What God Has Done in and through Katie

The first time I met Katie was in February, 2014. Our van came rolling up the dirt road to the little mud huts where she lived. Katie came running out, jumping up and down with great vigor. She couldn’t stop beating her chest. She reached for the sky with a pointed finger. She did it over and over again as she greeted all ten of us from the US. None of us needed an interpreter to know what Katie meant. This was a woman who was full of joy for God’s blessings.

We had come to visit Katie that day because her daughter, Hilda Joy, had been enrolled in our child sponsorship program. After losing her husband and suffering from a house fire, Katie didn’t think education was something that could ever happen to any of her children.

Full of gratitude, Katie told us, “Thank you for where you got me from. It was a bad, deep pit. But now I have lost my worries because my burden has been lifted.” Little did we know how much Katie’s life would begin to change because of her child’s sponsorship, or just how much impact this act of love would have on her life . . . but it did.

Immediately, Katie began to attend one of our discipleship groups. She became one of the most committed members. Not only would she memorize large portions of Scripture each week, she would move from place to place encouraging widows.

Today, four years later, Katie is a discipleship cluster leader with over fifty members coming to her house each week. Six other clusters have been birthed from Katie's group, and many of their members are participating in our 2018 Ginger Farming Project. On the day the seeds and tools were delivered, Katie was there mobilizing the people.

Whenever I think about being too tired to show love and kindness, I try to remember Katie and the impact that love has had on her life. The most profound thing that ever happened to Katie was discovering how much God loved her.