Book Review: Kisses from Katie

I love reading and I especially love books about God at work! I recently read Kisses from Katie. If you would like to see some of my other reviews, click here.

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Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis, takes place in Uganda.

Katie is a "typical" Tennessee girl who traveled to Uganda for a year before starting college. What struck me was that Katie had perfect plans for her life and God "wrecked" her plans to use her for His plans! Katie began adopting children in her year there and ended up relocating to Uganda permanently.

I love how Katie's focus is on God's greatness and how God is the one who should receive the glory for all she has done. She emphasizes that this is the way she is following God's leading and encourages us to seek God's direction for our lives.

I wanted to share this quote from her introduction:

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 of 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.

If you like reading books in this genera, or are interested in learning more about Uganda, I encourage you to take the time to read it!

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Please consider sponsoring a child from Uganda, please consider handsome Hamis, who will turn 18 on July 17th. Hamis attends UG-508, the same project as our Cissy, and is close enough to Sherinah that she could visit him!

Hamis lives with his mother. His mother is sometimes employed as a laborer. Hamis works at home carrying water, gathering firewood and teaching others. There are 4 children in the family.

Hamis is not presently attending school. Soccer, singing and telling stories are his favorite activities. He also attends church activities regularly. To sponsor Hamis, click here.

Book Review: Unshaken

Thanks to Jill, who blogs at Compassion Family, I had the opportunity to read Unshaken: Rising from the Ruins of Haiti's Hotel Montana.

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Unshaken: Rising from the Ruins of Haiti's Hotel Montana is by Dan Woolley, a Compassion employee who was caught in the Hotel Montana during Haiti's terrible 2010 earthquake.

Not only did this book give me a glimpse into Compassion's work in Haiti, the devastation of the earthquake and the open my eyes to the need and situation in Haiti, but it also encouraged me in my walk with God.

Dan not only shares the story of his survival of the earthquake, but his wife Christy's battle with depression early in their marriage. Both of these events challenged Dan to not be a complacent follower of Christ but one with passion.

I want to share this quote with you that really resonated with me (I know it's a bit long, but I love the truth Dan shares):

"After this latest adventure, Christy and I have a different perspective on risk and safety. It is abundantly clear to us that God intervened to bring me back safely through miracles that are hard to ignore. If God went through these lengths to return me to my unfinished life, I was never truly in an "unsafe" situation. It wasn't my time to die; therefore God kept me alive. Likewise, had it been God's will for my life to end on January 12, staying home wouldn't have prevented it.

In Corrie ten Boom's famous book The Hiding Place, her sister Betsie points out to Corrie that the only thing to really focus on is aligning ourselves with God's purposes" "There are no 'ifs' in God's world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety."

The illusion of "safe" keeps people unprepared to handle a tragic interruption and keeps them insulated from any sense of urgency to live lives that make a difference in the world. The illusion of "unsafe" keeps people on the sidelines, held back by their fears from the impact they could be having."

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Please consider sponsoring Rose from Haiti. She is 4-years-old, her birthday is September 1, and she is visually impaired.

Rose makes her home with her father and her grandmother. Carrying water is her household duty. Her father is not employed and her grandmother maintains the home.

Playing with dolls and playing group games are Rose's favorite activities. In pre-school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities.

Rose especially needs your love and care because she is visually impaired. Because of your sponsorship, however, she is better able to lead a well-adjusted life. Please pray for her. To sponsor Rose, please click here.

Book Reviews: Kirabo

I recently read a wonderful book about adoption and Uganda! Since I'm volunteering with Sherinah's New Hope Ministry, I expressed to Holly how I would like to learn more about Uganda. She loaned me Kirabo: A Journey of Faith, Love and Adoption!

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Kirabo: A Journey of Faith, Love and Adoption, by Kveta Rose, offers a glimpse into the struggles of Ugandan orphans.

If you are passionate about adoption or interested in learning more about Uganda, I recommend reading this book. The author does a wonderful job of taking us through Tandy's adoption of Mark. I was anxious with her about the upcoming paperwork and was just amazed at seeing God's hand in this process!

I just want to share this beautiful quote from the book with you:

"Children that have special needs are not defective, for God does not make mistakes. He chooses the who, the how, and the why. I may share the same genes as my parents, but this does not mean God played a greater role in creating me to be their daughter than he did in creating Mark to be my son. Mark is not a possession that I own; he is a gift from God that I am to steward as best I can with God's guidance, in sickness and in health."

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Please consider sponsoring Twaha from Uganda. He is four-years-old and so cute!

Twaha lives with his father and his mother. His duties at home include carrying water, gathering firewood and gardening. There are 4 children in the family. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother is sometimes employed as a laborer.

Twaha is not presently attending school. Ping pong, soccer and playing with cars are his favorite activities. He also attends church activities regularly.

Your prayers are especially appreciated for Twaha because he has partial hearing loss, is visually impaired and is receiving regular medical treatment. Your sponsorship helps provide the care and love he needs. To sponsor Twaha, click here.

Book Reviews: When Invisible Children Sing

If you missed my last book review, Only 13, please check it out here. Today I'd like to share a book about Bolivian street children. Since we began corresponding with Maria, Bolivian street children have been added to my prayer list. Maria asks for us to pray for the Bolivian street children in every letter she sends us.

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When Invisible Children Sing, by Chi Chen Huang with Irwin Tang is a wonderful book to read if you sponsor in Bolivia.

This book is written by Dr. Huang, who traveled to work with the street children as a resident in medical school. Dr. Huang grew up in the USA and is a Christian, which lends a hopeful perspective to a tragic situation.

The story was encouraging and incredibly heartbreaking at the same time. I really appreciated his honesty in sharing both his frustration with the lack of desire for help from the children and with the system in which they're trapped. It was also such a good reminder that the real solution is Christ…without changed hearts, we will not see changed lives.

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Please consider sponsoring Andy from Bolivia. He has been waiting 229 days for a sponsor. Andy attends BO-571, the amazing project that our Mary attends! If you sponsor Andy, you will receive lots of extra photos.

Andy turned 5 on February 13. Andy lives with his father and his mother. His duties at home include running errands. There are 3 children in the family. His father is sometimes employed and his mother maintains the home.

Andy is not presently attending school. Playing with cars is his favorite activity. He also attends church activities regularly. To sponsor Andy, please click here.

Book Reviews: Only 13

As you probably know by now, I am very passionate about helping children through Compassion! I also am so excited to be an international board member of Sherinah's New Hope Ministry. One thing that I really like to do, in order to be motivated to pray and be involved more in my ministering, is to read books that share what life is like in these places.

In an effort to learn more about what the kids in Uganda are facing, Holly, who blogs at Sherinah's New Hope Ministry has begun loaning me books! I'm currently reading Kirabo: A Journey of Love, Faith and Adoption.

While reading this I thought I'd start to share books that have really opened my eyes to the difficulties that kids face in third world countries. While I'll share about Kirabo later, I thought today I would start with a book about Thailand.

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Only 13: The True Story of Lon by Julia Manzanares and Derek Kent, is about a 13-year-old girl from Thailand who enters the sex industry.

This book is not from a Christian perspective, and so it ends on a pretty hopeless note. But if you sponsor a teenage girl in Thailand, I really encourage you to read the book. A friend passed me this book as she brought gifts to our teenage girl, Pin, in Thailand. Shortly after she brought the gifts, Pin dropped out of Compassion's program.

Surprisingly, the book Only 13 really encouraged me when I heard about Pin.

I learned that girls in Thailand are expected to support their entire family, including sending their brothers to school. These girls are under intense familial pressure to keep "face," meaning keeping their family's reputation high in their communities. So when they're 13 and sent out to provide for the family, they learn that one night's pay in prostitution equates to a year's work in the restaurant business.

But if a girl has one year of high school education, she can earn almost the same rate as prostitution…and if she has two years of high school education, she's matching the prostitution rate! Imagine if that girl graduates from high school?

When we received the news of Pin's departure we learned that she was in her third year of high school and was just accepted to an advanced school of math and science! It met at the same time as the project, so she had to choose one or the other. But Pin had accepted Christ and was actively involved in her church on weekends! Praise God! Learning how much a high school education helps a Thai girl was so encouraging. I know that Pin is doing well.

So if you have a child in Thailand, please read this. It will help you pray for your child and to understand why some girls choose prostitution. But be prepared for a hard read.

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Please consider sponsoring a girl from Thailand. Sopha will be 13 on March 31!

Sopha lives with her father and her mother. She is responsible for carrying water, washing clothes and running errands. Her father is sometimes employed as a farmer and her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. There are 5 children in the family.

Playing jacks, swimming and volleyball are Sopha's favorite activities. In primary school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities and camp. To sponsor Sopha, click here.