Kisses from Katie

If you judge this book by it's cover you might think it's some type of a chick flick in book form.  But it's not!  This book is for the brave!

This story belongs to Katie Davis who moved to Uganda right out of high school and ended up adopting 14 orphan girls and starting a ministry called Amazima.

I started reading her blog before her book even came out and needless to say, was moved and challenged by the example that is her life!

Her stories and experiences will move you! 

Her obedience will challenge you!

But her GOD will CHANGE you, just like He did her!  If you let Him.

In a simple, matter-of-fact way, Katie answers those questions many of us wrestle with on a day-to-day basis.  What is my purpose?  Why am I here?  What does God want from me? 

Her life reminds us that all God wants from us is obedience.  Wherever He puts us.  Whoever he brings before us.  Whatever He asks of us.  It's simple.  Just obey.

Adoption Update

You may know that we have been considering the idea of adoption for about 4 years now. We have thought, talked, prayed, investigated, etc... over these last few years and finally officially started the adoption process here in Colombia in December 2007. However, because of the holidays, the wheels didn´t actually start rolling until January 2008. It is kind of a slow process because it is handled through the government child welfare system and they are over-worked and under-staffed, probably just like our child welfare system in the USA and all over the world!



The children that are legally ¨adoptable¨ here in Colombia have already, for whatever reason, been turned over to the government child welfare system. Once the child enters the system, depending on the circumstances, he begins a process that takes a bare minimum of 3 months (and in most cases probably a lot more) where the government institution first has to assess the situation and home-life of the child. The goal and the ideal is to see if the parents can and will be helped to be able to reunite the child with their natural parents. If that is not possible they then begin to search for any blood relatives who would be willing to assume the responsibility of raising the child. If there is no other recourse and the parents (or if the parents are deceased, the nearest blood relatives) have signed over their parental rights to the child, the child then is able to be considered for adoption. While the children go through this process, which I have heard can last between 3 months to 2 years or even longer in some cases, they are placed in temporary children´s homes or in foster care.


The first part of the year we saw slow but steady progress as we attended different appointments and interviews. Towards the middle of the year things came to a stand-still and our appointments were canceled and postponed and we didn´t hear anything for about 3 months. Then in September, things started rolling again and we recieved our home visit as well as attended several required workshops. At our last workshop we were informed that we had officially completed this first stage of the process and in a week or two they will put the finishing touches on our case file and it will be sent to the regional adoption committee who will give us official approval or denial.

If accepted, we will then be put on the waiting list and they will begin the process of matching us with the children in the system that are ready for adoption. They emphasize, and we agree, that they are trying to find a family for the child, not a child for the family! The priority is the child. We have requested a sibling pair, either sex, hopefully between the ages of infant and 2 years. So, most likely we will receive two children at once, although we are open to other options, depending on what is presented to us. They have told us that we could probably expect a placement by early 2009, although you learn to just take it a day at a time and not to put too much stock in those kind of statements.

Once a placement is made and all parties are in agreement (if the child is small, he unfortunately doesn´t get much of a say in the matter...imagine being in that situation!) then the legal process begins and we will have to hire a lawyer to work alongside the government institution´s lawyers and begin another process of paper-work and other things that remain a mystery to us at this point. We aren´t sure yet how long that part of the process usually lasts. We are learning as we go.

Depending on the situation of the child, I have heard of different transition scenarios. In some cases the child moves instantly to their new home, in other cases there is a time of visitation and the child gradually makes the move. I think the latter takes place especially when the child has been in a certain foster home for an extended period of time and attachments have been made with the family.

As you can imagine, we would really appreciate your prayers on our behalf for all the things that lie ahead of us on this road.

Overdue Update

I am way overdue for an update! Sorry about that! I have a few ¨excuses¨ but I won´t bore you with them.

First of all this entry will not include any photos because my dinasaur digital camera, the one I have had for many years, finally has given out on me so I haven´t been able to take any photos these last few weeks.

We continue to get settled into our new house...it is feeling more and more like home! We are really thankful to have this place to come home to although we also miss being full-time on the island. There are pro´s and con´s to both sides of this coin but we trust that the Lord will help us to find the best solution to balancing our time between the island and the office and we believe that in the long-run it is for the best for us personally and also for the ministry. Focusing on the positive, some of the pro´s are: having our own office with our own internet, printer, scanner, fax, telephone with international line...no more internet cafe´s and public phone booths, thank the Lord! It makes a huge difference to be able to stay connected to the ¨outside world.¨

Last month we received our first team of 2008. A team of 12 people from Antioch Community Church in Elon, NC. Our dear friends, Thom and Tina Southern, brought their whole family (3 kids) and 7 other people from their church. We had a great time with them and they were a blessing to us and the community. Among other things they built latrines and floors for needy families plus helped with painting the feeding center and organizing and sorting school supplies to be handed out to our sponsor children. I am planning on getting photos from some of our other staff and the team and I will post them later.

Today we recieved another team but this one will be with us for just a little over 24 hours. They are a team of 10 people from South Korea and they have come to get to see the ministry, learn more about what we do and they will also participate in our weekly cell group meeting tonight. Again...I hope to post some photos of them later.

Jorge is heading to Bogotá tomorrow morning. He will be there for a week, attending a workshop that will help us to learn how to present the ministry to charities and foundations for fund appeals. It should be an intense week for him and we hope that he is able to learn a lot...part of the assignment is to actually make a presentation and appeal so we have chosen a foundation based in Texas that a friend told us about and we will make an appeal for additional funds to continue with the clinic construction. We estimate that we need around $50,000 to finish the building (that doesn´t include the equipment and furniture). So pray with us that the Lord will open His doors of provision. Our goal is to finish the clinic this year.

The boat renovations are coming right along. Martin has done a really nice job on the woodwork and still our main need is for the motor and drydock to install the motor and do more fiberglass work on the hull. We have recieved a sizeable donation from Germany plus we have a donor willing to help us get the motor from Miami but we need to get it shipped here...it will require a lot of legwork and logistical juggling so Jorge is investigating what needs to be done next to see all of this become a reality. He really needs an assistant to help him so that he can be in more than one place at a time...

In about 12 days we will recieve our next team, a group from my home church in N.C., Northside Presbyterian. I am really excited to have them, it will be their first time to visit us in person on the mission field and it is really an honor for us to have them! I will tell you more about that later though, after they have come and gone!

Now, on a more personal note... we have mentioned over the last couple of years our interest/intention to adopt a child (children) once we got settled-in again back in Colombia. Well, now we are back and basically settled in so last month we started taking our first steps in the right direction. It´s funny how the Lord uses different people and circumstances to encourage us! Some of our friends at YWAM Ensenada, a British family with 4 kids of their own just adopted 2 mexican children and hearing their story really nudged us along! Also, our new neighbors have encouraged us ALOT. They invited us over to dinner one night and as soon as they found out we didn´t have kids they shared their story of how they adopted their little girl 7 years ago. They were so totally gung-ho about helping us and since they went through the whole process they were eager to give us all their connections and take us to the right places. So far we have had three meetings. The first day I just filled out some forms with basic information. The second day Jorge and I went through an interview process where we had to each write down answers to a list of questions. It was all based on what our motivations and expectations were in regards to adopting. Today was our third meeting and we each had to list the ¨positive points¨ and ¨negative points¨about each other...our personality, temprament, habits, etc... It was an interesting assignment. One thing they told us during the last meeting was really neat...they encouraged us to see this whole process as if it were a pregnancy and that we should go through it with joy and anticipation and enjoy each aspect of it. Jorge especially grabbed a hold of this analogy and sometimes he rubs my belly and asks me how I am feeling...ha! ha! They also told us that the process is a lot faster than it used to be. Our neighbors waited 4 years to get their little girl! However today we were told that it would probably take around 8 months...YIKES!! :) So, I´m not sure exactly but we could be about one month along in this pregancy! :) In regards to sex, age, etc... we told them that we didn´t care what the sex was (surprise us!), we said we prefer an infant but we are open to getting a small toddler. Ultimately I believe that God already has the child picked out so it´s just a matter of us waiting for the arrival... uuummmm that´s kind of how it works in pregnancy too, huh?! Soooo... we will keep you posted! We still have more interviews, workshops, meetings with a psychologist, etc... and then eventually there will be a board that has to officially approve us before the child can be assigned. Pray for us and for God´s control over each detail.

Signing off for now...love and blessings to all of you out there. Thank you for your unconditional love and support of us and for believing in us and what the Lord is doing with us here in Colombia.

Karen and Jorge