Yesterday began like most days: ice cold shower in the dark, porridge at the table with the family for breakfast, walk to the office and settle into my desk to study Kinyarwanda. Even the walk home for lunch was uneventful. Lunch was simple but delicious, potatoes and cabbage. A knock on the door after lunch was the event that brought the unexpected element into my day.
My brother, Olivier, came to the living room to inform me that Laurette and her grandmother were at the gate. Let me give you a brief background. Laurette is a precious little girl, age two and a half who was being raised by her grandmother. Her mother was raped and bore her at a very young age and is therefore unable to care for her. So the grandmother had taken on the responsibility of raising her but she is a widow herself and very very poor. Long story short, Les and Yvonne have agreed to take Laurette into our home and raise her as their own child at the request of the desperate grandmother. We had to have certain paperwork in place before this could happen so we thought that this process would take awhile.
Naturally, I thought that this day, they had probably just come for a visit and maybe to update us on the necessary paperwork. Imagine our surprise when I discovered that the grandmother’s intention was to leave Laurette with us the same day! I quickly called Yvonne who was still in the office to let her know what was happening at the house. So that settled it, we had a new little girl at our house! You just never know what the day will bring!
Of course, it was not that simple. Though Laurette is young, she is not too young to understand that she is not with her grandmother and is now surrounded by strangers. I held her tightly as she sobbed and cried for her “mama.” My heart broke as I watched this precious little one struggling to understand what was happening to her. How traumatized she must be.
To complicate things even more, we had to go to a conference in the evening so she could not even get used to the house. And she is absolutely terrified of our dogs too. The poor little thing is having such a rough time adjusting but we know that these things will take time. She clung to me and eventually fell asleep as we walked the forty five minute walk to the church where we were having the conference. It was a bit of a rough evening with lots of crying and calling for “mama.” But we made it through and today she is doing much better. The other kids (my brothers and sisters) have taken her under their wings and at this point that seems to be the only thing that helps. Though she clung to me yesterday she now seems rather terrified of us (being white) but we know that too will take some adjustment. Keep her in your prayers as she continues to adjust to life in our household. She is a precious addition to our already large family!
