Introducing: Mafuru Hill

As you may recall, Sululu, our office construction foreman and good friend, gave us the blessing of naming his 12th child. We named him Simeoni, from the second chapter of the book of Luke. In return, we asked Sululu to give Cooper a Jita name as Sululu is from the Jita tribe. He chose the name Mafuru, which is a small fish and also the name of his deceased brother, which was quite an honor for us. Apparently Cooper/Mafuru was born during the time when many of this fish are available.

Although we will continue to call him Cooper, Sululu and his family will now call him Mafuru. We can now introduce him to Tanzanians as Mafuru, which is much easier for them to say and understand. And now we are Baba Mafuru (Dusty) and Mama Mafuru (me)!

Dusty holding Simeoni, now 4 months, and Sululu holding Mafuru

Sululu's uncle and Mafuru. This older man has completely withered legs and is only able to walk with the use of a tall stick, but still radiates such beautiful joy. He is always happy to see us.

Mama Simeoni, Sululu's third wife, and Mafuru. Cooper couldn't sleep because he was being passed around a lot, and any time Cooper let out a little squeak from being tired she insisted that he was hungry even though I had just fed him. Tanzanians don't let their babies cry - they just keep feeding them. Our explanation of putting Cooper on a feed/wake/sleep schedule fell on deaf ears...again.

Sululu's second wife on the left and third wife on the right with some of the kids. Everyone enjoyed holding the little mzungu (white) baby.

This was such a fun morning - having chai with our friends in their home, cuddling Simeoni with his big eyes, and waiting for Cooper's Jita name with mounting curiosity.

The Ultimate Kidism List

Due to lack of time/energy I have not been as faithful with our email updates as I would have liked, but I have been collecting the kidisms from the past 3 months. So here they are, in full. Enjoy!


First, from our time in the Nairobi as the kids were adjusting to the wonders of urban life:
Jack, accustomed to bathing in a basin and watching the water drain down the bathtub: "Look! The water is sinking!"

Jack, on the first shopping trip: "Wow! A parking lot! Can we park here?!"

Kim, after Tessa prayed for the person passing us in an ambulance: "because one day it could be one of us." Tessa: "Oh, it will definitely be me." Us, shocked: "Why?" Tessa: "Because I am always blowing my nose!" (she had a rare cold at the time)

Jack, noticing the overhead car light is not working: "The car's umeme is off." (umeme = electricity, and at home in TZ, we have frequent reason to say "the umeme is off.")

Jack, hearing a car alarm: "Mama, what's that bird's name?"

Tessa, after a beggar knocked on our vehicle window:"Mama, is he rich?" Kim: "No, he's poor and was asking for money." Tessa: "Well, he should go to a bank to get money instead of asking us." (followed by a lengthy explanation of poverty and our response to the poor)

Tessa: "They should really get Chik-Fil-A in Nairobi." (Amen!!)

Jack: "Come see my dot com!" (the city he built from tracks, trains, and blocks on the floor)

Tessa: "God just told me how He wants me to serve Him!" Us: "Really? How?" Tessa: "He wants me to go to the playground tomorrow!"

Kim: "And we may have to wake you in the middle of the night if that's when the baby comes." Tessa: "Or the side of the night would be fine."

Jack to Tessa, who was playing with his toy: "Be fortunate with my helicopter!" (meaning: 'careful') Jack likes to use big words, even if he doesn't understand them.

While on vacation at a hotel on the coast of Kenya:
Tessa, pointing at a group of boys: "Mama, I like cute boys... like THAT one." Yikes!

Jack, after a conversation about baptism: "When we were in the ocean, I put my face in the water and baptized myself!"

Jack, in the restaurant after a meal: "Where's the sink?" We were confused why he wanted a sink and made an effort to get him to clarify. Turns out he wanted to take his dirty dish to the sink! Us: "Oh no Jack; these nice men will take our dishes for us!"

Kim: "..and we can take a boat tomorrow." (meaning the glass bottom boat at the hotel) Jack: "I would like to take a boat back to Musoma." The boy really missed his home!

And after we returned to Tanzania:

Jack: "I don't like you exasperated. I like you happy." (We had read a book earlier with an exasperated mother in it and had explained that word to the kids.)

Tessa: "...and then Jesus said the magic words, and the water turned into wine."

Jack: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a beaver." (should be 'bee')

Tessa, with arms spread partially: "I love you this much." Kim, with arms spread all the way: "Well, who do you love this much?" Tessa: "Cooper."

Dusty: "What's happening in Libya is so sad." Tessa: "Who's Olivia?"

Jack, whose fish taco was falling apart: "We need to put some tape on this taco."

Tessa while looking at things through the car window: "I'm a good-looker, aren't I?"

Tessa, after a previous conversation about getting engaged: "When I grow up and a man asks if I will marry him, I will DEFINITELY say yes!"

You might be a missionary in Tanzania if...

(apologies to those who have already read this, but I just discovered that it got lost among older posts, so here it is again)

You might be a missionary in Tanzania if...
1. You're the only person in the neighborhood who exercises for the sake of exercise, and everyone knows it.
2. You keep a frozen water bottle in the freezer to put in the fridge for power cuts.
3. You know instinctively which bumps in the dirt road to avoid and which you can pass over easily.
4. You only have one wardrobe, and it's for warm weather. Similarly, you get a bit excited when it's cool enough to actually wear socks.
5. You shop at the second hand clothing market for all your family's Christmas gifts.
6. Knowing every toilet has issues here, you ask the host what you need to know about the quirks of the toilet before you go to use it.
7. Smelling smoke in your house does not make you panic because you're keenly aware that it's just someone burning refuse outside.
8. Your language is laced with Commonwealth English. You go "on holiday." You were "in university" or even "in uni." You change "nappies." You put your trash in the "rubbish bin."
9. You know what it means when someone is taking a medicine ending in -azole. (parasites or worms)
10. You know that what looks like a squeeze mustard bottle on a restaurant table is actually filled with hot sauce.
11. You pack produce in your suitcase. (most recently butternut squash)
12. You don't think twice about seeing a dirt-colored cow lying down outside the grocery store door because you're so excited about actually going into a grocery store in the big city!
13. You arrive one hour late to a wedding and yet are still one hour early.
14. You understand why there is a sign on the toilet door saying, "Do not stand on seat." (Locals use squat toilets - ceramic hole in the ground - and aren't sure how to use a Western toilet.)
15. You can't leave your house without being frowned upon because you didn't wrap your baby in three blankets even though it is 85 degrees and sunny outside.
16. Instead of going to liquor stores to get free boxes for moving, you BUY them from random shop owners on the side of the road.