Kisses from Katie

1.When Katie first arrived in Uganda to teach kindergarten, what was it about the children and the people that began to capture her heart? What do you think made Uganda feel less like a place she was visiting and more like a place she belonged?

1.In this chapter, Katie begins to encounter the daily, unglamorous realities of life among Uganda's poor — sickness, hunger, death, bureaucracy. What surprised her most? What surprised you most reading about it?

1."Amazima" means "truth" in the Luganda language. Why do you think Katie chose that name for her ministry? What truth was she trying to embody or proclaim?

1.Katie begins adopting children almost as a natural overflow of love rather than a calculated decision. How do you feel about the way her family formed — gradually, organically, without a master plan? Does it inspire you, unsettle you, or challenge your assumptions about what "family" should look like?

1.What specific things does Katie describe letting go of in this chapter — both material things and internal things (dreams, expectations, control)? Which category of loss seems hardest for her?

1.Katie faces real tragedy in her work — children who die despite her care, families she cannot save, situations she cannot fix. How does she describe these moments? What is her emotional and spiritual response?

1.How does Katie's work begin to extend beyond individual children into entire villages and communities? What does this expansion reveal about the nature of poverty and the nature of genuine help?

1.What are some specific things Katie discovers she was wrong about, or had to unlearn, as she grew deeper into Ugandan life and ministry? How does she respond to being wrong?

1.The book's title, *Kisses from Katie*, comes from the way her daughters shower her with physical, exuberant, exhausting love. What does this image of love — unearned, excessive, delightful — suggest to you about the nature of belonging and family?

1.Katie is frequently at the end of herself in this book — exhausted, overwhelmed, grieving, out of answers. How does she describe those moments? What does she do when she reaches her limit?

1.When Katie returns to visit family and friends in Tennessee, how does she describe the experience? In what ways does she feel like a stranger in the place she grew up? Have you ever had a similar feeling of not quite belonging where you used to belong?

1.How does the idea of love as a *choice* rather than primarily a *feeling* show up in this chapter? What are some of the specific choices Katie makes in this season — choices that required will rather than just emotion?

1.Katie talks about being "the hands and feet of Jesus" — a phrase that is common in Christian circles but can become a cliché. How does her story give that phrase specific, concrete, sometimes uncomfortable content? What does it actually look like in her context?

1.How does the final chapter bring together the major themes of the book — sacrifice, family, joy, grief, obedience, and belonging? What note does Katie end on?

1.Which chapter or moment in *Kisses from Katie* stayed with you most? What was it about that particular story, image, or idea that lodged itself in you?