The chocolatada for Barrancabermeja.

President Hacking made a BIG pot of hot chocolate for all the members that came to the temple from Barrancabermeja. We served 45 people. President Castillo, the District president, is talking to President Hacking.

The families from Barrancabermeja at the temple.

The families enjoying hot chocolate and crackers at the temple housing dinning room.

Teaching, teaching, teaching.

We often have the missionaries do practicas, or role playing to improve their teaching skills.

Lots of enthusiasm here.

So what are they learning?

Elders giving their presentation to the primary.

In one of our specialized trainings, the missionaries divided up into groups and demonstrated how missionaries could teach in the primary, young women and the relief society.

Our Young Women.

Teaching the Relief Society sisters.

Oh those Relief Society sisters.

This group was part of our Relief Society.

Many young men and young women came to the temple from Cali Mission.

We were invited to speak to a large group of young people that traveled twelve hours to get to the temple. We were the invited speakers, and it is always a good experience.

Two of our assistants.

Elder Machacuay from Peru, and Elder Jorquera from Chile, are two of the many good assistants we have had over the past 2 1/2 years.

A typical scene in Bogota streets.

When we are walking to the office, we often have people put out blankets are tarps with their goods they are selling. This Ecuadorian lady has her baby sound asleep tied on her back. She is selling beautiful scarfs.

More new missionaries.

Our new missionaries arrived in two different groups. These three arrived late at night, and they were tired the next day for breakfast before they went to their new areas. We have on the left, Elder Interiano from Mexico, Elder Sanford from Arizona, and Elder Patrick from Utah.

Our first new group for 2012.

This was a big group, but the truth is, there was also two temporaries as well that are not in the photo. We have them from Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Don't ask me there names yet, but we will learn them.

The temple doors.

We love to see the temple and we feel so blessed to have it close here in Bogota. It is in a nice location, and many people know it because it is so beautiful and it has the angel Moroni statue on top that gets people's attention.

Flowers around the temple ground.

There are a wide variety of flowers around the temple grouds. Always so nice to see them.

Saying Good-Bye to 2011.

On Dec. 31, we were in Boyaca and found many of these dummies, or they call them dolls. These are a tradition here to make these dummies and fill them with everything you want to get ride of like old clothes, a bad letter, a big bill etc., then they fill them with fire crackers and burn them on New Year's Eve. What a good way to get rid of bad memories and get ready for a new year.

More dummies.

These dummies were sometimes women and sometimes men. They were hanging from trees, or riding a bike or just sitting by a house.

A wall of flowers.

Colombia is full of BEAUTIFUL flowers of every kind and color. On New Year's Day, we drove to San Gil to attend their church meeting in their branch. It is always a beautil ride with many interesting things to see.

His last day.

This poor animal is tied up to the killing tree. He will be slaughtered for New Year's dinner. They always tie them on a very short rope while they await their fate.

We love these little ladies.

This lady is dressed in a the typical clothes for an older lady in the pueblos of Boyca. They wear adress, a shall and always a little hat that looks like something a man would wear.

One of many Cathlic cathedrals.

In one of the little pueblos that we passed on the way to San Gil, we found this one with a beautiful stained glass window.

Harvesting the sugar cane.

While driving to San Gil, we passed this man harvesting sugar cane. They cut it by hand, and then load it on the donkey behind the sign, and then take it to be made in to panela, a type of brown sugar.

A real but tiny pineapple.

Our good friend Esperanza in our branch in San Gil, is showing a plant that she has grown with this little tiny pineapple. Sister Jenson, one of our adult missionary that has returned home, helped Esperanza plant this pineapple. We were told it is ready to eat.

Green peaches????

These green things are peaches, but they are not like Brigham City, Utah, peaches. They are green, hard, and are cling stones. We often see them along the side of the road for sale. We don't even buy them any more. The red fruit is a type of plum.