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Kami Neely

neely_dk.jpg“Through the ministry of the CCO, I began to understand that Christianity was not just for Sundays,” says Kami Neely. “The changes in my careers are an example of that. I left college with a BS in Applied Mathematics and worked for more than six years as a software engineer. I left that behind to stay at home with our children while they were small. When I began thinking about returning to work, God directed me to become a teacher instead of returning to computer programming. This was a test of my faith. Many people who understood staying home with toddlers could not fathom why I would trade the salary and status of a software engineer for that of a teacher.”

When Kami first connected to the CCO’s ministry as a student at Carnegie Mellon University, she was not a believer. She started attending fellowship meetings and a weekly Bible study, and got to know the CCO staff and students who were involved.

“I gave my life to Christ in part because of what I saw in students who were a part of the ministry,” she says. “The teaching I received, especially as part of a discipleship group, gave me a solid understanding of the Bible. I learned the importance of prayer and of service to others. I also began to realize that God can be trusted even if you don’t understand what He is doing. This has helped me to keep on when I wasn’t sure what was happening or why.”

Today, Kami teaches elementary school children, and she and her husband, David, live in Ocoee, Florida. They have a 22-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter, and they are active members of First Baptist Church in Windermere. Kami has served the church in a variety of ways, primarily in children’s ministry, currently as the teacher for the Wednesday night preschool ministry.

Kami continues to be grateful for the influence of the CCO during her formative college years, including the CCO-sponsored Jubilee conference. “Jubilee made me see that Christianity needs to be part of all a person does, not just a ‘church’ thing. I also found worshiping with so many others an amazing experience.”

“If not for the CCO, I would not have become a Christian—at least, not at that time,” Kami says. “I would have been very much a loner. I had almost given up on close relationships because there was too much hurt. Without the relationships I developed due to the CCO ministry, I would have been much more influenced by the world. I may never have married or even found a close friend. I would probably be drifting aimlessly through life, taking the path of least resistance.”

Instead, Kami and David built a marriage and family based on the Christian foundation they both found as college students.

“I think our shared faith is the main reason Dave and I are still happily married after 29 years,” Kami says. “There is more to our relationship than now. It also impacted the way we raised our children, teaching them that helping others is important and there is a reason for behaving the way we should. Knowing why something is right makes it easier to teach.”