Beautiful Rosa

The following pictures were taken when Amy was down in Guatemala with a team of Asbury girls in March 2006:

Pictures of Our Little Man

Here are some pictures of Carlos from this past July when we were down at the children's home in Guatemala.

He's a kisser...

...and a clown.

This was after he wanted a haircut "like Matt's."

A Big Change of Plans

The Lord moves in mysterious ways. Anyone who has followed our adoption journey knows that we have been waiting, waiting, waiting, in our original plan of adopting a child from Uganda. Then a new door opened.

Two years ago we looked into adopting two Guatemalan siblings from the children's home where we have visited on four different occasions. At the time, it just didn't seem to be a possibility, but we said if that ever changed, we would still be open to it. There is a long story involved that we may get into later, but the short story is two weeks ago our missionary friend contacted us again and let us know that they were ready to move forward if we were still interested. So...

Rosa (11) and Carlos (6) will be coming from Guatemala to live with us. There is still a LOT to work out with paperwork, finances, and other logistics. We don't have a timeline yet, but we will keep you updated. Until then, enjoy these pictures of our kids....

Need a Christmas Gift Idea?

How about a CD? It can be wrapped and put under the tree, or it's a perfect size for a stocking stuffer! It is an album of hymns that Matt recorded this year in Northern Ireland. The songlist is as follows: I Will Sing the Wondrous Story; I Want to Be Like Jesus/O to Be Like Thee; I'd Rather Have Jesus; Satisfied; Give Me a Holy Life; Just As I Am; Day by Day (duet w/ Amy); The Master Has Come; Fill Me Now; It Is Well; Nearer, Still Nearer; Wesley Medley (This Is Thy Will I Know/And Can I Yet Delay/Jesus Lover of My Soul). They are $10 each (plus shipping if needed). If you would like one, please contact me at kinnell01 "at" yahoo "dot" com. (You can listen to the YouTube promo below:)

Mmmm...Good Pancakes

Yesterday was the pancake breakfast fundraiser kickoff for Amy's new adoption support organization, Hope for the Children. It was a smashing success, and they were able to raise some funds to get their ministry off the ground.

We were very excited to have a couple of men from the Lexington Herald-Leader come, and there is a great article in that paper this morning. (The picture posted here of Amy's friend Dawn and her family is from the article.) You can read it here: http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/234135.html. Amy is quoted, and it is well worth the read.

Pray with us that the Lord would continue to bless this new ministry that they may in turn bless adoptive families and promote adoption. We are particularly praying for opportunities to share in churches and church groups to encourage families to consider adoption.

Dawn, Katie, and Amy

Adoption Fundraiser

As noted below, a friend and I (Amy) have started a non-profit adoption ministry. Our purpose is two-fold. Our first purpose is to educate the Christian community about the orphan crisis in our world today and the need for adoptive families to help meet that need. Secondly, we want to raise funds to give grants to adoptive families in KY. This Saturday, we are having a pancake breakfast fundraiser from 7:30-9:30am at Applebee's on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. Tickets are $5 and are available ahead of time through me or at the door. Please help us spread the word about this opportunity to help adoptive families. We are also looking for opportunities to speak to church groups, Sunday school classes, MOPS groups, etc. so let me know if you can help us out in this area. Thanks so much!

Martian Child

Amy here-we just got home from seeing the movie Martian Child. It's about a widower who adopts a child who thinks he is a martian because he doesn't fit in on the earth. I don't want to ruin the story, but let me just say I LOVED IT! I thought the movie showed the ups and downs of adoption very accurately, and for once the adoptive parent was portrayed as a real person who was just trying to love a hurting child. I did forget to take any Kleenexes into the theater with me, so Matt had fun laughing at me blubbering through the end of the movie. But he said he enjoyed it too, so it's not a total chick flick. Go See It!

Watch the trailer here:

News from Uganda

There was some very good news out of Uganda this week. Ten children (from the orphanage where we are adopting from) whose adoptions had been on hold since April had their rulings released by the judge, and their adopting families are traveling back to Uganda this weekend. We are praying that all the final details go smoothly, and they can come home with their kids.

So what does this mean for us? We don't really know for sure. We haven't been able to get a straight answer on how far down the list we are. However, what we are pretty sure of is that our adoption was not going anywhere while these families were on hold, and we have renewed hope for our process. Keep praying!

Hope for the Children is born

Amy here, I don't write often because I try not to write unless I have something important to say. Well, the Lord has finally given me something important to share with you all. A few years ago, I did a home study for Jason and Dawn Seamands. They adopted a wonderful little girl, Hannah, from China. Little did I know that God would bring Dawn back into my life less then a year ago. Dawn approached me a few months ago about an idea the Lord had given her to start an adoption ministry to challange other Christians to adopt and to raise money to give grants to those families in KY who are adopting. I thought it was a great idea so we began to meet and talk about what this ministry may look like. After months of planning, it's all come together in the last month or so. We've brought another mom on board, Katie Bodager who along with her husband Greg is in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. Together, the Lord has given us the vision and a plan for Hope for the Children. We have come under the umbrella of New Hope International Ministries so we are now able to offer tax deductible receipts to those who wish to donate to the cause. Our main goal right now is to share about the need for Christians to be involved in adoption so we are open to speaking in Sunday School classes, at churches, to women's groups, etc. If you have an opportunity for us to share our stories, please e-mail adoptionhope "at" gmail.com. We have lots of ideas and I'll keep you all posted as things progress.