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.

Kids' Easter Photos

Happy Easter! We have so much to praise God for this year with the birth of Cooper, and as always we are especially thankful today for the resurrection of Jesus, who has brought us eternal life. May your Easter be filled with the joy of the risen Lord! As we say in Swahili: Amefufuka! (He has risen) Amefufuka kweli kweli! (He has risen indeed!)

2007 in Musoma

2008 in Musoma


2009 in Texas

2010 in Musoma

2011 in Nairobi

Embassy

This morning we went to the American Embassy in Nairobi. The last time we were there was four years ago when we were obtaining Jack's passport and social security number. Since then things have changed a bit - namely that you can no longer simply go to the embassy - you have to make an appointment online or over the phone.

The odd thing though, is that when pursuing a passport, the embassy makes the appointment for you. I keep imagining the movie-type situation where the bad guys are chasing the good American all the way to the embassy gates. In Kenya that American wouldn't get in without his/her official paper proving that he/she has an appointment!

So we found out yesterday afternoon that they gave us the appointment for this morning at 10:30. They had put our request off a bit, so Dusty emailed them and remarkably received a reply within hours with the appointment for today. So that was impressive at least. We cleared our schedule - embassy appointments are precious!

We left our house at 9:15 so we could meet our friend Carl at a nearby shopping center parking lot at 10:15. The most odd thing is that the embassy has NO PARKING - at all. Perhaps this is to prevent car bombs? But then why not have off-site parking? It's completely frustrating. Carl took us to the embassy and dropped us off, and we took a taxi back to the shopping center when we were done.

We were scanned immediately at the gate, and then anything we brought with us was scanned again. The items the security guards chose to keep while we went inside were our cell phones, car keys, and ... Spencer. Spencer is the metal, magnetized train that Jack chose to bring as his toy for the day. Let me tell you, Jack's bottom lip popped out and tears formed in his eyes as we walked away from Spencer, although we hastened to comfort Jack by telling him he would get Spencer back when we left. The poor guy was so worried and saddened!

We waited about 45 minutes to submit our paperwork, sign it, and swear in. Everything went smoothly and the lady didn't mention our missing information, so hopefully it will not be a problem. She said it will take 2-3 weeks to get the passport. Obviously we're hoping no longer than 2 weeks so we can return to Tanzania.

In the meantime, Cooper is neither Kenyan or American. He's just a boy floating with no citizenship anywhere. Apparently, children born to foreigners have to apply for Kenyan citizenship, which we're obviously not going to do. Simply obtaining his birth certificate was stressful enough, and dual citizenship is still not allowed, at least as far as we know.

The most harrowing part of the morning was fighting traffic in a construction zone. It was absolutely unbelievable how aggressive the matatu drivers are. Matatus are the 14 passenger mini-vans that many people use for transportation here. But other drivers as well are just as aggressive. There appear to be no road rules and risk is the name of the game.

All told, we've been very pleased that things have happened so quickly - even the staff at the embassy were impressed to see a 10-day-old baby applying for a passport. Usually it takes longer, so we know the Lord, not the embassy, is expediting our process!

Welcoming Cooper

We're so happy to announce the birth of Cooper Clement Hill, who arrived on Sunday, March 27th at 10:30 in the morning, weighing 7 lbs, 15 oz. He is a healthy baby, and we were released to go back home the next morning.

Knowing how fast Jack arrived, we left ourselves plenty of time to get to the hospital, and because it was a Sunday morning we had no traffic and made the normally one hour drive in 10 minutes! I had a full team of the OBGYN, midwife/doula, pediatrician (required in Kenya to be present), nurses, and Dusty of course. The labor came hard and fast and left no time for the epidural - so I had a natural childbirth even though I would have preferred otherwise. Additionally, it was "back labor," meaning the baby's face was turned the wrong way, so the pain was intense.

We are all very grateful that Cooper and I are both healthy, and we are recovering well. He is so sleepy at this point that we can barely wake him up to feed him, and yet he still manages to be awake in the middle of the night. Now for a few photos:

Jack enjoyed snuggling up next to me in the hospital bed. He's not quite sure what to make of the whole baby thing, but he's doing a great job and is happy to have a brother.

A rare wakeful moment on the Rift Valley sheepskin we bought for Cooper.

Tessa is completely in love with Cooper, and having a baby in the house has been a great joy for her. She holds him all the time and enjoys dressing him and helping with diaper changes.

The Princess Zahra maternity ward. Jack had just knocked his ear on Cooper's car seat so he wasn't too happy here.

Cooper, snuggly in his multiple blankets in the hospital bassinet. East Africans love to bundle their babies, but we were very surprised the staff never placed a knit cap on his head like they do in the States.

Riding on the bassinet and banging it into the walls - a nice, quick introduction into what Cooper can expect from his siblings' activity level.

Happy mom, sleepy baby about 7 hours after the delivery.

Happy father, uncertain brother about 5 hours after the birth.

Tired and content.

Our first Kenyan visitor, Salome, who was thrilled with Cooper - and he was pretty interested in her too!

We praise God for this amazing gift - a beautiful baby boy, a safe delivery, a morning drive to the hospital with no traffic, quality hospital staff, meals at home provided by friends, and an apartment to stay in while we recover and apply for Cooper's birth certificate and passport.

Small Towners in the Big City

Before we left Musoma, and in the middle of a heat wave without power, I commented, "If Nairobi is this hot and having electricity issues I will be SERIOUSLY disappointed." Apparently I said that so strongly that Tessa timidly asked, "what does 'seriously' mean?"

Fortunately, I have not been disappointed - it is cooler here, and we've barely lost electricity at all - just blinks here and there. We're not having an ant problem, milk is easy to buy, the kids and I love the bathtub, we've been to a couple of restaurants, and we have a grocery store nearby. On the health front, we've visited the OBGYN and hospital twice, met with a doula/midwife, and found out that partial epidurals are available. So the list of things to which I was looking forward has been met. Yea!

Traffic is just as atrocious as I remembered, and the apartment is quite "cozy" (read: small), but we're managing fine. Home schooling is going surprisingly well, and Dusty's able to walk down the hill to the office to do his work on the computer and with colleagues. The kids have made a few friends at the tiny playground next door, and we're settling in well.

Having said these things though, it's clear that we're small town folks in the big city. We find ourselves readily speaking Swahili to Kenyans, who speak perfect English but enjoy Swahili too. Dusty's managing parking fine, but I have still resisted parallel parking our truck on the hill of our apartment complex. We're experiencing sticker shock at the prices of medical care - in Musoma it costs less than $5 to visit the doctor at the clinic - here it's about $40. Granted: the care is a bit different too!

The kids thought that a car alarm was a bird singing. They are fascinated by the traffic and ceaselessly comment on all the large trucks and buses. They referred to traffic yesterday as "the parade." They continue to talk and pray about malaria, which really isn't an issue, so we don't have to use our nets. They're thrilled by having ice cream in the freezer (well, we all are), grapes in the fridge, and store-bought cookies. The milk from the carton/bag tastes different to them, so Tessa decided it must come from a "different cow" than the one from which we get milk in Musoma.

But with all the big city has to offer, we still are focused on the main reason for our being here - waiting for this baby to come into the world, and into the Hill family. I'm getting a bit of stage fright, Dusty's trying to figure out how to navigate Nairobi and the American Embassy to make the baby an American, and the kids continue to pray that "the baby has fun in Mama's tummy."

Surely the next time I post, we'll have the Little One out, named, videoed, and photographed to our hearts' content. Till then, thank you for all your encouragement and prayers!