Spring Retreat Pics

Here is some pics of the retreat so far...
The beginning... Excited to be here



After the talks they split up and have time to discuss







Took kiddos to the Zoo in our free time. They especially loved these Orangatangs!



Elephants!



And my sweet girl stepping in an elephant footprint





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Spring Retreat 2012

All loaded up in the minivan and on our way to our Spring Retreat. The theme for this years retreat is YES. God is the God of Yes. A lot of the world just looks at Christianity as God with rules, telling you No you can't do this or that. But yet God is a God of Yes, because He desires to say Yes, Yes be forgiven, Yes be satisfied, Yes be content. He wants you to be satisfied and content in Christ. Pray the students say Yes to Christ and His purposes.










Evan, Brad, and Joel (Bradley students) managed to squeeze in the back seat! Fun ride for our kiddos :)
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Our Weekend

This past weekend was a busy weekend for the BU ministry. They had there spring retreat in KY with TTU. There ended up being around 45 students who went. Kenny said it was a great weekend and had some great conversations with many of the students. We will send more details later. But here is a group picture from the retreat.

Molly and I stayed here in Peoria while Kenny went to the retreat. We both were recovering from some sickness. She had croup this past week and I had a fun head cold. We are both feeling much better though. We did a lot of cleaning to the house while daddy was gone. We dusted the whole house (which Molly really does love to help) so she gets her own rag. And then we cleaned all the bathrooms. And once again she is not shy to helping...it was funny thinking how eager she was to help clean the toilets...I thought one day this won't be so true :) Trying to figure a way for her to help was a bit of a challenge. She ended up using the toilet bowl scrubber and getting to swish around all the toilet cleaner. That was fun for her. And last but not least we organized all of Molly's toys. Put up the baby ones and bought some baskets from the dollar tree and went to town. This was actually quite fun for me. Here is a picture of the shelf in Molly's room:

And then here is our organization of her toy shelf in the play room:

And how about one last picture of Molly's cheesy smile with some squinty eyes

That is all for today!! Have a wonderful week everyone!

More Pic's from Fall Retreat

discussion time after a talk

Molly came to join but then wasn't so sure...

getting ready to play in the flag football tournament

the group of Bradley students

It  was a very good weekend for the students to all learn more about who Christ is and how we are in need of Him.  All the staff had some great conversations with the students.  And the students seemed to really enjoy the weekend. Thank you for all your prayers.  Please continue to pray that the seeds planted this weekend would grow.

BU update!

Hey everyone!
  So I haven't updated you about BU lately and thought I would just share a couple of highlights from the last 2 weeks.

On campus they have a meeting once a week for students to come to an investigate more about God.  The last Monday before fall break they decided to make the meeting geared toward the Greek's they had met on campus.   They invited all the guys from the fraternities that they had met and girls from the sororities.  They had a prize (money towards their philantropy + lunch at our place) for the most new members that came to the meeting.  They had a great turnout...a couple of fraternities had every new member there.  PKA won...and  yesterday they came over the house to enjoy some barbecue.  It was great to be able to know them more.

Here is a picture from the greek weekly meeting

Oct. 16, Friday we had another house meal at our house.  This time we had spaghetti that was something new for me to experience.  I thought 6lbs of noodles would have been enough...ummm not quite...had to keep cooking and it ended up being more like 10lbs! It was a good turnout lots of students came by the house and enjoyed the meal and we also had pumpkin carving and a movie.  So another great night to grow those relationships.

Here are a few pictures of the pumpkin carving in our garage :)

(See Kenny with his Cardinal hat again!)

 

And now our house is very decorated :)

House Meal!

If you look closely you can spot Kenny sportin the cards hat

Just wanted to give you a few pictures of the house meal we had tonight.  Thank you so much for all your prayers.  It went really well.  We had lots of chili in crockpots (4 crockpots full), corn bread, and potatoes. There was about 50-60 students that came, and it was thankfully enough food!  The students seemed to have a good time and the staff was able to get to know many of the students better.  There is nothing like welcoming them into your home. After all the chili was done...then came out the dessert!  Our staff team is great in helping me to get all this food together.  I have to admit I was quite impressed by one of our single staff guys, Jacob, who bake a cake..I heard many compliments!  Kenny had the big screen set up and the students enjoyed a movie all cozyed up in our living room :)

Molly also enjoyed the house meal.  She enjoyed running around and meeting all the people.  I enjoyed it as well.  I met a girl named Whitney who is a junior at Bradley.  It was encouraging to hear all that God is doing in her life.  She is a believer and was hungering for a ministry that she could get connected with.  But she has a busy schedule because she is a cheerleader at BU.  But it worked out that our weekly meetings are on the only night that she could come.  So praise God for working that out for her.  She has been spending time with our staff girl Rachel and seems to really be enjoying going deeper in her walk with the Lord.
Thanks again for all your prayers.  Please continue to pray for BU.  There are so many students that do not know God and we need Him to draw them all to Himself.

Hello Everyone

Ok...so I am struggling on keeping up with this posting business.  But I am going to keep moving forward...as said on that Robinson movie :) Last week went well...I didn't stick to my cleaning plan too well, but this week has been much better. I have already cleaned all the bathrooms and have started on some of the windows. And I have gotten my laundry done for the week.  So, that is exciting since it's only Tues.

Thought I would give ya a little BU update.  The staff ended up taking 60 students to a cubs/cards game in St. Louis and I think that turned out really well. Getting to go deeper in friendships. That is a BIG Praise God!!  Also the basketball tournament turned out well and the guys were able to get connected in with more students.

A couple of specific things you can pray for Kenny for this week are:
  1. For deeper connections with the guys on 4 different dorm halls
  2. That God would open doors for him to build friendships with guys on the baseball team
  3. That God would open doors for him to begin to share the gospel.

This week we are having another house meal here at our home.  You can be praying:

• That God would use it to grow our friendships with the students and that God would work in these students live drawing them all to Himself. 

•  That God would use this meal to help us go deeper in our friendships and deeper in sharing His truths. 
• Also just pray that we would make the right amount of food (sometimes its hard to know exactly how many to plan for).
• And pray that the students would hang out for a while...not just eat and run.

Well, that is all for now!  But I will be back with more about our lives soon!  I wanted to tell you more now...but I have run out of time.  So, I'll be back  :)

the happenins...kinda slackin on my blogging :(

Just wanted to share that on Bradley's campus this week the staff will be having a basketball tournament.

Please be PRAYING that God would use this tournament to continue to grow the staff's friendships with the students. 

That there would be many students participate.  

And that God would use it to grow interest in these students hearts for God.

Last Friday we had a cookout at our house and it went great.  Students just came and came and came.  We grilled all the burgers and hot dogs (we had planned enough food for 50 people) and then we ran out and had to make a quick run to the store and grilled up like 20 more burgers!  So since people were coming and going....I am not quite sure how many people came but we are thinking around 70 ish.  It was great to get to know the students better.  Molly was quite the ham making many friends:)

The first weekend of Sept. I went to my parents house because they were having a 35th Anniversary party.  It was really so great to see them.  And my brother and 2 sisters also came, so it was awesome to have the whole family together.  Molly really enjoyed herself the whole night and danced the night away! Here are just a few pictures from that night.

                                                Molly is making quite the face here:)
  
                                                 Molly dancin the night away!   

                                                                    my family!

BU Update

Hello everyone,
   Just wanted to give you a little update about all that has been going on at Bradley University.  The university held it's welcome week, which is a lot of events for students to do.  They have many things that we are able to participate in which helps to get to know the students. Like the late night BU - this event the university puts on several times a semester and we get to help with it.  They basically keep their really nice fitness center open late like from 9pm till 2am and provide activities for the students to do.  We held a dodgeball tournament and a soccer tournament.  This event was great for helping build some friendships with the students.
  
Late Night BU

Right now the way you can help us so much is to be praying!!  Pray for:
   1.For the staff Kenny, Jon, Jacob, Rachel, and Jana to have much favor with the students and to build some strong friendships.
   2. For the staff to walk trusting God to move in the students lives and not to get discouraged or fear men.

                                          Molly loving her daddy

My Parents Visited!

Hey!

Well, this week so far has been great. My parents came up here to IL from TN on Monday to visit. This was their first time to see where we live so it was a fun visit. We got to go on a walk around the neighborhood on Mon. And Tues. we drove up to a subburb near Chicago and went to a show called Medievil Times. It was good, my dad loves horses so he was excited to check them out. And Molly really enjoyed it, it was fun to see her love all the "dogs" it's what she called the horses. Their last day here, Wed., we drove down to the river front park and had a really nice walk and then ate at Joe's Crab Shack. That was my first time to that restaurant and I really enjoyed it, but I am a seafood lover!

The Staff has had a good week planning and preparing for the students to arrive. Kenny got some posters printed and today they went around campus and put them up. Please just continue to keep the staff (Kenny, Jacob, Jon, and Rachel) in your prayers as they begin meeting students here at BU.

I have been brainstorming how I can meet a few students, having Molly now changes things a bit. And I am going to venture out and try to make Greek Letter Shirts. All Greek students like to wear them. And when I was a student it was always hard to find them at a decent price. So, if anyone knows how to make them please let me know!! :) I figured I would try to figure it out this fall/winter and then maybe by the spring I could have some going!

This morning I read

2 Samuel 22:18-20 "He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me."

Once again here is David praising God for rescuing him from all his enemies. I was thinking about my relationship with God. And how now because of Christ God looks at me as His child. Not because of my "good" works, but simply because of my hope in Christ. So, here as David understood he was desperate for God's support and he knew God delighted in him. How often I get angry because things don't go my way, or people don't treat me the way I think they should. But all that just stems from my insecurity that I am always thinking I need to prove myself to others. Show them how I have it all under control. But as a sinner I always am falling short of perfection. But I don't have to be embarressed or try to hide my imperfections. I can walk in the grace that God has lavished upon me through His Son. I can persue holiness and yet experience freedom. Because my security, God's approval doesn't rest on my performance but on Christ. The security I have in Christ that His merit has been given to me and now I stand righteous and adopted as God's child. I pray that I can grow and mature and truly walk in this truth that I don't need other's approval, I have God's approval and that is All I need.

Laura

August 15, 2009

Hello Family and Friends,

I am really excited about starting this blog to share with you what is "Happenin'" with the Hayes'. I hope to share all about our lives like the things God is teaching us, what is happenin' with Campus Outreach on Bradley University, and all the fun stuff Molly is doing these days. Please always feel free to comment and share anything.

Today Kenny watched Molly this afternoon so that I could go and get some good time with God. I have been working on an inductive study on 2 Samuel. Today I finished up the last few chapters and there was a lot of meat in there. I am going to spend the rest of this week meditating on those last chapters. Chapter 22 David is praising God for delivering him from all his enemies. It was really good to just write out David's actions and then God's responses. I liked how you could see David's heart that truly was crying out to God. (David: vs.4 - call to the Lord; vs.7 in my distress I called to the Lord...I called out to my God...) (God: vs.7 from His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears.;vs. 17 He reached down from on high and took hold of me...) I spent a lot of time today reading through vs. 1-18 and just thought about David calling out to God, and how God moved. Also as you read through these last chapter in 2 Samuel there are clear times where man's prayer moved God. It was encouraging for me today, and how I desire to grow in truly calling out to God daily because of my sin I also like David in distress everyday and need God to move in my heart.

Things are about to really get moving here at Bradley University. The students arrive later this week. So Kenny is gearing up all the staff to ask God to move here at BU. You can be in prayer that God would give all the staff here: Kenny, Jon Mahan, Jacob Sluder, and Rachel Hooks favor in meeting new students, strength in meeting lots of people, and peace as they trust in God to change lives here at BU.

Molly is just a growing and a growing. She is learning new things everyday. I am really enjoying this age, she is now 16 months! She can say a few words...my favorite has to be please...which sounds like "peas.."

That is all for today! I hope to continue to update this weekly and keep you all "up" on whats "Happenin' with the Hayes'"!

"For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." -2 Samuel 22:32-33