Goal:
USD $75,000
Raised:
USD $23,250
Campaign funds will be received by Rachelle Williams
Being the Hands & Feet
SOS: URGENT CALL FOR HELP FOR ONE OF OUR OWN.
Ray and Rachelle Williams are part of our Piatt Lake family. Their extended family has been a godly legacy here for generations (Baker, Hobson, Wiler, Routledge, Cuthbert). She has been serving as an active board member in our community.
Rachelle Williams suffered a tragic accident in April, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. She has been undergoing intense physical therapy. This phase of intensive rehab is coming to an end and she will be returning to her family in VA, but the realities and the details of adapting to this new chapter are daunting and staggering. Lord willing, her therapy in Chicago will end November 1st. Our time is short and their needs are specific:
1) $50,000 towards a handicap vehicle that can accommodate Rachelle’s specific limitations while also being able to fit her large family. Without this van, not only will they have to pay for specialty transport from Chicago to VA, making the trip more costly and physically challenging, but left without any means of transportation at home. This not only serves as an essential need, but offers hope to the family for the days ahead.
2) $25,000 towards caregiving. This would cover child care as they have four kids ranging in ages 14 to 8 with busy schedules and activities. Ideally, their routine would continue in order to keep a sense of normalcy. The funds would also go towards care for Rachelle. This care digs deep into managing the house as well as assisting Rachelle with the intense level of daily care she requires. These costs will be out-of-pocket for Ray and Rachelle.
This comes to a total goal of $75,000. We have been led to step in and help alleviate the burden on this family so they can focus on healing, reuniting and standing firm in the challenges ahead.
Below we've broken down the different amounts and how many donors are required to hit that goal. Every donation matters and is greatly appreciated.
Donors | Amounts | Total |
1/5 | $5,000.00 | $25,000.00 |
5/10 | $1,000.00 | $10,000.00 |
8/15 | $500.00 | $7,500.00 |
1/25 | $250.00 | $6,250.00 |
17/100 | $100 | $10,000.00 |
10/200 | $50.00 | $10,000.00 |
4/250 | $25.00 | $6,250.00 |
600 | Total | 75,000.00 |
Please prayerfully consider partnering with us, spreading the word, and being the hands and feet for one of our own. May God be glorified!
Update - Oct 23, 2024 - We are at 22% of our goal! We thank everyone for their extremely generous contributions.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God: I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Praying daily for you, Rachelle, and for your family! With much love!
$700 of this donation was raised by the Bernard kids cans and bottles drive!! then they received some cash donations and a match....we love you Rachelle!!
Love and prayers for Rachelle and all of your family.
Ray, Rachelle, kids and family - Our prayers, care and love come bundled together with this gift from our Father. It is a joy to share in His touch. :) Might His gracious, kind and generous hand continue to direct your paths and fill your hearts and minds with peace and joy. (Psalm 16:11) We look forward to His next “crossing of our paths” at Piatt Lake! :) Jerry & Kelly
Praying for Rachelle and family!
For with You is the fountain of life, In Your light we see light!! Psalms 36.9
Prayers for Rachelle and her family Thank you for your service.
Our prayers are with you.
January 23rd, 2025
Dear Piatt Lake family,
Just this past week I was researching "Action Track Chair" so I could roll around Piatt Lake! :) Someday, I will be there with you again, exploring the trails, checking the trees and hopefully out on the water-I'll wave at you from my parent's pontoon.
Until that time, I'm here in VA with my faithful husband and four children, working diligently to stay healthy and regain strength. I am involved in physical therapy in Washington DC (National Rehab Hospital) twice a week. I spend hours on the phone, seemingly daily, with legal counsel and those who have gone before me in my position. I'm seeking a daily caregiver so Ray's continued work with the Army can be possible.
Through social media and friends, I stay connected to Piatt Lake and its people almost daily. Thank you. Watching your life is encouraging. Your prayers for my life are vital. We are closing out this GSG account, not because the need has fully been satisfied, but because it seems best at this time. I'm currently writing this update over Facetime with my sister from the van you helped to purchase!! Humbled. Should you wish further financial involvement, please contact me directly and I can share the need(s).
I often think about God's definition of the church. You are that...thousands of miles separate us...it's not Piatt Lake, but it's the love of Jesus Christ that unites us. I feel undeserving of your support. Thank you. Thank you.
Ray, Rachelle, Wiler, Audrey, Scarlett and Baker
November 5th, 2024
Here is the latest news from Rachelle's story.
We celebrate answered prayers for a safe journey home, and continue to lift them UP in prayer each and every day for this next chapter.
A Teeter Totter. Frankly, it was my favorite thing on our childhood playground. There was a particular thrill in both the "down" while holding others up, and the "up" when you were suspended in the air a bit out of control. It wasn't very fun if you didn't play with someone that was built like you because the whole purpose of a teeter totter is to go up and down, not merely one extreme or the other.
At least for now, this will be my last update on behalf of my fawned after little sister. (I used to be able to fix all her tears with a kiss on the forehead and then another kiss sideways on the bridge of her nose.) She gave me the privilege of being her fingers and her mind, sometimes, it felt like her very soul. I'm weeping as I type, the kind where you shutter and your eyes hurt because the intensity of the tears are too much for the small location from which they escape. I wish I could cut off my hands and put them on her. I walked early this morning in the dark and the rain because I could. The past six months have been like being on a teeter totter with a bully. The kind that shoots you up in the air and then just sits there, leaving you up there. And when you least expect it, they just get off the teeter totter and you come crashing down.
Ray, myself, Weston and Rachelle had a lot of fun driving to their home. We mastered how the chair fit, how the lock straps worked, and just chatted about childhood memories we hadn't thought about since they first happened. About an hour from their address we all got pretty quiet. We hadn't admitted to the gut ache we had all been carrying on day two of that drive. An announcement was simply made in the vehicle, "Pray to yourself, none of us can out loud."
And then we were there. Fall, when we had left in the spring. Kids wanting to leap in and consume the moment even while holding back and unsure what emotion would win. Kids-taller, wiser, angry, sad, funny, expressive, silent. Mom AND Dad were there! Dad AND Mom! A banner on the porch, balloons tied to the access ramp, carved pumpkins just waiting for mom to see even though Halloween was past. Pictures. Moments in a blur. One old, trained dog so overcome she peed and couldn't stop whining, the younger dog skittered back and forth-uncertain.
The first meal shared. Then the second.
Teeter Totter.
Home cooked food around a table with your family-having to be fed
Going out on your deck-realizing it has two levels
Saying good night to your kids face to face-not being able to snuggle with them in their beds
Walking the dogs with your mom, Ray and Audrey- them having to go with you 'cause you can't pick up the poop or keep their leash lines out of the way of your chair wheels
Your Dad rubbing your feet and legs and doing her exercises with her-not being able to walk
Millions of kisses and hugs from Baker-not being able to be with him on the couch or pick him up
Getting to go to church!! Our neighbors!! The gym holding a FriendsGiving/fundraiser in her honor!!-not knowing how all those social relationships will continue under all new definition and need
Extended family being there-and leaving
Being in the living room-needing privacy curtains for the continued dependent routines of care.
Up. Down.
Matt. 28:20 "I am with you always." -Jesus
What's next? A year of waiting and working, hoping and praying. The spine can continue to heal for a full year more. There will be a complete reassessment and a new therapy plan. Please pray for aggressive proactivity. Ray will return to work. The gosh darn ground needs to be shaken so a care provider for Rachelle can be covered!! Learning. Growing. As a family.
October 31st, 2024
Hello Friends.
We received this update from the family and wanted to share with all of you. We have MUCH to be thankful for as we see the Lord's Hand working.
While we celebrate the HUGE victory in taking delivery of the van to get Ray and Rachelle home to VA, we recognize the monumental financial needs that continue in the days ahead. Let's keep the momentum going and do what it takes to come along side them in support-spiritually, financially and emotionally!
Let's Be the Hands and Feet
Update: Six months ago, Rachelle went for her usual workout at her gym surrounded by friends doing the same. This weekend, she will go home for the first time since she left for that workout.
God has provided, through MANY of you, a van!!! (It was delivered today from WI...and included a cooler of cheese! -friends for the win every time!) The heart build up of gratitude and humility is something that is far too weighty to put into words. The trip home will take two days and your prayer over that time of travel, that includes an overnight w/o the equipment needed for transfers, is daunting. Rachelle will enter their home up a ramp built by church friends. Her bedroom will be the living room, a hospital bed will be delivered tomorrow. The carpet has been removed. Access to the majority of the house not possible. But her kids are inside, I'll wager they will be outside waiting!!
"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is my strength." Nehemiah 8:10
This verse appears in the context of the Israelites rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Many would say that the Williams family is rebuilding...or should be. Thankfully, most of us hate the word, "should," and have opted for grace. Rebuilding hasn't really begun...and neither has the joy. "Everything feels like a tangled mess of extension cords all thrown in a box. I don't want to check txts, email, or the mounting appointment schedule. There are always calls and follow up calls, filling prescriptions, and therapies. And what does a Mom and wife really want to be doing? Managing her home and family, dealing with the issues our kids are facing with sports and friends, raking the leaves."
In reflection of the past handful of months in Chicago, "I feel like I understand less, not more. There is no groundbreaking discovery of who I am or what my calling is now meant to be. Nothing super spiritual or worthy of sharing about how I've grown as a person. I continue to read the same verses, I pray the same prayers. 'Please help me keep going.' I suppose I just try to not think about it. I just don't want this to be it." (Rachelle)
One half a year has gone by. God is still good. This is still hard. You have prayed and cheered, showed up, listened-thank you. We aren't done with hope.
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