Prayer for Vivian

Please join us in praying for this sweet little girl who was recently brought to our orphanage in Uganda. She is 19 months old and only weighs 13 pounds. She is extremely anemic, dehydrated, and malnourished, with other complication. The doctors and staff at the orphanage have been working around the clock to save her life. How great is our God that he found this small, suffering child and delivered her into the arms of his workers. Pray that he will give them the wisdom they need to help Vivian grow big and strong!

Training and Cupcakes!

Yesterday was our day of training with Bethany for our adoption. Everything was very informative, however, it was also very overwhelming! I know that they can never give a timeline because each case is different, but it would be nice to have some sort of idea when our child is going to join our family. It is overwhelming to see how many other people are also trying to adopt and wonder why someone would choose us as parents over all these other great couples. It would also be so fun to start getting a bedroom ready and buying fun things for him or her. It is also hard to know how to plan for things like Christmas. Realistically we will not have our child by then, but we could, God is always performing miracles. Anyways, lately I have been really anxious about it. I just have to continuously remind myself that God's plan is better than mine and that his timing is perfect and mine isn't! It has been a great journey of learning how to hand things over to him and not be able to control everything.

Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

On a more positive note...I got my first cupcake order the other day! It was such an encouragement!! Amy, who ordered them, is also going through the adoption process, and got them as an encouragement to some of her friends. How fun! Here are a couple of pictures. I made Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. I am not a photographer so they don't look amazing, but I personally thought they tasted great!

Check out Amy's blog here: http://www.apphotographyblog.com/

Cupcakes for Adoption

I have been thinking of ways to raise money for our adoption, besides the amazing things our friends are doing, and thought that it would be so fun to make cupcakes. It allows me to do something that I love (make cupcakes) and provide a service to others. So, if you need cupcakes for something, let me know! If you have a bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party, or gathering just for fun, I would love to make cupcakes for you. I have recently been inspired by this site: http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/

I am pretty open to trying new flavors/ icing creations. Just let me know what you would like! E-mail me at kakneal@gmail.com to place an order or to learn about pricing!

Adoption Paperwork

For the past month Cory and I have been tediously working on our adoption paperwork. Since we switched agencies we had to start the whole process over. To be honest I think we were both a little frustrated at first and both dragged our heals a little, but the Lord really worked in both of our hearts to help us get motivated. So after many hours of hard work yesterday we finally handed everything in! It was such a relief to be done with that stage so we can move on. Next Friday, the 27th, we go to an all day training and then after that we get to start our homestudy! Even though we had to do the work again, it has definitely been worth it to see God working all around us. I am still amazed at the willingness that our friends have shown to help us fundraise money for the adoption. Everytime I think about it I am overwhelmed at how big God is! It has also been so fun to watch the Lord working in both mine and Cory's hearts. I never imagined myself being a Mom. In fact, I dreaded it. Yet lately I can't stop thinking about our future child and having him or her be a part of my everyday life and our family! Of course it is still scary and overwhelming, but I know that with the Lords wisdom and guidance...and all of the support of our family and friends...I will succeed. It has been so encouraging and exciting to hear Cory talk about how excited he is to be a parent as well. He is going to be an awesome Dad! I know that there could still be a lot of waiting in store for us, but for now we are just enjoying the time that we have together.

Isaiah40:31- "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

David Platt Quote

I saw this quote in church one day and haven't been able to stop thinking about it so I wanted to share it here. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it is what we need to hear.

"We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ago and ask, "How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?" I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in America today and ask, "How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes? How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn't have food or water? How could they go on with their lives as though the billions of poor didn't even exist?" - David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

Tender Hearts Baby Home

Isaiah 6:8- "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

• It is estimated that there are 2.5 million orphans in Uganda (UNICEF, 2006)
• Approximately one million children have lost either one or both parents to HIV/AIDS (World Vision)
• The mortality rate for children under the age of 5 is 134/1,000 (Compassion International)
• 85% of the population lives on less then $1 per day (Compassion International)
• Only 60% of the population has access to safe water (World Vision)

Here are some pictures from Tender Hearts Baby Home that we will be working at:

This is a picture from the backyard. One of our goals of the trip is to build the children a gazebo to play in.

This is going to be a baby room. Another one of our goals of the trip is to be organizing the rooms and making them safe for the babies.

This is the outside of Tender Hearts Baby Home. The home will be able to hold up to 30 children.

This is one of our babies. The home just got their license about a month ago and there are already 3 children living there!

Praise

I don't even know where to start when sharing about the awesome things the Lord is doing for us!

I have been working on my support letters and getting ready to send them out, but before I even got the chance to I already got a support check! One of my sweet friends told me that she and her husband had been praying and they felt like the Lord told them to support me. It is amazing what the Lord can do through us when we obey! Our first payment for the trip is due at the end of August, so please keep praying that each of us has the amount that we need.

In the beginning of our adoption process we were so nervous about the finances and how we were going to pay for it all. Our friends have been such an incredible encouragement to us. Our friend Danielle is going to be doing a fundraiser on her blog. She is collecting different items from both local and national agencies to put together baskets and then auction them off. Check out her blog at: http://cevallosadoption.blogspot.com

My sweet friend Carla (who is also going through the adoption process) and another friend Fran have also been organizing a group of people to run in the Governors Cup here in Columbia, SC on November 13th to raise support for our adoption as well. So many of our friends have signed up, it is so exciting to see everyone come together! Not only is Carla adopting, but she is adopting from Tender Hearts Baby Home in Uganda, where we are going to visit. She is one of the people coming with me on our trip there! Check out her blog at: http://notforgottenjourney.blogspot.com

It is also amazing how God can use others to encourage each other! Just knowing that we have so many praying for us is such an encouragement. We can't wait to bring home our child and submerse him or her into this loving environment!