For the Least of These

Just over a year ago Darlene, better known as A Simple Country Girl, stumbled on Kisses from Katie, a blog that changed her life. At Kisses from Katie, missionary Katie Davis writes about daily life in Uganda, where she educates, feeds and cares for 400 orphans through the sponsorship program she founded, Amazima Ministries.

Katie Davis doesn’t serve from a distance, snugly tucked into her three-bedroom, two-bath home. She is there, in Uganda, ministering with her own hands and feet…and heart.

Here’s a short passage from a recent blog post [about Katie's official adoption of 14 girls]:

“Mommmyyyy!” I heard a yell as I bounced quickly along the pitted road that leads to our program in my 16-passenger van. I stopped quickly, turning the van around to go back for Prossy who had been walking home to get something.

“How did you see her?” said my Dad, who was visiting at the time.

“I didn’t! I heard her yell, ‘Mommy’” I replied.

“But everyone calls you Mommy. Even people we don’t know call you that around here,” Dad questioned.

“Yea, but I know when it’s mine.” I explained matter of factly.

And then I thought about what I had said and tears began to well. How incredible, what God has done for me. For us. It is true, hundreds of people in this area call me Mommy. Even people who I have not met before recognize me as the woman who cares for the children in this area and call me Mommy before even having made my acquaintance. On any given day, I can drive down the road between my home and Buziika and if it is the right time, when kids are heading home from school, I will hear “Mommy! Mommy!” being shouted about every two seconds as I pass all the children on the road. I smile, as I hear them yell, Mommy.

But for 14 “Mommy”s, I stop. I can hear the difference. I know.

::

Katie's story is incredible...but you might wonder, what's it have to do with Darlene at A Simple Country Girl?

The simple answer: Darlene took action.

"Katie's stories wrack my heart day after day, but her determination and His love are the balm," wrote Darlene in an email to me. "Do spend some time looking around her blog. You will bawl. And pray. And you will not be the same. And that is good."

After reading Katie’s stories, Darlene was not the same. She went on to launch her own initiative: a photography website called For the Least of These, with all proceeds from sales benefitting three Uganda ministries, including Amazima.

I was honored when Darlene asked this point-and-shoot girl to submit some photos for the site, and I’m thrilled to be included with so many talented photographers (and they are not point-and-shooters, believe me!). More importantly, I’m honored to be part of something bigger than myself – and so grateful to Darlene for her compassion-fueled action.

Please visit For the Least of These and consider making a purchase. The photographs would make great gifts and are not expensive – but those few dollars will go a long way in Uganda.

where the only profit is for God's children