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.