This Girl's Heartbeat

We just got back from a trip to the market and to a coffee shop which was such a wonderful little place. On the way there, we saw a little child about Caleb's age sitting on the side of the road. People were passing him and not looking at him- as though he didn't exist. Shay, who had passed earlier this morning to go to the bank, said he was there earlier. On the way back from the market he was still there. Forgotten, alone, probably hungry and scared. And God shook me to my core. I could barely make it back to my room Before crying and falling on my knees. He shook me and reminded me of my purpose. To not forget: to pray for these children who don't have a mother to pray for them. HE has not forgotten this child. This ride was not just to go to the market; it was to show us the faces of a people who need him, who are going about there day with no idea of what it's like to know him, a people who have become so used to seeing children on side of the road that they walk p...

Change of plans So you have to go with the flow when you are on a trip to Africa. Our plane was delayed one hour in Ethiopia and when we finally got on the plan we were exhausted. Thankfully it was not a full flight so I grabbed a middle row and fell asleep. I was woken up to the news that we were not taking off: mechanical problems. So we got off and waited. Most of us tried to sleep and when I finally fell into a deep sleep we were woken up to eat lunch. All together, we left 6 or so hours later. When we finally got in the plane we were so exhausted and I crashed. I had no problem sleeping on this flight. We touched down in Entebbe and it was the best feeling - almost like being home. Everyone met us at the airport and it was so good seeing them. They too had been waiting for us to arrive since 11am-- it was now about 6pm. We hugged and introduced everyone. So many on our trip are newbies. There's only a handful of us who have been before. Still haven't gotten to kno...

Yoshi I'm on the plane right just entering Africa near Benghazi. Glad I'm 37,000 feet in the air lol. It's dark outside and we've been flying for 9 hours and 8 minutes. Yes, when you've been in a Plane for that long even the minutes count. I've already lost track of what day it is. I think it's Friday in Africa, 6pm Thursday in Thibodaux. We arrived in Washingtonian dc somewhere around 9 last night. Our Louisiana group plus Linda ( we consider her a Cajun even if she lives in Indiana) really are a great group. We've had such a blast. We really have a good group with us this year. We met everyone else in DC this morning but really haven't gotten a chance to know them. So I guess y'all are wondering what the deal with Yoshi is. Probably the best story of the trip so far. Our group has 12 people from LA and we each have a backpack, carry on suitcase, and two large suitcases. We had to catch a bus to the hotel. So we walk out to the outside te...

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In four days I will be leaving for my second trip to Uganda.  This year is so different from last year.  I don't understand it but I'm more anxious this year than last year. (A good anxious though.)  Maybe it's because I know what I'm going into and I'm just so ready to get back to it.  I also feel like this is very different…..spiritually.  I know that my experiences will be very different from last year.  I have a few things that I want to take care of for Refuge so I'm going to work while I'm there.  But spiritually, this trip is on a whole other level.  God has been calling me to prayer for the children, Bishop and his family, the orphanage, and the people of Uganda more and more as we approach the day to leave.  I know there is a special calling on this trip---God's going to show up in a mighty way!  I feel like we not only have a physical mission, but that this trip's focus is more on a spiritual mission.  Please pray for us w...

Lord, use me.  A prayer I've prayed a million times.  But lately I've been doing some soul searching, or rather God has been telling me about myself. (Don't you love when he does that.)  I've always wanted to be used by God greatly.  I've said that I've surrendered all, sang the song a million times, and just turn around to pick up all the junk I've laid on the alter for the 15th time that month and try to figure out this "surrendered" life I'm supposed to lead.  I've tried to map out how he can use me, where he can use me, and what he will have me doing.  Well let me just tell you folks, my head has been stuck in the sand for many years.  Now don't get me wrong, I've always wanted what God wanted for me and although I've put up a fight for a few things, I usually give in, hang my head like a little girl, and say "You were right all along and I should have listened the first time."  Why do us girls always try to figu...

So I'm just going to warm you in advance that this post will be mushy and sentimental.  Ok..you've been fully warned. :) This year's trip to Uganda will be much more special in one particular way…i will be sharing it with someone who is so dear to my heart.  We aren't the type of people to sit and talk about how we feel to each other or to tell each other what we mean to each other but I knew that at least one of these blog posts would be dedicated to her.   See, this girl has gotten me through some really hard times in my life.  She is a friend, a family member, and most of all my sister.  Growing up, I had to go through things that thankfully most children that age never have to experience.  I had a very sick little sister who was in and out of the hospital many times during my childhood.  During those hospital stays, I would live with my grandmother.  This girl stuck by me through it all.  I don't know if she really understood what her pre...

We are having a garage sale to raise funds for our trip to Uganda.  We are currently collecting items that you may want to donate.  (We will take anything but clothes.)  The garage sale will be Oct 5th.  If you have anything you would like to donate, please contact me at laceymelancon@yahoo.com . Thanks for helping!!!!

It's been forever since I've blogged so I thought with my trip approaching I would start again. I will be returning to Uganda this December and let me tell you, IT CAN NOT COME SOON ENOUGH!! I find myself daydreaming about Africa all the time. I go there at least once a week in my dreams and let me tell you, they are so vivid I almost feel like I can get out of bed and dust that red dirt off of my pjs. I tend to be in La La land on the days following those dreams. I'm homesick! It's the most strange and wonderful feeling. I compare it to this: That feeling you get when you haven't seen your special someone, your best friend, or someone really close to you for a VERY long time. It's like your heart breaks to be in their presence. Even just to sit together, to not even talk. That's how bad I want to be there. I know that this trip will be so different. Seeing things in a different way. The first trip was so new and overwhelming. I was just floode...

God has been opening so many doors for Refuge lately. Since we've returned from Africa, Mandy and I can hardly keep up with the blessings He's pouring out on the ministry. One of our main focus for Hope Refuge is to build the buildings. It costs between $12,000-$14,000 to build one building and that includes cement floors; right now they are sitting on dirt floors in some of their buildings. We were sitting around a merry go round in Mandy's back yard one Saturday when the brick project, or what we are calling the Tafaali project, came to mind. (Tafaali means brick in Lugandan) For a donation of $100, people will receive a brick that represents their donation. It only takes 140 bricks to build one building! Seems easy right! But we had no bricks. Since that day, we have had over 500 bricks donated to us with more on the way! When there's a need, He supplies it. we are already planning our projects for the next mission trip and are counting down the days and months...

Ever wonder why god takes you to places or situations which you try to avoid to grow you and teach you. He does this to me often and I don't like it. But I know it's good for me. It's like going to the dentist. I'm not of fan of the dentist but I know it's good for me. It's during these times that he stretches you and puts you in a place where all you can do is rely on him. Sometimes it takes some drastic measures for him to get our attention and sometimes it's a quiet nudge. But every time he shows me something about himself or about myself and I can feel him holding me and saying "it's ok Lacey, I've got you. I will never leave you nor forsake you." And I learn...I learn to lean on him, I learn to trust, and I reconnect to a source that sustains me and loves me so much. And I am reminded that I am His. Sent from my iPad

So I guess I've decided to keep going with this blog. Surprisingly, I'm finding that I like writing on this thing. My thoughts are mainly for me but maybe someone might feel the same about things and it helps to know you're not alone sometimes :) (At least for me it does) Ill try to keep it shorter than my blog from Africa though lol. So the big T. Wonder what that is? Transition. Spiritual transition. For me this word makes me want to cringe and be excited at the same time. My life has been in this faze for over a year now and it feels as though the emotions of it all are increasing daily. It's a mixture of excitement, wonder, and frustration all at once. Now I know frustration isn't what   god gives us but I've been feeling it. It's like I'm standing at the edge of the cliff wanting to jump, not sure what Im jumping into, but ready and not afraid, yet someone is holding my shirt and saying not yet. There's two things pulling me; knowing that t...

I've been home now for almost seven days and I've experienced so many emotions in such a short time. I miss me friends from Uganda and I miss the country in a way I didn't miss it when I left. Before I left, and a few times while I was there, I prayed and asked god to help me with my emotions. I am very soft hearted and I knew what I was about to experience would be an intense emotional experience and I didn't want to make a fool out of myself. I didn't want to embarrass myself but most importantly I didn't want to disrespect my African friends. It would be hard for me to explain to them the reasons behind my feelings. So I asked god to protect my heart and keep me in check. At times, although being there was amazing, I felt a little disconnected from things. Like I was walking in someone else's shoes. When I left, I was worried that the trip hadn't impacted me as much as I thought it would. I thought I was abnormal. I prayed and asked god if this was h...

Random observations about Uganda 1. The people here are absolutely gorgeous. The women are some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life and the men are so handsome. Their skin is like porcelain. And their smiles are gorgeous.  Everyone could be a model  2. They work hard. The manual labor is intense. Everything is done by hand. The staff at both of our hotels mop with a towel with their hands. They bend over the entire time. First they mop with a soapy towel and then they dry the floor with another.  3.  The food is really good.  We eat a lot of fruit and everything has no preservatives so its all natural. There are bananas everywhere and they taste like candy. I wish I could bring some home with me. The hotel cooks some kind of rice and gravy that has a lot of the same favors from back home. There's this bread called chipota that's like a fried flat bread that's really good.  the beef I ate at the bishops house the other day was very gamey....

Wednesday I'm sitting on the plane in Nairobi, Kenya right now. This plane is huge. 10 seats wide and there is a second story to the plane. We will be traveling for a total of 30 hours I believe. By the time I post this ill be in Amsterdam. We have a four hour layover there. I would give anything to have a longer one so I can visit Anne Franks house but it doesn't look like its going to happen. Leaving the bishop and his children was hard   Its crazy how much they feel like family. Matthew came find me through all of the people in the crowd and gave me a big huge. I love that kid. I had a dream last night that we took him home with us. I wish I could.   Leaving Ugandan soil caused such mixed emotions. Happy to be going home but sad to be leaving this land. It's people have won my heart. It's hard to think we are leaving a land to go to a place that is so different. America is a blessed nation in so many ways. My eyes have been opened to that these past 10 days. But Amer...

We woke up this morning and went to the new property where we are building the new orphanage. I was a little confused about some things but I'm good now. Let me explain. Kekabu is where the old orphanage is right now. It has about 600-700 kids. It's actually two orphanages in one right now the new orphanage is in kachomo. These are little villages. As we pulled up the the new site, women and children greeted us. It too is in the middle of a little village. The grounds are really big and it's amazing to see what refuge and Thibodaux and our other friends on the trip have helped to build. We were able to walk on the land that refuge purchased for farming. Such a surreal moment to realize that if our community hadn't pitched in to purchase this, that this opportunity would be non existent. The people over the orphanage are so excited to learn about how to use farming gods way to cultivate the land for crops ( www.farminggodsway.org ) we were able to send four people to the...

Tuesday We went straight to the orphanage today and had service. Today was baptism day. The preacher dismissed the Americans an then dismissed the children who wanted to baptized. So many lined up and I couldn't possibly fire out how we were going to do this. We had one big bus,one small one and a bishops SUV. Josh ( leader of our group) sd that only 20 people could go and there were about three spots left after those who had to go. I was really disappointed because I really wanted to be there to witness it but I prayed " we'll lord there must be a reason that you not want me to go". And the I thought " got in the trunk!"  So I grabbed three of my friends and we alla pull-ups in e trunk of the SUV. It was hilarious. You see, the water hole were we're going to baptize these kids was about ten minutes down the road and we had about 200 children to baptized and room was limited. We had to try to fit as many children as we could and bringing more adults mean...

Sent from my iPad Monday The days are all jumbled together and I had to ask someone what day we were on. This morning we went straight to the orphanage and had service. There's this little boy Matthew that we met the first day in Kampala. He was with bishop and is an orphan from the orphanage. We were told that he was sad and lonely so mama bishop took his with  her for a few days. He is back at the orphanage and let me just tell you, ya boy can dance. Haha. I have video of him I hope I can show you. It's great! Lol.  Service was really good. They ( including the children) started singing Jesus loves me in Lugandan and the spirit of god fell I that place. The children worship to passionately. Imagine 3-8 year olds weeping with eyes squinted and closed, arms lifted high praying to Jesus. Breathtaking.  I didn't stay in the service for long because I went help Ronnie and mandy with medical assessments. This made me see things in a while new way. Before they  were child...

Sunday Today was our first day at the orphanage. As we rode up we were greeted by the children again running with branches shouting hallelujah!  Still so powerful.   We went straight into church and had service. Worshipping with so many children is the best thing. Thankfully I wasn't as emotional today as I was last night. I was just so happy.  I think I smiled all day :). The children just want to touch you. The just want to shake your hand. Some are brave enough to just want to hug you and hold on to you. There were a few who were scared on us but some of these children have never seen white people before. As a sign of respect, the children and workers at the orphanage curtesy or drop to their knees when the shake your hand. Today I had a child of about 2 years old drop to their knees to shake my hand and I   had a lady about 75 years old curtesy to me and every age in between.  Of course I immediately drop to my knees to do the same for them. They treat us wi...

Saturday We were up and ready for 730 for the bishops and his crew to pick us up. He didn't show up till 12 lol. That's Uganda time for ya! The ride to the Mbale took about 6 hours and we stopped in Jinja to use the bathroom. I was looking out for Katie Davis but didn't see her. We were hoping to randomly run into her lol (  www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com ).  The ride there was nice. We got to see a lot of the country side. It's really beautiful and full of rolling hills covered in sugar cane and tea trees. I sat by my friend Elijah and got to learn a lot about what I was seeing. He told me about the tree that we always see in Africa pictures. They are super tall and he said that they produce really good wood. We road through the biggest forest in Uganda. He said there were many snakes, tigers, and panthers but we didn't see any. Our African friends sang a lot of the way there. I think heaven will have Africans singing. Their voices are so beautiful. I can listen ...

> > I'm going to attempt to explain this day but its not going to be easy. We left this morning and went to the market and bought souvenirs. I've seen so much of this city in the last few days And yet I'm still amazed and can't take my eyes off of what I'm seeing from the bus. There are people everywhere in the city. People walking, hanging out on the side of the side of the streets, driving, weaving in and out....it's packed. We call New York the city that never sleeps but NY ain't got nothing on Kampala! It's so busy and alive with action yet so laid back. Today small children were running up to the bus asking for money with huge smiles on their faces. They were alone; no parents in sight. As we rode through he city you could occasionally hear "muzuungu" ( ma-zoong-goo) being shouted from the crowd. That means white man LOL. There are tshirts they sell with muzuungu written on it. It's great. :) After that, We came back to the ...