Testimonials

Michelle Adamson’s Testimony...

I’ve been asked time and time again “What is Will’s Way?”  I answer the question with “It’s a retreat center for anyone who has lost something or someone and for those who are hurting.”  I’ve realized that you could have lost someone and they not be physically gone.

People suffer loss in many different ways and everybody’s hurt is different.  That’s why I always say “You just have to come visit.”  Words can’t describe the awesome peace that you will feel.  I’ve had children, and adults too, tell me that Will’s Way was their “get away” spot because of the peace and love that they feel.  I will definitely agree with that.

In July 2007 the life I had was no longer the life I knew.   I spent a year trying to figure out where I “fit in,” in this world.  I knew God was calling me to do something but I just didn’t know what.  I believe that when you suffer through pain and you learn how to deal with your hurts that’s how you help people.  There will be somebody somewhere that will help you go through things you have experienced.  That is how Will’s Way works.  There are volunteers here who help by helping in areas that they have worked through.  It’s a group effort and it takes a lot of teamwork.

In 2008 I came to Will’s Way.  I knew in that moment that this was where God wanted me.  I had found “my place.”  It has been an awesome privilege to volunteer my time at Will’s Way.  To be able to work in a place where you constantly feel God’s peace and love and the love you feel from the others is indescribable.  I got to see first hand how God touches people’s lives and how God gives that moment of peace that people so long for when they are hurting.

I can’t describe on a day to day basis how God works but I know that his presence is here.  Without God and Will’s Way I don’t know where I would be.  I feel honored to get to be able to watch as adults and children come here and learn how to grow and work through their hurts.  The healing process can be long and hard but when you know that there are people wanting to help guide you and are willing to listen to you and stand by your side, it makes a world of difference.  Sometimes just to know that there is somebody that has been where you are and that they are willing to help makes it a little easier.

So my question to you would be “Why not come by and experience God’s peace? Come by and see where you “fit in?”

Michelle Adamson
Rock Mills, Alabama
 

Vaun Williams Testimony...

When my family and I unexpectedly lost our “man of the house” on 01/06/2010, we were emotionally lost.  As anyone may imagine to lose someone is hard... yet to lose someone and not be prepared could be detrimental for everyone. 

The events that surrounded my husband’s death was painful enough, however, not knowing how to handle any of the emotion was overwhelming--that is until I was informed about Will’s Way via Kea Costley at the Circle of Care, in Valley, AL. 

It was upon meeting Aunt Re that I instantly felt a calming reasurrance to KNOW that my children would get what I was unable to give them... a constructive and positive way of release that could restore their broken hearts.  It was at the camp that my 5 and 7 year olds visited 6/29-7/1/2010 that upon their return they came home relaxed and happy again and no longer sad, whinny, and angry. 

They were given bubbles to “blow their fears away”, among other tools to help them to release and not to suppress their hurts.  I thank God for Kea’s suggesting Aunt Re and Will’s Way for my family and I to overcome this turmoil.  And, although I now understand that this is a lifelong journey, I am confortable in knowing that through Christ ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and that my family and I are healed.

Thank you again Aunt Re and Will’s Way...
Thank you to EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU that are in this GREAT organization.  May God continue to bless each of you...Always!!!

Vaun Williams & family
Valley AL
 

Sandy Holliday’s Testimony...

Our lives changed forever on July 16, 2007.  After supper William, our son, left to take our left-overs to a needy family, which lived close-by.  Little did we know that we would never see him again in this life.  Within fifteen minutes of the time he left he had gone on to live with God, as the result of an accident.  William was my youngest son, but my wife Re’s, only child.

I can’t imagine any worst disaster to suffer than the loss of a child.  My wife and I were in shock hoping that it was just a nightmare.  We reached out for help, only, to find that there really wasn’t any available.  Taking prescribed medication would only suppress the emotions and the counselors, who had not been through this themselves, really didn’t know how to help.  After being angry at God for the loss of William, we soon realized that faith based help was the solution we needed and that blaming God for the loss was not the correct response.

We prayed for help and it came in a way we didn’t expect. The concept of Will’s Way came to us through God’s response to our prayers.  Why we were picked to do it, was God’s decision, not ours.  We started out knowing that it would help those who lost a child and others who had suffered a tragedy to come to a peaceful, serene setting and be surrounded by volunteers who had traveled the same path ahead of them.

The name Will’s Way was chosen by a friend with whom we had shared our vision.  She told us it had to be named Will’s Way because God had spoken to her, when she was coming to visit us.  We established a charitable corporation with an original seven member board of directors from various areas of the United States.

My wife and I deeded 24 acres to Will’s Way and started having dirt roads built on it to make it accessible.  As the blessings started coming to Will’s Way, one of my best friends, Guy Kelly, came to me and said he and I should convey the 80 acres we owned next to the original 24 acres to Will’s Way.  The conveyance included an old farm house and barn.  Will’s Way took over the mortgage, which was substantially less than the value of property and so it began.  The old farm house is now being used as a bunk house.

God had to have this in his plans for a long time.  There is something special about this place and everyone who comes for a visit can feel it.  There is a pond area which had been built that is really special.  You can feel the presence of God at this area very strongly.

People from as far as Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia have reached out to Will’s Way for help.

God has blessed my wife with an unusual ability to help young and old who are suffering.  (Oh yes, we still have to deal personally with William’s loss every day, but helping others and seeing how they benefit from Will’s Way helps keep us going.)  She loves working with the children who come to Will’s Way and there is an immediate bond of love they feel from her.

Once Will’s Way was started, the tremendous need to help children who because of death, drugs or other addiction had lost their parents or close friends, became apparent and this has become a significant part of the mission of Will’s Way and a successful one, as well.

We struggle daily to keep the donations and funds coming in to keep Will’s Way active and vibrant, but when we see the blessings God is sending to others through Will’s Way it makes it all worthwhile.

Already Will’s Way has prevented teenage suicides, helped children cope with awful tragedies, when others couldn’t help them, such as seeing their parents commit suicide in front of them, dealing with sexual and physical abuse and much more.

Will’s Way is a faith based facility whose efforts to help others are all based upon showing them God’s love and understanding and letting them know that they are not alone in their ordeal and that God and our volunteers at Will’s Way will always be there for them.

Just recently a group of 20 young people with their chaperones, from Chicago, came to Will’s Way.  They had just recently lost two young members of their group and were still dealing their loss.  While at Will’s Way, they built a walking trail and a small flower bed in the woods and dedicated them in the memory of their lost friends.  These two projects will always be a part of Will’s Way and will be marked for them with plaques so that all who come will know the love they had for their friends.  Everyone from Will’s Way, who got to be with these young people, were touched by them and we hope we helped them, as much as they helped us.

I can’t share all the examples of those young and old who have been blessed by God at Will’s Way because there are very many and some are too personal to share.  It has made my life feel more worthy knowing that God is allowing me to be a part of something this important and for that I thank him each day.

Sandy S. Holliday
Roanoke, AL 

When God has a bigger plan...

William was a good friend of mine, and until his accident I had never lost a friend before. We were 16 and I couldn’t understand why God would take such a good person from us so soon. I saw nothing but pain in the lives of everyone who knew Will.

It caused me to question my faith and ask questions I’d never had to ask before. I love Will’s mother Re more than anything and was at a loss when I came to visit her. I wished I knew something to do to help save her from her depression.

As soon as the idea for Will’s Way came into the picture, Re was a different person. It gave not only Re an outlet for her emotions, but also everyone else that loved William and needed a way to move forward. William will forever be remembered through Will’s Way. He will be able to go on to touch and save the lives of many grieving people long since after he left us. To me, Will’s Way is such a positive thing that came out of a terrible tragedy. It shows me God has a reason and a plan for everything.

Even though we will always miss William, God had a bigger plan for him.
 
Lauren Knight
Wadley, AL

What Will’s Way Means to Me…

During a mission trip to Cosby, TN, Re Holliday, and I became good friends.  I began to hear different people speak of Will’s Way.  This past summer I became a volunteer there.  You can really feel God’s presence there as you began to get acquainted with the people. 

I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of Will’s Way.  We invite you to come experience the wondrous atmosphere of love there.  God is always there.  

Love and Prayers,

Dianne Stewart
Roanoke, AL
 

When God takes you on journies...

Isn't it amazing how God takes you on journies in life that lead you to places that fill your soul with peace and love.  In August of 2009 our journey took us to a place called Will's Way.  Darrell was part of a Lay Renewal Ministry Weekend at High Pine Baptist Church in Roanoke, AL at that time.

The founders of Will's Way, Re and Sandy, are members at High Pine.  During that weekend Darrell met Re and Sandy.  At that meeting Darrell was unaware of how Will's Way got started.  It wasn't until after he gave his testimony about how we lost our son,  Shane, in 1999 that he found out that Will's Way was started because of the lost of their son, Will.

Time did not allow Darrell to visit Will's Way that weekend, but we are so thankful that God gave us another opportunity to go visit Will's Way and get to know more about Re and Sandy's journey in life. What an amazing couple! We felt like family right away.

God is clearly in this place. As we toured the grounds, words can not explain how peaceful and beautiful it was. As we learned more, we saw how Re and Sandy were not allowing their tragedy to get in the way of God's will.

What does Will's Way mean to us? It has touched our lives so much that we are praying that God opens doors so that we can one day, soon, become a part of the wonderful ministry full time!! Our prayer for Will's Way is that people will come and see how this is a place where you can find rest in the mist of sorrow.

Thank you Re and Sandy for allowing God to use you in a way that gives Him all the Glory and Honor.  In Christ we serve,

Darrell and Pam David
Clinton, La. .

Wow!

When I think of how far Will’s Way has come and the lives it has touched, it’s truly amazing.  I still remember the first day Re began to share with me her vision for Will’s Way.  A grieving, distressed mother who had just days before lost her only son.

There was excitement in her voice and a gleam in her eye.  God had been speaking to her for the past twenty four hours.  She had written note after note in a notebook as the Lord had spoken.

A few days earlier she didn’t even want to live but now Jesus had given her a dream.  A vision of helping others who experienced the same turmoil and loss she felt.  I still get excited thinking back to that afternoon sitting outside in the swing and her describing God’s vision.

She asked me something like, “Do you think I am crazy?” I told her absolutely not, that maybe Jesus had given her an answer to her questions of Why? We began praying for Will’s Way that afternoon. It’s truly amazing how far God has brought Sandy and Re and Will’s Way.

Praise the Lord! 

For their faithfulness to a VISION truly from our LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Rev. Richie Farrow
Ashland, Alabama