Provision & Promises

There has been a lot going on lately, and I am really bad at keeping up with the blog, so this may be a long one!

God promises us that he will provide us with whatever we need to fulfill his purposes. As I have said many times before, the biggest thing we were nervous about going into this adoption was the finances. Through much support we were able to raise $1,000 several weeks ago in a giveaway on my friend Danielle's blog!! Thank you so much to everyone who participated. I was honestly blown away by how generous everyone was. I was honestly just hoping that we would get between $300-$500, but God showed us how great he is and far exceeded our expectations!

Along the lines of adoption, we finally have our homestudy set up! We had all of our paperwork in but one sheet from Cory's job stating that we have health insurance. We finally got it and got assigned our social worker. She is exactly who we were praying that we would get!! We have our first meeting on October 14th. Please pray that it goes quickly and we can get all of our meetings in before I leave for Uganda! God makes so many promises to us in the Bible and I have really just been trying to repeat those to myself throughtout this process. Acts1:7: "He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." We are still praying that our child will be here by Christmas, but even if he or she isn't I know that God has a reason and that his timing is perfect and better than mine could ever be. God chose who our child would be even before the world was created. Check out this awesome passage from Psalms139:13-16:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

I have also been praying a lot for God to equip us with what we need to go to Uganda. Not only for myself, but for our whole team, especially my friends Carla and Elle who are coming with me. Throughout the whole process of getting ready for the trip I have been completely at peace about everything, including financing it. Even now that the trip is less than 3 weeks away I am not stressing because I know that he will provide all that we need! We have our tickets booked and have learned more about what we will be doing while we are there. We will be spending several days at the Tender Hearts Baby Home. We are then going to be serving in the community. We are going to be running a Vacation Bible School with for the children of a lady called Mamma Mary. Mamma Mary is a former Muslim, converted Christian, who has adopted over 30 children! To read more about her and her children click here! We are also going to be serving with Manna Ministries- a group that gives food, love, and teaches about Christ, and a pregnancy crisis center that teaches women about the alternatives to abortion. Please be praying that our work will be meaningful and effective and that the Lord will keep us all safe!

Adoption Fundraiser

Hey everyone!

My heart is incredibly overwhelmed this morning as I think of all of the work and generosity that went into this! Cory and I have been so blessed by the selflessness of the friends that the Lord has placed in our lives here in South Carolina and I can't say Thank You enough for all that they have done!

Check out this raffle our amazingly sweet and generous friends put together for us to help us bring home our precious baby boy or girl!! You can enter for $5 an entry and it all goes straight to fund our adoption.....and you can win some really cool prizes!! Please also forward this on to anyone else you might now who would be willing to enter!!! If you have any questions let me know! If not, happy donating!!!!!!!

http://cevallosadoption.blogspot.com/2010/09/fundraising-giveaway.html

Fundraising for Uganda

Check out my fundraising page for my mission trip to Kampala, Uganda! It is coming up soon, just 7 weeks away!

http://www.firstgiving.com/kellyneal

We are also going to be holding a yard sale on September 11th in Lake Carolina, so if you have any items that you would like to donate (or junk that you would like us to take off your hands) please let me know, I would love to come and pick it up for you!

E-mail: kakneal@gmail.com

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."