Rattins living Coram Deo

When I mention that things are never simple here, I mean it. Take getting Micah and Moses' birth certificates: Step 1 : find the person in Gulu who can issue the "short form" birth certificate. Step 2 : drive to Kampala (no easy feat on the terrible roads) Step 3 : find the registrar's office building Step 4 : find the office Step 5 : wait for lunch break to be open Step 6 : elbow your way through with the throng when the doors open and try to make some friends so that someone will defend you instead of being hostile toward you because you're foreign Step 7 : stand your ground smashed against the person in front of you so that 10 people don't cut in front of you Step 8 : talk to person #1 at the reception desk Step 9 : talk to person #2 at the reception desk Step 10 : fill out the long form birth certificates Step 11 : take them back to person #2 to see if it's filled out properly Step 11.5 : find out that I can't submit for Moses' c...

When November rolls around each year, we find ourselves reminiscing about our family's beginnings - this Thanksgiving marks 6 years as a family.  Six years of snuggling our beautiful Liberian princess.  Six years of wheelchairs, AFOs, thickened liquids, AAC, Diastat, and therapies.  Six years of praying every night, "Lord, wake me up and take me to her if she needs me." Six years of treasuring every day as a family. I suspect that Gracie will never be able to fully share her story herself.  So, as will be my role for her entire life, I will speak for her.  We sense the joy of the Lord in her and we pray that she does truly understand God - she speaks loud and clear with her overflowing, body-shaking joy that there is a joy in her that exceeds our understanding! We are so grateful that God prompted us to adopt Gracie as our first-born child.  For much of our life as a family, we have lived in countries where birth order is valued greatly.  For in...

Try teaching your children about a season they have never seen... WHAT happens to the trees? What do you mean it's so cold that there's ice on the ground? What's ice? Why can you see people's breath in the air? In most cases, I can hardly believe how little I remember from my days as a Biology major in college (a few lifetimes ago).  So, it's a good thing that we live in a modern era of missions which gives me access to internet and a wealth of information! We also just got a package with a batch of new-to-us books (horray!) which included a book on the first thanksgiving and a book on autumn leaves. So this week, is a unit study on Thanksgiving and autumn.  4 out of 5 of my children can not put up with any more than a few days of studying something as abstract to them as autumn.  The fifth one can read on her own and can satisfy her own curiosity once the others have moved on to eating dirt and hitting things with sticks again.  (Baby Micah Otim is not ...

A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of dedicating Micah David Otim Rattin to the Lord with our local church in Gulu.    Pastor Peter, our dear faithful friend (and ACTION Gulu leader), prayed over our son as we asked God to help us raise him in a faithful way and asked the church body to hold us accountable and help us to raise him in the Lord.  We hold submission to a local church body in high esteem, as an integral part of God's call for each Christian, and we are so thankful to be able to submit to Pastor Peter's leadership in our lives.  Please pray for our church and for Pastor Peter! The congregation was so pleased to meet Micah Otim for the first time and thrilled that he has an Acholi name.  Since the name Micah is apparently pronounced MEEEE-kah here (I'm not thrilled about that pronunciation!), he'll most often go by Otim.  Plus, it gives us an opening with strangers right away as they want to know more about the child born away f...

I've been convicted by a book - a book on adoption. "But you've already adopted! How can you be convicted to do something you've already committed to?" I quote the passage from Romans 8 a lot: Romans 8:14-17 English Standard Version (ESV) 14  For all who are  led by the Spirit of God are  sons [ a ]  of God.   15  For  you did not receive  the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of  adoption as sons, by whom we cry,  “Abba! Father!”   16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,   17  and if children, then  heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,  provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. In the book "A guide to Adoption and Orphan Care" edited by Russell Moore, Timothy Paul Jones writes, "The Holy Spirit co-testifies with our spirit that we are co-heirs.  We co-suffer....

I've been making a new version of a white pizza and it's so yummy and easy that I wanted to share it with you. Bring salted milk to a boil (1tsp salt to 4 cups of milk) Remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice Stir briefly with plastic/wooden spoon just to mix lemon juice in Let sit for 15 minutes or until whey and curds have separated Empty pan into a doubled-over linen-lined colander over the sink (or bowl if you want to save and use the whey) Let sit for "some time" - do NOT press the cheese, leave it a little soupy Mix in 1 tablespoon garlic and 20 cut-up fresh basil leaves Pour the mixture onto your pizza crust and add toppings and a little salt.  Additional cheese is optional.

Looking for a tangible way to impact orphans? How about in Northern Uganda? :) We are desperately underfunded at Home of Love (and all of our ministries here) - consider if God would have you donate to Home of Love.  We support 64 children - 36 on site at Home of Love, the rest are at special schools or placed with relatives now in the villages. Click here to donate online to Home of Love - ACTION Gulu Where Needed Most.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.  James 1:27 (ESV) Orphan care is not optional for Christians.  So what is God calling you to do for orphans? What does the Bible say about orphans? Here are a few resources: http://orphansunday.org/resources/bible-studies-and-small-group-guides/ This sermon is amazing by Voddie Baucham  http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/orphans_and_adoption_-_voddie_baucham_and_russell_moore . Russell Moore is, of course, a great guy to read or listen to on orphans and adoption.   http://www.russellmoore.com/2012/07/27/adopted-for-life-ten-years-later-what-ive-learned-since/  (and many more resources there) Here are two of John Piper's sermons on adoption:  http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/adoption-the-heart-of-the-gospel  and  http:...

It sneaks up on us every year... Suddenly, it's November, and it's Orphan Sunday... and we're not prepared. Never fear, Orphan Sunday site is near!  http://orphansunday.org/resources/  - hymns and songs, bulletin inserts, children and youth ideas... It's all there! :) Right now, immersed as I am in orphan care, I'm reading Russell Moore's "A guide to Adoption and Orphan Care." Just my speed - short little chapters from different authors. I'm currently thinking through HOW to care for orphans - because, an orphan is not an orphan is not an orphan.  There are "true" orphans, no relatives, no options, no hope.  There are partial orphans - maybe they have one parent who is not equipped to care for them, or extended family who is not equipped to care for them.  And there are all kinds of flavors of orphans in between. Our children's home is home to children who, for the most part, have some relatives somewhere.  Our goal is to plac...