Still Alive After Five

September 4, 2006. David and I boarded an airplane with three children (aged 4 and younger) and began a phenomenal adventure in a new country.

Remember this photo above? Annalise (age 2) sitting atop our 12 pieces of luggage at the LAX? We really had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into. ;)

That was 5 years ago today. During that first week, I would wake up feeling so dazed and overwhelmed, asking myself, "Will I survive here?"

Well, we did. We went from living downtown with 3 preschoolers (I get soooo tired remembering those days) ... to living in our own home with a new baby while the oldest 3 are all in school!

Truly, I thank God for His unfailing love, grace and mercy as we have lived and worked in this country these past 5 years. I now feel like a "circle." As a college student, our good friend Mark Palmer told us that when he moved overseas, he saw Americans as a "square" and the people in his overseas home as "triangles." He felt like he didn't completely fit in overseas and because of how he had changed, he felt like he didn't completely fit in back in the States. He had become a "circle."

My 5 years here has changed me in ways I never imagined. I am a circle ... I don't completely fit in back in the States and I don't completely fit in here as a foreigner. But I wouldn't trade that for the world.

Many of you have been along for the ride these past 5 years ... we have the most encouraging friends on this planet. Some of you have even been along for the ride for the past 20 years ... when David first moved to Moscow! Thank you thank you thank you!

This was the Williams Family 5 years ago ...

...and this is the Williams Family today.