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.
