church in taiwan.

we went to about four hours of all-in-mandarin church today, so i’m a little thrilled to be speaking to anyone in english right now. 

but john brilliantly translated all four meetings for me.  he’s a champ.

i met the yang family!  oh my goodness, i love them.  sister yang just held my hand and made me feel special.  their older son is such a happy, friendly guy, and spent some time speaking to me in english {for which i was very grateful}.  their younger son has a developmental disorder, and the whole family is just so great with him.  i love seeing families who just do the right thing for their children {like my uncle matt and aunt Shannon}, no matter what.  they were an inspiration to me.  aka i want to be just like them! 

everyone sent us off on an airplane to hong kong.  we arrived late, and just slept in our hotel, but i can already tell that the skyline is amazing.  i am so excited for the adventure ahead!  

yingge, 1,000 year-old-egg, and other things.

today was our last full day with the hsu family.  they noticed that i really liked the pottery in jiufen, so they took us to yingge where they have a pottery museum and a street market dedicated entirely to pottery.  i was in ceramics heaven.  we bought the hsu family a gift, which was a little awkward, since we made them pick it out.  but i think they really liked the potted plant we gave them, and it looked lovely in their home.  i wish i could have bought my mom a similar potted plant.  maybe on my eight hour layover home, i can take a trip to yingge again?

they took us to a restaurant for lunch and i ate shark and 1000 year-old egg!  please take a look at that egg.  it is black.  they "used" to make it by soaking it in horse pee for a really long time so…. pretty awesome.  who is this adventurous eater that is me?

for dinner that night I got to meet most of john’s converts.  these people are so awesome!  it was cool to realize the impact that john’s two-year mission has had in the lives of these people.  they talked about the happiness the gospel has brought into their lives. {i know this because john had to translate the whole evening}.  and just imagining the impact they may have on the lives of others in taiwan, it makes me really happy.

and can we just stop here and talk for a minute about how amazing my husband is?  he is freakin awesome.  he dedicated his whole heart and soul to the Lord on his mission.  he didn’t complain once {he’s not much of a complainer anyway} and he speaks great chinese.  he is so quiet, that you would never even begin to realize how smart, talented, funny, kind, and wonderful he is unless you spent a weekend or two in asia with him.  trust me, i have.  and i am one lucky gal.  

today:

today was so fun.  the shu family took us to a beautiful river and on a small hike.  we also ate one of the best breakfasts i have ever had in taiwan.  {why couldn't john have been here for the last four weeks?}  

we took a picture in the same exact spot that john did 6 years ago!

missionary:

not a missionary:

we then went to the jiufen street market.  i love the markets here.  they are crowded with people and shops.  jiufen is on the side of a tall mountain where people used to mine for gold.  the fog rolls over the mountains and streets with thin staircases winding up the side.  it's a really cool place.

these are all along the mountainside.  they are tiny buildings, or alters, that the ashes of deceased persons are placed in.  the locals jokingly call them "night clubs", because they believe that ghosts come out at night.

this is a hunk of gold weighing 220 kg.  don't ask me to do the math in lbs.  i'm too tired.

for dinner, we had hot pot.  mine was super spicy and delicious.  there was a better selection of meats and veggies than i have ever seen at an all-you-can eat place.  i am telling you, the taiwanese people know how to eat!

if you are curious, this is a baby octopus that i ate.  it was super rubbery.  but secretly good?

together once again.

john and i found each other!  after a loooong day of clinical anticipating meeting john, my final meeting ended and i raced out to see him.  it was a happy reunion.  

alright, enough of the sappy stuff.

but i do really love this man:

after a happy reunion, john's nice friend ernie took us to the pier and to get some mango ice deliciousness.  he also fed us and the missionaries.  he is such a nice man!  then, we went to bed early, because we had to wake up at 11pm to drive to alishan. the three hours of sleep was totally worth it:  {watching the sun rise in alishan definitely goes in my top five favorite moments of taiwan.  the other top moments include my reunion with john and riding scooters in kenting.}

after a loooong drive to taipei, ernie showed us around dansui.  he took us to the beach!  

then we went to meet the shu family.  i have only just barely met them and i already love them!  they were one of the families that john baptized while he was on his mission here.  the father is now a bishop!  they are amazing people and even though i have a difficult time communicating with them, they are patient with me and try to communicate back.  {and john translates too of course}

24. my last night in tainan.

for marissa's birthday, we all went out to a grill-your-own meat place.  it was so fun!  afterwards, i looked over the city and realized, i am super sad to be leaving.  as much as i am dying to see john tomorrow, it makes me so sick to my stomach to realize that i may never see these wonderful doctors and nurses again.  i have grown to love them so much.

23.

my last day with hospice home care.  very sad.  i am going to miss these people:

the nurses and doctors are just so good here.  they are patient, and they work in circumstances that many of the nurses in the u.s. wouldn't deal with.  {they are overworked and underpaid}.  plus, they are fun and so generous.  they kept throwing food at me today.  {delicious food, by the way} and i felt like i was going to burst!

{this shaved ice is made of green tea, so naturally, i didn't eat it.  but look how pretty!}