Mercy and her "LoLo"

Mercy has this gift… she can wrap people, especially Ugandan males, around her little finger.  I don’t know if it’s her fabulous charisma, her twinkling eyes, or her piercing scream/cry, but she can have her way with people.  One of her victims, perhaps her biggest victim, is Lawrence, who Mercy affectionately calls “LoLo”.  Lawrence is a 15 year old boy that is in the midst of getting adopted.  Mercy and I met Lawrence, his adoptive mom (Carmen), and his big sister, (Val), back in December on the day I thought Mercy and I were leaving with a visitor’s visa.  I had heard about them online, and we arranged to meet up that day for a bit.  We talked a bit and I told them I was glad they could meet us on such a great day.  Then while all of us girls were getting pedicures I got the phone call that would rock my world…. Mercy’s visa was revoked and we would not be leaving.   Needless to say, I will always remember where I was the day I met Lawrence.  Lawrence’s family received legal guardianship of him in late December, but his mom had to travel back to the US to finish up some immigration paperwork.  So, Lawrence has been staying at the house with us.

Mercy got LoLo to walk her all over the beach

Mercy really loves Lawrence.  He gives her whatever she wants.  He’ll get a glass of water, she’ll look up at him longingly, and before you know it, Mercy drank all of his water.  He gets some food, he always shares with Mercy.  She wants to go outside, Lawrence will push her around in the toy car or on the tricycle.  He’s like her giant playmate.  And I think he kind of likes it.  When Mercy and I come back to the house, she’ll run to Lawrence’s room and say, “LoLo”?  He’s in the shower, and she’ll stand outside the door calling for him.  It’s adorable.  Last week, he got me in trouble at church.  Mercy was starting to act up, so I took her out and we were standing in the doorway.  But she realized that if she peered around the corner she could see LoLo.  He noticed too and started making faces at her, which led to her giggling, and got me dirty looks from the ushers.  And one of my favorites, Lawrence is convinced that Mercy is a happier child with her hair done.  We had to get it redone this week, and there was a couple of days in between taking it out and the new do.  Lawrence kept telling me that she missed her braids and would be much happier when she got new ones.  

Playing outside



LoLo thought Mercy needed to look cool, so he tied this napkin around her head. 
She left it like that for hours!

A couple of weeks ago he went to eat with me, Mercy, and Billy at the mall.  Afterwards we walked up to the new big playground.  He was so excited about going on the equipment with Mercy.  Later he told me that was his first time on a slide.  No wonder he was so excited.

Weee!



I’ve been trying to help Lawrence get ready for life in America.  His world is going to change tremendously.  So we work on learning the American English words for things instead of the British English. He cracks up over calling it a “bathroom” instead of a “toilet”.  Which really, if we’re not bathing in there why do we call it that? Why do we call them “pants” instead of “pant”, but “underwear” instead of “underwears”?  And did you know that in British English it’s a “ladybird” and not a “ladybug”?  Weird. We talk about different customs and cultural differences.  Can you imagine two teenage boys in America walking down the street holding hands? Ugandans often have some crazy ideas about life in America, so I try to clear up any misconceptions about our lives.  Even today, somehow we were talking about pets and he asked if it was true that some dogs in American can go to the store by themselves and buy something for you.  Someone told him that once. Where do people get these ideas from?  He’s learned to play Uno and Phase 10, and I helped him do his first word search.  He’s learned about bathtubs, washing machines, and microwaves.  And he’s getting used to some American food.  He really likes hamburgers and can’t wait to try out McDonald’s.  He recently tried ranch dressing, chicken pot pie made with biscuits, enchiladas, and iced tea.

Harriett showing Lawrence who is boss one day.  So funny!

Can you imagine taking in so many firsts as a teenager?  It’s got to be a bit overwhelming, but he’s done great so far.  He has a contagious laugh and always makes people smile.  And all of us love to hear Lawrence say “Oh yeah” and “Wow”.  He’s been a big help to some of the other families adopting. He often serves as translator or tour guide.  His new family will be blessed to have him as a part of their lives.  And I’m grateful we get to spend time with him in the meantime.  I love to see teenagers get adopted.  There are so many needing and longing for families and a place to feel loved.  I’m so glad for Lawrence that it’s not too late and he now has a real family.  But I hope that he’ll always be a part of our lives too. Mercy would be really sad without her “LoLo”.

And since you were all so interested last time, here's a couple of pics of Mercy's new do.