Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis and Beth Clark

Earlier this year, my dad went to Uganda with a mission team.  As a side trip, the team paid a visit to Katie Davis, who, besides raising a gaggle of daughters she has adopted, runs a ministry which touches hundreds of children every week in Uganda.  So I had to read about this remarkable young woman my dad met.

Katie and her daughters.

Katie went to Uganda for three weeks during her senior year in high school and fell in love with the country.  After graduation, she returned for a one-year stay.  However, during that year, she adopted several children and started her ministry, putting down roots and establishing a presence that is still felt today.  In Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, Katie tells her story and inspires the rest of us to follow God no matter where he leads.  I finished the book convicted, wondering what steps God would have me take in obedience to him and out of love for others.

Katie did not set out with a grand plan.  She promised her dad that she would start college after a year in Kenya.  As soon as that first adoption took place, it became clear that college was not going to be in the cards.  She did return to the U.S. for one semester, but with several adopted daughters left behind in Kenya, college was soon abandoned.  Her decision to adopt, in light of her commitment to her family to go to college, is the first of the decisions she makes that seem rather rash and not thought through.  Yet, she clearly has been blessed and has gained the favor of Ugandan locals and American donors.

Katie and her coauthor, Beth Clark, tell Katie's story well, emphasizing her reliance on God and her humility regarding the growth of her ministry.  Yet I couldn't help thinking there must be more to this story.  She finds a solid house to live in, with running water and occasional electricity, for very low rent.  She hosts dozens if not hundreds of people for meals in her home.  She adopts over a dozen girls in a very short period of time.  So much of what she tells is hard to believe.  I wish she could give the reader a little more insight into how she, as a teenager right of out of high school, took on all of this and more.

But she's writing a personal memoir, not a missions manual.  And like any good memoir, Kisses from Katie captures the heart and passion of this young lady.  Questionable decisions or not, her life will challenge you, perhaps into making some questionable decisions yourself.  When we see the need in the world around us and ask, "Where is God?" Katie says, "God is right here living inside the hearts of all who believe.  So maybe the question is, 'Where are we?'"

Thanks to Edelweis and the publisher for this complimentary electronic review copy.