Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption
By Katie J. Davis and Beth Clark
4.5/5
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About this ebook
What would cause an eighteen-year-old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because they think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person and didn’t even speak the language?
A passion to follow Jesus.
Katie Davis left over Christmas break of her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, is in the process of adopting thirteen children in Uganda and has established a ministry, Amazima, that feeds and sends hundreds more to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ.
Kisses from Katie invites readers on a journey of radical love down the red dirt roads of Uganda. You’ll laugh and cry with Katie as she follows Jesus into the impossible and finds joy and beauty beneath the dust. Katie and her children delight in saying yes to the people God places in front of them and challenge readers to do the same, changing the world one person at a time.
Katie J. Davis
Katie Davis moved to Uganda over a decade ago with no idea that this would be the place that God chose to build her home and her family. Today, she is wife to Benji and mom to her fourteen favorite people. Katie and her family invest their lives in empowering the people of Uganda with education, medical care, and spiritual discipleship. She is also the founder of Amazima Ministries, an organization that cares for vulnerable children and families in Uganda. She is the author of New York Times bestsellers Kisses from Katie and Daring to Hope.
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Reviews for Kisses from Katie
165 ratings15 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be incredibly inspiring and a true inspiration. The book tells the story of Katie, an ordinary young girl who follows God's will and makes a difference in the world. It is a fast read and leaves a lasting impact on readers. The book emphasizes the importance of love, faith, and answering God's call. Overall, readers are amazed by Katie's story and feel that their lives are forever changed after reading this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wow! This book was so good! I couldn't readily without having tears I my eyes. So moving!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Katie is definitely living a life of what would Jesus do out loud. I'm not sure what initially made her choose Uganda but she's definitely doing a lot.
Some of the reviews bashed her choice and writing. Even though some of the tactics are a bit problematic, I don't know many 18 year olds doing the same. This was an easy, interesting read. May we all live out our purposes. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Katie is truly an inspiring disciple! I have so many pages dog eared and I can't wait for book club! I would love to read this book again, it made me so excited to not only be able to be going to Ecuador next summer, but also the fact that every day I'm taking care of His children!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Non-Fiction; Biography4.5 starsKatie is not your average girl. She feels a calling much greater than maintaining a relationship with her high school sweetheart and attending the college of her dreams. This 18 year old, Tennessee native walks away from her near perfect life for one as a missionary in Uganda, Africa.With a heart full of faith and compassion, Katie takes her readers on her journey through the orphanages where there are many needs among the African children. Along the way, she endures heartache and a feeling of being overwhelmed by it all, but relies on God to use her servants heart and hands to truly make a difference in the world.I really enjoyed this book and was amazed by the strong character that this young woman has. It was a true blessing to be invited in to her world. She is very brave to go against what we consider 'normal' society to follow her dream. Her service and dedication is truly admirable. This book will definitely make you step back and analyse yourself and your own faith. Could you do what she has done? Would you give up your own life to be of service to others? I know what my answer would be. Read this book if you want to find out yours.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Katie's stories are inspiring, and this is a book I'm very glad to have on my bookshelf. It loses a star for the organization(the skipping timeline drove me crazy), but on the whole this is a book that makes you ask yourself some pretty tough questions.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a great book the tells the story of Katie Davis as she is a missionary in Uganda.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5WOW! This book has rocked my comfortable Christian world. Katie Davis felt called by God to go to Africa by the time she was 16. By winter break of her senior year she and her mother went to Uganda to spend three weeks volunteering in an orphanage. After high school she returned to Uganda as a kindergarten teacher for what she promised her parents would be one year before she would return and go to college. That year changed Katie's life. She knew God called her simply to love others, especially the children, most of whom lived in poverty and far too many of whom were being raised by elderly or infirm relatives, or were trying to raise themselves. And love them she does. She believes God's promises in a living, daily, minute-by-minute way. She believes that the only way to explain to the unloved the love of God is to first model that love for them. She believes if God calls her to do something, He will provide the means. And he does, time and time again. She believes God does give people more than they can bear, because in that way we learn to rely on Him to carry us through. She learns lessons from everything that happens and relies on her Lord completely. As a result of her love for God, this one woman is changing the world around her. Children are going to school, eating better, having some of their medical needs met, women are learning skills to support their families. All because one young, untrained woman is blessed to be called by God to serve his kingdom.
When I began this book even I wasn't sure I'd finish it because of its oozing Christianity; I, a Christian, doubted anyone could love God this much. But I was won over by how genuine and modest she is. She wrote the book to get out the message that children are starving and dying and that so many could be saved by what an average American regularly spends on entertainment. By the time I'd finished this book (in one sitting) I didn't just feel I'd read an inspiring story, I felt challenged to examine my life. In that she was successful. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Katie is a modern-day Mother Theresa. Very inspiring book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A biography for anyone who has ever doubted that one ordinary young girl following her God can make a difference! Though this isn’t just for teens I wish every teen would read it.
Her story is followed up after being in Uganda 10 years in ,”Daring to Hope: Finding God’s Hope in the broken and beautiful” released October 2017 - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing when a teenager that followed God's leading can change her little part of the world. I believe that each one of us could make a difference if we looked and responded to the needs of people around us. My life will be forever changed after reading this book. Following God's commandment to love our neighbor is clearly seen again in this special book. Thank you for the time, effort and prayer that went into this book
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A book that really made me think about what love is and what is real faith in God. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Incredibly inspiring.
Jesus love at its finest.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Katie's story is a true inspiration that just shows what God can do when you fully open your heart to His will and His plan! I have to say that this book was addicting! I couldnt put it down and when I did (because it was 3am and I had to work the next morning) I couldnt wait to get back to reading this inspiring story! Im amazed by what God called her to do and how she answered so obediently. I loved this book so much I am gifting it to my family members along with the beads she talks about in the book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I liked her story a lot! Fast read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I originally gave the audio of this book 1 star= I didn't like it. I found that difficult to do due to really wanting to like the book and due to the similarities between Katie's work in Uganda and my own work with street children in the Philippines. I found so much of Katie's story mirrored my own experiences. The desperate poverty and wanting to take every person in to your home....
I have now read the book and found it better than the audio. The lady audio narrator tells the story in such a sickly sweet and overly emotional manner that I found myself cringing all the way through and skipping over the last third of the book, which actually turned out to be the best part of it.
The good: Katie is obviously sincere in her desire to share the Gospel and to help people. She makes huge personal sacrifices, effectively giving up her life in the USA, her education and her relationship with her boyfriend in order to go to the mission field. She perseveres and is still working there. She set up an organisation which carries on a wide range of work including livelihood, education and Gospel work. There are testimonies on her website of some whose lives have been changed.
She finds herself in seemingly impossible situations that make her heart ache. She never refuses to help and always finds practical solutions. The people know that they can turn to her. I don't know how someone of her age and life experience managed to endure all of the suffering that she describes and am sure she would have been overwhelmed but for her trust in God. There are some incredible stories of people being nursed back to health from death's door.
The question marks: Katie set about fostering/adopting numerous children as a single within a year of being in Uganda without really knowing the people or the culture and with an outstanding promise to her parents to return to the USA and complete her studies. Throughout the book she speaks about God leading her to do these things as if her refusal would be disobedience. She doesn't refer to taking counsel or advice from anyone else. She doesn't appear to be accountable to anyone or to a local church. This leaves a lot of room for subjective decision making and error. We all need accountability and we can all mistake the will of God at times. The fact that God appears to have been gracious to her does not mean that this is a good example for others heading to the field. The end doesn't justify the means. We need to make wise decisions and take counsel.
I felt also that the focus was too much on help/education and not enough on the transforming power of the Gospel. Katie said this
Obviously, the key to eternal life is Jesus, but the key to a better life here is education.
I disagree with this statement. The key to both our lives on earth and in heaven is Jesus. We can raise the living standards of a community through education but the Gospel still needs to be the focal point of the entire operation--help without hope is the ultimate tragedy.
I guess my main problem with the story isn't so much what is said but the style of writing. I found her account full of emotionalism and her personal spiritual experiences and what she is learning from God. When someone says repeatedly that they will die if something or other happens or doesn't happen, it loses its effect and sounds fake. I believe that Katie probably did feel strong emotions and she writes part of the book like a journal so it is her thoughts and feelings. However, I would have preferred to have learned more about the actual things she was doing on a day to day basis and the lives of the children and the ministry rather than so much about her emotions.
I didn't think it was a good decision for Katie to go to court to try and keep one of the children she had fostered when the biological mother claimed her. Katie had only had the girl for two years and already had thirteen children. Her goal should always have been to try and re-unite the children with their biological families where-ever possible. She describes the court's decision over this issue as unjust and unfair although she accepts it in the end as being part of a fallen world....but what about the best outcome for the child, we know nothing about the birth mother.
I am pleased that I re-read this and am able to rate it slightly more highly as it seems a shame to give a fellow missionary a low rating. I hope Katie continues her work for God in Uganda, I see that she is now married which is great news both for Katie and for the continuation of her ministry.
I recommend this book for those who need to be reminded that God can do the impossible if we are willing. There is no bad language, sexual content or violence.1 person found this helpful
Book preview
Kisses from Katie - Katie J. Davis
INTRODUCTION
I never meant to be a mother. I mean, I guess I did; not right now, though. Not before I was married. Not when I was nineteen. Not to so, so many little people. Thankfully, God’s plans do not seem to be affected much by my own.
I never meant to live in Uganda, a dot on the map in East Africa, on the opposite side of the planet from my family and all that is comfortable and familiar. Thankfully, God’s plans also happen to be much better than my own.
You see, Jesus wrecked my life. For as long as I could remember, I had everything this world says is important. In high school, I was class president, homecoming queen, top of my class. I dated cute boys and wore cute shoes and drove a cute sports car. I had wonderful, supportive parents who so desired my success that they would have paid for me to go to college anywhere my heart desired. But I loved Jesus.
And the fact that I loved Jesus was beginning to interfere with the plans I once had for my life and certainly with the plans others had for me. My heart had been apprehended by a great love, a love that compelled me to live differently. I had grown up in a Christian home, gone to church, and learned about Jesus all my life. Around the age of twelve or thirteen, I began to delve into the truths of Scripture. As I read and learned more and more of what Jesus said, I liked the lifestyle I saw around me less and less. I began to realize that God wanted more from me, and I wanted more of Him. He began to grow in me a desire to live intentionally, and different from anyone I had ever known.
Slowly but surely I began to realize the truth: I had loved and admired and worshiped Jesus without doing what He said. This recognition didn’t happen overnight; in fact I believe it was happening in my heart long before I even knew it. It was happening as I explored the possibility of overseas volunteer work, it was happening as I took my first three-week trip to Uganda, it was happening as I fell in love with a beautiful country full of gracious, joyful people and immense poverty and squalor that begged me to do more. It was happening in so many ways, and I couldn’t deny it. I wanted to actually do what Jesus said to do.
So I quit my life.
Originally, my quitting was to be temporary, lasting just one year before I went to college and returned to normal, American teenager life. But after that year, which I spent in Uganda, returning to normal
wasn’t possible. I had seen what life was about and I could not pretend I didn’t know. So I quit my life again, and for good this time. I quit college; I quit cute designer clothes and my little yellow convertible; I quit my boyfriend. I no longer have all the things the world says are important. I do not have a retirement fund; I do not even have electricity some days. But I have everything I know is important. I have a joy and a peace that are unimaginable and can come only from a place better than this earth. I cannot fathom being happier. Jesus wrecked my life, shattered it to pieces, and put it back together more beautifully.
During the first few months I lived in Uganda, in fall of 2007, I wrote, Sometimes working in a Third World country makes me feel like I am emptying the ocean with an eyedropper.
Today, it often still feels that way. I have learned to be okay with this feeling because I have learned that I will not change the world. Jesus will do that. I can, however, change the world for one person. I can change the world for fourteen little girls and for four hundred schoolchildren and for a sick and dying grandmother and for a malnourished, neglected, abused five-year-old. And if one person sees the love of Christ in me, it is worth every minute. In fact, it is worth spending my life for.
Many days, I am still overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need and the incredible number of people who need help. Many days I see the destitute, disease-ridden children lining the streets in the communities I serve and I want to scoop up every single one of them, take them home with me, and feed and clothe and love them. And I look at the life of my Savior, who stopped for one.
So I keep stopping and loving one person at a time. Because this is my call as a Christian. I can do only what one woman can do, but I will do what I can. Daily, the Jesus who wrecked my life enables me to do so much more than I ever thought possible.
People often ask if I think my life is dangerous, if I am afraid. I am much more afraid of remaining comfortable. Matthew 10:28 tells us not to fear things that can destroy the body but things that can destroy the soul. I am surrounded by things that can destroy the body. I interact almost daily with people who have deadly diseases, and many times I am the only person who can help them. I live in a country with one of the world’s longest-running wars taking place just a few hours away. Uncertainty is everywhere. But I am living in the midst of the uncertainty and risk, amid things that can and do bring physical destruction, because I am running from things that can destroy my soul: complacency, comfort, and ignorance. I am much more terrified of living a comfortable life in a self-serving society and failing to follow Jesus than I am of any illness or tragedy.
Jesus called His followers to be a lot of things, but I have yet to find where He warned us to be safe. We are not called to be safe, we are simply promised that when we are in danger, God is right there with us. And there is no better place to be than in His hands.
For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite Bible verses has been Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.
I used to believe it meant that if I did what the Lord asked of me, followed His commandments, and was a good girl,
He would grant all my desires and make my dreams come true. Today, this is still one of my favorite passages of Scripture, but I have learned to interpret it in a totally different way. It is not about God making my dreams come true but about God changing my dreams into His dreams for my life.
Today I am living the desires of my heart and I cannot imagine being happier; I cannot imagine living any other life than the one that unfolds before me day by day. But believe me, I am by no means living my plan. I thought that I wanted to go to college with my high school boyfriend, get married, have a successful career and children, settle into a nice house down the road from my parents, and live happily ever after. Today I am a single woman raising a houseful of girls and trying to teach others the love of Jesus in a land that is a far cry from my hometown and my culture. This is not a life that I dreamed up on my own or even knew I desired. I am watching God work, and as I delight myself in the Lord
by doing what He asks of me and by saying yes to the needs He places in front of me, He is changing the desires of my heart and aligning them with the desires of His. As I go with Him to the hard places, He changes them into the most joyful places I could imagine.
It sounds beautiful, adventurous, even romantic in ways, right? It is beautiful. And the crazy thing is, it is so simple. Don’t misunderstand; it is not easy. But it is simple in that each and every one of us was ultimately created to do the same thing. It will not look the same. It may take place in a foreign land or it may take place in your backyard, but I believe that we were each created to change the world for someone. To serve someone. To love someone the way Christ first loved us, to spread His light. This is the dream, and it is possible. Some days it is excruciatingly difficult, but the blessings far outweigh the hardships.
I have absolutely no desire to write a book about myself. This is a book about Christ. This is a book about a Christ who is alive today and not only knows but cares about every hair on my head. Yours too. I cannot really even pretend to fathom that, but I know it is true. I know this is true because I have seen it so profoundly in the very short amount of life that I have lived. I have seen it in extraordinary miracles and in moments so mundane that they are easily overlooked. And that is why I am writing this book. I am writing on the chance that a glimpse into the life of my family and me, full of my stupidity and God’s grace, will remind you of this living, loving Christ, and what it means to serve Him. I am writing with the hope that as you cry and laugh with my family you will be encouraged that God still uses flawed human beings to change the world. And if He can use me, He can use you.
1
FALLING IN LOVE—WITH A COUNTRY
Sometimes it hits me like a brick to the head: My life is kind of insane. I am twenty-two years old; I have fourteen children, eleven of whom are currently being homeschooled. We so often have extra people staying with us—dying grandmothers, destitute refugees, or severely malnourished children—that I am forever doing a head count before I begin making meals. Most days, though, bumping along these red dirt roads in my sixteen-passenger van full of singing (or screaming) children, neighbors, and occasionally our pet monkey, seems completely normal—so much so that I have a hard time writing about it. To me, there is nothing very spectacular about this everyday craziness; it is just the result of following Jesus into the impossible, doing the little I can and trusting Him to do the rest.
Moving to the other side of the world and having a large family was never my dream or even my idea. But as I look back, I can see that God spent my whole life preparing me for the life He had planned for me—the people He placed in just the right places at just the right times, and circumstances I could never fathom would eventually be for His glory. For years before I went to Uganda, I had fantasized about doing something incredible for God and others; what I have learned is that I can do nothing incredible, but as I follow God into impossible situations, He can work miracles in and through me.
I first mentioned it—the idea of doing something outside the norm—to my parents in a serious way on my sixteenth birthday. To celebrate, my parents took me to eat my favorite food, sushi, at my favorite restaurant. It was a lighthearted occasion until I made a nervous comment that changed the mood completely: I think I will spend a year doing mission work after I finish high school and before I go to college.
The smiles on my parents’ faces gave way to blank stares and looks of confusion. The happy chatter at the dinner table ceased and my comment seemed stuck in the atmosphere. Silence.
I might as well have said I wanted to play quarterback in the NFL or fly to the moon. To them, taking a year to do mission work was about that far-fetched. It was completely unheard of in the Davis family and, I knew, probably unacceptable. My father had always been adamant about his desires for my life, desires rooted in his love for me and in his concern for my safety and well-being. As most parents do, both my mom and my dad wanted to do everything they could to guarantee me a successful, comfortable life, and they felt the best way to secure a good
future for me was to provide me with a college education that would prepare me for a career.
A few minutes after I mentioned taking a year off to have some kind of adventure besides college, my parents recovered from their shock and responded in the best possible way; they didn’t say no. They simply said they were not sure about the idea, but they would think about it. I was convinced in my heart that my desire was right. I was ready to go; it was up to God to convince my parents.
Sporadically over the next eighteen months, I remembered this conversation and searched the Internet for the word orphanage so I could investigate volunteer opportunities. I never had Uganda specifically in mind. As my senior year in high school grew closer, I began applying to volunteer at several orphanages I had found online. A home for babies in Uganda was the first to respond and say they were in need of volunteers. I was excited and my parents agreed to allow me to go over winter break during my senior year, hoping I would get it out of my system.
Their only requirement was that I find an adult to travel with me.
My parents may have been more clever than I gave them credit for. Of course, finding an adult who could take three weeks away from a job in the United States—and who wanted to spend that vacation time, including Christmas, in Africa with me—proved impossible. So I begged my mother to accompany me. When she realized how much I wanted to go and saw that I wasn’t giving up on the idea, she said she would think about it. She soon realized this trip was not a whim but something about which I was deeply passionate, and because she is a woman who genuinely wants her children to be happy and fulfilled, she reluctantly agreed to the adventure. Before long, her reluctance turned into anxious enthusiasm and she became excited to be the person who would share this dream with me.
In December 2006, my mom and I were on our way to Uganda, where we would spend three weeks volunteering in a home for abandoned or orphaned babies. During those three weeks, I lost part of my heart to a place I’d never been before. I fell in love with Uganda as soon as I arrived. After I woke up the first morning of our stay, I looked around and saw glistening bright white smiles against ebony faces; I heard happy voices, lilting language, and gentle laughter. I saw strength and depth of character in people’s eyes. I found Uganda to be a beautiful land filled with beautiful people.
Jinja, the city nearest to the village where I live today, sits nestled against the shore of Lake Victoria and at the source of the Nile River. Views of the lake and the river took my breath away when I saw them for the first time, and the explosion of color I saw as bumpy, vibrant, red dirt roads traversing the lush green landscape captivated me.
The people who called this fascinating country home astounded me with their gracious kindness and gentle ways. I watched, wide-eyed, as cattle, goats, and chickens roamed freely through the villages while curious children wandered among the shacks and makeshift businesses (such as little stores that sell canned drinks or washbasins or airtime for cellular telephones). In the town, I saw the kind of everyday life that happens in every society, in its own way, take place as people shopped along Jinja’s main streets, did their banking, or met friends and chatted on the sidewalk. When I went to the villages, I witnessed men and women shucking corn, cooking, talking among themselves, or simply sitting beside the road quietly taking in the happenings of village life.
Whether I was in the town or out in a village, children were everywhere. When they saw a person with a different color of skin, they giggled and shouted. Some ran toward me with glee, others shrieked and fled at the sight of a foreigner. Those who weren’t afraid of me grabbed my hands eagerly, as though we had been friends forever. It was easy for me to fall in love with them and with their country, its enormous beauty juxtaposing extreme poverty.
Most of our time was spent working at the babies’ home feeding, changing, teaching, and playing with the many children there. The children as well as the women who worked in the orphanage inched their way into my heart, leaving their little handprints all over it. I would never be the same.
I left Uganda in tears at the end of our trip, the country and the people now a part of me. I cried all the way back to Tennessee and knew that someday I would return. I was forever ruined for comfort, convenience, and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something I believed in. I realized it as I bathed babies and changed diapers in the babies’ home, as I met older children and threw stones into the river with them, and as I did everything I could do to meet the basic human needs so evident around me. My heart had found its joy as I served the beautiful people the world calls poor
but who seemed so rich in love to me. I have no doubt that God was preparing a longing in my heart for Uganda many years before I could even find this country on a map; there is no other explanation for the instant love I felt for this place and these people. Though the red soil eventually wore off the soles of my feet, Uganda never left my heart and was never far from my mind.
Upon my return to the United States to finish my last semester of high school I must admit I had become a bit obsessed with Uganda. I glanced at the clock during class to figure out what time it was there and daydreamed about what my friends in Uganda were doing. I talked about Uganda so much that I’m sure all my friends in the States wanted to tell me kindly to shut up. I knew I had to get back.
During my trip to Uganda, I met a pastor who had founded and ran an orphanage on the outskirts of Jinja. He was planning to open a kindergarten there and had asked me to be the teacher. The idea seemed a bit preposterous, as I had little experience teaching anything other than Sunday school, but he insisted I was the one for the job. Once I returned home, I realized I was prepared to do whatever I could to get back to my beloved Uganda, even if it meant suddenly becoming a kindergarten teacher.
By the end of my senior year, after many conversations and ample opportunities to see that I was serious about returning to Uganda, my parents had finally agreed to my postponing college for one year. I promised to spend only one year in Uganda and, when that year was finished, to return to the States and enroll in college. In the meantime, though, I had agreed to teach kindergarten in a small slum village outside of Jinja, Uganda. Though many of my friends and much of my family did not understand my desire to be so far away for so long, no one could dampen my enthusiasm. Every once in a while I felt nervous, but more often than not I could hardly contain my excitement for this yearlong adventure.
My dad, still unhappy that I was not going to college, never lost his fatherly concern for me. As a father who had worked to provide everything his only daughter had ever needed or wanted, he had many misgivings about the adventure I was determined to undertake. In fact, he refused to allow me to move so far away from home and stay for almost a year in a place he had never visited. So he decided to go with me to Uganda and stay for a week so he could survey every aspect of the place that so captivated me and make sure I was safe.
The morning my dad and I left, I remember waking up in my beyond-comfortable bed in my parents’ house, in our upscale neighborhood. In this place where most ladies paid good money to have their hands and their lawns perfectly manicured and many people had no desire whatsoever to go to East Africa, I ate my last piece of peanut butter on toast as all my friends flooded the only home I had ever known to say good-bye one last time, all of us sobbing. Saying good-bye to my best friends, the boyfriend I was in love with and hoped to marry someday, and my little brother for almost a year nearly ripped my heart out. Part of me wondered how I could leave all this behind, but the other part of me was so ready to do it.
The trip from the United States to Uganda is long, no matter which route a person travels. It is long through Amsterdam, long through London, long through the Middle East. I spent parts of the trip giddy with excitement and parts of it crying as I realized how long it would be before I saw my family or best friends again.
My dad spent the entire first week of my year in Uganda trying to convince me to get on the plane back to the States with him at the end of the week. He didn’t like the dirty conditions he saw; he didn’t like the evidence of disease in so many places; and he didn’t like the way some men looked at or spoke to a young white woman. He hated leaving me in this country so strange to him, but he could also see how happy I was there, and by the time he left, he knew that my heart was content and he was going home alone.
The next few weeks were full of joy and frustration. I slowly settled into my room, no bigger than three-by-six feet, in the back of the pastor’s house. His home was on the orphanage compound, where 102 children, ages two to eighteen, lived.
I can’t really explain in words the love I felt for these children or why I felt it. I think many people would have looked at them and seen only their filthy clothes, the ringworm on their heads, or the mucus that ended up in a crust around their nostrils. They would have looked around at the dormitories of the orphanage with its smooth, hard cement floor where rats and cockroaches made themselves at home and been a bit disgusted. By the grace of God, though, I didn’t see these things.
The truth is, I saw myself in those little faces. I looked at them and felt this love that was unimaginable and knew that this is the way God sees me. The children would run to me with gifts of stones or dirt and I saw myself, filthy and broken, offering my life to the God of the universe and begging Him to make it into something beautiful. I sit here in a broken world, small and dirty at His feet, and He who sits so high chooses to commune with me, to love me anyway. He blinds Himself to my sin and my filth so that He can forge a relationship with me. And this is what He did for me with these precious children. He blinded me to the filth and disease, and I saw only children hungry for love that I was eager to share with them. I adored them, not because of who I was, but because of who He is. I just sat right down on that cold, hard floor and snuggled my