Farmers Market and Wheel Chair Project

Some of the senior missionaries spent a Saturday morning browsing through an enormous Farmers Market here in Bogota. Everything imaginable was available in the market from flowers to all sorts of produce to live chickens.

All this meat to choose from. However, we were more interested, this day, in looking at meat as opposed to buying meat.

Chickens from live to dead and plucked to cut up. Your choice.

I have a hard time understanding why you would buy a live chicken and then have to go to all that work of killing it, plucking it, etc. For my money, I will take the cut up chicken. Maybe they wanted this chicken for eggs??

This is more like it but I prefer no heads and no feet on my chickens.

Any fresh herb you could ever want. We left with some mint and basil.

The most gorgeous fresh flowers you have ever seen are available in Bogota and very inexpensive. Sister Weidmer and Sister Hacking were deciding on which bouquet to buy.

Last week, we had the opportunity to visit the Corporacion Matamoros to discuss a wheel chair project they had requested. The above picture shows one of the types of wheel chairs the church provides. It is called a rough rider and is good for uneven terraine.

We also visited the First Lady of Colombias staff to discuss a wheel chair project for the first lady. In this picture are Carlos Ferandez, Claudia Tellez, in charge of the first ladies wheel chair project, Royal and I and Kelvyn and Kay Cullimore, the wheel chair experts from Salt Lake. The man on the far right works for the first lady as well and is a member of the church.

We visited two rehabilitation hospitals for soldiers who have been injured in the Gorilla war that is still going on in the jungles and coast lines of Colombia. Most of the injuries are due to mines in the ground that when stepped on explode and usually blow off a leg or even two legs. This young man was showing us his prothetic leg and foot.

Kelvyn Cullimore examining the prosthetic leg of the soldier behind him. It is being explained by Major Ortiz, head of physical therapy for this army unit.

We were all touched by the great spirit and attitude of this young man who had only been injured in May. He is one determined soldier and I have no doubt once he is fitted with artifical legs, he will run a marathon.

We visited the Navy's physical therapy facility. This soldier called us over to talk about the church. He was having electrical stimulus on his leg. He has a great attitude as well and is anxious to get his prosthetic so he can walk again.

Several more soldiers having physical therapy. They kept offering us these little crackers in the bowl. I never understood if they were a reward or just there to enjoy.

Some of these soldiers have head injuries so they have a room for cognitive skills. These two young men were busy putting together this complicated puzzle.

It was emotional meeting all these brave soldiers and I am glad the church is willing to donate wheel chairs to them to aid in their rehabilitation.

We have a great group of Senior Missionaries in Bogota. This photo was taken at Family Home Evening last Monday when the Cullimores were here. From left to right is President and Hermana Casablanca (South Mission), Elder and Hermana Lunt, office missionaries in the South Mission. Royal and me. Elder and Hermana Cullimore, President and Hermana Hacking (North Mission), Elder and Hermana Chalmers (PEF) and Hermana and Elder Johnson (Family History). Missing are Elder and Hermana Weidmer, the area doctor and his wife.