Just feet from the white and pink frosted cake, on my couch, lay a little boy who is fighting death. 7 years old and merely 20 pounds, HIV snuck up on his family causing his rapid weight loss. Now he lays, under piles of blankets battling severe acute malnutrition.
There is not really a space in my brain or my heart for this - life celebration cake with 18 happy people and 5 ml dropper-fulls of life saving, electrolyte balancing solution into a mouth struggling to hold on, all together in one room.
This is what I know: He is faithful. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. He gives and He takes away. And as I humbly ask you for your prayers, I will bless His name.
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.
I adore You, perfect, faithful God.
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from heat.
I adore You God, my refuge, my shelter, my hiding place.
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines.
I adore You, extravagant, gift-lavishing Father.
On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers nations; He will swallow up death forever.
I adore you Oh, God! Our redeemer and Savior!
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth.
I adore you, Oh God my comfort, the lifter of my head.
In that day we will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted Him and He saved us! This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."
I adore You, Lord, my trustworthy, promise-keeping Savior.
He is Lord over the life celebration and Lord over severe acute malnutrition. He is good in the life celebration, and He is good in the severe acute malnutrition. He is. Thank you Jesus.
*Awesome photos by my awesome friend Kate*
87 comments:
Beautiful!
LOVE this. You are making His name known in every corner of your life. He is so worthy of this praise, even in the hard, hard moments ...*especially* in the hard, hard moments.
Beautiful, Katie.
Thank you, Katie, for sharing this truth, and so many others, and this paradox of Who God is and how He loves. It is true of so much of life, and of so many lives, my own as well. Your heart and ministry has touched mine deeply, because it reveals the heart of God that I have longed to see in His people, His family, wherever we are, and the heart I have wanted to demonstrate more consistently in my life, to touch others with that warm, strong love of the Father more often than I have.
I thank God for my sister in Uganda who serves in so many of the ways I long to serve. I'm praying for you all there, as I put my life in order and seek the Father for exactly how and where He wants to use me and my own children. You are loved in our home, and welcome, as are your children. I hope we may get to bless you or the Father's work in Uganda in person one day. Until then, His peace and blessings be on the love poured out to His little ones, to you all.
Jamie James
He is Lord of all...this post brings tears flowing from my eyes....I pray that HE heals your little friend, just like he did my son. With God all things are possible. And I pray you will all celebrate life....even if it is not here - we always have LIFE in Him. Prayers, prayers, prayers.
Sending prayers for your beautiful little friend. May God continue to heal.
Praying for him now!
Oh, how I have felt this very same thing this past weekend. I lost a baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Yesterday, she would have been 11 years old if she had made it to my due date.
We are in the process of adopting a little girl who turned 11 years old on Friday.
Life...and death. Dear Jesus, thank you that you hold them all in your hands.
Praying for your precious little 7 year old boy. May he experience life in your home.
Katie,
Praise Him for what He is doing and that He is already in tomorrow. Praying for this sweet little boy and that God above all else will be glorified.
Psalm 34:1
Katie- I've had you and the ministry on my heart... God is BIG! He can wake up people in other countries to pray. :) I'm praying and praying and praying!!! God is good- in the hard, in the difficult, in the storm. Your timing is perfect Lord! --- Yes, God You are good in it all! Your gifts of peace, joy, and love never stop amazing me--- overfill us! Fill Katie up with You, may she be overfilled and pouring out as a drink offering to everyone around her. Thank You God for giving us supernatural strength to serve You, Thank You Lord that we can rest in You as we serve. Lord Jesus, please keep this ministry in all Your ways in Your perfect will, let them not be deceived, protect them spiritually, have Your truth placed deep in their hearts leading them, correcting them, giving them LIFE in You. Thank You Lord for giving Katie Your wisdom and discernment, continue to guide her in each moment and in each decision. Jesus keep us humble- thank You for abundant LIFE--- Thank You Jesus!!! We love You King Jesus.
Love your sister in Christ and another part in The Body. MUCH love, Alisha
Thank you.
Praying for that sweet little boy. God bless him and give him His perfect peace.
Just like you said, HE IS FAITHFUL. Prayers being sent from the USA for this young boy and healing in the name of Jesus.
Katie, you are doing great things--praise God for your obedience and willingness to love him and his children. I'm halfway through your book and just in awe of your story and what God is doing through you. You are such a role model for young women...I already have a line quite a few long of friends who can't wait to borrow your book when I'm done!
Praying for you that God continues to keep you strengthened with his wisdom and knowledge.
In my prayers x
So powerful, Katie, as you express and shine with the light that God ignites! Amazing how everytime we love someone God looks down and sees a reflection of His son, and His son's precious and obedient heart. Praying for this little boy and for every child with whom your eyes meet, and their eyes meet, that God's will truly be done on Earth! Thank you for sharing with us as it blesses us and we are reignited to bless Him, in an overflow of love.
Ever inspiring...the words of David, the Psalmist...and you, Katie Davis! So neat to see what God can heal - hearts, souls and bodies. Praying for the little ones so ravaged by HIV... and for your strength as you labor in the fields so white unto harvest.
Love you much, Karen
God bless you, Katie dear! I read your amazing story in your book, and am encouraged daily by your unshaking faith. I know it can be hard, and at times it would be incredibly easy for you to give up, but mercies renew with the morning, even as suffering must be endured patiently with the end of the road in mind, if not ever in sight. Keep the faith, and kee sending out these beautiful love letters to your god!
Yor sister in Christ,
-Lindsey
Thank your for sharing your "journey" with us. I'm blessed to be along for the trip because as you share your experiences, I learn and grow and you help me on my own journey to put him first. Thank you, Katie.
God is good and merciful! We trust in Him at all times and for all things. Thank you Katie for being so obedient to the Lord. Our hearts and prayers are with you! Lord God most high, bless this sweet child as she ministers in Your name and for Your glory among the nations. Give her great courage as she walks through deep hurt and trust in You alone. Help us to be obedient to Your call to love others as You first loved us. Amen
It is wonderful to know that we can trust Him in all situations to do what is best and perfect. Our prayers for healing and in celebration are with you and those you love.
It is wonderful to know that we can trust Him in all situations to do what is best and perfect. Our prayers are with you and those you love in celebration and for healing.
I thank God for your faithfulness of service and in the proclamation of His Holy name. Often we see one without the other, yet I truly believe that God is most present in the proclaiming of His Name, with action of Love all around us. God bless you and keep you. I will be praying. Your sister in Christ, Jessica
Katie...sometimes I don't know how you do it. I really, really don't. And I guess it's in those times you don't either but we both really do know that it's those times that God carries you. I hope you feel Him carrying you.
I try hard not to sit here and absolutely lose control of myself and sob the way I want to over that 7 year old boy. My son soon will be 7. My heart hurts at the comparison.
He is in my most heartfelt, heart wrenching prayers. And so are you. And I'm celebrating Makere's healing.
Hugs & Prayers
Amber K
Thank you for your faithfulness of service, and in the proclamation of His Word. We often see one without the other, yet I am convinced that God is most present when His Word is being proclaimed with acts of service and LOVE. Thank you for your witness, and your love for all nations. Your sister in Christ, Jessica
Im so bless to read as you exalt The Most High for who He is!! I have no words to express how good it is to read about all the great things that the Lord has done through and in you! May God increase His favor upon you and those who you minister to!
Im so bless to read as you exalt The Most High for who He is!! I have no words to express how good it is to read about all the great things that the Lord has done through and in you! May God increase His favor upon you and those who you minister to!
Celebrating with you an praying for you all!
Praying for that sweet little boy.
wow, that just... leaves me speechless. celebration of life while someone in the same is holding on to it, almost slipping through his grasp. but God is good. and He is faithful. and i'm thankful.
it's really awesome for me, reading this. first i happened upon your twitter, then your blog. and it was a God-thing. see, i feel like He's calling me to be an english teacher missionary in kenya. pretty big ordeal. but your blogs are encouraging me that He is leading me there. so thanks i guess. and thank Him. :)
love,
Anna
Katie, I am so touched by your video and book. Wonder if you have any need of free youth Bible lessons which include various crafts/simple science experiments? Some activities require very little expense. Here is an index if you need it - everything is free
http://martydonnellan.wordpress.com/category/childrens-church-lesson-activities-index/
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing . . . 2 Cor. 6:10
Praying . . .
to my shame, i admit that my eyes tend to skim over the Bible passages. i figure that i'm familiar, that i'll recognize it and can move on to the next thought. and i did that when i read this entry, rushing on to read the one prior to it. i came back to it to look again at the faces, the painfully skinny young man looking up in particular.
i imagined you sitting next to him, his weak body laid back. i imagined him here. if i was the one sitting by him.
i felt a knot in my stomach; what would i think? what words would exist in my heart, in my mind?
i pictured you sitting there, praying these words. and i read them again; not just words on a screen but a voice speaking.
thank you for turning my eyes to scripture. what profound and lovely words; too profound for my foolish mind to take in. thank you for putting a context around these words that let me understand them in a new way.
thank you for your obedience to Christ and for the love that you so unabashedly show.
you are part of the way that God moves in me.
You know, I shared one of your blog posts about the story of Makarere as a part of my last sermon. The sermon was about suffering, trials, and God's faithfulness. To date, it's the message with the most requests for copies.
I just want to thank you for the reminder of God's faithfulness and love in the midst of this life we must live here. God blesses my spirit so powerfully through your words. I am incredibly grateful... and I am reminded that there is healing available for my broken heart, richer depths and currents of God's love available than I have even fathomed. It's good.
Katie - I just finished your book and thought I would find your blog - what an inspiration you are! and what a GREAT God we serve!! I join you at His Throne in adoration and in supplication ... for a 7 year old boy...for more healing of hearts and health struggles that make their way to your precious home. May God strengthen and encourage you as only HE can. “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” Psalm 33:18-22
Katie, this line woke me up this morning running through my brain. I had to come back and read again.
This is what I know: He is faithful. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. He gives and He takes away. And as I humbly ask you for your prayers, I will bless His name.
Thank you for always pointing me to Christ. For always stirring in my heart the desire to imitate Christ more.
In the midst of the celebration and struggle, may you, as Jacob, say " Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it! What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!" (Genesis 28:16-17) May God bless you as you continue to show His love. Malika, Canada
I recently finished your book and am currently studying Experiencing God, by Henry and Richard Blackaby. God has touched my heart deeply and I can see my need to love and obey him more whole heartedly. I can't wait to see where he leads me next. Keeping you in my prayers, Debbie
I'm sending up some prayers for that little boy! God bless you for all you do, Katie. You're an example to so many!
He will always reign over us and provide us with the strength to keep going. We are praying for your family and to see what other wonderful ways God will work in your life.
Sophie
With tears in my eye, I join you in prayer tonight. Thank you for sharing a reminder of God's mercy and faithfulness, even in the midst of a hurting human heart.
..Helping God's children one by one. Dear Katie.
Thank you for your faith to go on. I may be just one of your comments from another random person, but everytime I read your blog, it gives me renewed strength. May the Father bless you with His heart and may you find rest in Him when you may run dry.
Amen! I'm praying for you.:)
God is good.
I really admire you!
I will pray for the little boy and that God will richly bless you in whatever you do.
xxx
Nine
You are.....AMAZING and God loves you SOOOOOO much!!!
I will pray for you and everyone around you.
XXX Nine
It is so easy to remember to praise God when beauty and blessings surround us. Thank you for reminding us to praise Him when life is hard and our hearts are breaking.
We celebrate God's good and perfect gifts with you and continue to pray for the healing only He can provide to these dear ones you love. I am so thankful for His mercies, grace and compassion.
Praying for you and your's, Katie. I pray you feel His face shining on you today. love, Reese
<3 God is most certainly good. At all time.
Thank you for the update of this precious man and so thankful he found Jesus. We pray for you regularly and your ministry.
We will also pray for this little boy. God is THE healer.
Be blessed sweet Katie.
Hey Katie!
Thanks for all that you do thru God who empowers you. I'm almost done reading your book & it has giving me an outlook on life that I never would have imagined. I now look at life as thru God's perspective and not my. Thank you for sharing your story & how one person who says "YES!" to God can help change a Nation. God Bless! Thomas
Hey Katie!
Thanks for all that you do thru God who empowers you. I'm almost done reading your book & it has giving me an outlook on life that I never would have imagined. I now look at life as thru God's perspective and not my. Thank you for sharing your story & how one person who says "YES!" to God can help change a Nation. God Bless! Thomas
Hey Katie!
Thanks for all that you do thru God who empowers you. I'm almost done reading your book & it has giving me an outlook on life that I never would have imagined. I now look at life as thru God's perspective and not my. Thank you for sharing your story & how one person who says "YES!" to God can help change a Nation. God Bless! Thomas
I can only offer a prayer of agreement. Amen and amen.
Such beauty in the Lord's work. Thanks for answering the call, for being obedient, for believing... even when the odds seem alarmingly against you. Never forget that you can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you!
Blessings--Dianne :)
God bless you, Katie Davis!
It is hard to 'rejoice and be glad in His salvation' when I look at the eyes of the boy, wondering what his name is and why he has to suffer and I do not. Only God knows the answers and faith demands that I believe and communicate that God's wisdom is infinitely greater than mine. Keep us informed about the boy's progress and may God grant you the peace and serenity to continue the beautiful work that you do. I pray for you and the people of Masesse every day. - Hal Simmons
Amen. He Is. Praying for the little one in your care xo
Dear Katie,
I anxiously wait for your posts each month!!! The brighten my day and help me see beauty in every thing. Thanks so much I pray that God would bless you immensly for the love that you show others!!! And that you'd always be found in His hands!! Love and blessings!!
Jessica B.
Praying Katie, thank you for sharing....
Precious words for these precious children of God. I enjoy every post! Thank you katie!
Katie,
You don't know me but I've been following your blog for a while now.
I will be praying for that sweet 7 year old boy. I know what it's like to try to nourish a malnourished child. We brought our youngest daughter home from China 1.5 yrs ago. She was extremely emaciated and malnourished. She does not have HIV but was very sick. But God was faithful!! She is much better and thriving now!
Your blog post is beautiful! God is so faithful even in the things that are so difficult to understand.
God bless you and your ministry and all those lives that you are touching!
I just wanted to let you know that I stumbled upon your blog last week and it has changed my life. I so admire you, your love for God and ALL his children. I know that you don't do what you do for rewards or compliments, but sometimes it's nice to hear anyways. You are amazing. I hope you don't mind that I put a link to your blog on mine. Thank you for your courage to change little lives every single day!!
Katie, I am almost finished with your book. Wow! Is all I can say. To God be the glory. Your story has affected me greatly. May God continue to use you as an example of loving your neighbor as yourself.
God brought your story into my life recently, and it is such an encouragement to my soul. GOD SO POWERFULLY REVEALS HIS GLORY THROUGH YOU, KATIE! :)
---
"Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, 'It is better for me to die than to live.' But God said to Jonah, 'DO YOU DO WELL TO BE ANGRY FOR THE PLANT?' And he said, 'YES, I DO WELL TO BE ANGRY, ANGRY ENOUGH TO DIE.' And the LORD said, 'You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.'"
- Jonah 4:6-10 ESV
How often do we go through life "pitying the plant"...being upset or frustrated about earthly things? And then, when God shows us mercy by revealing to us our poor attitude (which is essentially our willingness to set aside our eternal perspective of the MERCIFUL BLESSING that is our eternal life hidden in Christ!!!) thereby giving us a chance to draw near to Him and heal our affliction, we reject that mercy with our selfish response. "YES, I DO WELL TO BE ANGRY..." What is the plant(s) in your life? What things cause you to set aside eternal perspective for the short-sightedness this world provides? When God comes to you...is the best you give Him "YES, I DO WELL TO BE ANGRY"? Think of what He, and His son Jesus Christ, have sacrificed for you. Don't waste your life with pity for the plant. Put your trust is God, and remember the following truth:
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
- Romans 8:28 ESV
Knowledge of the only true God (John 17:3) leads to trusting God...and trusting God leads to dependence on Him. Dependence on God, and His son Jesus Christ is the only REAL strength we will ever experience.
Check out Katie Davis...who lives this reality every day.
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/
Amen sister through Christ!Praying! John 16:33!<3
hi katie.i am sophia.i know you don't know about me but i have heard a lot about you.i am 9 and i live in new lenox,illinois.when my mom first told me about you in africa i was amaized.god has made you for a special reson.to help these beautiful youg special girls.i'd like to learn more about you.you are very special. p.s.tell the girls i would love to be there frends. sophia
He will swallow up death forever! Amen, sweet sister. Praying that he swallows up the death in this precious boy's body and heart.
Amen! Thank you, Jesus. Praying for you all.
Will be praying for your 7 year old friend. Will pass the word along too. We are going to Rwanda this summer for two weeks. Praying God will call us there and that we will listen and obey. Thanks for obeying. Ill be praying strength, grace and peace into your family today and in the days to come. God is the life giver and that life comes in all sorts of ways. To be free to dance in heaven is the ultimate life gift.
So encouraged by your faith today. Thank you. Believing with you.
He is Lord over the life celebration and Lord over severe acute malnutrition. He is good in the life celebration, and He is good in the severe acute malnutrition. He is. Thank you Jesus.
YES!!!
that is amazing what you do. i pray for youl guys all the time. i hope there would be a lot more people like you in the world katie. God bless youo!
I read your reply and my heart breaks for your loss and in the same breath rejoices in the life you will bring into your home!
After reading your reply I felt an over whealming sense to to tell u about a book I read (well, have read three times) that gives me a renewed strength and joy. It is called Heaven Is For Real. It is a true story. It is worth reading.
dear Katie, I just finished your book. I am humbled and overwhelmed with your compassion.I thank the Lord for you, and His great love.
Dear Katie Davis,
Your work in Uganda is incredible! Your book makes me want to visit you and your family in Uganda, and to do mission work there. I also like how devoted to God your are, and your loyalty inspired me to spend more time with God.
Thank you,
Danielle
Dear Katie Davis,
Your work in Uganda is incredible! Your book makes me want to visit you and your family in Uganda, and to do mission work there. I also like how devoted to God your are, and your loyalty inspired me to spend more time with God.
Thank you,
Danielle
You are awesome!!! I just read about you and what you have done. I respect you and am truly in awe of you. I will be praying for you and your family. I pray that GOD keeps you on this earth to carry out his will and your mission. I love you for what you are doing for these people, our neighbors. GOD BLESS YOU KATIE DAVIS we need more of you in this messy world.
What an amazing story. I love how you always give God the glory! Nominated you for the Sunshine Blog Award today: http://triciasthings.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/blogging-awards-sunshine-award-what-is-it/
I love what your doing! some day I want to be like you!
Keep following Jesus!
Delaney Rau.
I love what your doing! some day I want to be like you!
Keep following Jesus!
Delaney Rau.
You sound like my friends the Baker's in Mozambique. I've heard Heidi for more than 15 years live in the reality that God revealed to her:"There will always be enough (through me)." Might want to check the book about it at: "http://www.amazon.com/Always-Enough-Miraculous-Provision-Children/dp/0800793617 Even the most desperate poverty, the most devastating illness, the most heart-wrenching grief is not beyond God's help. His love and power have no limits-and that's a message readers from all walks of life need to hear. The modern miracles that Rolland and Heidi Baker experience every day in their work with Mozambique's throwaway children, movingly chronicled in Always Enough, will inspire anyone looking for hope in the midst of suffering.
The Bakers, formerly missionaries in Indonesia and Hong Kong, share how their work for the past eight years in Mozambique, one of the poorest nations on earth, has borne spiritual fruit beyond their wildest dreams. Every day presents multiple impossible needs. But in the face of everything Satan can do, as Rolland and Heidi lay down their lives and "minister to the one," there is always enough.
Readers will discover that the simple practice of choosing to step out and trust God every day unleashes his provision for every need.
Katie, I Praise God for His calling you and drawing you to Himself and for your obedient heart and soul. To think you had a- 'heart like David' at such a young age. I'm 82 and although I gave my life to Jesus at a young age... I didn't yield every thing to Him until only 6 years ago, yet He kept 'hounding' me and drawing me closer and closer. Am reading your book and sobbing with thanksgiving for your love, honesty, dedication and blessings to others and our Saviors' abundant faithfulness. His Strength, enabling and ability to LOVE through you. Am led to leave this Word for your heart."God's calling is His enabling." Our class motto back in 1951 when I graduated from Bible college. II Pet.1:3 "Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we have ever received!" MSG. Love You and praying God's richest blessings on you. My husband & I are former missionaries to Zimbabwe. Liz Vallance
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Hi Katie,
I am 1/4 done reading your book and I could not wait but come read your blog as well today. Its great you have realized such a naked truth of life about the Lord Himself so early in your life. I am lucky I was gifted this book. May God bless you and the people you love.
-Mallika
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