HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Taiwan (even though it was away from family). We had the opportunity to get together with 3 other missionary families, 2 single missionaries, and an American family here teaching English. There were 21 of us in all. We had an abundance of delicious food and a great time of praising the Lord together. We are so thankful and so blessed to have such wonderful, godly friends.

I'm so thankful for the little things that made it feel like Thanksgiving.



I loved the cute little name turkeys! :o)







After we ate, we had a time where we gather together to sing and give praise to God. It was really neat to sing as a group. There were also a few specials. We also had a Bible story reading done by Mark Lehman. Then we ended by giving testimonies of thanks.



After eating and singing, we broke up into a couple different groups. Most of the guys went to a nearby field and played flag football. They had a blast (and no one was hurt - too badly! :o) Then the ladies went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was beautiful and we had a great time chatting as we walked. We were able to meet a few of the neighbors. :o)



Then we got back together and played a few different group games. We ended the night with playing a huge group game of Balderdash.



But not before the food was busted out again and warmed back up for another snack.

Hong Kong - VISA travel

Due to our visa requirements, we must leave the country every 3 months. Our visa is a 60 day stay, and then (before that time expires) we go to the tourist office to get a 30 day extension. This allows us a 3 month stay, and hence, a longer time between travels and less expense. We praise the Lord for allowing us 2 smooth extensions thus far! We wish we didn't need to spend the money on travel, but we also enjoy the opportunity to see other places. Our first exit was to Hong Kong. It was one of the cheapest travel excursions we could find. We had a GREAT time! We were limited on our stay, but tried to pack as much into the short stay that we could. :o) We couldn't depart until after our Wednesday night prayer meeting and my speaking engagement at another church for a ladies meeting, and we needed to return for our Saturday night youth meeting. That meant we had from Thursday afternoon to Saturday afternoon to do as much as we could! :o) We packed as light as possible to make our short stay and our days out an easy travel (as we did most things on foot). We each took a half packed back-pack, so we could bring back anything we decided to buy there and so we could have a light pack to walk with Saturday after we had to check out of our hotel.

On our arrival, we headed to our first stop. It wasn't our hotel room, but to Victoria's Peak. This was an amazing over-look of the city of Hong Kong. Then we found our hotel and checked in. The next morning we got up early to get ready and to get to our first destination. We headed to Repulse Bay. We jumped a bus and were on our way. We enjoyed our time looking around and admiring the beautiful (and relaxing) scenery. Then we went over to a nearby temple, which is always very sad to see a religion and gods that offer no hope. We walked around the area for a while, went to a nearby market, ate lunch, and hopped back on a bus for our return trip. The rest of the evening and the following day were seeing the sites of the surrounding area and going to more markets. We were able to work on our bargaining skills while we were there. :o) We had hoped to visit other ministries when we traveled, but this came upon us so quickly and we had no contact information for anyone there. If we are able to return we now have a contact there. We hope to visit another ministry the next time we have to leave. We thank you again for all those praying on our behalf!