a wonderful morning

I spent the morning with Shawna and her son, Salvation. She is the woman who wrote me just a few days ago about having recently adopted a son from Kajjansi, Uganda, which is, incredibly, the same town where St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood is located.

Salvation is a smart, articulate, engaging, curious and beautiful young man. At thirteen, he has seen more trials and tribulations than I probably ever will. He seems amazingly well adjusted to his new life here in America and so clearly adores his new mom. They met while Shawna was on a mission trip to Uganda last summer. She told me this morning that during the four weeks she stayed at the orphanage where Salvation lived, a place called Mercy Home, the fact the she was meant to be his mother unfolded quickly (and unexpectedly) before her very eyes. Of course, getting him here was another, more complicated story, but she was determined – and she succeeded in October, 2006. Since then, he has picked up English at a fast and furious pace, has made many friends in his seventh grade class and has been accepted with open arms by his three siblings. His favorite subject in school is art, and his mother tells me he is really something when it comes to sculpting with clay. He also loves music, especially the drums. I brought him to our house to meet Max, my mad drummer son, and the two of them had a blast playing around together on the drum set. I think he could have sat on that throne (isn’t it something that drummers have dubbed their seat a throne?) all afternoon! Max said Salvation’s entire face completely lit up when he took the sticks in hand, and the smile never left his face the whole time he was playing.

I showed Salvation my pictures from St. Mary Kevin’s. He lived there for two years before going to Mercy Home. He kept calling out the names of kids and teachers he knew. He recognized the place where he used to help cook dinner, the machines he used to make bricks, and the fields where he laid them out to dry in the sun. He even knew my little friend Sonja, my constant companion while wandering around making pictures.

Needless to say, we have made a couple of new friends. It was a moving experience listening to Salvation tell his story, and watching the way his mom, Shawna, beamed as she looked in his direction.