We want to express our deep gratitude for the continued support of the Annual Living Water Yard Sale! Thanks to the more than 60 volunteers spanning 8 decades, the 2013 Yard Sale was a huge success! Over $21,000 was committed to clean water projects over the course of the week of September 20. These funds were raised not only through items sold at the yard sale, but also through a lemonade stand coordinated by a local home school co-op and many generous donors. A special things goes to Linda Zelnick (LW Board Member) and Jennifer Thompson (long time volunteer to LW) for coordinating this sale from beginning to end!
Presents with a Purpose - 11/16 @ The Well
Come check out Presents with a Purpose at The Well this Saturday 11/16/2013 from 9 to 2 PM. https://www.facebook.com/events/168294586699437/
Living Water Yard Sale - Sept. 20-21, 2013
13th Annual EventThe Living Water Yard Sale
Join Us September 20 (Friday 7am-2pm) September 21st (Saturday 7am-1pm)
Follow us on Facebook for updates
Collecting Sale Donations Living Water will collect your donations in the Otter Creek Gym Sun, Sept 15 - Wed, Sept 18. NOTE: Some "large item pickups" are available for oversize items only, the evenings of 9/16 and 9/17 (contact David or Dia Duer | OC Directory).
Calling All Volunteers Volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks: sorting items, picking up large items, distributing flyers in your area of the community, working the sale. You might even find some new treasures to purchase. Visit www.tinyurl.com/lwsale2013 to sign up for a volunteer slot.
Target Goal Our goal is to raise enough money to fund multiple wells! Come join in our efforts to provide clean water for communities in need.
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” John 4:13-14
The Living Water Project www.thelivingwaterproject.us was founded in 2001 by Shanon Dickerson, a member at Otter Creek. When a rare cancer forced him to leave full-time mission work, Shanon decided to serve in a new capacity, even in his final months. Confronted with the reality that thousands die daily from a lack of clean water, Shanon challenged friends to join him in raising money to drill wells in Africa and India. From this initial effort, the Living Water Project was born.
The Living Water Project funds clean and accessible water for people in impoverished areas all over the world, thereby also extending to them the love of God. Because Living Water is completely volunteer-run, 100% of all funds raised go directly toward funding clean water projects.
From Bayonaisse, Haiti, 2008: “The people are so excited! The water is sweet and not polluted. Many people are coming to get water. Before, they had to get water from the river, and sometimes dead chickens or other animals would float into their supply. Residents often became sick from the pollution. The only alternative was city water, which costs $1.25 USD per gallon. This is one day’s wages for most people. Now the water is free, and the people have also been given life!”
How to Get Involved:
Help us communicate our message: • Website design, development and maintenance. • Marketing and publishing of materials. • Follow-up communication with donors and potential donors.
Organize a fundraiser for your life group / office / school to “adopt” a water project: • $1,000 will construct a well in Togo. • $5,000 will construct a well in Haiti. • $3,000 - $10,000 will construct a water system in Guatemala. • $7,000 will construct a well in Sierra Leone, Uganda, and many other countries.
Learn more and spread the word: • Help with construction or just view lives being changed by making a site visit.
Visit our website: www.thelivingwaterproject.us
Play the Living Water Bracket Challenge!
Welcome to the Living Water Project Bracket Challenge! Your entry to this unique bracket pool will help us provide clean water in deserving communities around the world where it is currently inaccessible. Even if you're not a basketball fan, you can still try your luck - or, help us out by forwarding this to your friends. The winning entry will have the privilege of: 1) Honoring a loved one or friend with one of Living Water's 2013 wells (you'll receive pictures, GPS coordinates and information about the village, and a sign or plaque will be placed at the well), and.... 2) Naming the Otter Creek Church (Brentwood, TN) basketball court as they choose for the next year, until next year's contest.
Here's how to play:
1) Go to http://livingwater.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?ttag=13_cbsinv
2) Enter the group password - water2013
3) Important: If you don't already have a CBS Sportsline user ID, you'll need to create one.
4) Enter your picks! *Be sure to note the scoring system, under "Group Home", then "Scoring and Rules". Deadline for entry is 11:15 am Central time on Thursday, March 21.
5) Entry fee is $20 per bracket, maximum entry is 10 brackets per person (additional donations are definitely accepted!). ALL PROCEEDS benefit The Living Water Project, and will go toward construction of life-giving clean water wells.
6) Please send your entry fee of $20 per bracket to: The Living Water Project Otter Creek Church 409 Franklin Rd. Brentwood, TN 37027
7) Please make checks out to "Otter Creek Church", with "Living Water" in the memo line of the check.
Questions? Contact Brooks Lokey at brookslokey@gmail.com.
To learn more about the Living Water Project, visit www.thelivingwaterproject.us
10 Years Later - Celebrating Our Founder Shanon Dickerson
May 25, 2012
These are busy and exciting times for Living Water, but today we pause to remember and pay tribute to Shanon Dickerson, who founded this ministry in 2001. We lost Shanon 10 years ago this past Wednesday (May 23), but his light shines brighter than ever despite the passing of time.
Those of us who were involved with Living Water from the start have wondered aloud recently whether Shanon envisioned it becoming this thriving ministry that has touched and even saved so many lives around the world. While we’re not sure of the answer, one thing is for certain: Shanon knew he was planting seeds in our hearts for a harvest he probably wouldn’t see here on this earth. I’m sure that I'd heard before 2001 that millions around the world lack clean water, but the statistics were lost on me until Shanon inspired me to take a closer look. If not for him, being involved in a ministry like Living Water might have never even crossed my mind.
Over the past 10 years, many, many people have been impacted by Living Water who never had a chance to meet Shanon. His story has been told over and over, and those who hear it are often inspired to consider what impact they are having on the world around them, and whether they are using God’s gifts to the fullest. Even before his battle with cancer, Shanon lived as if life was a gift to be treasured and lived passionately. Cancer only further revealed and magnified what was already inside him. This excerpt from the Living Water website says it well:
“Shanon took discipleship of Jesus seriously and used his life to serve others. When a rare cancer forced him to leave full-time mission work in former East Germany, Shanon remained contagiously positive about life, using time between his cancer treatments to serve and befriend those in need.”
Shanon had an uncommon presence that made people feel at ease – both those he knew and those he was meeting for the first time. He invested deeply in relationships and encouraged us to live in community with each other. Simply put, we are better people for having known him.
In 2009 Shanon’s parents, Bobby & Jerri, founded Shanon’s House of Compassion (www.shanonshouse.org), a “home away from home” for families caring for a loved one in medical crisis in Huntsville, Alabama. The house is yet another expression of love inspired by Shanon’s life, serving those who are often facing life’s most difficult moments.
As we look back and remember our friend today, we also look forward with excitement to his continuing legacy. I have a feeling that this is only the beginning.
Jon Lee Director of Operations The Living Water Project
Spring 2012 Mission Update
Spring 2012 Mission Update
John 4:13-14: Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Exciting Times Ahead for Living Water in 2012!
The past three months have been very exciting for Living Water! Between Ken Switzer’s amazing 60-mile run for his 60th birthday, Otter Creek’s “Presents With a Purpose” event, and other generous donations, more than $42,000 was donated to the ministry. This was a great ending to a wonderful 2011, during which Living Water funded 34 wells. Big plans for 2012 are taking shape, which include water projects in Guatemala, Haiti, Zambia, Togo and other countries around the world.
I want to add a special thanks to Leslie Ford for putting this new e-newsletter together, and to Stephanie Shackelford for contributing as well. We received several compliments on the inaugural edition in December, so thanks to Leslie and Stephanie on a job well done!
We are so grateful for your support of this ministry. Hoping you have a blessed 2012,
Jon Lee Director of Operations The Living Water Project www.thelivingwaterproject.us/
The Living Water Project....By the Numbers: 12 countries served. 61 wells funded. $232,200 contributed to clean water projects.
TOKENS Show Partners with Living Water
The popular TOKENS show, hosted at Lipscomb University, has offered 50 tickets to their March 27th production to help raise money for Living Water. The show begins at 7:30 pm and tickets are $25 each, the proceeds of which will go directly to Living Water. Please email sjshack@aol.com to reserve your tickets. For more information about TOKENS, visit www.tokensshow.com.
Well Spotlight:
Village of Hope Uganda
In January 2011, The Living Water Project funded construction of a well to serve Village of Hope Uganda, a ministry that cares for formerly abducted orphans in Northern Uganda, many of whom were forced to be “child soldiers”.
Village of Hope (VOH), located near the city of Gulu, built a “Village” in 2009 on 100 acres for almost 200 of these orphans with an elementary school, medical clinic, church, library, 30 acres of agriculture and homes where they are loved and nurtured instead of living in fear and uncertainty for life and their future. A second village is currently under construction, and the Living Water well will provide water for this new expanded property.
Currently the well is providing water to hundreds of people in the surrounding community, in addition to providing VOH with the water necessary to construct homes, schools, a church and staff homes to complete the second village. Once the second village is complete, it will also be used to provide irrigation for farming and water for a fish farm.
Cindy Cunningham, Founder and Director of VOH Uganda, said, “Thanks to the well provided by The Living Water Project at the new village, hundreds more formerly abducted orphans will soon have a place to call home. It will not only provide water for these orphans, but the many staff that care for and teach the children. The well is also open to our neighbors to provide them life-giving clean water. In an area that is war-torn and where water is hard to come by, this is a message of hope and a future for hundreds of people in the surrounding community.”
Cunningham added, “There IS another well in this community, but the owners are not willing to share the water. By our willingness and desire to share our water, this is an incredible testimony to the community around us that God cares about them as well.”
To read more about Village of Hope Uganda, visit http://villageofhopeuganda.com.
How Much Does a Well Cost?
We at Living Water are often asked the seemingly straightforward question, "How much does it cost to fund a new well project, from start to finish?" The answer, of course, is not so simple. It depends. It depends on a variety of economic, geographic and cultural factors, many of which are out of our control. Click here to learn more!
8th Graders Make a Long-Term Commitment to Living Water
Eric and Brooke O’Dell were looking for a unique way to challenge the 8th graders they work with at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ in Nashville to look beyond themselves. They proposed an opportunity to raise funds for The Living Water Project and allowed the students to design their own goals and fundraising activities, making sure the students took responsibility to sacrifice their own money and time (and not just their parents'!).
These twenty-five 8th graders have committed to raising $2,000 during each school year (enough to fund two wells in Togo each year), and they hope to raise enough money to build a total of 10 wells and to fund their trip to see the wells by the time they are seniors in high school.
By selling over 300 cupcakes baked by Brooke and water bottles on a Sunday morning in September, the students have already raised over $1,200 toward this year’s goal. They also plan to host a “Water Ball” for their entire youth group in April and have distributed "water banks" for each student to fill with loose change.
Thank you to the 8th graders at Harpeth Hills for your support of Living Water and for becoming advocates for Living Water to your friends! Thank you to Eric and Brooke for your leadership and creativity. For more information about their effort, to volunteer to help, or to donate money to their activities, email Brooke O’Dell at brookelit@hotmail.com.
If you would like to start a similar fundraising effort for a group with which you are connected, please let us know.
Winter 2011 Mission Update
| Winter 2011 Mission Update
John 4:13-14: Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
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Give the Gift of Water,
Give the Gift of Life 
A Living Water donation card will make a perfect gift for the person on your list who "already has it all" or for a coworker or boss whom you may not know very well, and is perfect for mailing to friends and family who live out of town.
Follow Ken's Run Here!
6:07 PMFinished!! What an amazing day - 14 hours and 7 minutes, 60 miles, and over $19,000 raised for Living Water so far. We are truly grateful to Ken for doing this!
6:04 PM
On mile 60, and heading for the finish. There are 12 of us with Ken, and we can see St. Bartholomew's Church in the distance. There's a group waiting there and we can already hear them cheering.
5:53 PM
Mile 59. It's gotten pretty cold and breezy.
5:24 PM
Now on mile 58, heading down Harding Road. There's a lot of traffic tonight, so we're having to stay really close to the edge of the road.
4:10 PM
Several of us have joined him on mile 53. This is Ken's last loop around the Belle Meade Blvd. area. After we pass Immanuel Baptist Church in a couple of miles, we'll head back over toward Green Hills.
2:48 PM Waiting on another update on mileage. It appears that Ken is around mile 49. He was struggling a bit for a while, but apparently has hit a second wind (or would this be a fifth or sixth wind?).
1:47 PM Mile 45 and counting. Amazing!
1:03 PM
Ken is now on mile 42. Here is a picture of him talking with reporters from Channel 4 and Fox 17 News this moring, around mile 29.
12:13 PM 37 miles now in the books. Run Ken Run!
11:00 AM Ken is has now completed 34 miles. Hard to believe that he's gone that far, but still has a full marathon left before he's done.
9:45 AM Ken is almost at the 30-mile mark, and holding up well. Channel 4 and Fox 17 News were both just here taping footage and asking questions to run stories about Ken's run on tonight's news.
8:47 AM Now on mile 23. The weather is overcast, but thankfully no rain so far.
7:21 AM Ken is now on mile 17.
5:15 AM Ken is on mile 7. Still pitch dark and no traffic in Belle Meade.
4:45 AM
Mile 5 on Belle Meade Blvd.
4:05 AM
Mile 1 - only 59 1/2 miles to go. Ken started his run with Kevin Colvett, Jon Lee, Dan Bradfield and Bill Evans. Dan ran part of the way with Ken back in 2002 when he ran 50 miles for his 50th birthday to raise money for Living Water.
Dec. 23 - 4:00 AM
Ken started at the entrance to Percy Warner Park in Belle Meade at 4AM sharp. He said he wasn't able to sleep much last night, but was still ready to go. The weather is good for running - overcast and 42 degrees.
Ken Switzer Running 60 miles Dec. 23 for 60th Birthday to raise money for Living Water
Ken Switzer to Run 60 Miles for 60th Birthday
Ken Switzer, an elder at the Otter Creek Church of Christ, is training to run 60 miles in commemoration of his 60th birthday, to raise funds for The Living Water Project. That's right - he is running 60 miles in one day!
On December 23, Ken plans to start running at 4:00am from the entrance to Percy Warner Park. Ken has been training for the run for the past six months and expects to complete the 60 miles in twelve hours.
As part of the fundraiser and in place of birthday presents, Ken is asking 300 friends and any supporters of clean water missions to pledge $1 per mile completed, with the hopes of raising a minimum of $18,000. Friends, family, and other supporters are also invited to “sponsor a mile” by pairing up with Ken to run alongside him part of the way.
For more information on Ken's run, go to http://www.kenruns60.com. To make a pledge of support, go to http://www.thelivingwaterproject.us/pledge/.