On Saturday, July 3rd, foster and adoptive families from around Central Missouri came together at The Hill, our Harrisburg site, for a Fourth of July celebration. This year, the day involved breakfast, a watermelon eating contest, hay ride, photo booth, and fireworks show!
Larry McDaniel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, says he loves how each year this event gives children and families involved in foster care the opportunity to come out and enjoy an evening on our 300 acres of land.
“As we celebrate independence, we also want to celebrate foster families and all the foster and adoptive children who need a safe place to be a child, because they have come from hard places. So we want to celebrate that,” Larry said.
This year, about 250 people attended the event. It was incredible to see countless children enjoy the hayride, set off floating parachutes, and compete to win the watermelon-eating contest.
Foster Mom Nissa Armstrong says she is grateful for the community that comes along with being involved with Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries. “I moved out here (The Harrisburg Community) in April, and it’s been a huge blessing,” Nissa says. “Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries is my support system.”
With foster parents and children in foster care all being together at events like these, they are able to connect with other families in similar situations.
“This is for them (our foster and adoptive families),” Larry says. “All our families had to do was show up.”
Denise McDaniel, Larry’s wife, said it best. “The 4th is a day to honor and remember that we are the land of the free because of the brave men and women who served and sacrificed for us. We are forever grateful. But perhaps we could also consider the significance that for some of our children, they are experiencing their own freedom because of the dear (and brave) people of The Hill who willingly serve and sacrifice on their behalf.”
Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who made our annual Fourth of July event happen this year. We are already looking forward to next year!
Photo Credit: The Missourian 
Photo Credit: The Missourian 
