Kisses from Katie

Katie welcomes five-year-old Sumini into her home. Sumini has malaria but no one to care for her, so Katie steps in. Sumini ends up becoming Katie’s sixth daughter, but she also inspires Katie to want to do more for the helpless, sick, and impoverished children around her. She realizes that adoption is not only about adopting children legally, but also about giving “myself away in every circumstance” (72). She soon learns about Brenda, a very sick little girl who is staying at the local hospital. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her, but it’s clear that she is near death. Katie and her daughters immediately begin praying for her, and Katie “could feel her body shaking beneath my hands as I prayed” (74). After nearly a week, Brenda is healed, and the doctors credit Katie’s prayers.

“One Day…Friday, February 13, 2009”

Despite trying to teach them not to, Katie’s daughters all love to play with trash, and despite having nice clothing, they want to wear leaves as clothing. She credits these habits to them being “Ugandan to the core” (78), but she’s adamant that she doesn’t want to change them. She wants to love them as they are—just like Jesus does for us.