November Covered Waters Update

November 2022

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

First of all, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to say THANK YOU! Thank you so much for coming on this journey with us! We appreciate your love, encouragement, prayers, and support as we continue this crazy journey.

It has been an exciting month. At this point, we can not tell you everything going on behind the scenes but know that we are amazed at how God is working… we are overwhelmed with the opportunities and connections we are making … and the community is getting excited, which makes us excited!

What we can share with you this month…
- In an act of God (literally) we have our 501c3 nonprofit status! I know some nonprofits that are still waiting to hear after 16 months and we got ours in 21 days! This means that we can give tax-deductible receipts for donations, we are exempt from paying taxes, we can apply for grants, we are recognized by the federal govt, etc. It also means that we have more to do for this tax year than we had originally thought =). Seriously, we are still PRAISING GOD for this! I (Tina) sat at the kitchen table and read and re-read the letter thinking I was misunderstanding it or that someone was pranking me. But it’s real!
- Christmas Fundraiser! We have door hangers that are designed by our very own Katie! There are only a few more days to snag one. They are for local pickup only (Omaha, Lincoln, Fremont, Kansas City). So head to the website and get one!
- We also have different fun items on our website that you can purchase for yourself or give as gifts this season… or both! Go check them out - logoed items, funny items, inspirational clothing, stickers, etc. Go, now… buy everything!
- You can also now donate on the website too!

Keep reading below to meet Bailey, last but not definitely not least in our little core group.
Thank you for praying for us as we ramp up the fundraising efforts. You can specifically pray for our lofty goal of one million dollars. yikes! But also, Gods got this!

In Him,
Tina, Bailey, and Katie

Meet Bailey!
Hey guys! Thank you so much for being along for this wild ride! We are so excited about what God is doing and can’t wait to see what He does next!

Here are some fun and not-so-fun facts about me:

⁃ I have 5 beautiful daughters, all via foster care and adoption. Their ages are 6, 5, 4, 18 months, and 12 months.

⁃ I grew up in the country, but went to art school in the city. So I’m a nice mixture of both.

⁃ The music presets in my car are all set to classic country, ’60s, classic rock, and folk music stations.

⁃ I have my own small business as a photographer, but I do have my bachelor’s in Art Education K-12 and was a teacher for a few years before starting my business!

⁃ In my free (rare) time I love to paint, hammock somewhere quiet, travel, sit quietly by a river or in a forest, and work on house projects by myself….maybe I just enjoy quiet in my free time.

⁃ Last fall my husband and I bought a beautiful 116-year-old house in Fremont. We love love love adding character and making it our own while keeping the unique, original character in the mix. I had told our realtor, “not in Fremont and not an old house.” But thankfully God had much better plans than me 😂

⁃ After buying our house in Fremont, we said, “Okay God, you obviously want us here, so use this house for your glory, help us to invest in this community, and we are open to your plan.” And within two months the idea of Covered Waters was born, and God has just been running with it, with us right behind!

When you zoom out and look at the big picture of my life, it’s an excellent example of what it looks like to think you know best and turn in one direction, only for God to come in and steer you in a different direction. Where he has sent me and where I am going aren’t easy, but man am I glad He knows what’s best for me!