Goats on parade in TsabongI slept soundly the night the Mother’s Union officers and I finally arrived in Tsabong, but woke early the next day. Eyes closed against the bright sun streaming through the window next to the bed, I lay still, listening to birdsong, men calling to one another, and the tinkling of bells. Curious about the source of the tinkling, I sit up and peak out the window. Goats are passing by; the babies are wearing small bells around their necks. Watching the little parade makes me feel absurdly happy, though there’s a pang of guilt recalling the goat meat I’d had for supper the night before. The goats move on and it’s time for me to get moving as well. There is much to do before the MU’s annual conference begins that evening. I meet up with a dozen or so women and we commence cleaning and decorating the assembly hall on the grounds of the secondary school. Men appear with electrical cords and work on the temperamental sound system. The Rev. Andrew Mudereri, chaplain to the MU in Botswana, and his wife Gladys, arrive. Throughout the day buses filled with women from every corner of Botswana pull up to the dormitory buildings on campus, and as the passengers disembark they are greeted as my group had been, with clapping and ululation.
MU Conference setup in Tsabong By 8 p.m. everything and everyone is ready. Hundreds of people are seated in the molded plastic chairs that had been so neatly lined up earlier. There’s an overflow crowd clustered by the doors and at the windows. MU president, Colleen Segokgo, calls the gathering to order. For the next two hours there’s singing, scripture reading, exhortative speeches, and dancing. Who says Anglicans can’t groove when moved by the Spirit? The days ends as it began, with feelings of pure happiness.
MU Conference head table and altar in Tsabong