Episode 98: THE COOPERRIDER'S STORY PART 2: The years in the valley

This week we're continuing our series in sharing Part 2 of The Cooperrider's story! Wade and Shannon's story picks up in the fall of 1998. Moving back to Arizona felt like being in survival mode as they were lost and struggling with their purpose. They struggled to acclimate back to life in Arizona and it felt like their dreams of being missionaries were slowly fading away. Things felt dark and depressing as Wade was particularly struggling. He even considered just walking away from the church and faith related things completely. Thankfully after being asked to teach in a college class at their home church Wade and Shannon stayed connected to ministry. It was not a moment of instant revival, but their hearts were able to remain in the Lord and in church community. Wade and Shannon describe that the next few years of their life were ones where they settled into living as average Americans, focusing on their kids, working and doing their best to be good Christian people. In October 2003, Wade's dad was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. He unfortunately passed away just over a year later and this rocked Wade. Wade was only 33 years old and losing his dad at such a young age sent him into a tailspin that eventually led him to a dark place involving anger and alcohol abuse. Meanwhile, Shannon tried really hard to be a supportive spouse and present mother though she felt she had no clue how to help. Wade and Shannon both reflect and share a lot of insight about this particular chapter in their lives. A key point communicated is the importance of being open and talking about struggles, even if it feels embarrassing. Around the year 2005, Wade and Shannon began attending Desert Springs. This began a new journey that led them back to dreaming and praying about what God might have next. Then one day out of the blue after a random connection on Facebook Wade and Shannon got a phone call that opened a door they thought had been sealed shut. Make sure you come back next week to hear part three of the Cooperrider's story!

Learn more about The Cooperriders: https://thebridge.bbfimissions.com/wade-and-shannon-cooperrider/

Be a part of supporting The Cooperriders: https://bbfimissions.com/missionary/wade-and-shannon-cooperrider

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For more information on Missions at DSCC, email james@dscchurch.com

Join us on Wednesday, January 17th for Part 3! Would you please subscribe and leave us a review? This will help our podcast reach more people! We’d love it if you’d share this podcast with your friends on social media and beyond.