We just finished making a tour of the mission for zone conferences. The missionaries divided into groups and acted out the parables of the Bible. They will never be the same.
For our lunch break, we ordered in some yummy Chinese rice. The restaurant forgot to send forks. We were hungry and decided to eat it any way we could. I remembered that I had a plastic spoon in my bag. Just twenty minutes before President Hacking had made fun of all the things I had in my purse. I'll bet he wished he had a spoon in a bag.
Lunch was late in arriving, so we played a game called, "Do you love your neighbor?" This just shows part of the group. They look calm here, but check out the next photo.
We do get a laugh from the ladies that wear the painted pants. These are women, not always the young women, that wear just tights and no skirts over them. They look like they are wearing spray painted pants.
We love visiting with the members and the missionaries. Here we are with a special family and the stake president on the right, President Manosalvo, from the Cucuta stake.
When our two new couples arrived, we introduced them to the yummy traditional meat that is cooked over coals. We went to a little typical pueblo, La Calera, to enjoy the feast.
This was just as good as it looks. This plate of food is the typical food for a Saturday or holiday cooked at little roadside stands. The potatoes are baked and rolled in salt. On the napkin is the traditional arepa.
We flew to Cucuta for a Noche Blanca and some members made this new dish for us to try. The food was wrapped in banana leaves and then we steamed them. This is a wonderful experience here in Colombia to see a new culture, eat new food and meet wonderful people.
The stake president and his wife came to their youth activity all dressed up with the fake mustache and all to support the youth in their folkloric baile. It was a fantasic evening. Each ward or branch performed a dance from a different region of Colombia. The costurmes were beautiful.
At the end of the performance, some of the young people from the different wards modeled their costumes that were made with no money involved. These were incredible dresses made from paper and plastic bags. Each ward had the assignment to make one dress where they did not have to spend any money.
I have chosen the title "Hermona Patrona" because my husband has for many years affectionately called me La Patrona. In Spanish the word jefa means "she who is the boss". My husband, however, says that the word patrona refers to "she who commands". In other words, La Patrona is more powerful than La Jefa. Because we are serving on a mission, he now calls me "Hermana Patrona."