A Very Happy Thanksgiving To You

We have so much to be thankful for this year. We're so thankful for the opportunity we got to come here to Taiwan and teach. We're thankful for the timing of this blessing in our lives, and for everything it has taught us.

Being in Taiwan has made our relationship grow stronger and develop more than we could have expected or hoped. It has challenged us as individuals also, and given us perfect opportunities to tackle the things we have been too afraid to try before. We are so grateful for this all around development and recognize none of it could have been possible without faith in Heavenly Father. Mostly we are thankful to Him for guiding us together, bringing us here, and keeping us safe while still helping us progress. (Everyone knows progress always comes with some bumps and bruises along the way- we're thankful for those scrapes too, the scars make great stories!)

On top of all our blessings, we're thankful that some of my extended family was willing and able to come visit us and spend time with us here in Taiwan. My fabulous aunt and cousin came to spend a week in Taiwan; see the sights, eat the food, and help us have a marvelous Thanksgiving.

Even though we still had work everyday, it was so fun spending the evenings chatting with them and playing games. On Saturday we finally got to spend the whole day with them so we took them to Lukang where they bought some temple fans of their own, plus some other great gifts to take back to family. Here's some pictures of all the fun we got to share with them.

Cousin Carie, me, and Aunt Deb. My cousin is gorgeous. My Aunt is a rock star (literally, everyone wanted pictures with them.)

Armed with a hand drawn map and directions, my family trekked to Costco in Taichung for the *last* pumpkin pie, just to make our Thanksgiving that much better.

You can't eat pumpkin pie in Asia with a fork, come on! Are you crazy? You gotta eat it with chopsticks!

Here's our whole group with some of the waiters who wanted a picture with us at our favorite restaurant: TASTY. It was our official Thanksgiving meal on Friday night since we worked late on Thursday and we don't have an oven. Duck is pretty much the Taiwanese turkey, right?

While doing some shopping before Thanksgiving dinner, we came across these good lookin' mannequins. We couldn't say no to a photo op.  

Ray has been working hard designing a new game, so while Carie was here they played a couple tester rounds. It was super intense and lots of fun to watch them get into it!

While we were in Lukang there was a random huge parade full of temple shrines carried on structures like this one. There were also fire works and lots of drumming and crashing of symbols. They were obviously happy and having fun. We, a little shell shocked from the sudden crowding of the narrow street stepped aside and whipped out our cameras and then enjoyed the show!











Later that night we put my family on a train and sent them off to Taipei so they could catch their flight back to America this morning. It was so great having them here, we will forever be thankful for this particular Thanksgiving. With only 40 days left in our journey we're working hard to soak up every last experience and memory we can. Again, we're so thankful we came, and we're excited for our next adventure after Taiwan.

History and Heights - written by Ray

I enjoy finding places that allow me to time travel, to stand in a spot, look around, and imagine that what I'm seeing is exactly what someone standing in the same spot would have seen hundreds of years ago. This post is about two such places we visited recently.

The first is our trip to Lukang. Lukang was a major port in Taiwan a long time ago before the harbor filled with silt and was closed. Then when the railway was being constructed the city refused to let the tracks come close. The city was quickly passed over by progress and became a backwater piece of the past.

This however is a blessing, the city is now a preserved part of the history of this Isla Formosa. Much like Old Town in San Diego the streets of Lukang are filled with old buildings, rustic shops, market stalls, and artisans.

It was while exploring one such street that I stepped into a dim shop, lit only by the sunlight reaching in from the old wooden door. Instead of flashy souvenirs and knickknacks, this store sold authentic tea, dried and wrapped not in plastic, but in ink marked sheathes of what I think was bamboo. There was no artificial light; I could see no electronics, steel, or plastic; and the modern sounds of the bustling world outside were muffled and distant. As I walked around I imagined that this shop could have existed exactly the same two hundred years ago, and I was no longer an American teaching English in Taiwan; but an inhabitant of old Formosa on an errand to pick up tea for my family on the way home from working at the harbor. As I stepped out the door, back into the loud colors and noise of the street it felt like I was stepping through two hundred years and returning to the life I know.

Our other favorite part of Lukang was our trip to a fan painter famous among members of the Church here. For years missionaries have been bringing him pictures of their favorite temples and he paints the temple in the traditional style onto the fan. Luckily, he had a picture of the San Diego temple and Kailin and I are now proud owners of our favorite souvenir.

All of his work is so beautiful and he was very kind and gracious. We're planning another trip to see him soon.

The Chinese says: Families are Eternal

October Tenth is a national holiday in Taiwan (Double Ten Day) and as everyone had the day off work, our branch organized a bus ride up to Alishan; a national park 2,490 meters above sea level in the beautiful mountains of Taiwan. The air was crisp and clean, the sights verdant and vast, and the hikes relaxing and rejuvenating. Tourists love to come here for the dazzling view of the sunrise and the healing qualities of the mountains mists.
 

This is called the three generation tree and is one of my favorite natural wonders. About 1500 years ago a tree fell in the forest, years passed and a new tree grew out of its trunk and in time passed away. You can see a third tree growing out of its remains at the top of the picture. I love the symbolism of this phenomenon. We saw many grandparents posing with their children and grandchildren in front of its trunk.

This is the Sacred Tree. It's one of many giant, thousand year old cypress trees growing in the park. Its diameter was something like 12.5 meters!

Looking into the forest and enjoying a bit of time travel.

Although there are many bright and colorful temples in Taiwan, this was my favorite. Perhaps the clash of color against the soft sky and green forest endeared it to me.

By the time we made it to this crystal lake a fog had engulfed the mountain, but you can still see the perfect reflection and imagine how beautiful it is in the bright sun.

The roots of these two trees grew together to create "Love Forever"

After hiking up the mountain, this historic train was waiting to take us back down the mountain, providing all the scenery without any sweating. :)