The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey Happy Hour #208: Katie Davis Majors
My guest for The Happy Hour # 208 is Katie Davis Majors. Katie is an author, speaker, blogger, and founder of Amazima Ministries, an organization that cares for vulnerable children and families in Uganda. Katie moved to Uganda over a decade ago with no idea that this would be the place that God chose to build her home and her family. Today, she is a wife to Benji and mama to her fourteen favorite people.
Katie and I start out the show talking about Katie's journey to Uganda and adoption of her 13 girls. When Katie was 18, she made her first trip to Uganda and knew she'd be back. Katie tells us how 80% of East African children are in orphanages not because of lack of family, but due to poverty. Katie learned that in some cases simply paying for school would allow those children to stay with their families. Katie kept sponsoring more kids, and more and more people joined in to support these kids and Amazima Ministries was born!
Katie then shares how she came to know and foster 3 girls. When it became clear that there was no family for these children to be reunited with, they became Katie's daughters through adoption. The stories continued and by age 23, Katie was now mom to her 13 beautiful girls.
We then talk about the difficult season she walked through facing multiple losses. Katie speaks about the loneliness, pain, and questions she had and describes how near God was to her in that time. She reminds us, "we can bring our hearts to God, He sees them anyway, and He loves us regardless." I also appreciated her honesty in talking about challenges that can happen in adoption with connecting with your children.
In the last part of our conversation, we get to hear the story of Katie and her husband Benji and their family of 13 daughters and a son. You guys - it is the sweetest and includes both of them declining dates with each other at one point!
I loved my conversation with Katie so much. I was encouraged, inspired, and reminded of how when we say yes, whether it's moving overseas or sponsoring a child's education, God does amazing, incredible things!
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