Mercy of Zambia

The first thing that I noticed about Mercy was her beautiful smile.
The second thing I noticed was the colorful band over her forehead.
Then I heard her speak in rapid English and I could not understand anything she said.

  "You were not raised in America," I said.   She said no, that   she was born in Zambia. As time went by I learned much about her country and about her.  When she first came to America, she was around 12 and weighed 99 pounds. 

 My " goodness" I exclaimed?  "What did you eat in Zambia"?
 I learned that they eat lots of vegetables, which they grow themselves, so they eat a healthy diet with very little meat.  All of her grandparents had large farms and raised all kinds of vegetables which we also grow here.
only they eat them fresh from the garden.  

Mercy is 19 now, and after eating the diet that most American have eaten for years she has put on a few pounds and is working to lose some of it.  She has been eating less, and more healthful foods. She is also doing kick boxing.
I met Mercy when I needed some help and I got in touch with Visiting Angels.  Some of the things I wanted her to do were foreign to her, so I did a lot of explaining.  The first morning she came I asked her to make a poached egg.  She had never done that before so I told her what to do.  In a few minutes she came into the dining room with a pan in her hand with about 2 tablespoon of water in it and asked if this was what I wanted.  I told her I would stand in the doorway and tell her step by step.  I could not go into the kitchen because I use oxygen and the gas stove would cause a bad problem; so I stood in the doorway and walked her through it.  When I saw her try to break an egg on the side of the pan I was really feeling sorry about it all, as I could see it was all very strange to her, but she soldiered on and finished it all up.  Her efforts inspired me to write a poem for this young lady who tried so hard to please me and was a bit frustrated by it all.  I called the poem "The Learning Curve"

                                   Learning Curve

Everything is all so new,
You hardly know  just what to do.
You flounder and you fidget,
To get through every minute.
You're full of fright,
To know what is right.
But on the second time around,
You soon will be on firmer ground.
You soon will see a glimmer of hope,
See, you are really not a dope.
For who can always do some task,
The first time they are asked?
Be patient with yourself and do not despair,
You'll soon move with aplomb and flair,
And realize you have made it there!

Mercy has now mastered the art of a perfect poached egg! Mercy had expressed a desire to have something colorful to put on a wall in her apartment.  We talked about some different option and I suggested she make a quilted wall hanging.  She was all for it, but did  not know how to proceed, so with little cut squares she began to hand sew them together in a pattern pleasing to her.  She worked hard in her spare time but has not yet finished.  
I had been busy removing  some paintings from my house and remembered an oil still life that my sister had painted in 1969 and signed with her name "Katrine"  I described it and asked her if she would like to have it.  She was very excited  about the prospect of a picture to hang.
In the picture above  you can see the painting and Mercy.  You can see her beautiful smile and perhaps some of her enthusiasm.  I hope to have a long and happy relationship with this young lady and learn more about the country of her origin half way across the world.