One Year Ago Today... :)

Hello Friends,

One year ago today, June 25, we were all together working on Operation Water 2016! It's hard to believe that it's been a year already, and I just wanted to again thank all of you for being a part of an event that had a local and global impact. Each one of you played such a vital role, through prayer, finances, donating items, making baked goods, helping before, during, and after the event, etc. I'm still blown away by the way God brought together all of the pieces and how He used each of your talents to create an event that brought Him glory. Some of you I've known for a long time, and some I had only known for a very short period of time before the event. But all of you were right there beside me working on this project. You're so much more than my "Operation Water team", you're my life team. I'm blessed to call you my friends!

Also, I just wanted to give you a little bit of information about the well that was funded by Op Water 2016! Most of you I've shared this with but I know a few of you haven't heard. This well is located in the state of Karnataka in southern India. It is at a school, which is really neat because previously, this school only had clean water provided to them once a week. Once the well was completed, the team from Living Water International then held hygiene and sanitation classes and also was able to share the gospel with these people. Because of the gift of physical water, the people were very open to hearing about Jesus, the living water! I have more information as well as pictures of the well, but they have asked that I do not share that information online. I would be more than happy to show you a printed copy of what they sent if you are interested!    

Many people have asked me if/when there will be another event, and I will say this, it's definitely a question of when, not if. :) I don't currently have anything in the works, but you never know, God could move on my heart tomorrow to start planning the next one. I would be totally okay with that! So we'll see.

One final thing I want to add, I still have some items leftover from the silent auction last year. It's some really great stuff too! There is a Kitchen Kettle gift card, Cherry Crest Tickets, Choo Choo Barn Passes, a few purses, and some other odds and ends. Here's the link so you can see everything that's left http://www.operationwaterbenefit.com/for-sale/. Please contact me if you or anyone you know would be interested in buying any of these items. Many of them are priced at face value or a little bit cheaper. All of the money from these items will still go to Living Water International.

Again, I thank you all for your part in this event, and just your general impact in my life. I love each of you so dearly and so deeply, and try as I may, words just don't express how much I appreciate each one of you. Happy Operation Water Anniversary!

God Bless,

Colleen :)

"For Sale"

Hello Beautiful People!

So...this is about four months late, but the "For Sale" portion of this website is finally ready to go! After the event back in June, we had some items left over that we saved rather than donated with the intent of selling them online to raise more money to go towards this well project. That has always been the intent, and still is, but life got crazy, as usual (am I right?), and it just got put off for a while. But we are more than ready to get this stuff sold! So, the time has finally arrived! We got this together and there are items ready to go for you to purchase!

We have passes, tickets, and gift cards, as well as other physical items including purses, home decor, dishes, specialty clothing, and more! If you see an item that you're interested in, send me, Colleen, an email at operationwater2013@gmail.com and we will work something out! We are not set up to do online payments, so payment delivery will be discussed when you get in touch with me. Hop on over to the "For Sale" page and check out what's available! Please share this with your friends and family and spread the word!

Thanks!

God Bless,

Colleen :)

The Semi-Grand Total!!! :)

You guys...we did it!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Here's the deal...a while back I got a generic email from Living Water International that went out saying that they had someone who was matching donations. So however much you donate gets doubled! This counted for donations that were received by June 30th. So...I didn't mention this to anyone because I wanted to be sure that it applied before I went around talking about it. Even though more money will still come in from the leftover items I sell and whatnot, we sent in what we currently have so that at least that much can be matched!

From the Operation Water event on Saturday plus other donations I received before and after the sale, we came up with a total of $3,500! So with the donation matching, that comes to $7,000!!! That means we are on our way towards TWO WELLS! :D Woohoo! We can totally get the rest and make it to two. :) I will let you know as I decide how these other bits and pieces will work!

Anyway, you will be hearing from me again soon in terms of the next steps for Operation Water, but I just wanted to let you know that WE DID IT! PRAISE GOD! :)

Thank you everyone! You guys rock! :)

God Bless,

Colleen :)

Operation Water Recap :)

Hi friends!

THANK YOU! Operation Water turned out so well and I'm so grateful for each person who prayed, donated time, baked goods, money, and items, and for everyone who helped this week and yesterday! I have the best people in my life, you guys are awesome! :) Thanks for partnering with me in my goal to raise money for the thirsty in India through Living Water International!

There was so much help yesterday and so many people came to shop! It was a beautiful day! God provided so many great opportunities to connect with people I haven't seen in a while and there were just so many awesome things that He worked out all along this journey. I could write a book. :)

So the big question everyone wants answered is how much we made. We counted up yesterday's money but some more was added and we also have to recount (I fell asleep while I was counting last night! Haha.) We made a lot of money from the yard sale, bake sale, hot dogs, lemonade, and other parts of the sale. We sold a few items in the silent auction, but for the most part it was kind of a bust so I have a lot of valuable items left over. The plan is to take these and sell them online or in person if an opportunity arises. Then all of the money made from that will also be included in the project total. If there was anything that you saw in the auction that you were eyeing up and would like to directly purchase, please let me know!

That being said, I don't want to give a total just yet. I just don't want to declare the amount because it's not complete yet. :) But I will say that we are well on our way!!! Keep praying that when we total it all up we will reach our goal! I will send out an email once I have a grand total!

Again, thank you all so much for everything you've done to support me in this endeavor. I appreciate each and every one of you so much and I'm thankful to have each of you in my life!
 

God Bless,

Colleen :)

Prayer Requests Week 11

Hi!!!

This Saturday is the big day!! Operation Water 2016!!! It's crazy that it's almost here already! Thank you so much to everyone who donated items for the yard sale and came to help with sorting and pricing! I'm a little bit overwhelmed, but in the best possible way. :) I am so grateful for each person who's had a part in this process, especially over the past few days. So THANK YOU! Thanks for praying as well! Please keep this event lifted up in prayer this week! Praying for this fundraiser is the most important thing we can do!

This week I have quite a few specific prayer requests:

Please be praying for safety for everyone involved in this event, while they're at church and as they're traveling to and from.

Also please pray for wisdom for me as I start thinking about who to put in different jobs for Saturday and just figuring out all of the "who does what".

Along those lines, pray for camaraderie between volunteers. That we would all work together well and keep the higher mission of the event in mind.

Please be praying for efficiency in setting up!

Pray that hearts and souls would be touched through this event. That they would see what we're doing and know we're doing it because of Jesus and what He did for us. More than anything else, we want people to meet Jesus. On this end as we prepare and have the sale, as well as on the other end when people will receive clean water and be introduced to the Living Water because of the efforts we put forth for this! To God be the glory!

Also keep in mind the previous requests, good weather (70 degrees, light breeze, no precipitation :), lots of people who come shop and buy, that we would meet and exceed our goal, and so on. (You can refer to all of the previous prayer requests here on the updates page.)

I hope to see as many of you as possible on Saturday and tell your friends! :) 130 Tennyson Drive Lancaster from 8-1. Please, please, please share this event info with others, whether it be online, in person, or whatever! Someone had the great idea this week of taking a poster to tape inside her car window for people to see. :) I love it! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I love you all. :)

See you in a few days!
God Bless,

Colleen :)

Prayer Requests Week 10

Hey there!

This week, please be praying for the team who will be responsible for the well project that Operation Water will fund and for the community where the well will be. Also, please pray that their hearts will be open to receive Jesus, the living water, when the gospel is shared with them through this.

In addition to the hearts of these people, please continue to pray for the hearts of all who come in contact with this event. We want lives to be changed, for people to meet Jesus personally and draw close to Him. God can use this event to do that for people. All we have to do is ask.

Thanks! Have a great week!
God Bless,

Colleen :)

Prayer Requests Week 9

Hey hey people,

Hope you're all staying dry on this rainy Sunday! So less than 3 weeks and Operation Water will be here! Hooray!

This week, please be praying for all of the churches and ministries represented at Operation Water. There has been so much love and support from so many different churches I'm involved in or know people from. I'm constantly amazed at this beautiful outpouring of love from so many of you. There are a few specific ones that I'd like to mention:

Living Water International (of course!) for the work that they do and how great they are to work with
Humankind Water for their partnership in this event and of our common threads of Jesus and water :)
Calvary Chapel of Lancaster, where I currently attend church and where this event will be held, and the many people who are volunteering to help in a variety of ways
Community United Methodist Church, who we share a building with and they are graciously allowing us to use the parking lot for the sale
CV Church of Christ, where I am also involved, for their awesome willingness to pray and to donate yard sale items
Community Fellowship Church, for the wonderful support from my community group there in prayer and the friends who are volunteering to help

There are many other ministries that will be represented there as well, but these are a few specific ones that have been fantastic through all of this! So many Christians from various places gives us a great opportunity to share Jesus with others. :) That's what it's all about! Not only sharing Jesus with those who receive the water well in the future, but each person that comes in our path along the way.

Have a great week, and I'll be seeing many of you shortly!

God Bless,

Colleen :)

Humankind Water

Hi all,

I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about another ministry that we are partnering with for Operation Water 2016!

Humankind is similar to Operation Water in that it is a "middle man". We both raise money for organizations that are actively fighting the world water crisis, including Living Water International. What Humankind does is sell bottled water with the promise of "100% to Charity" and stating that "1 Bottle = Clean Water for 1 person for 100 days". It's a really great organization and I'm excited to partner with them!

That being said, Humankind will be on site at Operation Water on June 25 selling their water! Come check them out and support the great cause of getting clean water to as many people as possible!

For more information, please check out their website, http://www.humankindwater.org/!

Prayer Requests Week 8

Hey y'all,

So as I mentioned in my last email, this past week I met with Ann who writes for the PennySaver and she interviewed me for an article about my event! Then a group of 8 of us gathered together for the picture with some of the items that will be for sale at Operation Water. :) It was really fun and I'm glad I had the opportunity to do that! This will run in the 6/22 newspaper (the week of the sale), and will be in the Conestoga Valley PennySaver. It may also appear in some of the other local papers (possibly PV, LS, and/or Manheim Township) but I'm not 100% sure of that yet. So that's super exciting! :)

This week, please pray that we will meet and exceed our goal! One well is $5,000. But why not pray for more than that? Maybe God will provide enough for 2 wells, or 3, or 10! :) No matter how much we raise, it will all go to Living Water International to aid them in their work.

Please continue to pray for the heart of each person involved in each step of this event coming together!

Have a great week!
God Bless,

Colleen :)

What will we do with leftover yard sale items?

Hello again,

Multiple people have been asking me what I am going to do with the leftover items after the sale, so I wanted to address that publicly. First of all, please be praying that we have minimal or no items left over to have to worry about (see "Prayer Requests Week 7" post)!

If there are any valuable items left over, my plan is to sell them online (probably Ebay) to see how high the price will go, and then I will give that money directly to Living Water International as a part of the well project.

For other items that aren't necessarily of high value, we will donate them to one of the local MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Thrift or Re-Uzit shops. They donate a large amount of their profits to MCC programs that do great mission work all over the world. I am more than happy to donate any leftover items to them for their work. If you want to know more about what they do, you can check out their website, http://thrift.mcc.org/.