Courtesy photo
Beverly Cooley (L) and her daughter, Nancy Sparkman, took gifts from their churches to American soldiers in Germany.
POMPANO (FBW)—Beverly Cooley and her daughter, Nancy
Sparkman, traveled in April to Germany to see their grandchildren
and great grandchildren. As long as they were making the trip,
they decided also to serve as Christian ambassadors to U.S.
soldiers and airmen stationed there.
Cooley, whose husband, Walter, was assistant pastor of First
Baptist Church, Pompano, before his death in 1996, asked her
church to contribute toward an array of items that would make a
soldier feel more at home. Sparkman’s husband, Stan, pastor
of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Sebastian, encouraged his
congregation also to contribute toward his wife’s and
mother-in-law’s military mission.
The two churches amassed enough funds to purchase dozens of
Christian DVDs and CDs, Play Station 2 games, Christian booklets,
decks of cards and board games, copies of Chicken Soup for the
Soul, and microwave popcorn. The mother-daughter team also
took 203 letters from church members and members of
Sparkman’s first grade students at Fellsmere Elementary,
which they distributed among the soldiers.
The boxes of gifts were labeled “Love to our troops from
First Baptist Church, Pompano Beach and Cornerstone Baptist
Church, Sebastian.”
Cooley and Sparkman carried homemade brownies to patients at
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, along with words of
appreciation. They also visited Fisher House, where
patients’ families reside, and were able to plant trays of
pansies they bought at the local Wal-Mart.
“This really touched my heart,” Cooley said.
“It thrilled me to death.”
Cooley, who says “missions is my life since Walter has
been gone,” recently spent six months as an International
Mission Board volunteer. She taught English as a Second Language
at Hodeidah University in Yemen and has participated in 16
mission trips since her husband’s death. She was pleased to
combine her family trip to Germany with a mission emphasis.
Finally, the mother-daughter team visited with their daughter
and granddaughter, Kori Chin, whose husband, Michael, is an
assistant chaplain in the Air Force. They were introduced for the
first time to two-year-old Mikie, and re-acquainted with
four-year-old Morgan, whom Cooley had met as an infant.
Courtesy photo
Surrounded by soldiers, Beverly Cooley (left), her granddaughter, her daughter and her great grandchildren distribute gifts to patients and staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
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