenges in my personal life. This coming week I look forward to spending some much needing time with my son and my entire family as we get together for a time of fellowship and refueling.  God is good yall.

Just testing that I am able to post!

Shout out to the cutie with the snowcone 🙂

This third week was full of time spent with my family and at home working on our own projects!

Since the wedding was in Dallas over the weekend, Brandon and I made plans to stay with my oldest sister Jen for a few days after that. We enjoyed some time at the pool together, Top Golf, and some ice cream dates. I really enjoyed the time I had with Jen catching up on life and watching as her and Brandon got to know each other better. Being on sabbatical has helped our family connect since we are generally so busy. It is a sad realization when I start hearing things about my sister’s life that I had no idea about. This was an emotional point for me as I began to realize I need to slow down a little bit and not allow the “busyness” to disconnect me from those I love.

During our down time, I was able to read more of my book and start connecting some of the realizations I was having to my own daily life. One of the recent chapters discusses the curse that we have as women from Eve. Quite honestly besides childbearing, I never put much thought into this. As I continue though, I am beginning to see some changes that need to be made in my life to not only grow in my faith, but also to be more of the woman God created me to be. More on this later!

My nephews were also in Dallas over the week while their parents went on vacation. We were able to enjoy pool time and dinner together out at Jen’s house. As always we had lot of fun playing together and just being silly. Below is a picture from our pool day with the nephews.

As we headed home, we randomly stopped by Brandon’s best friends house to ride on the jet skis and let them spend some quality “bro time” together. Nothing says love like throwing people off the tube right? Here is a picture before all the bruises!

After we got back to Abilene, I was able to start working around my house to get things back into order since before our wedding in March. With both of us working two jobs, it seemed as if every time we make it home, we were too tired to do anything. Perhaps motivation was my problem, but again I am thankful for this Sabbatical time to work on a few personal things that need to be taken care of. This helps with some of the disagreements that occur in a new marriage and I will gladly work to minimize those! The first big task is getting our guest room back in order so that we can have people over. The room is currently my wedding room, so it is safe to say it is time for that to change. This will also allow some space for my patient husband to have his own closet.

This second week was full of traveling, lots of friendships, and building new relationships!

My husband’s family celebrated the 85^th family reunion out in Buffalo Gap. It is unique to see a family come together like this every year and it serves as a great reminder of family history and culture. The Jennings family (yes this includes Waylon Jennings) gets together every year for their unique event out at the Presbyterian Encampment. The full Saturday event includes a family meeting, knife auction, another silent auction of blankets or random items, a potluck meal, and swimming! Brandon and I enjoyed our time connecting with those who we were unable to see in March at our wedding. We could personally hug necks and thank those who sent gifts which was very nice to put faces with names. One thing I appreciated was being able to hear the stories of past family reunions and stories about Brandon’s grandparents. It was a wonderful day! Below is a picture of a few of us in the pool.

The next few days I was able to go to San Angelo to spend time with my dad. Since he is currently without a job and facing some hard times in his life, my visit was different than the usual visit. This time there was more laughter, more time spent together, and an overall sense of peace. We spent several days together cutting up, talking about old memories, watching some good old hallmark movies and just enjoying each other’s company. In the 23 years that my dad worked for his previous company – I have never seen him without stress or full of so much joy as he was this time around. I know the Lord has a plan in all of this and am very thankful that my Sabbatical fell during this time. I was encouraged by my dad’s positive outlook and approach to this stage of life. We had deep conversations about life and we could catch up on the day to day things that slip by when you no longer live in the same town. I also had fun going through some old photo albums and looking at family portraits. You can see one of my favorite pictures of my dad below:

While I was relaxing in San Angelo, I also started my book “Captivating” that I chose to read over Sabbatical. So far, I am enjoying the perspective that the author has given me in the first few chapters – more on this later!

The finale of this week and going into the new weekend was the celebration of a friend’s wedding in Dallas. Serving as the Matron of Honor, I was able to complete a lot of behind the scenes work to help the bride not get so worked up. Weddings are always stressful in some way, so I am thankful everything went well and it was beautiful! Brandon and I enjoyed our time together as we reminisced on our own day not too long ago. With the busy wedding weekend, it was nice to have a great time on the dance floor together! Below is a picture of my sweet husband and I at the wedding.

My super hero does not wear a mask! This was the theme for RED SCHOOL this week.

I was honored to be able to serve 7 days/6 nights at a leadership church camp called Super Summer. I served on the Executive Staff this week for the June session held at Hardin Simmons as a “Team Leader Coordinator” leading 14 young adults serving as “Team Leaders”. These young adults would serve as “TLs” for the 75 students we had in Red School. At this June session, there were over 600 students (grades 8th to freshman in college) coming to learn more about the Lord and returning as stronger leaders within their youth group, schools and communities. 

The 14 young adults I was able to work with impacted my week as I watched them each grow as adult leaders. As 13 of the 14 had never served as Team Leaders, my role was to guide, train and lead them throughout the week as they poured everything they had into our students in Red School. The weekend of training started out as an emotional one as we each reflected on our personal walks with the Lord, sharing our testimonies and clearly focusing on leading the students as they came onto the campus.

Once Monday arrived and we were all dressed up in our best Super Hero get up, the students arrived and we focused on what it meant to Know and Share the Gospel. The TLs did such an amazing job leading the students in family group time and school sessions. As they poured into their students, I continued to pour into their lives as well. The week was a very busy one due to the schedule being jam packed with school sessions, family groups times, rec and worship with the entire campus. I can confess I didn’t even come close to 6 hours of sleep a night, but thank goodness I still have several weeks of recovery!

After a long hard week at camp, I am thankful for the weekend. I am also thankful for the way the Lord places people in my life to remind me of His goodness, His grace, and His love for us. I am thankful for FDLIC and this opportunity to serve not only the 14 young adults, but the 600 students that were impacted by camp this week.

Below is our end of week picture, missing one TL who left early to return to Honduras.

Just testing that I know how to post here!

Shout out to the Customer Care team because the image is on my computer!