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This couple is traveling the country in their RV, but not for the reason you might expect
Cecil Hannibal
Morning Anchor
This couple is traveling the country in their RV, but not for the reason you might expect
MISSION. >> WE ARE HERE IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, AND FOR ONE COUPLE, HELPING ISN’T A CHOICE. >> IT’S A LIFESTYLE. >> HERE WE ARE HEADED TO VOLUNTEER AND IT MIGHT SOUND UNCONVENTIONAL. >> THE INITIAL REACTION WAS, ARE YOU ALL NUTS? BUT SHAWNA AND TONY HAYES ARE CRAZY ABOUT VOLUNTEERING SO MUCH. IN FACT, THEY’VE MADE A VERY BIG COMMITMENT. >> WE JUMPED UP, WE SOLD EVERYTHING WE OWN. WE CLEARED OUR HOUSE. WE PUT OUR HOUSE FOR SALE WITH REMOTE JOBS AND THEIR KIDS OUT OF THE NEST. >> THE TWO LEFT HOUSTON IN THIS TRICKED OUT RV. >> WELCOME TO OUR HOME ON WHEELS COUNTRY. >> BUT NOT JUST TO SIGHTSEE. >> WE TRAVEL AROUND THE UNITED STATES. WE LIVE IN EACH CITY FOR A MONTH AT A TIME, AND ALL WE DO IS VOLUNTEER SOMEWHERE EVERY DAY FROM PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, ALL THE WAY TO MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. >> COMBINED, THEY’VE PUT IN OVER 100 HOURS A MONTH AT VARIOUS NONPROFITS. THEIR LATEST STOP IS RIGHT HERE IN THE CAPITAL CITY, VOLUNTEERING AT PLACES LIKE WE WILL GO MINISTRIES, STEW POT AND MORE. >> THIS IS A MISSION AND A JOURNEY THAT WE FEEL SO STRONGLY THAT GOD HAS LED US TO AND WE ARE GOING TO BE OBEDIENT. THIS MARRIAGE ON A MISSION IS DRIVEN BY A DESIRE TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE AT THEIR LOWEST. >> I’M THE LUCKIEST GUY IN THE WORLD, LACEY TOLD HIS SMILING EAR TO EAR NOW. >> BUT BEFORE HE MET SHAUNA, THE ARMY VETERAN SUFFERED FROM PTSD AND DEPRESSION. AFTER SERVING IN OPERATION DESERT STORM, HE SAYS IT WAS THEIR UNION, FAITH AND SERVICE THAT SAVED HIM. I THOUGHT I WAS HURTING. >> THEY ARE HURTING PEOPLE OUT HERE. SO JUST BY BEING WILLING TO SAY YES, ALONG WITH MY WIFE, YEAH, MAN, I COULD SEE THAT I’VE BEEN BLESSED THE WHOLE TIME. NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK YOU HAVE OR DON’T HAVE, JUST BE WILLING TO HELP THE HAYES HOPE THEIR STORY WILL INSPIRE OTHERS TO GET INVOLVED IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY. >> TONY AND SHAWNA SAY YOU DON’T HAVE TO DRIVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MAKE AN IMPACT. THEY SAY JUST GIVE A LITTLE OF YOUR TIME TO AN ORGANIZATION NEAR YOU, EVEN IF IT’S UP THE STREET WITH GOOD INTENTIONS, GOOD DEEDS CAN GO FAR
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This couple is traveling the country in their RV, but not for the reason you might expect
Cecil Hannibal
Morning Anchor
A husband and wife from Texas are going the distance to make an impact. For Shawna and Tony Hayes, helping others isn’t a choice, it’s a lifestyle. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Tony said.Their “Marriage on a Mission” might sound unconventional.“The initial reaction was, ‘Are you all nuts?’” Shawna said.The couple is crazy about volunteering. So much, in fact, they’ve made a very big commitment.“We jumped up, we sold everything we own. We cleared our house. We put our house for sale,” Shawna said.With remote jobs and their kids out of the nest, the couple left Houston in a tricked-out RV to see the country. But their goal wasn't to sightsee.“We travel around the United States. We live in each city for a month at a time, and all we do is volunteer somewhere every day,” Shawna said.From Pensacola, Florida, to Jackson, Mississippi, they have put in more than 100 hours a month at various nonprofits. Their latest stop in Jackson, Mississippi, has been spent volunteering at places like We Will Go Ministries and Stewpot. “This is a mission and a journey that we feel God led us to, and we are going to be obedient,” Shawna said. They are driven by a desire to help people who are at their lowest. Tony may be smiling ear to ear now, but before he met Shawna, the Army veteran suffered from PTSD and depression after serving during Operation Desert Storm. The couple married two years ago. He said their union, faith and service saved him.“I thought I was hurt. There are hurting people out here, so just by being willing to say, ‘Yes,’ along with my wife, I can see that I’ve been blessed the whole time,” Tony said. “No matter what you think you have or don’t have, just be willing to help.”The Hayes hopes their story will inspire others to get involved in their own community. They say they plan to leave Jackson in a few weeks to head back home to Houston for two weeks to see family before hitting the road to volunteer in Alaska.
JACKSON, Miss. —

A husband and wife from Texas are going the distance to make an impact.

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For Shawna and Tony Hayes, helping others isn’t a choice, it’s a lifestyle.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Tony said.

Their “Marriage on a Mission” might sound unconventional.

“The initial reaction was, ‘Are you all nuts?’” Shawna said.

The couple is crazy about volunteering. So much, in fact, they’ve made a very big commitment.

tony and shawna hayes
WAPT

“We jumped up, we sold everything we own. We cleared our house. We put our house for sale,” Shawna said.

With remote jobs and their kids out of the nest, the couple left Houston in a tricked-out RV to see the country.

But their goal wasn't to sightsee.

“We travel around the United States. We live in each city for a month at a time, and all we do is volunteer somewhere every day,” Shawna said.

From Pensacola, Florida, to Jackson, Mississippi, they have put in more than 100 hours a month at various nonprofits. Their latest stop in Jackson, Mississippi, has been spent volunteering at places like We Will Go Ministries and Stewpot.

shawna hayes
WAPT
Shawna Hayes

“This is a mission and a journey that we feel God led us to, and we are going to be obedient,” Shawna said.

They are driven by a desire to help people who are at their lowest. Tony may be smiling ear to ear now, but before he met Shawna, the Army veteran suffered from PTSD and depression after serving during Operation Desert Storm. The couple married two years ago. He said their union, faith and service saved him.

“I thought I was hurt. There are hurting people out here, so just by being willing to say, ‘Yes,’ along with my wife, I can see that I’ve been blessed the whole time,” Tony said. “No matter what you think you have or don’t have, just be willing to help.”

The Hayes hopes their story will inspire others to get involved in their own community. They say they plan to leave Jackson in a few weeks to head back home to Houston for two weeks to see family before hitting the road to volunteer in Alaska.