Long Overdue...

It has been quite the month for this branch of the Williams family.

We packed up most of our belongings into the 4runner and a U-Haul, said good-bye to all our friends and family in Utah, and began the trek from Utah to Missouri.

We got to stop in Denver to say "Hi" to some friends,

And then moved into our new home in Kansas City!

We then did a little demolition...

And LOTS of painting....

And then packed up and headed for Haiti!!

As most of you know by now, Tate goes to Haiti for 2 weeks of every month for his new job. August was the first time that I got to go with him, and I loved (almost) every minute of it! It was wonderful to finally see the place I have heard so much about, and meet all of the precious little children.

The amazing little children that can turn ANYTHING into a toy and still played and smiled and sang even in some not-so-great situations. These kids will take any and all attention they can get, and within 5 minutes of limited conversation and LOTS of smiling and nodding they are attached to you and climbing everywhere just to get a little extra loving. There is nothing like this in the world and as the GO Project phrases it, I am now "ruined for the average".

I got a wonderful opportunity to volunteer at a prosthetics and physical therapy clinic in Port-a-Prince. Not only did I get to learn more and get some hands on experience in the field that I will soon be going into, but I got to work with some of the most amazing and inspirational patients I have ever worked with. Most of the patients lost a leg in the earthquake and now 6 months later are getting to walk again for the first time. In Haiti being an amputee is completely different than being an amputee in the US. Having an amputation is shameful and not accepted in Haiti. Things are changing due to the recent increase in amputations and the increase in treatment, but it is a slow process. The amputees I worked with were so excited to get their new limbs and take them home to show their family and friends. One wonderful young woman had just finished her school work to be a nurse before the earthquake, but hasn't gotten to work yet because she has to stand all day for work. Her main goal was to walk so that she can work to be able to help other people. There were many many similar stories that just kept reminding me over and over why I am still in school and how excited I am to get out and actually be able to help people!

I also got to see Tate in action. This is just Tate hanging out with some kids at church, letting them write their names. Tate's new job is not easy to explain, so I am not even going to try. This job is more challenging for Tate than he could ever have imagined, but we could not imagine a job that is more fitting for him. He is able to use all his skills from construction to leadership to being a really good talker to loving kids and put them all into a job that is more than just a job and is furthering the kingdom everyday (even when it doesn't feel like it).

And we got to eat icecream and were very happy :)

And then we got to witness wonderful, tangible things happening. Like a whole church knowing that they would be able to eat dinner that night & have some clean drinking water. It was a life changing experience and I can't wait to go back!