Workshops for hundreds of young men.

Hundreds of young men from the area of our mission from the ages of 14-18 attended a conference for young men. We taught three workshops on preparing to serve a mission. It was a hot day, but the boys seemed to enjoy the day. Here we are waiting for the group to arrive.

Heavy, heavy rain.

After our Sunday activities at the camp, the young men had to walk to the camp site. Just as they left, the clouds opened up and drenched everything with gallons of water. I was worried about the young men getting so wet, but we later heard that many thought the rain was their favorite part of the convention.

View from our balcony.

You can not get much more beautiful than this. We felt like we were in Costa Rica. Of course the rain helps keep everything very green. This is where we stayed while at the camp.

One big tree.

This is just one big tree with a lot of Spanish moss hanging from the branches. The grounds of our hotel were incredibly beautiful. Every morning we were serenaded with what sounded like hundreds of birds. No wonder they are so happy with such a beautiful garden.

Beautiful flowers.

Every place we look we see beautiful flowers. I wish I could take some of them home with me. These were hanging around our hotel at the camp.

Someone say lunch?

Everyone is always happy when we go out to eat. We have seven missionary couples right now, but we have two more on the way. The food was good and that is why everyone is smiling.

Mother's Day lunch.

We were invited to Mother's Day lunch with my Spanish tutor Patricia and her mom. We had a delightful lunch with these two wonderful Colombian women. Patricia's mother prepared Ajiaco.

Atentive listeners.

Some people preach to the choir, but as you can see I cast my pearls to the swine.

A special Colombian Mother's Day.

I don't think I will be able to top this Mother's Day. Nine sister missionaries surprised me with a Mother's Day cake, two bouquets of flowers and the cutest Colombian campesina doll. It was a special Mother's Day indeed.

Wonderful missionaries.

We have nine faithful missionaries here from two zones. We had a few minutes to talk and laugh together. They are great missionaries. I learn many things from them. They are from Argentina, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, and Bolivia.

Our new Mission doctor.

We are so happy to get a new mission doctor. Elder and sister Weidmer have arrived here from California. We are going to really enjoy them here in Colombia. Dr. Weidmer has has a lot of mental health training. We need their help.

McDonalds is here in Colombia too.

This is a photo of our Cucuta Zone after eating an American hamburger in McDonalds. Everybody looks happy.

Typical gas station in Cucuta.

This is how gas is usually sold in Cucuta. People carry the gas cans over from Venezuela and sell it in the street.

They are here at last.

This is the last group of North American missionaries to finally get their visas. We were very glad to finally have them with us. Three of them waited almost three months, and the fourth one only had to wait one week. From Left to Right, we have Elder McClair from Virginia, Elder Rallison from Arizona, Elder Benson from Oregon, and Elder Hathaway from Utah. Welcome to Colombia Elders.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

We forgot to show you Flat Shayla trying to decide which of these beautiful fruits to eat first. We have all this type of fruit year round here in Bogota.

Visiting the temple.

It is always a special day when the missionaries can attend the temple. Here Elder Torres from Peru is attending for his last time before going home. We enjoy the days as much as the missionaries.

Flat Shayla came to visit.

Our precious grand daughter Shayla sent us a visitor, Flat Shayla (from the book Flat Stanley), to see things in Bogota for three days. We enjoyed visiting with her and showing her many sites of Bogota. Here she is in front of the view from our office window in our home.

Flat Shayla at the market.

We enjoyed showing Flat Shayla around the huge Paloquemal market. We showed her the pigs ready for the butcher, the many varieties of fruits and vegetables. She was a good visitor.

Elder Harry Potter

Elder Flores had to return home earlier than his group to get into the university. We called him Elder Harry or Elder Potter, because he resembled Harry Potter. Elder Flores had worked as an excellent office secretary. We appreciated him very much.

Busy day.

Almost every time we have new missionaries arriving, we also have missionaries returning home. This group has successfully served in the mission field, and are returning home to Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Bolivia. We miss them already.

Arrivals for April

We are always pleased to welcome new missionaries into our mission. This group comes from Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. We enjoy their enthusiasm.

Chilean empanadas.

Here I am all alone on my first attempt to make Chilean empanadas. I don't think I will go into the business making them and selling them, but I was happy with the results.

The sweetness of success.

This was my first attempt to make my authentic Chilean empanadas. They tasted great just like we remembered them in Chile. Thanks to our Chilean missionaries that taught me how to make them.

El Puente Boyaca.

We attended a stake conference in the Duitama stake and had an area authority, Elder Zambrano, from Peru with us. On the way back to Bogota, we stopped at El Puente Boyaca for a little break. This little white bridge represents a bridge where the last battle was fought to give Colombia her independence.

Breakfast anyone?

Hermana Jenson on the right returned to Colombia for a visit with her good friend Esperanza. We treated them to a breakfast with German pancakes.

One of our new friends.

We love driving through the countryside of Colombia. We always have to keep our camera ready for a Kodak moment. This donkey has this special contraption on his back to carry the milk cans to the road for the milk truck to pick up the milk.

An interesting gentleman.

This man was enjoying the attention of people talking to him about questions from the past. He was representing a soldier during the revolution.

Saying Good bye.

It is always sad to see good friends leave the mission. Elder and Sister Stull were great missionaries. Sister Stull was our mental health specialist and Elder Stull was the auditor.

Two good missionaries returned home,

Dr. Malouf and Hermana Malouf were great missionaries in helping us with our medical problems. We will miss their service and their friendship.

Making bread.

The Maloufs' were good baking buddies. I learned some bread tips from them, and I hope they learned a few from me. Dr. Malouf made this pizza peel for me to use in baking bread, and they gave me this big tile to use like a pizza stone. We love the smell of fresh bread baking.