“A lot of couples don’t prepare for the empty nest, and it hits them hard when the kids leave. They don’t know each other,” Steve said. “We need to remember we are raising our kids to send them out,” Susan agreed. When they walked into their house after depositing their second and last son at college, it was quiet. Steve looked at Susan and said, “This is going to be awesome!” They didn’t have to get reacquainted because they had worked intentionally ahead of time.
Eagle Family Ministries offer creative date night ideas on the website. One recent post encouraged couples to attend a cooking class together — either virtually from home or in person. Other rules for date night: Don’t have your phone out, and no talking about kids (including grands), work or money. On their dates the Tuckers like to reminisce about fun times in the past and dream about the future. Leading conferences in Alaska is just one example of a long-held dream that has now come to fruition.
“Doing ministry work in Alaska had been a dream of ours almost our entire marriage,” Susan said. “It is pretty exciting to see how God orchestrated everything.”
An overview of the work of Eagle Family Ministries would be incomplete without mentioning the Wilmot Mission, which they established in 2000 to serve the impoverished Mississippi Delta region of Southeastern Arkansas.
The mainly minority community has struggled under the weight of poverty, lack of employment and racial division. While people initially mistrusted the Tuckers’ intentions, their history of service (now almost a quarter century) has won devotion. Steve and Susan have faithfully made the 6.5-hour drive hundreds of times over the years to personally oversee distributions and events.
Eagle Family Ministries provides a semi-truck load of food and hygiene items on a regular basis that supports approximately 400 families. In the summer, Eagle Family Ministries hosts sports and Bible camps and sponsors a fish fry. Every child grade K-12 receives school supplies and access to clothing. In December, Steve leads a service, brings personal gifts for children through elementary school age and offers a community Christmas dinner. College prep boot camps help teens improve test scores so they can achieve scholarships and grants for higher education.