Christmas has come & gone....

...here at Living Water! We had our toy give-away last week and today was our Christmas food give-away. Because our Thanksgiving crowd was so large, we decided to pre-register families so we'd know what to expect today. We ended up helping 92 families--it was a good day.

Andy Dietz was our guest preacher for the day. He spoke about receiving God's gifts--according to His riches in glory. It was very impactful. About 7 people gave their lives to Christ!

Cyndy Lyons-Hall took a lot of our photos today. This is from the back of the crowd as I (Becky) am giving last-minute instructions.

We had a great system down that Gib (our food supervisor) came up with at Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Gib had surgery this week and wasn't able to be with us. But George, Cairl and Duane stepped in and had it well organized today. We have the best volunteers in the world! No joke.

We were blessed with lots of volunteers who helped us fill the grocery baskets and take them to the cars of our clients. Duane filled baskets from the back of our truck. We had an assembly line going.

Liz Holt & Melody Torio were making sure turkeys and other refrigerated products made it into each basket.

Dennis, Jess & Donny made sure this sweet family was taken care of.

Andy is visiting with our registrars at the end of the morning. Each friday, these women register our clients and then fill out extensive records at the end of the day.

Today, we had a drawing for 2 completely decorated Christmas trees and 1 fresh tree with all the trimmings! These women won this tree and are dismantling it to take it home.

This was the 2nd tree that was won in the drawing. I think they were excited to get it home! (Side note: We called about 6 different names as winners, but those winners declined so someone who really needed a tree could get it! We serve people with great hearts!)

All the time we're taking care of people with food in the chapel, lots of work is going on behind the scenes that no one ever knows about. Zella is hard at work sorting clothes each friday.
Zella recently had back surgery, so we're very fortunate to have her back in her spot. She's one organized lady!

Christmas may have already come and gone at Living Water, but don't forget Santa is still checking his list for who's naughty and nice!

(Cairl Horst playing Santa this morning.)

Christmas Toy Day!

Today was our Christmas Toy Party at Living Water. It was so much fun! We had gifts for 145 children (up from 96 children last year). The parents came to get the toys and were able to giftwrap them before they left.

Andy Dietz & Ember Sherman sang "I Bring An Offering" for us.

Cindy Burris gave her testimony. Even though it was short, it was powerful. Four people gave their lives to Christ!

Afterwards, the parents received the gifts and had the opportunity to giftwrap each toy for their children. That way, they were able to take them home and put them under the tree as a gift from themselves.

People were everywhere giftwrapping!

Cindy found a friend who had a similar life story. As they were talking, Cindy noticed the gifts the girl was wrapping. Cindy had purchased those gifts herself. She was able to tell that young mother that she'd been praying for her and her daughter all week. A Christmas miracle!

These were some of the volunteers who helped make it all happen! Sherry Wingate, right, is the one who organizes our Christmas Toy program. She and a team of volunteers, including Gracie Boyett, left, and Liz Holt, center, shopped for most of the 145 children in one trip to Wal-Mart! They then came to Living Water and sorted the gifts and packaged them by families.

We love helping families with Christmas gifts for their children. It's a special time that means a lot to all of us. Today, I had a mom and daughter, about 8 years old, come to get some clothing for the daughter. I told them to just get what they needed while I set up for our Christmas party in the other room. The lady who supervises our clothing room told me later that this little girl turned to her mom and asked, "What's a party?" That's why we love helping. There are lots of people with needs this year.

Christmas Needs

The needs in Borger have grown exponentially this year. Last year, Living Water gave Christmas toys to 96 children. This year, we're giving toys to 145 children. And since our registration closed last friday, I've probably had 20 families call wanting to sign their children up for toys.

My heart always goes out to the single moms who are trying so hard to make it. There are 2 that I've had calls about this year. One single mom has a decent job, but she's working as hard as she can just to put food on the table for her 4 children. She'd already told her children that there would be no Christmas this year. Fortunately, some people have offered to help them.

Today, I found out about another single mom who has 3 children of her own (2 of them live with their father) and has taken on 4 nieces and nephews. She's attending Frank Phillips College to get a better job (and is almost finished). But she has no way to provide Christmas for the 5 children living with her. They range in ages from 9-16.

You need to understand that neither of these moms asked for the help. Others have known about their situations and have asked for them. If you'd like to help either of these single moms (And I'm sure I'll hear of more!!), just give me a call at 274-6434. And if you don't live in Borger, call your local benevolence agency and see how you can help. There are so many valid needs out there this year!

CHRISTMAS TOYS!

This week, people are coming in to register their children for a Christmas toy at Living Water. We will be giving 1 toy per child at a cost of about $20 each. If you'd like to participate, just let us know! You can either go shop for a toy or bring $20 to Living Water and we'll do the shopping. Last year, we gave toys to 96 children. I began registration yesterday and already have 96 children--in just 2 days! We'll be giving the toys to the parents who will then be able to giftwrap the toy at a party just for them on December 10. Join the fun!!