Check it out...

http://www.alishavice.com/

From now on, this is where you can keep up with me. I'm getting all kinds of high-tec!

throwing the rules out...

"Without a relationship with Christ, the rules don't mean anything."

I don't know about you, but I am a rule follower. I live my life by the rules. I make up the rules if there are none in place. I think I need them to thrive in life. But I have to be careful to not put the rules before Jesus. Real careful. I forget so many times that rules do not equal Jesus. They definitely don't replace Him. I think I love rules becausae I can look at the rules and see if I am doing a good job following them. But with Jesus it's so much more. There are no rules. There is conviction from the Holy Spirit. Eek! I don't like it when that happens. Ever. But when I think about it, I guess it's better than the rules. It's a reminder when I've gone too far or stepped out of line. It's a reminder that Jesus loves me so much that He wants me to know when I'm out of line. He doesn't keep me guessing. I have to constantly remind myself that I can't push the rules onto other people. That's not my job. It's the Holy Spirit's job. And He hasn't called and asked me for help. Not yet anyways! Haha!

This was what our preacher talked about yesterday from Mathtew 23:13-36. Our rules don't mean anything. Having a relationship with Christ means something, well more like everything.  I hate when leaders preach or teach about stuff like this because I can always relate to it...a little too much. Like I said a few lines up, I find comfort in the rules. So I just want others to find comfort in my rules too. Because surely they would. If they could only follow them. Rules first. Jesus second. That's a dangerous place to be. 1. If you know Jesus, you don't need MY rules. 2. If you don't know Jesus, you don't need MY rules. You need Him.

So as defeating as this is. I am dealing with this. My perfectionist tendencies (I think tendencies might be an understatement but just go with it okay!) fights this from every angle. And it fights hard. But it's worth the fight. And I have a feeling it's a fight that's going to take place more than once.

A new adventure...

First things first. How is it already Friday? Have I seriously not posted since Tuesday? Yikes. So sorry!

Man, it has been a good week. Things are coming together in a way that can only point towards God. My provider and sustainer. I am writing this blog from my apartment! It is wonderful to have my own space in a place where I am comfortable and secure. The couple that renovated a part of their house for my apartment are incredible and are taking care of me and making sure I have everything I could ever need here. I have a spare bed, you can start signing up now!

On to more good news...I started a three month internship with an organization here in town! I will be working with The Way Home (a ministry under Every Child Ministries) for the next three months with the possibility of a longer term commitment. It is an incredible ministry that is involved in the community development in a village about an hour from Jinja. In 2011, The Way Home built homes for twenty grannies who were raising their grandchildren. In 2012, they have made the same commitment to build 20 more homes for 20 more grannies. The ministry doesn't stop once the keys to the house have been handed to the granny. The grannies have weekly meetings were they are encouraged and taught. The grandchildren also have weekly meetings were they are taught the Bible and that Christ loves them and died for each and every one of them. The grannies are also taught Farming God's Way, which is a popular sustainability ministry here in Africa which is making strides in the techniques that people use to farm here. It didn't take long to realize that not all of the grannies can farm, so we are looking at starting a small animals ministry. That means goats. Lots and lots of goats. We have a veterinarian coming from the states this week to help us figure out what this will looks like. If you know me at all, you know that I am not particularly fond of animals. Any animals. Period. So I laughed when they looked at me during our first meeting and said "What do you think about helping start a goat ministry?" My reply was "Well. I don't know anything about goats. And I don't even like animals. But okay! Why not?!" So I am going to my first goat meeting Monday morning! I am also going to be taking over the "Choose To Wait" program. It is a curriculum used for teaching purity. It focuses not only on why purity matters so much, but also how God offers restoration and renewal through His forgiveness. I will be figuring out how to implement it in the village and training people in how to teach it.

So as you can probably tell, I am more than a little excited about this opportunity. I am continuing to homeschool my sweet students while I start this new adventure. The pictures I posted this past week were taken in Luuka where The Way Home is based. I am most excited about getting into a village and getting my hands dirty and building relationships with the beautiful people there.

http://www.thewayhomeafrica.com/index.html

Just wanted to drop in for a sec with some good news! The baby that I told you about several weeks ago who was stuck in a heart-breaking limbo between the Ugandan and American Embassies because of a visa situation has now gotten clearance for a visa! Baby Eden should be heading home with her Momma to her Daddy and four older siblings in no longer than two weeks! I am once again so thankful for a Saviour who hears us when we cry out to Him for friends like Eden.

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress." -Psalm 107:6

Serving a wild God...

The love of God in that face is so evident.Such joy in her face.

This is why I am here.

Brave friend coming to meet the mzungu!

Some of the sweet faces in Luuka.

Watching from a distance.
Clapping and singing!

Something that I am learning in the short time that I have been here is that we serve a wild God. He is not confined to our church buildings and the traditions that we place on Him. He moves and does in ways that we will never understand. He is so much more than we make of Him. He does so much more than we give Him credit for. I don't know about you, but I am thankful that I serve a God who is always leaps and bounds ahead of me. I will never put my finger on it. I will only ever touch the tip of the iceberg in my time here on earth. That makes me want to worship Him more than anything else. Why wouldn't I trust Him? Why wouldn't I go where He tells me to go? Why wouldn't I make what I think are huge sacrifices in order to be obedient to His leading? I will choose to honor a wild God who blows my mind on a regular basis. I will choose to obey and follow a wild God who leads me to places I'm not so sure I want to be. I will choose to worship a wild God who loves me in ways I can never wrap my head around

"Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven-what can you do? Deeper than the Sheol-what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea." -Job 11:7-9

Crooked seams and broken tiles...

The Nile at Sunset.

The old home of one of the grannies getting a house built by Every Child Ministries.

Staying at Ekisa this week has lots of perks, Zuena's cute face is just one!

Happy Jojo!

Life in a third world country is becoming more normal everyday. But every once in a while, more like once a day if I'm honest, I find myself having to remind myself that everything is okay. Life will go on. Thursday I had one of these moments and I think it has by far been one of my best. I went and picked up the curtains from the seamstress that is making them for my apartment. Because of course I can't run to the store and buy them off the shelf and of course we don't have standard window sizes here! When I got back to my apartment Candice and I hung them up. It took mere seconds for me to say too loudly "Look at the seams. They are SO crooked!" Candice having lived here for 4 years just laughed at me being offended that the seamstress would dare sew my seams on my curtains crooked. Candice just called Bobby into the room to see how good the curtains looked! Only moments later I walked into my new bathroom to see that not one, but two tiles in my new shower were broken during the installation process and the guys laying the tile still laid them broken. At that moment I decided that someone should write a book titled "How To Deal With Crooked Curtains And Broken Tiles: Living In A Third World Country" for all the picky people like me. Who knows, maybe I can pen this thrilling how-to book one day! Haha!

Besides the crooked seams and broken tiles, I am beginning to live life here. I got a wonderful compliment the other day from another missionary. He said he had a hard time believing that I had only been here for two and a half months. I tell you that, because so much of that compliment is thanks to you. Your support financially and prayerfully. I don't have to worry about wether or not I have sweet brothers and sisters in Christ interceding for me on a daily basis. I don't have to worry about how I will pay my rent. And that is thanks to you.

back where I love...

Today was the day I’ve been waiting for. I got back in the village. I love it. Everything about it. Especially the sweet people. Wait until you see their gorgeous faces. I got to go into the town of Luuka, it’s takes a little over an hour to get there from Jinja. It’s a different world out there. The land is breath taking. There are small ponds and pine forests everywhere. I got to visit Luuka with the missionaries from Every Child Ministries. They are in the process of building homes for grannies who are raising their grandchildren. They started the program in 2011 with 20 grannies and have added 20 more this year. By the end of this year all 40 grannies will have a 2-3 bedroom house with a bathroom in a separate building. The bathroom is the most exciting part. It’s relatively unheard of for families to have a bathroom in the villages. Now these grannies won’t have a bathroom comparable to the one in your house, they will have a pit latrine (a squatty potty) and a shower in the building. Today we went to visit four grannies so they could sign a contract for their new home to be built. The contract includes things such as: when they die their grandchildren will get the house, they are in no way indebted to Every Child Ministries, and they will live in the house that is being built for them. It was so sweet to see how each granny handled signing the contract. One was quiet in her humbleness and another danced and sang for us and the crowds that had gathered. I wish that all of you could come to Uganda and visit the people in Luuka and the other villages surrounding Jinja. They are people worth meeting. You will leave them changed.

Please be in prayer with me. I have a neat opportunity on the table but I want to make sure that I am obedient in my response. I am so thankful for your support.

Lots to learn...

The paparazzi have nothing on the wedding photographers!
Damali and her Uncle Randy

The bride's maids and flower girl

The groom and groom's maids as they are referred to here.

Only a true teacher would bring flashcards to pass the time...never too early to learn your numbers!

My wedding dates. Luke, Bethany, and Randy.

I got to go to my first Ugandan wedding Saturday. I went to one in Kenya two summers ago, but I wasn’t sure how alike they would be. The wedding I went to Saturday only lasted about an hour and a half, the wedding I went to in Kenya lasted closer to three hours! It was Damali (director of Sonrise) and her new husband Felix’s wedding. They had a traditional village ceremony the weekend before, but this was the Christian church service. Now the fun part, I rode to Kampala (the capital city) on the bus with all of the kids and aunties from Sonrise…did I mention that it was a 24 passenger bus? Did I also mention that there were about 25 adults and almost 40 kids on this bus? Good thing the air conditioning was working. Yeah right…air conditioning in a car! I have decided it’s a requirement for all vehicles across the country of Uganda to have broken air conditioners.

Weddings here are quite different than a typical church wedding at home. The ceremony starts with a praise and worship team leading worship for all the wedding guests. You are encouraged to be loud and clap to praise God throughout the entire ceremony. After several songs the groom and his maids walk down the aisle. In a very slow and intentional process. Step.
Stop. Step. Stop. Then another song. Then the bride’s maids enter in the same manner. Then another song. Then Damali and her Uncle Randy came down the aisle. The vows are very short and precise, then the exchanging of the rings. Then comes the sermon. Damali’s uncle gave the sermon to the congregation. After the sermon, an offering is taken for the church. Then the ceremony ended with the signing of the marriage certificate.

I am learning everyday that I still have so much to learn about living in a completely different culture. There are so many little things that are different. Like the wedding, what is appropriate and not appropriate. I would never get up and take a picture of the bride during a ceremony in the states! But it is absolutely okay here. This week should be a fun week. I am once again in a limbo between living arrangements. My new apartment isn't complete yet, but I need to move out the apartment I am in now. So back again to my friends at Ekisa! I am staying there until my apartment is complete. I am hoping that I get to move in this weekend! I can't wait to show you pictures of my new home. You are going to love it! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Rachel is loving that Easter goody!
I think Jane will soon be the newest member of the M&M club!

Musoke's little body can't handle too much sugar so he got a ball instead!

My Easter Bunny!

Thanks to my Momma I had lots of goodies to pass out to my friends!

It's a good Friday.

Can you imagine? The desperation they felt must have been crippling. As they watched their beloved Messiah die a death that was uncalled for and unfair. I wonder how many times in the days leading up to His death that His closest followers and family thought "We'll get this straightened out." When Jesus went before Caiaphus and the Council (Matthew 26:57-68). When Jesus was before Pilate and it was so obvious that Pilate wasn't confident that Jesus was actually guilty of anything (Matthew 27:11-14). When Pilate gave the citizens the choice whether to free Jesus or Barabbas (Matthew 15-23). But in all of these situations it never got straightened out. I wonder as Mary watched as her firstborn walked to the cross how did she react. Had she eaten since she heard the news? Had she slept? Had she cried out all of her tears? How could she even put one foot in front of the other? She must have been physically and emotionally exhausted. And then Peter. Poor Peter with his big mouth. Jesus tried warning Peter that he would deny Him three times and Peter wouldn't hear of it (Matthew 26:30-35/69-75). Then it happened, Peter so quickly acted out the prediction of Jesus. And Jesus knew it. But how could Peter get to Him and beg his best friend for forgiveness and try to explain himself. The guilt Peter put on himself must have been so heavy. Unbearably heavy. Oh and Mary Magdalene. That broken woman who had such a tragic and embarrassing past. The women that most followers couldn't be around because their judgement was too strong. But not Jesus. He let her wash his feet with perfume that had been bought with money earned in a less than God honoring way and her own hair that had been used to attract many men. How could Mary Magdalene's legs hold her up as she stood in the crowd? The only man who had ever allowed her to put her past behind her and be a new creature was quickly slipping away from her. What would life look like for her now? She has just started to see the hope in the future. And now she thought it was gone.

Then the moment they all knew in their hearts was bound to happen came. They nailed Him to the cross and raised it for all to see. Their son, best friend, healer, provider, teacher, and leader was there for all to see. Can you imagine being in the crowd. Knowing what was happening was wrong. How could Jesus be dying a criminal's death? How had his life ended that quickly?

For me it's hard to think about those closest to Jesus at the time of His death and not have tears come. I know why the Messiah had to die that horrific death. He has given me His own words to explain it. But they did not have that promise of Sunday. They must have been so confused. Surely that was not the way they expected things to play out. The weight of the unknown must have been unbearable. I don't know about you but I am so thankful that I know that He comes back a couple of days later alive. That human hands couldn't keep Him down. I'm thankful that I can look at this as Good Friday. I know because of this Friday my sins have been forgiven and I can have fellowship with God.

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father into your hands I commit My spirit!" And having said this He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, "Certainly, this man was innocent!" And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all of His acquaintances and the women who had followed Him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. -Luke 23:46-49

Sorry for the gap in blogs, honestly I just didn’t feel like I had anything interesting to share with you. (I live in Africa so I know that’s probably not true!) I haven’t had any melt-downs or run-ins with reptiles (not in the shower anyway!), however the Lord has been clearly speaking to me from the book of James. I am realizing that I could do anything and everything to serve the people of Uganda but if I neglect to remember where my burden for these people came from I am in turn neglecting them. I have to remind myself why I am here. And it is to honor God. I honor God by knowing His word and acting it out in day to day life. It’s a struggle some days for me to take advantage of the Bible. Especially here where I am learning about God in so many of my day to day activities and my life is so much more purposefully lived out as a believer than it is in the states. I have come to a place where I am not desperate to hear from God through His word. And I have to work hard to fix that. I need to be well-rounded in my walk with Him, so that I am not dependent on learning from Him through only one way. So in comes James, he shared a life with Christ as his brother and still missed out on so much. James took so much of what the world had to say as truth instead of taking what Christ had to say as truth. So how much harder do I have to try to take what Christ said as truth? James gives a solution, of course it’s not an easy one, to not become a forgetful listener. To take advantage of the word of God and remember it. Memorize it, yikes! Act out on it, even when it isn’t easy, let’s be real, most of the time it’s not easy.

“But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out, he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:25 (NET)

So I am making a commitment to not be a forgetful listener. I want to listen closely and take action. I want to know that what I am doing honors God, because if it isn’t, then I need to pack up and head home. Imagine the way that we could be serving others if we weren’t forgetful listeners. I myself, think that we as believers would have a better reputation as a whole.

I became an official resident of Jinja today, at least that's what I'm telling myself! I got a box at the post office! So bring on the mail! Haha! Cards take a little over two weeks and are cheap to send. Packages on the other hand are more expensive and take about a month to get here. Now there are those items that get lost along the way and make it three months after leaving the states.

Alisha Vice
PO Box 690
Jinja, Uganda, East Africa