FUNDRAISING!

Hey everyone! Here's what's going on in our world:

Fundraising!

We are swimming in fundraising right now! Praise the Lord for opportunities to raise the money we need to bring home the child He has chosen to his/her forever home.

We are holding a yard sale this weekend (August 5th & 6th)- which we're super excited about! Next up is the fun photography event with Life's Captured Moments on August 27th. This will be such a fun time! Any of you considering coming, this is a great opportunity to have some nice photos at a great price! We are also working toward planning the next two events which will be a Pampered Chef Fundraising Event and a 5K. Both of these will be in the next 3-4 months. If any of you want to run, let us know! I suppose we should start training... AHH. Hehe..

I am also sewing snack bags and pillowcase dresses to help with fundraising! AND let's not forget the t-shirts!!

Whew! Thank you, Lord for all that's going on right now. Surprisingly, our heads are staying above water and I can personally say, I feel so at peace even with everything as hectic as it is. He is so good to meet our needs- physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. We know He will meet all of our needs according to His will. To Him be the glory!!

Here are a few photos of what we've been up to:

Please continue to pray! We're SO SO SO thankful to all of our friends who have prayed, provided, and helped in every way. We have a long road ahead, but the journey is underway! Until next time..

The Neelys

God is Good.

Hello! (It's Kimberly this time.) This is my first post and I am proud to share some exciting news! We have a t-shirt design!! Whoo-hoo! A good friend, Brad Cockrell, offered to design our shirt for fundraising. He's an artist and we were super excited that he offered his talents! What a blessing. We gave him some ideas and he made an awesome design that we would have never been able to do on our own!! Thanks Brad! 

Here's a peek at the shirt (front and back):

Here is the image close up (keep in mind the colors are reversed on the actual shirt):

                                                    

We. Love. It. 

Our guess is the shirts will be in and ready to sell in a couple of weeks! So exciting. They will be $17. Please let us know if you'd like to purchase one! We will be selling them at our fundraising events as well.

On a different note:

I feel the need to start with a side story, so bear with me =). The more I walk with the Lord, the more I learn flexibility. When I really learned about flexibility I was on the mission field in Africa. I knew (thanks to some pretty amazing professors- one in particular- *cough* Dr. Wilson) this was needed on the mission field, so I was as prepared as I could possibly be, however I don't think one can ever be fully prepared for what the Lord has in store. How would we fulfill the commandment to "walk by faith" if we could be? Anywho... (can you tell I love theology?) where I am going with this is...

Due to some recent news on South Korea's international adoption program, we have prayerfully decided to look into adopting from another country.

This was a bit hard for us to swallow due to all our researching, praying, and (a very small amount in comparison) paperwork we did that led us to this decision in the first place. BUT- as believers, we sometimes make the decisions we think He's leading us to make and pray, "Not mine, but Your will be done." This time, His will might not be South Korea. That's okay with us. Whatever, namely, "whoever" He wants us to love and cherish is up to Him, not us! Praise the Lord!! He is immutable and perfect in every way- what's better than Him leading!?

So, you ask, what's next? I have one word: FUNDRAISING.

We know from the reply from our agency that whoever we go through (agency wise) or whatever other way the Lord might lead us to go, we need money first. This is a huge step of faith for us (*by His grace*) seeing that we are raising money with no exact path. We are trusting that if He wants us to adopt a child, He will provide the money.

In the meantime, we will pray, research, pray, send emails, pray, fundraise, pray.. you get the point. And... (hopefully sooner, rather than later) do a HOMESTUDY! (More on that later- for those of you who are not familiar with adoption terms.) I have a feeling the homestudy will be nearer than either of us think. After the homestudy, we can apply for grants. Some grants will match (up to a certain amount) what we've raised! Whoohoo. 

Either way, "he owns a cattle on a thousand hills.. and the hills the cattle stand on." -Dr. Rob (one of my professors in college)

I have many more details to share.. soon, my friends. But for now, we ask that you join with us in praying for direction and funds. Thank you so much for your devotion to us, even to read our blogs! What a joy! 

To Him be the glory forever, Amen!

Be blessed,

Kimberly on behalf of The Neely's

"Home"

I know it has been awhile since our last post, and so much has transpired since then.  We have a t-shirt design, and those will be ordered this week.  There have been some unforeseen updates from Korea concerning their adoption programs, and we will share that with you in more detail when we can.

But in the meantime, "Home" is recorded, mixed, mastered, and uploaded for your enjoyment and encouragement.  Click the big "home" picture on the right to download to your computer.  We have decided against charging anything to download, but we only ask that you donate $1 if you can. (Use the Donate button on the right sidebar.)  Whether you can donate or not, please pray for us whenever you listen to this song, and I hope the Lord speaks to you through it.

I am setting out on this journey, a trail I've never traveled, a sea I've never sailed.

This road was laid before me to build my faith and trust in You.

You have paved this path for me, and though it is hard at times, You're guiding me.

You've converged this road with one of a little child

Who needs Your love, who needs Your hope,

And who needs to feel at home in Your arms.

No matter where we're from, we come and leave the same.

The Fall has taken hope from us, and life is not in reach

But You came down to us and embraced us into Your family.

This calling could be hard, but would it please You that this cup would pass from me?

Still, not as I will, but as You will.

Thank you to Will and Thomas Neely for your help on the recording.

We really appreciate your continued prayer, support, and encouragement.

In Christ,

The Nathan Neelys

Adopted for Life

One book that Kimberly and I are currently reading is titled “Adopted for Life” by Russell D. Moore.  (Any interested parties can click the picture on the right for a link.)  No matter where you are on you journey with Christ, and regardless of what you feel He has called you to concerning adoption for you and your family, this book is a must-read, as Dr. Moore explores the relationship between our extending love to a lost world (specifically children) and God’s own expression of love to us while we were but lost children.  Here is one of our favorite excerpts:

You may be wondering whether this [book] will be about the doctrine of adoption or “real” adoption. Well, one of the things that we’ll be discussing is the fact that you can’t talk about the one without talking about the other. Also, it is not as though we master one aspect and then move to the other—from the vertical to the horizontal or the other way around. That’s not the picture God has embedded in his creation work.

The Bible tells us that human families are reflective of an eternal fatherhood (Eph. 3:14-15). We know, then, what human fatherhood ought to look like on the basis of how Father God behaves toward us. But the reverse is also true. We see something of the way our God is fatherly toward us through our relationships with our own human fathers. And so Jesus tells us that in our human father’s provision and discipline we get a glimpse of God’s active love for us (Matt. 7:9-11; cf. Heb. 12:5-7). The same is at work in adoption.

On a different note, many of you have been asking about info on fundraising, as well as offering to help, and we really appreciate it!  We have several ideas that we are getting together, including an original song, t-shirts, a yard sale, and maybe even a 5k.

Thanks for your continued prayer and support.  This would not be possible without you!

Nathan, Kimberly, and Caitlyn

Why "Bringing the Nations Home?"

Nathan here.  Just spent the last couple of days learning the ways of blog design.  Hope it works for everyone.  So here goes...

As I said in our "About Me" section, the purpose of our blog is to update friends and family about the adoption process we have just begun.  It is a humbling goal, and one which we do not accept lightly.  Because we have not had the opportunity to sit down with many of you personally, I would like to take this moment to share with you what led us to this decision to adopt.

If you know Kimberly or me at all, you know that we have been involved in missions for many years now.  Each of us have served on several short-term mission trips over the past few years, and we, individually and together, have considered a longer commitment to serving the nations. (After all, it is Christ's Great Commission.)  We started the paperwork with the International Mission Board a few years ago, only to feel that it was not time to sell it all and move overseas yet.  So that brings us to the title of our blog: Bringing the Nations Home.  I think that sometimes we as Americans feel that to "make disciples of all nations (ethne)...," we have to go to them.  Sometimes, this is true, because not everyone will have the ability or opportunity (or even the desire) to get here.  But isn't sharing your faith with the Haitian woman at the grocery store the same thing?  It is still reaching the nations (ethnic groups).  Furthermore, why can't we tackle this issue of unwanted orphans (domestic and international) head-on and pour out our God-given mercy and love on them, raising them up in the precepts of God?  I'm not saying every American couple should apply for adoption tomorrow, but I am saying that even the poorest of us have more resources and capabilities than most of the world does.

So why Korea?  You know... sometimes, God just puts something on your heart that you just can't shake.  And when someone else has that same thing on their heart, it only reinforces what you think He's already showing you.  Neither Kimberly nor I have ever felt drawn to serve specifically to Asian people before.  I can pinpoint specific moments in my life when God opened my eyes and my heart to various geographical and ethnic groups--first Africa, then South America, then Europe, etc.--but I have never felt that same passion toward people of Eastern Asia.  Not that their lostness doesn't bother me, but that I never really saw myself spending my life with them in their countries.  So in some ways, it's curious that we both desire to adopt and disciple a Korean child over other countries we could have chosen, but I like to think that this is just one more sanctifying step in this process of our hearts breaking for the nations.

All that being said, I don't want you to think that this adoption is all about the hoped salvation of a young Korean boy, although that is part of it.  Any of you reading this that have children of your own know the incomparable joy that a son or daughter brings to your life.  This is a joy that we have come to know personally over the last 3 years, and it is something that we both want to experience in an even greater way by choosing to love a child that has no biological connection to us, a child that we shouldn't necessarily be expected to love, but that we do anyway, even now.  And I think it will also enhance our understanding of what God did for us by delivering us from a world of being unwanted and shameful, and giving us a home overflowing with security and belonging.

We are so thankful for your support as our brothers and sisters, and we desire your prayers and encouragement throughout this entire ordeal.  Please partner with us in bringing a child to this part of the world and discipling him (or her) in the ways of the one true God.

In Christ,

Nathan, Kimberly, and Caitlyn Neely