Part of the missionaries in our 4 day training.

The missionaries in all the world are receiving some new instructions on how to teach PMG. These are most of the leaders that were present for our 4 day training. We all learned a lot and left with a lot of enthusiasm.

A big greeting

Here in Colombia men greet other men that are friends with a big abrazo or hug and each one pats the other on the back two times.

Learning to teach with the Spirit.

One companionship removed their ties and made blindfolds to help them listen to the Spirit while teaching.

The new investigator.

Elder Cueves and Elder Calle are teaching a doll. Never a dull (or doll) moment.

Lunch time finally.

All the missionaries are always hungry at lunch time. It was always worth the wait.

Enjoying the yummy food.

Elder Miles and Elder Byington are enjoying the sunshine and the yummy food.

Our cook for the 4 day conference.

The lady in the middle cooked our food for our four day conference. It was incredible food. She is the RS president in her ward, and has only been a member for 1 1/2 years.

A good day for flying a kite.

The month of August in Colombia is known as the month of the kites. This is the windy month and these are just a few of the many colorful kites that are sold on the streets. They are incredible. All kinds of shapes and colors.

A fun relay game.

Bogota has a huge park called Parque Simon Bolivar. Colombia just like every other city has parks where families or school groups gather to have a fun outing. We enjoyed watching this relay game with a plastic spoon in their mouths while balancing an egg on the spoon.

A real live lilly pond.

While in the Botanical Garden, we came upon this beautiful lilly pond. It was very delightful.

This tasted as good as it looks.

Grilled myzorca or corn, more like field corn, is a fun tradition here in Colombia. It is not the corn we are used to eating in the US, but with a lot of butter and salt it is really good. People are often cooking the myzorca around parks, and on the street. We especially enjoyed it at Christmas time while watching the Christmas lights.

Honoring the indigenous people of Colombia.

We just happened to be visiting the Botanical Gardens in Bogota the day they were honoring the indigenous people of Colombia. We spent one hour watching a very interesting custom that is till being used by these people. Here are a few of the men in their indigenous dress.

An old tradition of cleansing.

This was a very interesting hour spent in this building made of bamboo poles and a thatched roof. Two indigenous gentlemen asked for volunteers to show the custom their two different tribes use to cleanse people. Here the gentlemen is waving the plant over her while chanting the whole time. He was smoking his cigarette as though he was blowing away her sins. Maybe we could use this as a good missionary tool.

Cleansed from inside out.

This young lady was cleansed from the inside out. She was given something to drink by this abuelo, or older gentleman, until she started vomiting. I guess this was her cleansing. This was enough for us, we left at this point.

Perfect pita bread.

Making bread is a fun hobby. Dr. Malouf, was one of our senior missionaries, and he taught me the technique of making pita bread. He was a good teacher, and we are enjoying the bread.

Our latest purchase.

This hat is a very typical hat in Colombia. This will be perfect for the beaches of the Dominican Republic. We have here our two assistants, Elder Williams from Las Vegas and Elder Torres from Ecuado.