The Blessing of a Child Named Katie

It was an evening that 

Warren, Mike, Jenny and I 

will never forget.

It was the night we met 

Katerina Hope Musser.

All 10 pounds of her.

Perhaps she is up to 

eleven pounds by now.

The feeding tube is firmly 

in place and is feeding this 

precious 9 year old girl....
so recently come

from an orphanage in 

Europe.

But Katie no longer lives

there...She no longer suffers

the indignities of neglect.

That is in the past.

Katerina is now embraced by the 

love of parents, 

called by God, 

from a world away.

Parents who obeyed His voice

and went through 

impossible situations in order

to bring her home to a place

of safety.

When we walked into her room

tonight I was holding my breath.  

How would I respond to this 

child whom I had seen so many photos of

and yet had not seen in person?

Well, it took about a second to figure 

that out.  The response was pure love.

It took no time at all for this little one to 

respond to her Mamma's voice and touch 

with a smile that lit the room like a million

watt lightbulb.

Then came the giggle.

Oh.my.goodness.

We were all totally taken with Katie

in no time at all.

It has to be said that 

there are no words to 

describe the delicacy of this 

girl's condition.

To explain how small she is.

It truly is shocking.

Your brain works and works

to comprehend what it is seeing.

It does not compute.

The abuse this child suffered is

unbelievable.

Inexcusable.

There are many stories to be told

when the time is right.

Those stories need to come from 

Joe and Susanna,

but suffice it to say that God not only wanted

this little girl to know what it is to be loved

but He is doing more.....

much more.

Before leaving Susanna and Katie this 

evening Pastor Mike and Warren took 

turns praying and then we all joined in singing

The Doxology.

Picture if you will 

a tiny face with 

big brown eyes 

chattering away

as we began to sing

and then she grows silent.

Those big brown eyes with the 

long, long lashes growing bigger

and more intent if that is possible.

Then imagine that she leaned out

just a bit and studied us as we sang....

watching and listening to the 

music.

Enjoying it.

As if for the first time

in her nine years.

Now that is an audience that 

would encourage one to 

continue to sing.

The time had come for 

us to leave.

I reached my finger out to this 

beautiful girl.

She did me the honor of grasping 

it briefly.

Softly.

So softly....and gently.

The human touch.

It means so much!

We left the room with tears in 

our eyes.  

In wonder at the workings of 

God in the life of this child.

Praising Him for the privilege 

of bearing witness.

Of course we would covet your 

continued prayers for Katerina, Susanna

and Joe.  

It is not easy for Susanna to be away from 

her other ten children, waiting at home.

It is necessary for now as bonding takes 

place and Katie's health is stabilized.

Susanna wrote a post

after Thanksgiving that shows the 

children meeting their new sister for the first time.

You'll find it here....enjoy!!

Look at how she remembers 

and already loves her new Daddy.

Katie is one smart cookie!!