We're headed to Texas...

This has been quite a winding road that the Lord has had us on! These past few months we have really been thinking through what we, as a new missionary family would best benefit from in a mission organization. The more that Adam and I talked and prayed about it, the more that we felt like we needed an organization that mainly focused on support and communication. We were part of a wonderful organization that we loved, but that didn't quite suit us as non-seasoned missionaries. While searching online one day, we came across Commission To Every Nation - or CTEN for short. Their website describes them in this way: "CTEN is a servant organization which helps missionaries fulfill the unique vision God has given them. Through administrative support we provide accountability and help the missionary get to the field. Through pastoral care we help them remain effective and healthy while there." We have just finished the application process and an interview via skype and last Tuesday our membership with CTEN was approved! Adam and I will be attending an orientation at their main office in Texas next week!

We had a wonderful time at ICOM (International Conference on Missions) a couple of weeks ago. We made some wonderful contacts and just loved sharing The Fold with so many! I think Adam talked about Africa for 3 days straight with very minimal breaks... :) We were blessed with the opportunity to go to lunch with Mike and Kathy Dennis, a couple from Paul and Micky's home church in Oklahoma while they were here for the convention. Mike serves as an elder at Cedar Ridge Christian Church. They had just visited The Fold this summer and had a wonderful time there. They had actually done some of the work in our apartment to help prepare it for our arrival, so it was nice to get to thank them in person!

Here is our family at our booth for The Fold:

We enjoyed a wonderfully delicious Thanksgiving with both sides of our family. It was especially wonderful to see my Uncle Bob and Aunt Meacia as we hadn't been able to spend time with Bob since his heart surgery last month! What a blessing to have him celebrate with us. We are looking forward to Christmas and I am working on getting our plans for the month all in order. I ran across an idea on Pinterest that I am in love with. Random Acts of Christmas Kindness - or RACK for short. The kids and I, and Adam when he's here, will be performing RACKs all month long! We are getting very excited to get started! If you are interested in doing the same, just Google Random Acts of Christmas Kindness and compile a list! If you have any fun ideas, leave us a comment! We would love to hear them!

Back in Indiana

We have been back in Indiana now for a little over 2 weeks. It really only feels like one since jet lag took us over for the first week! Now that I am definitely thinking MUCH more clearly, here is a new post to get you updated:

I have fallen in love several times in my life. When Adam and I were dating, when Ethan arrived, and again upon Caeley's arrival. Last month though, I fell in love again. Hard. I absolutely loved Africa. The people, the places, the work that God has put before us... We are in awe of the many ways that He has so certainly been preparing us for The Fold. It is so hard to think of leaving family and leaving friends, but God has made this path too clear. We can't say no. Some of the main things that we prayed for as we prepared for our trip and as we were there, are that God would speak clearly to us, that we would have no question of His direction, that He would show us any red flags and that we would be open to whatever His guidance for us was, and that we wouldn't make any decisions based on our emotions. He answered our prayers so fully while we were gone and we are so thankful. We know without a shadow of  a doubt that this is His plan for us. Jeremiah tells us Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We knew that we would easily become attached to the children there, but in His lovingkindness God orchestrated the timing of our first week there so that much of our day to day life did not include the children. We got to know Paul and Micky and gained a wonderful understanding of their ministry. We got to know the kids, just a bit, and enjoyed attending Bible Time as a big group every evening. We accomplished some work projects and just got used to living there and knowing what our roles would be. From the moment we arrived we all felt at home. And I don't say that lightly. I have not felt that at home for a very long time. No matter what, for quite awhile our life has just not felt right. I know that I, myself, have just not felt peace. Being in our apartment at The Fold just felt right - and peaceful. Just a part of God's affirmation during our time there.

All four of us missed our family and friends, but we had such a hard time leaving. We truly feel like we left part of ourselves behind in Africa and we are aching to be back. As soon as our plane touched down in Indianapolis 2 weeks ago, Ethan turned to Adam and said, "Welcome to Indiana. When can we go home?"

We have been busy getting paperwork done and preparing all of our fundraising materials. Paul and Micky asked us to represent The Fold at the ICOM - International Conference on Missions in Indianapolis next week and I am so excited! Well, we all are. But, ICOM is by far my favorite event of the year each year and I am extra excited to go this year and share the story of The Fold and introduce people to the faces of the sweet sweet children that we met there!

We are certain that we will be returning to South Africa and our hope is that we could be ready to go this next summer. We have a 3 week training that we will be taking in Colorado at MTI - Mission Training International as well as a KAIROS - Bible/missions class in Kentucky. This fall and winter we will be especially focused on fundraising. We need to raise monthly support as well as one time gifts that will help us to be able to serve in South Africa full time and to purchase necessities such as a vehicle, appliances, household goods and our airline tickets.

We would love to begin to have people partner with us in this ministry. We are so excited to be a part of a ministry that is raising up Godly leaders that will have a positive impact on society - especially for the Lord! If you are interested in learning more about how you can be a part of The Fold, as a prayer partner, financially, receiving newsletters, etc. please contact us at hayesfamily.thefold@gmail.com. We would love to share more information with you!!!

As always - we would love your comments on our blog!

South Africa!!!

Hello!
   Well, we have been in South Africa since last Friday evening! God has really blessed us so far with a wonderful trip. We just got up awhile ago, made breakfast and said goodbye to our friends. Mark, Leslie and Doug are headed to Pretoria with Micky to a store called Makro. Makro is similar to a Walmart or Sam's Club and where Micky does quite a bit of shopping for The Fold. They are going to give her a hand pushing full carts and then souvenir shop for awhile before she takes them to the airport in Johannesburg to catch their flight later today. Adam is at a men's breakfast this morning with Paul. They took the Fold kids to school in Vaalwater - 30 mins away - and then continued on about 25 mins to fellowship and eat with some of the men from their church there. A sweet older lady has provided and hosted this breakfast for a long time. When her husband died, she just kept right on hosting it!
   We have had a very successful week here. We have all sat with Paul and Micky many times and asked many many questions. They have been so patient and willing to share! Mark, Leslie and Doug are all very pleased with the ministry and all of the work that Paul and Micky are doing, as are we. It seems like a very very good fit for our family and God has been at work answering our prayers from the time that we arrived. Adam and I had been praying that the Lord would help us to not get wrapped up in the newness of things...

   - Sorry, things got busy and I took a several day break! That was all typed last Thursday. -
 
   We were concerned about that feeling of excitement that you get somewhere new and falling in love with the kids and being distracted by emotional things that can so often be fleeting! God is in control though and for almost the first week we were busy doing projects, sharing and discussing as a group and doing some important runs with Paul and Micky. We got to experience regular day to day life first off. Adam and I were talking last week and shared with each other that neither of us has felt that feeling of it all being new and exciting. It just feels normal and right. We feel at home. The past few days however we have had the chance to spend more and more time with the kids! They are so very precious. We have spent time with them playing soccer, reading, coloring, watching a movie and just playing and having fun. We are also getting to know the house moms a bit and are enjoying those relationships as well. Paul and Micky are an incredible couple following after God's own heart here in South Africa. We are really enjoying getting to know them and we all get along really well!
 
   I will give you a quick rundown of our days here and then will try to stay better caught up from here on out:
   Friday, 5 Oct - We arrived at the airport in Johannesburg at 5:00 pm. Eating, fueling and traveling to The Fold took us around 5 hours. We arrived at our apartment here with a special guest to greet us in the bedroom that Mark and Leslie would be sleeping in! A huge Golden Orb Spider. The biggest spider I have ever seen! If you know me very well at all, you probably know how much I hate and fear spiders and bugs! Once we brought some of our things in and got settled though we all got some much needed sleep. We are dreading the flight home so much! The flight here was terrible! None of us really got any good rest...
   Saturday, 6 Oct - We got up, had breakfast and headed to the store with Micky to buy our groceries for the next week or so. On our way there, just a few minutes down the road from The Fold we spotted some giraffes. I was able to get out of the car, walk right up to the game reserve fence and take some great pictures! The rest of the day was taken up just getting a it acclimated and 'trying' to adjust to the time change.
   Sunday, 7 Oct - We got up early to get ready for church. All 7 of us in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment! (4 rooms total - kitchen, dining and living room are all one big room. It is fairly small, but it is a nice place!) We all traveled together in The Fold's new 23 passenger bus. We went to Laphalale (about 45 mins away) to a traditional African church the The Fold attends every other week. It was a wonderful experience! It was such a blessing to worship and praise our awesome God together! We spent the rest of the afternoon resting, recuperating from our terribly long flight and visiting. Micky and Paul made us antelope stew for dinner. It was delicious!!!
   Monday, 8 Oct - We started the day working on several projects. Doug and Adam worked on welding bars onto the windows. Mark worked on his sermon for awhile on the picnic table outside of our front door and then worked on some painting. Leslie and I began to sort and organize the donation area of the pantry/storage room behind the school room. Ethan and Caeley worked hard playing with the kids! After lunch, Doug, Leslie and I went with Micky to return 2 children to their aunties. They were here for about a week on a trial basis. (They will be returning once they finish the current school year - which ends at the beginning of December.) The area that their family lived in is a squatters village. The makeshift houses were tin, very very small and had holes everywhere. The area did not have water or electricity. It reminded me a lot of some of the areas of Juarez. A house in that area is probably around 10 X 10 to 10 X 15. The average house has 16 people living in it in only 2 rooms. One for cooking, dining and living and the other a bedroom for everyone to share. We had a delicious meal with ground sable in it for dinner. The sable had been donated to The Fold. It is the most expensive meat in this area.
   Tuesday, 9 Oct - We jumped back into our projects in the morning. We had a late lunch and then had the wonderful opportunity of being treated to a game drive at the game reserve of one of the board members for The Fold. It was so so beautiful. I guess I haven't yet really mentioned the beauty of this country! It is absolutely magnificent! I had no idea that it would be this amazing! It is breath-taking to have the experience of enjoying more and more of this wonderful world that our Heavenly Father created. The game drive was a great experience for each one of us. Our guide, Joe, was fantastic! We saw some great wildlife and just enjoyed riding about in this beautiful country. For dinner the guys cooked hamburgers out on the braai spot in our front yard. They had a great time starting the fire and cooking together. The sky was packed full of beautiful stars! It was an amazing sight. Anyway, it was good that the guys all had a good time preparing the meat for dinner, because the result was not so good! We all had a good laugh as we tasted these South African hamburgers. Apparently if you buy them pre-pattied here they add quite a bit of "cereal" as filler! They were hard and rather flavorless! We ate them anyway and enjoyed one another's company!
   Wednesday, 10 Oct - Wednesday was rainy. Leslie and I finished up the donation room as much as we could without getting rid of things that Micky might want. I really enjoyed having Leslie here. We had some wonderful conversations regarding missions and other cultures. She has some great insight and perspective! She was such a blessing! Mark and Doug worked to get our new back door installed. It is a nice thick wooden split door so we can latch the bottom half and leave the top open for ventilation. It was a tricky project, but they did a wonderful job! Adam and Micky ran some errands about an hour away. He had the opportunity to look at prices on things like towels, sheets and mattresses. He had a really good time getting to know Micky better!
   Thursday, 11 Oct - I covered this at the beginning of my post... However, I can't begin to explain how thankful that we are that the three of them joined us for this first week! We enjoyed them all so much and are thrilled that they also had the opportunity to fall in love with The Fold! The questions that they asked us and Paul and Micky were so very helpful as we begin to build our relationship with them and with The Fold. We are glad for the opportunity to experience real day to day life here for the rest of our trip, but we miss our friends too. :) Caeley and Pastor Mark are now "best buds" and even had special "matching hats"! You'll have to ask them about them! The kids really enjoyed being silly with Mark and getting to know him better while he was here!
   Friday, 12 Oct - On Friday, I joined Micky as she traveled to another very rough, very poor area to pick up 2 new little boys. They are both orphans and their Granny and sister cannot take care of them or provide for them the way that they need to. The boys were 3 and 5 and the 5 year old is about he size of a 3 year old. He needs a good balanced diet! Thankfully he will get that here.It was sad how easily that they left their family and have now become acclimated to The Fold. I am thankful that it wasn't difficult for them, but it is sad to me that it was so easy. They do not speak English, so Micky and I could not communicate with them all the way home, which was about 2 hours. They were very very quiet and wide-eyed and took short little naps off and on. Once they arrived here, Gogo Leah (she fills in for the regular housemoms on their days off on a rotation) fixed them each a good filling meal and once they ate, they were full of smiles! On Fridays the school kids get out of class at 1:00. Once they got home a lot of us spent time playing soccer and just running around outside. We had a fun time!
   Saturday, 13 Oct - On Saturday we had a lot of time to spend with the kids. We brought some of Ethan and Caeley's books from when they were younger and Peit and Jessica enjoyed taking turns reading them to us! We also brought some HUGE coloring books that my Grandpa Bob had given to my kids when they were younger. They had colored some of the pages but there were a lot of good ones left so we brought along the uncolored parts. We thought that the kids here would enjoy them because many of them could work on one picture at once. We were right! They really had a good time! We spent time playing soccer and baseball also. We are really loving getting to know the kids better, but we are also loving getting to know the housemoms, Suzan, Fatima and Leah as well. They are very special ladies!
   Sunday, 14 Oct - We went to a different church this week. Every other week The Fold attends a church that is comprised of many white people. Some are South Africans and game reserve owners & drivers and some have other ministries here in the area. Paul and Micky have built good relationships with some of the other people running ministries here and that provides some great support for each of them. After church, we went to Michael Calamia's house. He is friend of Paul and Micky's who has a ministry here called A World Aware. We enjoyed food (LOTS of food), fellowship and communion together and the kids all got to play outside and swim in his small pool. It was a wonderful, refreshing day! Michael is full of information and insight about the culture of South Africa. We look forward to developing our friendship with him and learning all that we can from him!
   Monday, 15 Oct - The children at The Fold have to be driven into Vaalwater (the nearest town), 30 minutes away, every weekday for school. The school nearby is unfortunately really bad. I went with Micky for the school run and because fuel is so expensive here, whoever does the school run spends the day in town waiting on the children. Micky rents a desk area at a cottage near the school, so at least she is able to take some administrative work along with her often and get some of her work done while she waits. We spend awhile at the cottage and then headed to her weekly physiotherapy appointment. While we were in the waiting room I began to ask her questions about the Physiotherapist. I found out that her specialty is migraines! I now have an appointment with her next Monday, following Micky's and I am very excited to see how she can help me! The cost for the appointment will be 250 rand. That is around $30 - not bad!!!Next we spent a bit more time at the cottage and then headed to The Bush Stop Cafe for lunch. We ate at a table out on the lawn and split the most delicious salad! I ran in a shop, The Black Mamba, while we waited on our food and bought a souvenir for my mom. My first souvenir purchase of the trip! After that we did a bit of grocery shopping. Then it was time to pick up the kids from school. Anna was sick with tonsillitis again so we ran to the clinic and she got a shot since they were out of pills. We stopped at Spar to grocery shop on our way out of town and I bought each of the kids an orange popsicle to eat while they waited on me. They were each so thankful and sweet. They have very good manners! While we were gone Adam finished all but one of the windows!

   This post is so very long already, but I have to include just a few more things for you to better visualize our time here. Ethan and Caeley are keeping up with their homeschool work while we are here so they get the reality of what day to day life will be. They have also been struggling with sickness a lot. Caeley quickly caught the end of the cold that had been going around here and has been fighting a ton of congestion and fever after fever. She has been a trooper though and really loves it here anyway. Then this last Sunday she had a bad headache and was vomiting and Ethan became ill with a fever. Thankfully his fever was gone by the next morning and Caeley's has been gone for several days. She has used all of the cough medicine that we brought with us though, so I am using Tea Tree Oil and Peppermint Oil on her chest and neck. It is helping her to sleep at night at least! Also, I didn't include some of the most important daily things in my posts and I want you to know about them! Every day at 10:00 am, Paul meets with the housemoms and their outdoor worker, Sam, for a Bible study. They spend time doing a devotion and reading some of God's Word. I am thankful for the dedication of encouraging and teaching the housemoms and Sam in this way. Adam and I join them whenever we can. Also, every evening at 6:00 pm everyone gathers in one living room or the other and Paul does Bible Story Time with the kids. They are very attentive and amazing listeners. They really absorb what he shares with them. He is reading through a kids story Bible and each night he recaps the previous day's story, reads the new story and to involve the kids and to inspire better cognitive thinking he asks them 2 questions. 1) What questions do you have? and 2) What was important in this story? What should we remember? The children have very good questions and answers and it is obvious that they understand each story and the significance of it. They are being raised up with wonderful character and Godly morals, both in word and deed! All four of us enjoy being a part of this special time. Paul and Micky were gone on Saturday evening for a gala, so Adam filled in. He did a great job and will continue to lead this time while we are here.
   The connection here is fairly slow right now so if you want to see lots of pictures our time here, just check out my facebook page! I made all of the South Africa albums public, but I would love for you to friend me so we can get to know you!
   I will leave you with one last thought. Our desire is to serve the Lord in whatever He calls us to. We are striving to hear His voice and His direction above all else. As I think of the way that we feel here at The Fold, the words of Paul in Philippians 4:6-7 come to mind: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The best way that Adam and I can describe our feeling here is - at peace. Thank you Father. You are so faithful!

Countdown = 0 !!!

We had a great morning at church yesterday. In the elementary area - the classes all prayed for Caeley, in Ethan's Bible study - many of the kids went forward to pray for him, 2nd hour - the middle schoolers and high schoolers had them come forward and prayed for them as a group, and in the main services they had Adam and I come forward and prayed over us and our trip. Ethan's 6th grade small group prayed for him that evening too and his leaders gave him a devotional with a special note of encouragement in it. We should be well covered in prayer! It was a nice send off. :) We are blessed to be a part of the GCC family. I want to take a minute to thank each of you. We appreciate your interest in following our journey down God's road and we appreciate your love and encouragement as well. We really really appreciate your prayers on our behalf though. We are constantly made more and more aware of the spiritual battle that is taking place all around us each and everyday. We have been asking God to strengthen us in preparation for Satan's attacks as we continue to follow the path that God has laid before us. Please pray that we will stay strong with serving hands and hearts and that God would speak clearly to us as we visit this wonderful ministry that he has led us to. In less than an hour my family will be awake, gathering our final things, eating breakfast, and heading to the church to load up the church van and head to the airport. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us! We are excited about the 3 people that God coordinated to be with us for the first week of our trip. We have seen His hand so evidently in all of our plans. We are praying that God will strengthen our relationships with one another and that most of all He will strengthen each one of our relationships with Him. We will be blogging and facebooking during our stay and we would love to share our trip with you thanks to the wonders of technology! Blessings!

Following His Leading....

     I have so very much that I want to share that I feel overwhelmed! Some of you already know how God has been working in our lives this summer and some of you may not. It is wonderful and amazing to look back at where God got us started on this journey into missions and how much His path for us has changed the past couple of years! We can definitely see Him at work and know that he has tested our obedience to Him over and over again as He prepares us for a life where we will be trusting in Him more than ever each and every day.
     We have had some questions the last couple of months from family and friends. People who care about us, but wonder what on earth we are thinking and why we are thinking it! Sometimes it is difficult to fully explain the calling that God has put on our hearts to serve Him internationally. Adam and I have both been growing much deeper in our relationship with the Lord throughout the 13 years of our marriage. Our absolute deepest desire is to listen to God and to obey him completely. Starting with our first mission trip together in 2007, God began working on our hearts, preparing us for the path that He had for our family. Jeremiah 29:11 says:  ^"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God has been testing our listening skills as well as our obedience to Him over and over this year. It is such a blessing to see Him so clearly at work in our family and so clearly directing our path. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths." Multiple people have commented to us that they wish they were "young and fearless" again, or that they can't imagine changing their life so drastically.... I think some of them think maybe we aren't opening our eyes to the dangers of the world or to the reality of what we are doing. It has nothing to do with fear or ignorance and everything to do with the FAITH and TRUST that we have in our Heavenly Father. Will everything be easy? No. Will it be comfortable? No. Will we know what each day has in store for us? No. Has God called us as His children to ANY of those things? No. He has called us to Love and Obey. We are merely doing exactly what He has called us as His children to do. Jesus is our example and we seek to follow Him.


“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.” 
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
“My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus' words and walk away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to Him. ” 
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
“But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.” 
― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

     
     We have had some major changes in our path this summer, but what it all boils down to is that our utmost goal is to be in obedience with God's will for our life.  
     Many of you know that we have been planning and preparing for the mission field in West Africa for awhile now. However, in May, God began speaking to Adam and I each separately. We were both unsure what to think, wondering if we were listening to God's voice or maybe to fear instead. Nothing had happened, nothing had changed that would contribute to us feeling the way we did. We each prayed about it for several weeks before we even shared with one another what we felt that God was saying to us. Of course, in God's perfect and amazing timing He was telling us the exact same thing at the exact same time. We could literally finish each other's sentences! We talked to several friends and mentors, and they shared that God was telling them the same thing also. God showed us on many occasions that He was definitely in control of the situation and we are so thankful for the many assurances that He has given us that we are following His path for our family. 

     So in May, God began to lead us in a new direction. We spent a lot of time in prayer from then into early June until we were sure that we should make some changes. It was extremely overwhelming to still feel so very strongly that God was calling us to the mission field, but now we weren't sure of our direction. Adam and I spent hours talking in the car on the way home from St. Louis one night and I shared with him how overwhelmed I felt not knowing the best way to begin searching out where God wants us to be. He remembered a list that the International Conference on Missions (ICOM- my FAVORITE event of the year!) had on their website that listed organizations all over the world that are looking for missionaries. We got home very late, so he pulled it up on the computer and we went to bed. The next morning, he headed to work and I decided to look over the list. I knew that it could be a long time before God led us to where He wanted us, and that there are so so many wonderful ministries out there. I had no desire to hurry and pick something, just a desire to be searching and evaluating with an open mind and an open heart. Prayerfully, I began to look over the list, reading about each ministry. Ministry after ministry sounded wonderful and amazing, but I wasn't hearing anything from the Lord. Then I got to an entry about a children's home in South Africa. I read the information they had on the list and it was the only ministry that just jumped out at me. I spent the next 3 hours reading everything I could find about them online, in prayer and in tears. God was really speaking to my heart, and I knew I had to know more about this children's home called The Fold. I texted Adam at work and asked for him to call me when he had a chance. A few minutes later the  phone rang. Adam asked me what I was doing and I replied that I was online looking at a children's home. His reply: In South Africa? He had taken his breakfast break, read over the list and felt God directing him to look into this place called The Fold! God had led us both to the same ministry at the same time! :) That night we spent more time reading together about their ministry and praying about contacting them to find out more. The following evening Adam sent them an email introducing our family and telling them where we got their information. They were so very excited to hear from us. Their ministry has been growing and they have been praying that God would send some missionaries to help them! They didn't even know that ICOM had posted the list! Since that first contact there have been many many emails, Facebook messages and Skype calls as we have all gotten to know each other a bit and asked many questions about The Fold. God has continued to assure us that this is our next step and that He is leading us. 

     The property had a strip mall on it as well as many camping sites. The Fold has family style housing. Each house will have 6-8 children and they have South Africans serving as house parents. (That is very important in their culture.) They have converted the strip mall into a home for Paul and Micky, a school room, a work shop, 2 children's homes for 6-8 children each, and an apartment. They have enough foundation left on one end to build their 3rd home. After that they will be building from the ground up! Their goal for their ministry is: To see the children become successful members of society and someday create a loving, supportive family environment for their children. Their ministry falls in line with the calling that God has placed on our lives to fulfill James 1:27: Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

     The past few weeks have been filled with meetings with our church's mission team, the elders, the pastor and some of our mentors. We have been working to plan an exploratory trip to South Africa to experience the culture, get to know the people at The Fold and to see if it is a good fit all around. We have been so anxiously awaiting the time when we could book our flights and know that we will soon get to meet all of these wonderful people in person. We have talked, emailed, looked at pictures and watched videos so much that we feel like we already know them! Then this weekend, we got the go ahead from our church to book tickets! Yesterday was so very exciting as we were able to purchase tickets to leave here on October 4th until the 26th!!! We are so thrilled to be able to have 3 weeks for our trip! We asked our pastor, Mark, and his daughter, Leslie, to join us for the first week. They should both have some valuable insight for us as well as having the opportunity to get to know Paul and Micky and their ministry firsthand. They also purchased tickets yesterday and we were so excited to call Paul and Micky at The Fold and let them know that we all had our tickets!
     Now I know this has already been a very long post, but I HAVE to tell you a little more about The Fold. Paul and Micky Prince are a couple from Tulsa, Oklahoma who went to South Africa on a Bible distribution mission trip. While they were there, they realized the huge need for a children's home in the northern most province of the country called the Limpopo Province. The Limpopo Province is the poorest area of the country. Paul and Micky responded to this need by partnering with their church, Cedar Ridge Christian Church and moving to SA to purchase an 81 acre property. They started building in April 2010 and in September 2010 they received their first child. 

     Our roles at The Fold would include:
*First and foremost - sharing Christ's love in all that we do
*Leading bible studies and discipling the house parents
*Nightly devotions with the children
*Tutor the children/help them with homework as needed
* Assist Paul and Micky in administrative roles
* Help stem sustainability initiatives
*Building projects as they go from 2 to 8 homes
*Coordinating local volunteer groups as well as short term mission trips
*Teaching the children life skills that will help them prepare for their future
      -Auto maintenance, building, household projects and maintenance....
      -Sewing, baking, soapmaking....
      *Basically sharing the gifts and talents that God has blessed us with and helping to build them in the      
        children as we get to know them and the gifts, talents and passions that God has placed in them.

     They have been preparing "our" apartment there on their property. They have received some donations that will help out so we don't have to purchase as much and they sent out the stove and refrigerator yesterday to be repaired. A couple of weeks ago they sent us a message to let us know that they have even made up our beds!!! We just can't wait to meet everyone and hug and love on these sweet children we see in the pictures! 

     Adam and I began praying in May that if He was redirecting our path, He would be at work in Ethan and Caeley's hearts also preparing them. It has been so very evident that He has been. The kids have shared some really good insight with us and are so excited about The Fold! They are very much on board and can't wait for the survey trip next month! We are so glad and thankful that our whole family gets to go.
     Please pray for us as we along with Pastor Mark, Leslie, the elders and mission team work on our list of questions for Paul and Micky and for the Lord's guidance over what all we should evaluate while we are in SA. Also, please pray for us as this is all becoming REAL! We are excited, but at the same time, we know that every step forward takes us a step closer to saying good bye. Good bye to our current lifestyle, to our stuff and most importantly to our family and friends. We are so thankful for the internet, Skype, and mission trips! 
     Thanks for keeping up with us!
:) Adam, Jen, Ethan and Caeley
   

Busy Summer!

We have been very busy so far this summer! We have had 2 big garage sales and they took a LOT of prep! We have been hearing God speaking to us in amazing ways. Through prayer, scripture, mentors and friends. We have so much to share with you, when I have a bit more time to type and things are a bit more figured out. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we follow God's voice and leading for our family!
Thank you!!!

Chickens!

Very soon we will be the proud new owners of chickens! We have been interested for awhile and prayed about whether this would be an experience that will somehow benefit our family on the mission field. We felt that it would be a good learning experience for all of us and that it it might help to prepare us for situations like watching a goat be killed and prepared at a gathering and then eating it. Yikes! We decided to get around 12-14 chickens. Most of them will be egg layers but hopefully we will keep up the nerve to butcher a couple of them. Hmm... Still yikes! We were trying to figure out what to use or how to build a chicken coop. We wanted to do it with the least amount of money possible since this will not be a permanent endeavor. As I was getting ready to search places like Craig's List for wood or for an old storage shed that we could work on and repurpose, God blessed us very unexpectedly! Adam came home from work at Amazon one day and said that they had a bunch of materials from shipments of new air conditioner units I believe, that he could bring home for us to use to build one from scratch. Free materials! We worked together to come up with the sketches and decide on a design and then Adam brought home a truckload of wood. He had all of the 2X4s we needed, all of the sheets of plywood we needed, and plenty of rubber roofing to finish the roof with! We only needed nails, hardware and paint. (I was able to find red paint at the store for half price as a return.) We already have the main fencing that we need, but we will need to buy some chicken wire also. We spent Tuesday from morning til night outside sawing and hammering and smiling! Building is one of my very very favorite things to do!!! We had a great day and Adam was so patient and encouraging with the kids. He is such a great dad! They really enjoyed helping and look forward to each having their own special chick that will be their "pet" and will only be expected to lay eggs. I will post more pictures soon. We got the wood on the roof, but still need to wall the sides, add the doors, attach the rubber roofing and then paint. We are thankful that the Lord so wonderfully blessed us with something that our family can enjoy and grow from. We feel certain that He will use this experience, to His glory, in the not so distant future. 

We spent Memorial Day weekend with my mom and brothers at my brother's apartment in Muncie. They were such wonderful hosts! We all had a great time swimming, playing Wits and Wagers, cornhole, pool, basketball, soccer.... We stayed busy. :) They very kindly treated us to steak on Memorial Day and we visited and played cornhole and  enjoyed smelling the wonderful smells coming from the grill! Yum! They are such wonderful guys. Brothers to be proud of for sure.

We are looking forward to a trip to Southern Indiana this weekend. We will be staying in an RV with friends and then going to Holiday World for a couple of days as a homeschool group. The homeschool group discount is way too good to pass up!

Please pray for us as we hear God speaking and see Him working in our lives. Our desire for our family is that our plans would be His plans! Please pray also for my headaches. I had an appointment with a natural doctor this week, (one that I have been going to for awhile - that has helped me greatly with other things), and I am trying some new things. Hopefully they will work. 

As always, we would love to hear from you: jenlhayes@gmail.com.

Blessed

     Blessed....that's how I feel tonight. God has blessed us in so many ways. One of those ways is the dear friendships that we have with some very special families. We had an absolutely wonderful day with our friends today. 4 families gathered for our last official Excellence In Writing class of the school year! The kids from early elementary to high school age did a wonderful job on their papers all year and improved in amazing ways. We are so proud of them! We met at the home of our friends, Mark and Becky, and enjoyed learning, playing, eating and fellowshipping together. It was the perfect day to admire ducks, chicks and bunnies, spend some time fishing and sitting & relaxing around a campfire!

 
     This past Tuesday, 3 of these 4 families met to learn to pan for gold on a field trip south of Cloverdale. We decided to purchase prepackaged bagged material and the children (and moms) all gathered around the sluice and learned how to use the equipment. We had a great time and bought pans so that we can pan ourselves in creeks near our home. From there we went to Cataract Falls, the largest waterfall in Indiana. It was a gorgeous day and we ate a picnic lunch near the falls in a shelter house. There is a huge old red covered bridge at the park also with picnic tables inside so we were able to have our monthly Indiana State class right inside the bridge! It was a wonderful homeschool day!

 






















   











     Tomorrow we will go to Ethan's last regular soccer game of the season and then head on to Greenwood for an early Mother's Day meal at Thai Spice and a movie! 2 of my favorites! Sunday, we will go to church and then spend the day with my wonderful mom and my 2 little (ok, maybe not too too little!) brothers! They  will be home for the weekend and we can't wait to spend time together. I am so glad that we can all be together to celebrate MOM! It will be a special day with an extra special mom!
     We are just about ready to start support-raising, and we are so excited for the things that God has in place for our future in Ghana. He is continuing to prepare us all in big and small ways and it is humbling to know that He so desires to use us to reach our brothers and sisters across the world! Ethan and Caeley have been stretching out of their comfort zones in ways that I know are going to have them better prepared for life as missionary kids, ministering to people who we haven't yet met, but that God has so firmly placed in our hearts and who are often in our prayers! Please pray with us for the people of Ghana, God's children, that we will be blessed to live among, minister to and befriend in West Africa.
     Ethan and Caeley love to check out our feed on the sideline of our blog and see where the people who are reading our blog are from. :) Caeley told me that I should ask for people's suggestions for what they would like to hear about here and to request comments from our readers. We would love to hear from you!!! Even if it's just a quick hi! Also, we would so love and appreciate a long list of prayer warriors. If you are praying for us through our journey, we would love to know that. If you are interested in receiving specific prayer requests or newsletters from us from time to time, please leave me a comment and let me know OR email us at jenlhayes@gmail.com.
     Thank you for reading! It blesses us to know that you are interested in God's plan for our family!

 Also, if you are not tired of reading yet, I read an amazing blog post today that was quite powerful and packed with truth! Check it out at: http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2012/05/where-is-mommy-war-for-motherless-child.html.

We are official!!!

   Hello friends! The second week of March found Adam and I headed to North Carolina for our spring ACMI trustees meeting. We were blessed to be able to have Anna and Jared join us on the drive. We enjoyed fun, laughter and some great conversation! We had a great time at the conference center, visiting with ACMI's board, missionaries and Tim and Cheryl. We met with the trustees as a team and then during a group meeting we were voted in as ACMI missionaries. We are official missionaries now!

   We stayed for an extra day and a half to begin our orientation with Tim and Cheryl. It was a wonderful way to get started and begin to help us to realize ways that we need to prepare that we may not have thought through ourselves. We talked about conflict resolution and personality types quite a bit. Anna came up with multiple conflict scenarios for all of us to work through! It was pretty interesting and fun, and we learned a lot about the dynamics of our team. We also worked a bit more in depth on our budget.
   Since getting home we have finished our budget and turned it in to ACMI. It was approved by the financial board and we are just about ready to begin our support raising.
   I think that covers the highlights of March. Oh, except for the Father - Daughter Dance!!! Our church held a dance as a mission trip fundraiser for the youth. Adam made Caeley a special invitation and then the night of the dance they both got dressed up and enjoyed dinner and the dance. Caeley borrowed a long, black, formal satin dress from her friend Brittan. She wore pretty high heels and looked way too grown up! Adam knocked on her bedroom door to pick her up when we done making her hair nice and fancy and coating her in hairspray, a bit of glitter and a dusting of eyeshadow. He gave her a beautiful corsage that matched her dress and the dance colors. I took a picture of them as he was putting it on her wrist and she is smiling up at him with the utmost adoration. It is one of my favorite pictures! They had a wonderful night dining at The Final Approach at the airport and then dancing the night away. Adam said that Caeley barely gave him a break! Once they got home, she danced around the living room for almost 2 more hours! It was really sweet. :) Ethan and I went out with our friends, Blake and Tresa. We enjoyed Subway and Green Apple Frogurt and then we snuck into the balcony of the gym at the church. We spied for just a few minutes, but it was so incredibly sweet to see Adam twirling Caeley around on the dance floor, with her beautiful long hair spinning out around her in the air. I'm getting teary just remembering....
   This month we spent a few days in Illinois for Spring Break with the Odle and Botzum families. We went to Springfield to visit the Lincoln sites and had a great time. Our family and the Botzums camped at a campground that was connected to a village that was recreated on the foundations of the village that Abraham Lincoln had lived in as a young man. We also visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library, his old law office, the only home ever owned by Abraham and Mary Todd, and his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. We had a wonderful time learning more about a wonderfully ambitious man! We enjoyed every site that we went to, but the museum was especially impressive. It was the only place we went that had an admission fee rather than accepting donations, so it was a bit more costly, but it was worth it! God blessed us with amazing weather for the time that we were there and it was a wonderful break away from school and busy life.

   We are still meeting with the Odles weekly to discuss the book, When Helping Hurts. We are really enjoying the book as it really addresses the ways that we are seeking to minister in Ghana. Adam and I have had some great discussions based on the questions in the book as have the 4 of us as a team. It really shares some wonderful perspectives and approaches to ministry.
   I also want to share with you about The Secret Church. I attended a simulcast of The Secret Church with Anna and Jared at their church in Terre Haute. It was a 6 hour intensive Bible Study by David Platt (author of Radical) with concentrated times of prayer for the persecuted church. David spoke on The Cross and Suffering and he covered from Genesis to Revelations. It was phenomenal! He ended up speaking for an additional hour, making it 7 hours, going from 7pm to 2am. It went by so very quickly though. Adam was unable to go due to his work schedule so we are planning to watch it online together soon. I really want to hear it all a second time as David was speaking so very fast to cram everything in! If you are interested, check out: www.radical.com. Or more specifically: http://www.radical.net/media/schurch/series_list/?id=303. Right now they just have the study guides available but soon they will have the audio and video as well.
   Today is Ethan's first soccer game of the season. It is not looking like very good soccer playing weather outside so far!
   Please keep praying for us as we are preparing. We are excited to be in Ghana, serving where we know God has called us, but we are really enjoying time now with friends and family and are working to be as ready as possible for the things that God has in store for us. We are enjoying our time with our Grow Group at church each week. We have done some great studies this year and Adam and I just started leading the group as we have begun a study called Start Being a Good Samaritan. It has already brought about some great discussion and raised some great questions. We appreciate the support of our Grow Group and the friendship that we have there.
I hope you are all enjoying Spring!!!

January breezed right by!

     I apologize for being so bad about posting updates! I really am trying to get better, but I think I may be the worst journaler ever.
     January was a good month for us! Somehow I think it was the busiest January we've ever had. Usually the month creeps by, all cold and snowy. Instead we have had rain, rain, wind, sun, rain and wind. Where is the snow???
     We completed the next 2 really important steps in our mission preparation for ACM. We had a psychological evaluation with a doctor in Lincoln, IL and we had our physical evaluations and full bloodwork done in Indy. Both doctors cleared us for third-world missions and are sending their recommendations to ACM. We are working on our budget now and will soon be ready to present it to the Financial Board for approval. Once we have that step completed we will be ready to start fundraising. We have also met with Jared and Anna, to discuss the details of their survey trip. We will all 4 (Adam & I and Jared & Anna) be meeting with Tim, the director of ACM next week to talk everything through and will also be going to the ACM Trustees and Missionary meetings in Asheville, NC next month.
     God has blessed our family in multiple ways lately and it is reassuring to see His encouragement as we follow Him. My friend Tresa has quoted Psalm 37:4 to me several times. It says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."
     Caeley and I started a Mother/Daughter Bible study and a quilting class at church 2 weeks ago. We are really enjoying it! Ethan is getting ready to start soccer again and is excited. I am enjoying Adam's work schedule at Amazon. For the first time in years, he actually gets home at dinner time! I am happy to be able to cook dinner and have it ready for him when he gets home (or shortly after).
     Please continue to pray for us as we prepare our bodies and hearts for what God has in store for us. Neither of the kids had many of their shots as babies so they have some catching up to do!
     Adam and I are starting a Bible study that we bought at the Missionary Convention and will also be doing some studies together with Anna and Jared as well. We will be meeting more and more frequently as the time gets closer (although Anna and I and the kids all see each other really often with all of our homeschool activities). :) Please pray that God would continue to speak clearly to us as we meet and work to follow His will and direction for our families. There are so many answers that He hasn't given us yet, but I feel His peace assuring us in our obedience to Him. John 14:27 says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." And of course, Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope, and a future."

Happy New Year!

     We had a great night tonight celebrating the New Year with good friends, good food, games and laughter! It was wonderful to hear the sounds of our children playing and laughing together as well! Midnight took us outside for the kids to use little confetti poppers and to enjoy the neighbor's fireworks and a few paper lanterns as well! I am a sucker for paper lanterns. I've never had one myself, but they are beautiful to see. :) Then the kids stayed outside for about 40 minutes, playing tag and getting cold. They had a lot of fun playing outside, in the dark, in the middle of the night!
     We thoroughly enjoyed 2011 and can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2012. I pray that we will be ever watchful for ways that we can serve Him and that we would listen carefully for His voice and His direction in our lives. A constant prayer for me as our family prepares to experience some big changes! Tonight, I was able to sit with 2 of my best friends and see pictures of the Odle's trip to Ghana and hear more about their 2 weeks there. (We have wanted to get together with them since they got home, but we have all been busy with Christmas preparations and celebrations!) It was wonderful to see pictures that help us to better prepare for our new home! Physically and emotionally. Ghana is such a wonderful country. God is really placing us in a great place for our families. We are so anxious to be there, serving Him where He has called us, but for now will focus on serving Him here, where we are.
     The kids and I talked about New Year's Resolutions for a little bit this afternoon, and will talk about them more tomorrow. I've never really focused on them too much in the past, but this year, I really want to make some changes in my life and my family's. Mostly we all want to focus on growing closer to God, and will decide on some specific ways to make sure that we do just that in 2012.
     I am praying that God will bless each of you in this new year! Happy New Year!