I have been hearing about Kisses from Katie from several folks over the last few months. I have read Katie’s blog several times and always look forward to hearing the adventures she has as the adoptive mother of 14 girls deep in the heart of Uganda. This book is the beginning of the story that God is unfolding in and through Katie Davis as she runs hard after Him. She felt a calling to go and serve others before she headed off to college. Katie took a mission trip to Uganda and was immediately sucked in to the great need and opportunity that lay before her. After Katie’s mission trip, she was more convinced than ever of her decision to take a year off from the start of college to live and serve in Uganda for a year. She immediately jumped right in to God’s story in Uganda. When it was time to come back for her first semester of college, she came back out of respect for her parent’s authority in her life. Every moment of that semester, her heart was torn between her parents and the mission that Christ had called her to in Uganda.
Katie has now been in Uganda for 4 years and the future is very bright for her and her Amazima Ministries. This book recounts several stories related to the gospel, serving for the glory of God and the good of others, and adoption. As a family that is right in the midst of adopting a son from Ethiopia, this book gave a lot of great insight as to exactly what adoption means to a kid and to a family.
The subtitle of this book is: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption. It is easy to identify with Katie since she grew up in Brentwood, TN. I grew up in Memphis and now our family lives in the suburbs in Atlanta. Clint and I have had the privilege of travelling to a variety of countries on different mission trips. I am grateful that the extreme poverty and need that we have witnessed during these experiences has honestly changed us. I can identify with Katie’s frustration at grocery stores and other shopping areas in the States that seem to overflow with all of the necessities that would save a generation of starving people in Uganda. I don’t believe that God intends for that to be reconciled by governments, I believe that God has called Christians to right this wrong in His name.
I would encourage you to pick up this book…and a few Kleenexes as soon as you can. If you feel led, I’d encourage you to look for a way to support Amazima Ministries. This book details very clearly exactly how the funds for that ministry are used to radically change lives as a result of the gospel being lived out one kid at a time in Uganda.
Luke 12:48
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”