Family. It’s the first place we find love, and we carry it with us our whole lives. However, each one looks different from the next. We may picture a mom and dad, one to three children, and a pet to top it off, but the truth is any combination of people who love and care for each other can make up a family.
When a young woman went on a trip to Uganda, she only expected to lend a helping hand and return to her life. But, once there, a single chance meeting with a wonderful person changed her plans entirely, leading her to make an incredible life decision that most of us would never, ever consider.
As a teenager, Katie Davis had a simple plan: go to college, get a degree, and meet a nice guy. Maybe, she thought, if all went well, they’d have some kids and buy a house. That would be nice.
But back in 2006, when she was just 18 years old, Katie packed her bags, hopped on a plane, and ended up in Uganda as part of a mission trip. The country changed the way she saw the world.
Inspired by the vibrant people she’d met, Katie put her collee plans on hold, opting instead to return to Uganda post-mission and work with a pastor at an orphanage. He asked Katie to teach kindergarteners.
Of course, she said yes. So now, fully and completely immersed in the East African nation, she felt driven by her love of the people. That’s why she created her own organization, Amazima Ministries, which helped Ugandans find Jesus.
It was through that organization that Katie learned a truth that broke her heart: in Uganda, many impoverished parents gave up their kids to orphanages, so, at the very least, they could be cared for adequately.
“I was so broken by that,” Katie said. “The fact that these mothers and fathers would have to give up their children just to know that they would eat, or that they would go to school.”
Heartbroken, Katie and Amazima Ministries put together a plan: through a sponsorship program, she could get disadvantaged kids money, food, and school, and they could stay at home with their families.
But this wasn’t enough for Katie. Her charity muscles tingling, she fostered three girls herself. After she couldn’t find any proper homes for them, however, she faced a tough decision: Adopt them? Or put them back in the orphanage?
It was an easy choice. She adopted the three young girls, then fostered a few more, then adopted a few more. At just 23 years old, she’d adopted 13 Ugandan daughters.
It’s funny to think that, just five years prior, she’d had visions of college and husbands and white picket fences. Now, she dedicated nearly all of her time to raising these 13 kids. A relationship was out of the question… right?
Then she met Benji Majors. After learning a few details about his past, Katie couldn’t help but feel like fate had brought the young man into her life.
See, they’d both been born and raised in Franklin, Tennessee. They’d never met there, but this coincidence was hard to ignore: “We shared a hometown with only a few hilltops to keep our adolescent lives from ever intersecting,” Katie said.
When Benji first moved to Uganda and met Katie, he knew he liked her right away. But Katie was worried dating would take her attention away from her daughters. Still, she eventually agreed to a date with him.
A year later, the couple went from happily dating to engaged. They planned a simple wedding with all of Katie’s daughters as her bridesmaids. But how did Benji feel about the girls — and how did they feel about him?
That was a complicated matter. Fitting into a new family is tough for anyone, but fitting into a family of 14? “There was always a nervousness for me at the beginning,” he said of his efforts to be a father and husband. “Kind of like, ‘Was that wise parenting advice?””
And, of course, each of the 14 women reacted differently to Benji. “It’s a work in progress,” he said. “But some of them were just like, ‘Dad!’ from day one. Others had love, but that word ‘dad’ didn’t really come off their lips.”
“He rejoices over me and over each one of our daughters,” Katie wrote in 2015. “I watch them come alive under the loving gaze of their new father. I hear the delight and the certainty in their voices as they call him ‘Dad.’”
However, the girls wouldn’t be the only one calling him dad… In 2016, doctors delivered Katie and Benji some great news: they were pregnant — with a little boy! They named him Noah, and his older sisters were thrilled.
Whether Katie and Benji would adopt or conceive more children in the future was still up for question, but with a big family, they were incredibly happy — even if they got some surprised looks here and there!
