Wanda Burrell Cantwell Hayes :: February 17, 1934 - February 19, 2012

Wanda Hayes Testimony

In 2004 Wanda Hayes was asked to give her testimony (via video) to the women's ministry at her church, The Branch.

Here is the original footage from that interview unedited.

Ghana trip overview

Hello, Rebekah here...

I've had a hard time trying to put into words just how incredible our trip to Ghana was. God brought some amazing people together and we are so blessed to have been a part of such an incredible team. To read more about the individuals on our team, head on over to the Jacobs blog. And speaking of the Jacobs...

We got to know Mark and Chelsea over this past year, especially during our cooperative efforts working on VBS this summer. It has truly been miraculous to see where God has led them over the course of this year since the loss of their son, Chase. Their strength and incredible faith have inspired so many and created such an amazing legacy for Chase. They invited us to Ghana a couple of months ago and we, of course, were thrilled to go. Their main goal for this trip was to deliver clothes, toys and candy to the children in Touch a life's care and to deliver mosquito nets to villages on the islands of Lake Volta. Jaron and I were coming along to help document with video and pictures the work that Touch a life is doing in Ghana. Little did we know what all God had in store for us...

Days 1-5 (Thursday-Monday):

After almost 24 hours of traveling by plane and then through heavy Accra traffic, we reached Village of Hope in Gomoa Fetteh, Ghana (an orphanage and boarding school of around 250 kids- Touch a Life is temporarily housing around 40 kids there until their permanent facility is built). We had a great weekend, just hanging out with the kids and getting to know them. They loved getting some new clothes, had a silly string fight, played with bubbles and just enjoyed being around their Abruni (white) friends. They are amazing at futbol (soccer) and Jaron taught them some new worship songs. We passed out some of our family pictures and they loved seeing all the people who were praying for them back in the States.

One of the things we did while at Village of Hope was to go see the land Touch a Life is hoping to purchase. I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of it- rolling hills to one side, gorgeous view of the ocean on the other. Please be in prayer that everything will work out for the procurement of this land and that God's hand will be over the entire process.

Early on Monday morning (Day 5), we said goodbye to Village of Hope and headed to Village of Life in Kete Krachi. Village of Life houses 20 older kids (around ages 15-20). Its also where kids are placed initially after they are rescued from trafficking on Lake Volta. It ended up being a very, very long day of traveling- almost 16 hours on a dusty, bumpy road and crossing the lake in darkness on an oversized canoe.

But I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything in the world. After arriving late that night, we were overjoyed to learn that 2 brothers had been rescued that day!!! Here they are- Gideon and God's Way...

Days 6-9 (Tuesday-Friday):

This is where God really started showing us His perfect plan and design for this trip... We traveled to Kete Krachi with an amazing medical team- The Vanderpool family, Tracy and Brad. Originally, we didn't think we would have much interaction with them. But it was soon very clear that the entire team needed to aid in the pre and post care of the children needing surgery. It was such a blessing to see everyone pull together in some extreme conditions to help these precious kids. Over 2 days, 11 kids had much needed operations and all recovered beautifully. Some of us stayed at the Village of Life house to be with the kids there and others were at the Kete Krachi medical facility to help with pre and post op care. It was such a beautiful time and broke my heart into a million pieces to hear those kids waking up from anesthesia and the first thing out of their mouth was, "thank you for helping me, God bless you".

On Day 8 (Thursday), we went to the lake. It was heart breaking to see trafficked kids on the boats, but also inspiring to see how George poured his heart out to the masters. He appeals to them that what they are doing is wrong and inefficient and that they need to stop. It was so hard to leave those kids, but we were also hopeful that the seed planted would come to fruition soon.

We made our way to an island on the lake... after a very warm and welcoming greeting, we handed out mosquito nets and the medical team assessed and treated several people on the island.

It was an awesome experience, but so sad to see how the trafficked kids were treated in comparison to the kids who had parents on the island- they were ridiculed openly and obviously fed less and their clothing was not as nice. This little girl stayed by my side the whole time and was taunted by the other kids quite a bit- it wasn't until later that I realized she was one of the enslaved.

We were able to head to one more island to pass out mosquito nets before we headed back to Village of Life. It was great to be able to experience it all, but we were all completely exhausted- I don't know how George does it on a regular basis- he definitely has some supernatural strength going on.

One of the biggest blessings to me on this trip was participating in the older girl's prayer time at Village of Life. I was overwhelmed by the passion behind their prayers and the total inhibition they have in praise to our God. It humbled me and stirred me to a deeper desire of communion with God. These girls are simply amazing...

After saying goodbye to Village of Life and another long car ride and plane rides, we made it back to the States, saddened to leave our African brothers and sisters, but excited about the plans God has in store for these precious lives.

If you are stirred to help in this cause, contact us and we'll get you plugged in. Thank you again for all the prayers- keep 'em coming!!!

To see more trip pictures, click here.

Back from Ghana

Jaron and Rebekah returned from Ghana yesterday (Saturday) morning. More about their trip soon, but for now, enjoy some of these pictures...

November project update

London was not able to fly with the team to Ghana last week because she found out she was expecting Baby McAllister #1! We pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy and can't wait to welcome Cole and London's bundle of joy.

Jaron and Rebekah leave for Ghana tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 11th) at 5pm from DFW. Please pray for a safe journey and that God's hand will be over the entire team during their time in Ghana.

They will post pictures and updates as soon as they return. If you're interested in a day to day prayer calendar for the team, click here.

We'll leave you with a video- this is where the

team will be next week, delivering mosquito nets, clothing,

medical supplies, toys and candy to the children still working on the lake-

Lake Volta video

November Project

Three members of the Hayes family will be traveling to Ghana, West Africa in November.

London McAllister will be on the first trip, traveling with members and volunteers of Touch a Life. They will be bringing supplies to the Village of Hope orphanage in Accra, Ghana and visiting the children recently rescued from slavery . London and her team leave on November 5, 2010- please pray for a safe journey!

Jaron and Rebekah Pitts will be traveling to the same region on November 11, 2010. Jaron will be capturing footage of the work in Ghana. In addition to working with Touch a Life, they will also be traveling with the founders of His Chase to bring more supplies and visit with the children and house parents at Village of Hope. After their weekend visit they will be traveling to Lake Volta, where more than 7,000 children are still in slavery. A team of surgeons will be performing surgery on several children that have been previously examined. During that week, Jaron & Rebekah's team will be traveling around the lake, distributing supplies and visiting with the villages that "house" so many child slaves.

To read more about the trip and how you can help, please visit the Jacobs' blog.

For more info on how your family can have a "Helpful Halloween", click here.

Thank you for your prayers and support!