Botswana Consumer Fair

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had a booth at the Botswana Consumer Fair held in Gaborone, Botswana. The fair lasted from 23 July to 29 July. We helped man the booth on Sunday afternoon. We were a little surprised that attendance really started to drop off in the early afternoon and by three o'clock that day most of the exhibitors were either taking down their booths or had already done so.

We relieved Elder and Sister Kimball when we arrived at the booth. They had set up the booth and manned it for a number of shifts during the week. The young single adults and the young missionaries had done a lot of the manning of the booth during the week. While we were on booth duty Elder and Sister Roberts, public relations missionaries working in Johannesburg, shared booth duty with us. They went through the Mission Trailing Center at the same time we did.

The booth was very successful at increasing awareness of the church in Botswana. Hundreds of people requested that the missionaries bring them Books of Mormon or church DVDs. We enjoyed helping talk with people about the church though we would have liked to talk with more people.

We went to the fair a few days before our shift to see what was there. There were the usual booths selling jewelry and trinkets, government booths, large business booths, etc. We enjoyed looking through the many African craft booths. The photo above is of a booth selling traditional African clothing. Sister Rands purchased a wall hanging of a woman carrying a baby on her back and balancing a bundle of sticks for firewood on her head. She also bought a bracelet.

Keeng - Mopako Wedding

On Saturday, 28 July, Thatayaone Keeng (groom) and Bakang Refilwe Mopako (bride) were married at the Gaborone West Chapel. The wedding was scheduled to start at nine o'clock and it started at nine o'clock. It was refreshing to see a wedding start exactly on time. The family members were there early and waiting in their seats. Unfortunately, many members of the Young Single Adult Ward were late and missed most of the meeting. Thata's brother spoke mostly in Setwana so we did not understand that, and Patience Kaloobhai spoke without notes. She did a wonderful job. Bishop Matswagothata performed the ceremony and as always did a very nice job. He does the ceremony in English and gives his message in Setswana and in English. The Keengs were scheduled to be sealed in the Johannesburg Temple on Tuesday but it was closed unexpectedly for remodeling so they will be sealed as soon as it reopens.

Thata had invited us to come to the village to see the traditional part of a wedding so we followed the wedding party to Moshupa. We were glad we were following someone because Moshupa is a large village but only a few roads are paved and we would have never found where to go on the winding, narrow, dirt roads.

First the wedding party went to a picturesque site with large boulders and a brook running through it for photographs. It was a nice place for photographs. We would like to see it during the wet season when it is green with more water in the brook. Everyone had to walk down a narrow trail, between the thorny acacia bushes and cross the brook to get to where the photos were taken. They had to be careful not to get caught on the thorns or slip into the brook. The bride in her wedding dress had to have help and be particularly careful. We enjoy seeing the women in their traditional dress at weddings - shawls, blankets, and head dresses.

After pictures everyone drove to the bride's family home where a very large tent was set up. It was beautifully decorated with flowers and decorations. Tables were set up for three hundred people. It was interesting to see the huge tent set up among the village houses. The wedding party danced and sang as they slowly moved from the cars to the tent.

Once most people were in the tent the bride and groom's family were introduced and speeches made. A very nice traditional Botwanan meal was served after about an hour and a half. We really enjoyed the food. It was served at each table and people were given choices of what they wanted to eat. Several current and former young single adult ward members came to sit by us rather than sit by their friends so we would have company which was very nice of them.

At the wedding the bride and groom are expected to change clothes provided by family members (uncles, aunts, etc.) four or five times. The bride and groom left to change and then the bride, groom, bridesmaids, and groomsmen sang and danced as they slowly returned to the tent. They had a lot of fun doing this. After the first change of clothing we left because we had other obligations. We had a delightful time at the wedding.

There was a reception back in Gaborone in the evening. We tried to attend but there was some confusion about where it was and we did not make it to the reception. Sister Rands made three chocolate cakes with white frosting and coconut - two for the wedding and one for the reception. We did not see these used and wonder how they were used at the wedding with so many people there.

What's for Lunch?

If you want to go out for lunch in Gaborone there is a great variety of options. If you have the time for a relaxed lunch, there are many dine-in restaurants. Also avaialable are the standard fast-food restaurants like KFC, Wimpy's, Chicken Licken, etc.

These are popular but not nearly as popular as going to the grocery store, purchasing your lunch at the "deli" and taking it out. There you can select from salads, meat pies, and hot dishes.

You can also patronize a street vendor to purchase hot food right off the grill or out of the pot. These often are often located near office buildings to serve the workers. At times the crowds can become large enough to slow traffic.

So far we pretty much eat lunch at home but we plan to try the "deli" experience soon.

Molepolole Branch Cultural Activity

Molepolole Branch held a cultural activity on Saturday, 7 July. It was a chance for everyone to share something of their culture. Molepolole is a village about forty-five minutes from Gaborone where we live.

While we waited for lunch, adults and children jumped the rope. This is quite different than we were used to in the United States because they change the rope direction after three turns and other variations. They sang traditional songs and clapped while some danced. Sister Rands played games with children. The Kimballs cooked and served their fry bread.

The branch sisters wore traditional clothes. Notice the blanket used as a shawl. It is still worn at funerals and weddings when older women wear traditional dress. The sister wearing the blanket said, "This is what the older women wore when I got married years ago."

We wore red, white, and blue and took baked beans to represent our culture. The Kimballs from Arizona made fry bread for their cultural contribution. The branch members made many traditional Botswana dishes all cooked over an open fire in large pots. Most were boiled in water with a little salt added.

There were many traditional dishes. The sisters explained what each dish was and how it was prepared. We really enjoyed the explanations and eating the variety of foods. The traditional dishes were dumplings, pumpkin, boiled corn, two types of corn and beans, beans, sweet potatoes, sorghum made with sour milk, pap (made with fine cornmeal and pronounced pop), spinach with tomatoes and onions, boiled shredded beef, lentils, dried and boiled bean leaves sweetened with watermelon, and ginger punch. They also had traditional watermelons (not hybrid) which were yellow inside and explained how they would eat the flesh and use the outside as a bowl or for water storage.

Because there is no kitchen in the building used for church the sisters washed the dishes at a spigot in the corner of the lot.

We had a wonderful time. The members are so kind, caring, and happy to have us participate with them.

Activities at Our House

On the first and third Friday of every month we have an activity in the yard of our house that the young adults have come to call "Friday Night at the Rands". The young adults can come anytime between 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm. We have games for them to play and serve refreshments. We also try to teach a new game they can play each week. We have been having about forty people attend the activity each time.

Khumbulani Mdletshe, the CES area director, visited Gaborone on the second weekend in June and wanted to see what an activity was like so we had an extra "Friday Night at the Rands" activity this month making three Fridays in a row.

On Saturday, June 23, the Young Single Adult Ward Relief Society had a baking class at our house. The sisters learned how to make chocolate chip cookies, brownies, Texas sheet cake, and ice-cream-filled oatmeal cookies. Sister Kimball helped with the class. Because there were so many things to cook, she and some of the sisters took some of the goodies to bake at her house. The sisters had invited the men in the ward to help eat their goodies at the end of the activity. Few men showed up so the sisters ate their creations and took the rest home. They had a fun time making the treats and playing games while things baked. Fourteen sisters came to the baking class. It was held during the day.

That evening we helped with a braai (barbecue) for the recently married couples in Gaborone at Bishop Matswagothata's house. We took tables, stools, and chocolate eclairs for dessert. We had games for them to play before the meal. After the meal each couple told about what qualities they liked in their partner which was a very nice activity.

On Friday, June 29, the Ward had a cowboy-themed bonfire activity in our yard from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm sponsored by the Sunday School. As the young adults arrived we had a game where they were given a list of cowboy activites (ridden a bucking horse, herded cattle, attended a rodeo, ridden a bull, shoed a horse, etc.) and had to get the signature of someone who had done that. There were about thirty items on the list and we thought that it would not be possible to find someone who had done these things but many completed their lists. The first five to complete their lists got prizes.

We had a bonfire and braai (barbecue) where they cooked hotdogs on sticks and sausages. We also had salads and baked beans. They also roasted marshmallows over the fire. The marshmallows were not as successful as we hoped because they do not brown and puff up like American marshmallows but just melt and drip off the sticks. Though not as successful as we hoped the young adults had a great time trying to roast marshmallows. The Sunday School presidency planned on forty to fifty people attending but over seventy came. They had planned extra food but we had to dip into our supply of paper products.

They enthusiastically line danced to "Cotten Eyed Joe" and did some African group dancing. We then sat around the campfire for songs, stories, and cowboy jokes. We ended the night with a spiritual thought.

This coming Friday we will have the next "Friday Night at the Rands", so we are really enjoying activities with the young single adults.