Rattins living Coram Deo

Uganda facts Kampala is the capital of Uganda. The Ugandan shilling is the currency used here (currently 3800 UGX to 1 USD). The official languages include English and Swahili, but people also speak Luganda and various other languages (like Acholi). The life expectancy in Uganda is 50.4 years. Uganda is a landlocked country bordered by Kenya in the east, Sudan in the north, Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west, Rwanda in the southwest and Tanzania in the south. Uganda’s total land area is 241,559 sq km. About 37,000 sq km of this area is occupied by open water while the rest is land. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which it shares with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is located on the East African plateau, averaging about 1,100 meters (3,609 ft) above sea level. The plateau generally slopes downwards towards Sudan explaining the northerly tendency of most river flows in the country. Although generally equatorial, the clim...

Please read this post as a means of introduction to this series . What is an orphan? In the west, an orphan is generally viewed as a child who has neither mother nor father.  In fact, dictionaries define an orphan as a child without parents or a child deprived of parental care.  Therefore, sponsors, prospective adoptive families, philanthropists, churches, short term volunteers, even many mission boards are convinced that when they are supporting or adopting "an orphan" the child must surely be a true orphan.  It has been shown that the majority of the world's orphans have families and the majority of children in orphanages have families. The word orphan has morphed in much of Africa to include a much broader category of child. When a child is "an orphan" here, his mother might be bringing him to the office as an orphan to see about getting assistance with his school fees. An "orphan" might be brought to an orphanage by an "uncle" (w...

We are in a new era of missions. Facebook, Voxer (our current favorite), Skype, Google Hangouts, Magic Jack, blogs... We can stay in touch with our families in real time.  They can be here in 30 hours (best case scenario).  We could be there in 30 hours (you know, if all our children has passports and stuff - little details). In the past year, nearly every missionary that I know has had a parent visit. This is a different era of missions. Parents of missionaries live a unique life.  Their hearts are partially in a country they have never inhabited.  Their grandkids are growing in a culture foreign to their own.  They take a month off work and cross the globe with the goal of LITERALLY snuggling their grandchildren for 3 weeks straight. They drop their life to rush to the aid of their children in crisis - not unlike any parent in the West, except that such a selfless act costs thousands of dollars instead of a drive to New Hampshire. They encourage ...

I know I promised a blog series... oh four months ago... I WILL write it.  But life is so hectic here and blogging is emotionally stressful... My mental, physical, and emotional energy went elsewhere. Last week, missionary friends here in Uganda were in a devastating car crash on our horrible roads.  Their one month old baby died in the crash.  The mom has significant injuries and is in a Ugandan hospital trying to recover and find her way through the veil of grief. Today, I got a phone call (I'm a doctor) asking for advice on a little girl who was caught in a brush fire.  She is burned over 100% of her body and fighting for her life. We prayed for both situations with our children.  And I hugged them a little longer at bedtime and prayed over them again.  And kissed my special needs daughter more, memorizing her smile and her lovey eyes a little longer. The children's favorite song is "ashen bla blesho"... or, to translate from their gibberish "Abs...

"Abby gets a little excited when talking about orphans." My dear friend spoke with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her lips.  Her words struck me.  "Isn't everyone passionate about orphans and vulnerable children?" I thought. I am immersed in the "African orphan crisis." I live it, breathe it, sweat it, feel it, speak it, hug it. The "crisis" is inextricably woven into my family. I have kept silent for long, as we have sat back as observers and learners.  But as our two year anniversary in Uganda approaches, I have decided to put down some thoughts for others to read, hopefully to help our supporters and friends get a better sense for what it means to be a vulnerable child in Africa. As a means of introduction, we adopted one special needs child from Liberia 7 years ago and are adopting one abandoned total orphan from Uganda where we live (we've already been a family for a year and a half).  We have three biologically birthe...

Today I ate a feast of goat meat with my fingers, encouraged my children digging in the dirt and told them to stop bothering the goats, caught a chicken to show Gracie, and laughed about rats while sorting through dusty books... I've been pondering "belonging." I grew up to be a third culture kid - an American missionary kid who didn't belong in America.  I looked American, but wasn't.  My passport said I was American, but my heart didn't. Over the years, through college, medical school, residency, I drifted into becoming more American.  I started to belong to America. Then I moved back to Africa.  And I don't belong in Africa. I will never be Acholi, no matter how hard I try.  But now, after two years of living in Africa again, I certainly don't belong in America. So... where do I belong? My children will (hopefully) struggle with this very question.  Yes, I pray that my children feel that discomfort of belonging (or lack thereof).  Becaus...