Friday, January 9, 2015

Our Christmas Letter 2014



For those who did not get a copy of our annual Christmas letter and card, below is a copy of it...

Here we are at the end of 2014.  If we could use one word to describe 2014 it would be CHANGE.  So many things have changed for us this year; everything from Tom’s job, our living location (home), Gregory’s school, Joshua’s age and so many other things.  Below is just a snapshot of how so much of that change came about.  Towards the end of our letter, please pay special attention for a special update on the future God has laid out for us, we are praying that at the beginning of 2015 we will be communicating more about how you can prayerfully and financially support our family as we join with Youth for Christ to reach the youth for Jesus in Sioux County, Iowa.

JANUARY – This is the month when change started happening for us.  In order to cut its budget, the Air Force decided that it would allow so many people to apply for early retirement.  So after realizing that this would be a good option for us, Tom applied for early retirement from the Air Force.

FEBRUARY – Our family went on a middle school youth retreat, “Escape”, with over 100 Chapel youth from Stuttgart.  Roxanne was one of the admin helpers and Tom was the assistant to the main leader while Joshua and Gregory got to have lots of fun with some of the other workers kids. 

MARCH – The Air Force informed Tom in March that he was approved for early retirement with an official retirement date of August 1.  This meant that we would be leaving Germany toward the end of June.  From there everything started happening pretty fast.

APRIL – Since we were leaving Europe soon we started traveling like crazy.  We took a spring break trip to the Netherlands.  While we were there we visited Corrie ten Boom’s house, windmills, a Noah’s ark replica and so much more. It was also a special time as we were there for Roxanne’s birthday and we were able to visit a friend from Colorado Springs (that lives in Germany now) when we were traveling back to Stuttgart – great seeing you Hope!

MAY – In May we made one last visit to Legoland and then one last visit to Garmisch, Germany.    Oh how we miss the Swiss Alps!  We drove from Garmisch to Pisa, Italy as Roxanne really wanted to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Tom had already seen it years before).     

JUNE – On June 5th we celebrated Tom’s upcoming retirement with a ceremony and celebration.  This was an incredible time to have some of our close friends with us and to celebrate Tom’s 19 years and 2 months in service.  Our last European adventure was to Belgium, Luxembourg, and France to see some World War II sites.  This was a great time with our boys as we walked some of the Battle of the Bulge routes in the fields (Tom and Roxanne had done this a few years back, so it was great to be back).  While in Europe Gregory developed a great love for history (and World War II) and we love to spur this on, especially since it’s Tom’s passion as well.

JULY – On the 1st of July we said farewell to our home in Germany and many friends.  We are so blessed to be able to keep in touch with so many via Facebook and are so thankful for photos that jog our memories and keep them alive for Gregory and Joshua.  We strategically planned our entry into the US at Baltimore so that we could have a little time to visit with a couple of great friends, Gregory Shade & Amy Ellicott.  Then we began our trek across the country to our next home in North Dakota.  Once we got settled for a little bit, we took off for Missouri to spend some time with Tom’s mom, Betty, and sister, Beth, and family.  It was a great time to catch up with everyone.  The boys especially loved getting to spend time with their cousins since it had been a while since they had seen each other.  Tom was able to spend quite a bit of time with his mom and help with some odd jobs around her house.
AUGUST – On the 1st day of this month Tom was officially retired from the US Air Force.  Then nearly all of Roxanne’s family got together in Jamestown (only one nephew was missing).  We had a great time of Frisbee golf, boating, water balloon fights and s’mores around the fire pit.  Towards the end of August, Gregory started 2nd grade at Washington School in Jamestown, ND (the same school Roxanne attended when growing up in Jamestown). 

SEPTEMBER – The end is in sight!  Tom started his last year of college with Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU).  He is so close to having his Bachelor Degree in Youth Ministry! 

OCTOBER – While being in Jamestown, Tom has had the privilege to volunteer at our church with the Middle School students weekly and then he was able to go as a chaperone for the annual Youth Convention in Fargo as well.  Roxanne, the boys and her parents were able to travel to Minnesota to help her brother, Kirk, and his family as they prepared to move into a different house.  Once again the boys loved getting to be with some more cousins!  This was also the month where God started opening doors and showing us the path He wanted us to go on…Tom & Roxanne went down to Hawarden, IA to interview for a position with Youth for Christ.  We had been praying about this position and have continued to pray and feel that this is God’s direction for our family. 

NOVEMBER – This year for the first time in MANY years, we were able to be with Tom’s family for Thanksgiving in Missouri.  It was a quick trip but we were thankful to be close enough to be able to make the drive.  This has been one of our favorite things about being back in the USA, being able to be with family!

DECEMBER – As for most families this month has been filled with Christmas programs, parties, and even some caroling.  We will be celebrating Christmas with Roxanne’s parents and then Raquel’s family will come shortly after Christmas and we will celebrate Joshua’s 5th birthday in ND.  We will close out 2014 and start 2015 with a celebration of Roxanne’s mom, Judy.  She will be retiring from Building Blocks where she has worked for 25 1/2 years. 

2015…As we are working on our annual letter we are prayerfully awaiting a job offer from Youth for Christ and we plan on accepting the position as the Sioux County Area Director and we will be moving to Hawarden, Iowa (between Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA).  Tom will be responsible for leading Campus Life ministries and also running a Teen Life Center in Hawarden.  Tom will not be doing this job as a one man show; it will be a team effort.  Roxanne will be coming along side Tom to help out where and when she can.  Once we know more and have more info we will be contacting you to share how you can partner with us to reach the youth for Jesus in the Sioux County area.  So please be in prayer with us as we will be raising support before we will begin ministry in Iowa.  We are aiming to be in Iowa early in the summer, so we can be prepared for the school year.  We know this will be difficult to reach this goal in such a short time, but we do serve a big God who already knows how this is all going to work out, so we are trusting in Him for this to be accomplished and to bring Him the glory!  

      Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!                        Tom, Roxanne, Gregory & Joshua Cook
thomasearlcook@gmail.com 701-269-6259
         

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