New Floor!

We're so grateful for our new floor in the chapel at Living Water. So many people made it come together. There were those who donated the flooring and then there were those who put it down. We couldn't have done it without the help of everyone!

These are the three guys who started laying the floor--Chris McCollum, George Nies and John Quigley. They began their work on a Saturday--and it was finished on Wednesday! Wow! (And they told me to tell you they don't hire out. ha!)

It took a lot to get it started. They said it was the hardest part. Our building isn't exactly square....about 8 inches wider in one corner!

Here, George is pointing out to Andy what they did to get it lined up.


Duane Snyder, George and John did the biggest part of the job. But you can see another kind of job going on in the background---Gib is getting our food ready for Friday.

Duane was on his knees a lot.

And thankfully, there were no injuries on the job!

John & George are chiseling out a door so the floor will fit.

On Tuesday, we moved clothing registration to the office area.

And then we all shared lunch together. The first activity on our partially-layed floor.

George & John did the sawing outside on Main St.

And here it is with about 3/4 of the floor laid.

Almost done!! Micah brings more flooring to John, Duane and George. These guys worked hard! We're so indebted to their hard work and big hearts!

The finished product to follow....

EGG CARTONS!

Living Water is in desperate need of egg cartons. If you've been saving some up, could you drop them off at Living Water, Mon-Thurs from 9-3. And the sooner the better! The food bank sent eggs to us in crates instead of cartons this week and we can't hand them out until we have some cartons to put them in! THANKS!

ConocoPhillips Employees

Living Water has been informed that ConocoPhillips is instituting a new program that encourages and supports its employees in community involvement. We're so excited! Living Water is eligible as a 501 (c)(3) organization. Here is an outline of their new program:

We are pleased to inform you that, effective January 1, 2010, we are expanding our employee giving programs, providing employees and retirees more opportunities to give back to their communities.

Matching Gift
Our Matching Gift program will expand to match employee gifts to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations dollar-for-dollar, up to $15,000, and retiree gifts dollar-for-dollar, up to $7,500 annually. Previously, the program matched gifts to accredited educational institutions only.

Employee Volunteer Grants “Dollars for Hours”
ConocoPhillips will donate $500 for every 20 hours an employee or retiree volunteers with an eligible 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Additionally, teams of four or more employees or retirees may apply for a team grant of $1,000 to an eligible organization.

So...if you're a ConocoPhillips employee, please consider getting involved in this new program. Living Water would LOVE to have you involved with us!

WELCOME CELEBRATION FAMILY CHURCH

We want to welcome Celebration Family Church in Fritch as another supporter of Living Water. We're so excited to have them on board! Dwight Kirksey is the pastor of this church and they are situated on Broadway St. in Fritch. They are very easy to find and we hope you'll check them out---I know they would love to have you!!

HEATERS NEEDED!

I've had several people calling Living Water asking if there are any heaters available because THEY'RE COLD!!

If you have an extra heater you're not using or would like to purchase one (or two or three...) and donate it to Living Water so we can give it away, please bring it by Monday-Thursday from 9-3.

THANKS!

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.