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Have you ever lived a day without water? When there is no water every task becomes difficult. You make every decision based on how much water it will take. Should we have porridge for breakfast or only boiled eggs? Which makes fewer dishes to wash? You save every drop from every task to make sure your garden will live. You realize that it really only takes a small tub of water to bathe four filthy children and push back washing your hair one more day. You wear your clothes so many times that they have to be washed twice in order to get them clean. Everything is harder without water. When we were making plans to move to Karamoja we were not expecting to have running water. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only a western (NOT squatty) toilet, but a sink and faucet! What a blessing for a very pregnant person such as myself, to not have to troop outside to the latrine (squatty) three time per night for myself and three more for various children. Our other source of water is a tap in our backyard which we use to fill our jugs (jerry cans) with water for each day. Because despite the fact that we have running water it only lasts until about noon on a good day. This was a definite adjustment for me. I am not a planner by birth, and now I have to plan if I want to cook, bathe, clean, or even have a drink. Hence, the jerry cans. So far this has been a change for us, but a doable one. We have adjusted and learned to plan. Then one day we woke up to no water. Now what? Now we discover how everyone else in Karamoja lives. Because even though our water is often gone by noon, we have water and in our yard! We don’t have to stand in line for hours and carry our jerry cans on our heads for miles just to do laundry. Even in our “suffering” we have it easy. I spent that morning grumbling and complaining despite the fact that we were able to buy water and have it delivered to our house. How spoiled can you get? We Americans feel like we “deserve” things like water and food, but the truth of the matter is, we deserve nothing. We really have no rights at all. We are always in need of God’s mercy for every day. How can we survive without him? And once again he brings us back to the point of dependence on him for everything, even our daily water. And he is always faithful to provide what we need for each day and only each day. So today I am thankful for water…water that is still running at 4 pm! “…whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14  
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Hey folks! It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to put a blog on here and a lot has transpired in the meantime. First of all, we wanted everyone to know that we were nowhere near the bombing in Kampala this week and everyone on our team is safe. We have had a great and difficult transition to life up here in Karamoja. We are finally home! We drove 2 days through some of the worst roads in the world (at least judging by Kristi’s contractions) and almost made it through unscathed. After 2 days of driving we were 20 minutes from home when the back end of our car hit the ground and a tire rolled off into the sunset. Kelly went off after the tire which had been jarred off of the assembly. We were stuck for only a short while when a UN vehicle came by. Because it was getting close to dark we sent Kristi, Chloe and the kids in the UN Vehicle the rest of the way while Kelly and I remained behind to try to fix the car. After a couple of hours and God’s provision we made it to Shalom Home in Kotido at 7:30pm. The past 2 weeks we have been getting settled in our new home and learning a new way of life. There is still much to learn but thus far we have gotten pretty competent at filling water cans, filtering water, handwashing laundry, washing dishes in a tub, splashbathing from a basin, gardening with a hoe, filling kerosene lanterns and oh so much more. We have been blessed with a great team, great flexible kids, and we are adjusting well. The kids are making friends quickly. We do miss everyone there in the states and have been praying for you daily that you will dwell in the grace of God and live a life of reckless abandonement in your faith, there where he has you. We have found such great joy in serving a God who not only provides all of our needs but often so much more that we may be a blessing. Thank you for your prayers and we will do the best we can with limited internet to keep you updated. We promise, pictures are coming. |
Kenneth and Kristi Williams The Williams Family
 Kenneth and Kristi
 Nevaeh, 18 years old
 Rikot, 17 years old
Ezra, 17 years old
Zion, 15 years old
Izzy, 14 years old
Selah, 11 years
Acuka, 10 years
Benaiah, 7 years
Jubal, 4 years
Jireh, 10 months
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