Our 2nd visit to the Mbuyis was an encouraging evening that really made me feel good about our continuing project. This particular evening, we found ourselves greeted by not only the brothers, Landry and Gloire, but also another residential mother, Heather, who was holding the newest addition, baby Patrick. The father (Seraphin) kindly informed us that they were going to wait on letting other families handle him, as he was still too young for that. I got a clear sense of the nurturing going into Patrick's life already, especially after Seraphin informed us that the baby was named after their local pastor, and his middle name (Luwara) a Congo word meaning kindness. I felt that at this stage in the culture shock process, they seemed to have moved well past the mental isolation and into integration. Even their television finally got updated to digital, which will hopefully allow for them to have a wide range of news and entertainment to continue this process.
During this visit, I also got to learn more about the Mbuyis' traditions and culture. I brought along my Reader's Digest jokebook, and pointed out a particularly funny comic involving a scarecrow. This invoked Seraphin to share interesting facts about the agriculture in their homeland, and that his paternal grandfather was chief of the village. With this, I had to wonder whether Seraphin and his family had inherited any special duties from his lineage, but I felt it inappropriate to ask just then. They did tell me that they had no special heirlooms passed down to them, which I found saddening.
However, our intracultural discussion on the subject of faith was very encouraging. Seraphin detailed his life philosophy as God returning to you for what you put into the earth, much like planting a tomato in a garden. Kindness returns kindness, and hope returns hope. Lately, I've been feeling burdened with the weight of my stunted choices, so this was a wonderfully welcome pep talk.
After these two visits, I'm really getting to feel the warmth of the Mbuyis' lifestyle, even now. They seem not to care whether their identities are avowed by what they have or ascribed by what they've inherited. They seem to really want to focus on having a peaceful home life, being good neighbors, and being good people.
Next time, I would love the opportunity to go with them to a restaurant or show them a new family-friendly place in town on our side of the bridge, with their permission. I also want to help Landry out with finding a great writing scholarship to help his academic goals.
