Rattins living Coram Deo

Yes, friends, we got a puppy, just to make our household more... interesting! ;-P It's an actual lab, 8 weeks old.  The puppy and kittens are the same size and have been acting like typical cats and dogs together...  But most interesting has been Gracie and this puppy.  Gracie got really upset at first because the puppy licked her face and she felt like she couldn't defend herself.  She threw a long confusing tantrum about that. So today I took time to discipline the puppy anytime he licked her face and made sure to put the sleeping puppy on Gracie's lap... By the evening, the puppy crawled right into Gracie's lap for his nap - within seconds of her hitting the floor (her favorite hobby is crawling off the couch anytime we turn our backs). I think we have the beginning of a sweet friendship (and yes, I have dreams of training this puppy to help Gracie, so I welcome resources about such a topic - epilepsy dogs and helper dogs...)

All of our produce comes from the open market. As we spent time in Kampala and noticed the produce available in grocery stores there, I realized one of the big differences between the big city and Gulu: shopping. In order to eat, we have to go to the open market. It's a time for relationship building, Acholi practice, and learning. I cannot slip into a grocery store, anonymous, with all my children in tow. I cannot take Gracie routinely to the market since there is no guarantee that the "aisles" will be clear enough for her wheelchair. BUT, buying produce is a time of laughter, smiles, greetings, curious babies peeking over mama's produce stand at the mzungu baby on my back... it's not a quick errand to run... I have to find a babysitter who I trust with Gracie... But, as I feed my family, I'm drawn into the community more. I don't think I'd trade the open market experience for the anonymity and ease of the big stores in the city! ... but some ...

We arrived in Uganda 6 months ago with 3 kids. We were open to whatever God directed us to do... little did we know that this meant adding TWO boys to our family before our first year anniversary in Uganda! And yet, there is great peace to knowing that GOD is sovereign and WE are not God. We are so happy to have two more hearts to shepard and train! Pray for us as we strive to train all of our children - it's a busy, even exhausting stage of their lives, but God has also provided a helper for me this summer - a young lady who has experience with care of children with special needs! Isn't God amazing?! We are still awaiting Moses' arrival into our home and are praying that he will be allowed to come live with us soon so that he has some adjustment time before this baby is born. Want to hear more of God's special care for us? - One of my closest missionary friends here is due this week and spent extensive time researching all the options for safe delivery, ultrasound, e...

We needed to take a trip to Kampala this month, for several reasons, but it's always an adventure - a DIFFERENT type of adventure than our Gulu adventures. Gulu adventures include cow paths, cross-cultural relationships, cultural learning, etc. Kampala adventures include traffic, ridiculously perilous stunts by boda drivers (motorcycle taxis) millimeters from our car, too many options in too many stores and restaurants, etc. We drove down to Kampala Sunday after an early church service. No problems. Went straight to a mall for a meal and one store. Then, in one of our not-so-bright moments, decided to drive a circuitous route to the guesthouse in order to drive past the clinic that we needed to attend first thing in the morning. That took... a very long time, since roads do not, for the most part, bear road signs in Kampala, making the map more of a matching shapes game than a "turn right when you reach X road" navigation. So we got in to the guesthouse after dark,...

Remember this little guy? We hosted this "4"-year-old for a few weeks at Christmas time, he has visited us periodically since then, and we, of course, spend time with him at Home of Love. Well, we've known for some time that he will need an adoptive family (he's one of the few at Home of Love where the case is SO clear) so we've been praying about him... really for years. (Josh met him during his previous trips to Gulu!) During the recent inspection by local officials at Home of Love, Moses' case was put forth as someone that the government wants to be adopted by a family. So, the social worker at Home of Love, Bosco, a dear friend and faithful man of God, wants us to bring Moses into our home and family. It's an exciting thing as we've been anticipating that this was the path God was directing us down... now it's more of a reality (nothing's reality in Africa until it is, but...). We are already prepared in our home as Moses has been spen...

For all of Uganda in 2005: Percentage of children who are orphans in 2005 14% Number of orphans due to AIDS in 2005 1,000,000 Children orphaned by AIDS as a percentage of all orphans in 2005 45% Percentage of children aged 12-17 who are orphans in 2005 25% UNICEF: 'Africa's Orphaned Generations' (2003), and 'Africa's Orphaned and Vulnerable Generations: Children Affected by AIDS' (2006). What I find especially striking is that these are 2005 numbers, representing ALL of Uganda, not simply the north. The war was not even over in 2005. So these numbers are surely higher now and especially higher in the north. There's an estimate that 20% of the total child population are orphans in Uganda. I tried a theory out on some people and no one disagreed: you cannot find one family in Acholi-land who is not caring for orphans. (This relates also to my prior post - a family will care for their own paternally-blood relatives if they are able.)

I avoided the discomfort of my Acholi lesson today with a barrage of culture questions. (I have just started lessons and my teacher insists that I know more than I say I do [so does Josh!!] but my vocab is very limited – I just know how to learn a language and understand the structure, likely because of growing up bilingual and learning Spanish as an adult… I’m still painfully lost in Acholi!) There is a great deal that I want to understand about children and families in Acholi culture. Please bear in mind that this is ONE man’s take on his culture, within his clan, within the Acholi tribe. This also represents traditional culture, not today’s shifting culture – shifting due to the high number of orphans in Acholi-land without family influence to dictate how things are done, shifting due to years of war and survival, shifting because of outside influences, etc. Babies: pregnancy is kept quiet – it’s a private matter; although a pregnant woman will be treated carefully to keep...

There's one Indian store in Gulu that sells raisins. You would never know it. It looks like any usual general merchandise store - soap, flour, rice, spices, biscuits, water... but if you ask just right, they produce a bag of raisins from a box in the corner behind the counter. The first time I bought them, I asked for raisins. No problem. The Indian store owner was there and knew what I meant. Another time, there were some young Acholi men running the store... my request caused great confusion until one said something that sounded like "gas fruit." Okay... um, sure, I'd like some gas fruit? This last time, an older Acholi man was running the store... he explained that they are called "fruit cakes." That makes a little more sense (I think). One of the keys in any culture is words... gas for the car is petrol... gas for the stove is gas... don't ask for the wrong thing or there might be a big mix-up! The roots are British English from the not-so-dis...

The kids are just as happy as I am to see rain! Rainy season has not quite reached Gulu proper, but word is that the villages are now seeing rainy season. The nights HAVE been cooler and we have had some small rain perhaps more days than not. Not enough yet to turn our yard from desert to lush paradise like it was when we arrived in Uganda... and not enough rain to turn Josh's garden from wishful thinking dirt to vegetables, but... in due time!

UGANDA FACTS Uganda gained Independence from the United Kingdom on October 9, 1962 Total Area: 241,038 sq km Borders: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania Natural Resources: Copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land and gold Population: 34-35 million with 4.7% being Acholi Population below Poverty line: Nationally 35%, Northern Uganda 65% Median Age of Population: 15.1 yrs Life Expectancy: 53.24 yrs GDP: $17,010,765,767 USD Currency: Ugandan Shilling (CIA Factbook) A reminder: Kony now is in the jungles of Congo, creating havoc and heart-ache there, just as he did here in Northern Uganda and in South Sudan. Here's one NGO's take on the last two decades of conflict: OVER 2 DECADES OF CONFLICT The conflict in Northern Uganda is one of the longest running conflicts in Africa and has spread to neighbouring countries. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was created in 1986 to fight a spiritual war on behalf of the Acholi people. It is le...