Who am I-Katie

You may be wondering who has taken over here on Africa's page. You may also wonder if I have my act together after this week. Don't worry. You are not alone. I wonder too.

I am Katie! I've been hanging out with my pal Tonya on our Asia page for a while now and I'm speed learning all about Africa and the many different adoptions here. It's all very new and exciting to me!

So here are some basics:

Family-
I am married to my college sweetheart. He is the kindest man I know. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have him. We have four children, aka The Fab Four, one girl and three boys. They rock. They are ages 8,6,5 and 3.

Favorites (in random order)-

adoption, China, purple, broccoli, worship, The Old Testament, nature, Autumn, bulky sweaters, a man named Craig, justice, reflective writing, books, Psalms, running, Jesus, redemption, people watching, princesses, superheroes...especially small ones,wrapped in capes, that fly off of furniture...my furniture. 

Fears-

snakes, failing, losing things (an unfortunate reality), that someday I will bury my son, that the faces of orphans will always haunt my dreams, that the faces of orphans will stop haunting my dreams, that my children won't love Jesus, and snakes. Did I mention snakes? Snakes.

My heart for adoption-

My heart fell in love with Jesus when I was a young girl. Then I fell in love with adoption a few 

years later. By third grade I was in love with three things, Jesus, orphans and China. My parents smiled when I told them I was headed to China someday. Only God himself knew how long and winding that road to China would be. But He is faithful, always. The winding road taught me that. 

My writing style-

Um...well, I'm random. I'm sarcastic, and reflective and I like to provoke thought and conversation. I prefer each post to feel like a conversation with a friend over a cup of coffee. 

What I love about Give1Save1-

Oh man. Seriously? What isn't to love? I think I love the hope it brings the most. I remember going through the adoption process ourselves last year and the panic that financing such a huge thing brings with it. I remember looking at those mountains in front of me and having a conversation with God and asking Him if He was sure about this. My sister told me about this thing called Give1Save1, and I looked it up and emailed Beth. 

It was a breath of fresh air. It was different from all of the grants. Dude, have you applied for grants? It's a nightmare. But Give1Save1 reminded me of why we were doing this. We made our video and watching it reminded me that God was with us, that a little boy would die without us and that we weren't alone. Every dollar that came in, from people I knew, people I didn't know, people near and far reminded me that God was there in the middle of that dark time.

Hope, that is what I love the most about Give1Save1. 

And there you have it. That is why I want to be a part of this group. That is why I hope this thing grows like there is no tomorrow! I hope the whole world hears about Give1Save1 and the crazy ladies running it. It is my greatest wish that other families feel like they have a place to turn in the middle of a journey that is full of mountains. I hope that we form a community of people lifting each other up when we fall down, breathing hope back into tired souls and watching our Great God bringing the lonely into families. 

Be blessed,