So, I have alot to say...

It is with the most inspiring blend of relaxation and contentment that I curl up in my bed, tuck my mosquito net into the edges of the mattress and settle in for a night of writing. While I begin this update in the comfort of a cozy grass roofed cottage an hour outside of Kampala’s dirty city streets, I will most likely finish this update in a sweaty, crowded Internet cafe in town.

I’ve been in Uganda for a little over month now, and each day seems to overflow with an ample supply of successes, struggles, lessons and memories. But it’s far too exhausting to try to commit them all to writing, so look’s like you’re just getting the highlights...some good, some bad and a few ugly. Go ahead, snuggle in with me. This entry is a long one. Grab a cup of tea or coffee or a cold soda, a piece of pie or a hamburger or a slice of pizza (oh, I miss pizza!), and read on...

The good. Where do I begin? Ah yes...samosas! While I do tend to crave some of the comfort foods from home, being here provides me with a whole new menu of food to crave when I am in the states. Samosas are by far my favorite...triangular fried meat pies stuffed with green onions, spices and ground beef, wrapped in a flaky crust. But then there are all the fresh foods that make our grocery store produce sections a really elaborate joke. The pineapples, mangos, bananas, and grilled maize are amazing! There’s also the African tea with milk and ginger—Shelly’s specialty. And let’s not forget the chapatti—it’s basically a glorified tortilla, thick and delicious! Food is always something that fascinates me about cultures, and Uganda is no different. I’m still trying to master the skill of eating with my fingers—yes! it’s a skill. Some of my friends here can eat sauces and all without dirtying their fingers. It’s a gift really. Now, don’t get me wrong, I use silverware when I’m at restaurants in town, but on days at Christopher House with the kids it’s fun to try out my finger eating, although I am still failing miserably. I’m a complete mess by the end of the meal.

More good. Every afternoon I teach creative drama. Four local schools have enrolled in extra curricular activities through Christopher House. Many schools cannot afford to hire teachers for art, music, sports or drama, so the schools have been going without this element of education. Now, CHM has opened its doors to 4 schools with the hope of eventually partnering with up to 12 schools to offer these extra-curricular activities. My biggest group is made up of 40 students on Tuesday, but my most wildly fun group comes on Fridays—all girls! We have been having a blast! Each child was given the opportunity to select one class for this school term. We have about 100 students from each school and each school comes on a different day. And I have around 80 students who chose reading and creative drama. So far we’ve played acting games, learned new emotions and even put them into practice (on Tuesday I had 40 kids acting tearful...it got quite loud! Furious and frightened are also class favorites to act out), and we’re reading story books galore! On Wednesday, the class actually groaned when I told them class was dismissed. It is beyond thrilling to introduce a love of learning and see it ignite in these children! And I haven’t even talked about the hugs...for the first few weeks they were bashful, resistant, unsure about my attempts to love on them, but now they run through the gate straight into my arms. They even line up for hugs before they leave. Even the boys have grown accustomed to hugs and high fives. While it may be a tiny part in the day, I feel, in those moments, like a channel of God’s love to the lives of a few kids in this little corner of the world.

Still more good. Though the Bible study with the teenage girls hasn’t become a place of honest or open sharing yet, there is an energy in that space that offers me hope that there is much for these precious girls to learn and much wisdom for these girls to offer one another. These young ladies are quiet but strong, reserved but insightful. I have so much to learn from their wisdom. One of these girls has endured sexual abuse, one is battling cancer, and another is learning to care for her mother who was recently diagnosed as HIV positive. At such young ages these girls have faced the fierce and cruel reality of life. They are survivors!

Bible Study Boom...So, I had to add something before I send this off for you to read. I met with the girls today, and they simply glowed with interest and excitement for the Bible Study. We talked about the women surrounding the birth of Moses’. We explored the fears they might have had. One girl suggested that Moses’ mother might have worried that the basket would tip over in the river or that someone would find him and kill him. Another suggested the fear that Miriam might have had by running along the river alone. What if there were snakes? They each explored these characters in varying ways, but what a beautiful tapestry of ideas and insights! It felt like a break through. I found out from Zalia, one of the older girls whose depth of insight always catches me off guard, and she told me the silence in the last weeks was from the girls’ fear to speak English. They are so timid , and when speaking of emotions and depth, they simply communicate better in Luganda. So, we did some fun translating tonight, but everyone contributed something to the discussion! They argued that their answers were wrong, and yet each answered with such creativity. Next week I think they want to teach me some new dance moves. Pray that I don’t humiliate myself...

The bad. With brute force HIV/Aids seems stronger than ever. One of our staff members at CHM was diagnosed as HIV positive as was Sylivia who does the house keeping out at Shiloh where we stay on the weekends. They are both single mothers, and one of them is caring for 7 children. With malaria, flu and the common infections around, everyday living can be a threat to their survival. Pray for these women to be strengthened and sustained, loved and encouraged.

It is such a gift to be here in Uganda. The more I am here, the more I feel drawn to return. I continue to pray for God’s guidance as I serve here until August. And in a spirit of gratitude and humility, I ask that you join me in praying for:

1.Sylivia and Edith’s healthcare needs, their adjustment to living as HIV positive, and that God would bring comfort where there is anxiety, peace where there is fear

2.the staff at CHM—Shelly, Enoch, Elijah, Fred, Rami, Rita, Sylivia, Christine, Abdul, Dick, Helen, Vincent, Edith—that God will continue to strengthen the bond that grows within this ministry team, and that God would equip them for the demands of the new school program.

3.the students who are coming to CHM from local schools...that they would encounter the love of Christ in what they are learning and in the teachers who instruct them

4.Shammim. At 17 she is living with a cancerous tumor growing inside her head. She is in the care of hospice while she waits for the cooperation of a US hospital and the Ugandan government to issue her visa.

5.Pray for the health of all of us who work at CHM. First, I was sick with worms, then Abdul with intense migraines, then Enoch with malaria, then Shelly with worms. Pray for healing and fresh energy for the work ahead.

6.Lastly, pray with me as I discern God’s calling in ministry. Christopher House feels like such a beautiful fit with my gifts in ministry, but I desperately don’t want to misunderstand God. I’m asking that God slap me in the face with the right timing, task and direction, so I’ll be unable to confuse anything.

I am continually strengthened by your presence in my life. For your love, your support, your prayers, I am forever thankful.

For Now,
This is Alisha on Location

Not Guilty

It's not my fault. You can't play Celine Dion over the loud speaker of your grocery store and expect people like me to keep quiet. It's simply not possible. Here's how it went down. Shelly and I were doing some shopping for the week when Celine came on, and naturally I chimed in...some other shoppers stopped to look. Shelly spoke up, telling them I was famous in the US and that I just didn't want anyone to know. They were trying to guess who I was...Shelly is a troubled individual, I tell you. She's just sick! But grocery shopping hasn't been that much fun in a long time.

In other news, the creative drama class is fantastic! It's two hours a day of sheer delight...kids acting, playing and trying new things. Thinking and having fun...an unusual combination for this culture! My group on Thursday clapped after each activity and sighed with disappointment when the class was finished. What an encouraging sign that things are going well. It's encouraging.

Their Bible study has been slow coming...no worries. I'm sure it will happen, but for now the schools have been keeping the older students on Saturdays to study, and this is keeping our girls from Bible study. We're back to finding a time that will work for them, but they continue to ask about classes. Pray that we will find a good time for these girls to have this spiritual formation group. They crave time to learn and be together...oh, these precious girls are survivors of sexual abuse, cancer and the hard life that Uganda throws at adolescent girls.

Well, I'm off to eat something fried for dinner.
This is Alisha on Location.

One Big Blur

This past week is a blur--a cluttered collection of days and happenings that will at least fill up this blog entry. A busted window in Shelly's van by careless boys throwing rocks. The lecture that followed the broken window. A game of pictionary with the kids. An afternoon at the Internet cafe. Dinner with Duke Divinity Friends. A call from home. Attacking the kids with kisses. A couple of hours separating beans. A lesson in Luganda. Napping at Shiloh. Teaching the teenage girls about the life of Eve.Going to the Dry cleaners for my dirt stained linen skirt. Playing cards with Shelly to pass the time. Losing at cards. Playing netball with the boys. Attending staff meeting. Going to a Muslim funeral for a beloved grandmother in Lukwanga. Cutting my finger nails to the quick. Washing my clothes by hand. Attending another staff meeting. Riding a boda boda to church. Eating M&Ms. Holding Isaac and chasing him around the compound. Trying to teach Freddles to dance the Tush Push. Bathing from a basin. Seeing Indiana Jones during its opening weekend. Drinking African tea. Sweating. Walking the kids up the hill to cross the street. Loving Uganda.

Well, I'm off to buy juice and bananas for breakfast.

This is Alisha on Location.

Peace Talks in Uganda

There have been serious peace talks this week at Christopher House. In 2005, a certain 1 year old by the name of Isaac hated me. I mean it...HATED me! With clear conviction, he would scream every time I came near. I even tried to pick him up when he had fallen on the pavement, but he would have no part in it. it was clear, he did not want to be my friend. Oh sure, it got comical. Everyone thought it was funny that he feared me. I tell you, it was not funny. I am proud to announce that we have reached an agreement to be friends. I'm not sure exactly how it happened (or how long it will last) , but now he's calling me Auntie Lisha, falling asleep in my lap during staff meetings, running as fast as he can into my arms and playing jump rope with me too. I'm confident that there will be no more turmoil until I leave because I just might cry like a baby when I have to say goodbye in August.

In other news, my favorite thing happened this week during staff meeting. It was raining and the sun was shining at the same time. I just love that. "It's my favorite," I whispered to Sylivia who was sitting next to me. "It means something in Uganda--it means God delivers." What a beautiful reminder.

The Sylivia who works at Shiloh found out that she is Positive. She has also recently lost her husband and is working hard to make it financially. Pray that God will be present with Sylivia as she struggles with this new crushing reality. Her joy has not been taken. She still smiles from deep within,and her laugh is contagious. Still, I know she fears for the future of her children and the unknown future for herself. How I wish God could magically deliver her from this pain.

Well, I'm off to play with some of my favorite kids in the world.

From Bunga, this is Alisha on Location.

The Eagle Has Landed... on a Boda-Boda

The eagle has landed, and by eagle I mean me. On an almost cool morning, I breezed through immigration and baggage claim (that's right, both of my suitcases arrived) and found Shelly waiting with a cup of hot coffee to share with me. There was something familiar in the air. Something sweet and welcoming. It was something foreign, but it was also like home. Maybe it was the smell of burning plastic that suffocates Ugandan air. Anyway, whatever it was, it certainly made me feel good to be back.


Shelly (who is the director of Christopher House, my supervisor, and a treasured friend) took me first to Christopher House for an afternoon with the kids. Plenty of hugs and "well be back" greetings. Then it was off to Shiloh. Now, Shiloh is a campground that is still being built. It's about an hour out of town and it just might be a piece of heaven on earth. It's one of my favorite places to be! Grass roof cottages, recently stoned pathways, greened trees, plenty of shade and the distant sounds of birds and children laughing or crying, and on top of it all...Galaboozi is there. He is a 63 year old delightfully joyous man who does all of the farming and land management for Shiloh. Last summer, I created a theme song for him. It's to the tune of "Don't cry for me, Argentina" from the musical Evita, but I sing Galaboozi instead of Argentina. We pulled up and I began singing as loud as I could out the window. Soon enough Galaboozi and Sylivia came running from the field. They're hugs almost swallowed me whole.


Only two days and there is already so much to tell you. First, a confession. I did something last night that I swore I would never do. I rode a boda-boda in town. For those of you confused by this confession, let me explain. A boda-boda is a motorcycle that transports people. They're fast, unreliable and possibly dangerous. No helmets are involved, not even cute ones. Let's just say, I nearly peed my pants. Something makes me so uneasy about riding on the back of a motorcycle while a complete stranger drives. Anyhow, I didn't die. I didn't fall off. It was a beautiful miracle.


So, this Saturday begins the Girls' Bible Study! Pray with me that these girls will connect with the material. We're studying 10 women in Scripture. We're not focusing on the all stars or the most remembered women. Instead, we're looking at some of the women in the shadows, some without names. We're looking at how God sees these women in their life situations, and then we're going to talk about how God sees us in our lives too. We'll be trying a few things that will be new to them...a foot washing service, communion, jewelry making and mosaic art. I'll definitely keep you posted on how this study goes. I know these girls have rich contributions to make to this area of study. Pray that they God will use this study to strengthen them, encourage them, empower them.

Well, I suppose I should get back to the center. My butt is getting numb from sitting in this seat too long. I love you all from here, and I continue to thank God for your presence, your prayers and your support. They mean everything...

This Alisha on Location, signing off...

Is it time to pack again?

The last few days have given me the opportunity to re-connect with my secret passion for packing. Don’t be fooled—it truly is a talent. It involves lots of zip lock bags, a pinch of creativity, persistence and a dab of elbow grease. So, you won’t be surprised by my confession—since Wednesday of this week I have been packing and unpacking, then packing again. I can’t decide if this makes me really thorough and fantastic or just crazy. Either way, I’m pretty sure of one thing…I’m really excited! Last night Nyanga Moses (adopted Ugandan brother and the student that Erin and I sponsor) called about his school fees, and when I told him I’d be back in Uganda in May, he did one of those Ugandan squeals. It’s not loud or too high pitched. It’s the perfect blend of contentment and thrill. Call me sometime, I’ll be glad to do it for you over the phone. Anyway, his squeal was enough to remind me of all the squealing I’ll be doing in a few days when I get to see my friends again and dive into new ministry opportunities. Woo!

For now, I’m just waiting for the days to go by…I’m lunching with friends and saying goodbyes. I’m stocking up on duck tape, deodorant, cotton balls and crayons. Ok, my room’s a mess. I gotta go pack…again.

For those of you...

For those of you who know me, you know that I am in love with Uganda. I fell in love with a place called Ekitangaala Ranch in 2005 when my best friend, Erin and I spent five months there teaching, tutoring, directing a high school play, and rocking babies. We returned to Uganda in 2007 for a two month summer reunion with our adopted Ugandan family and our precious Ugandan friends. And even then I knew I would return to Uganda again.

As of May 12, 2008 I will be off for yet another amazing African adventure. This time around I will be working with Christopher House Ministries, a community center focused on “Building Christ Centered Families." In order to have a long term, life-changing effect on the people of this poverty stricken, AIDS ravaged, war-torn country, CHM uses theologically based programs to teach children art, sculpture, music, sports, reading and soon theatre arts. They also teach parenting classes and English to adults in the community. Outside the city they are building a campground in order to do and holiday camps to take the kids out of the city for Bible Study, games and good times they would never have the opportunity to experience! I will be serving in the area of reading, theatre arts and spiritual formation groups for youth.

As my vocational calling takes shape, I see in myself the gifts and abilities to disciple and empower youth and children especially in international settings. There is part of me that always knew I would spend part of my life outside of the US. This summer will be a time for me to gain a more concrete sense of that calling. This summer’s journey will be a time for me to ask some difficult questions and do some serious searching as I seek a permanent ministry placement after I graduate from Duke in May 2009. So, the journey is definitely not over in August. But for now, I’m Alisha, (packing to be) on Location in Uganda, East Africa!