Mission Backup

We've finished our first LOONNGG week in Taiwan. It was long because we've been cooped up in our little 8th floor apartment without anything much to do. We literally cannot step outside the door, though we can go out on the small balcony and get some fresh air. I like looking out a window in one of the "bunk bed rooms" where I can watch the ongoing construction of a large building. So far, they have been excavating the basement using a large crane to lift a large bucket filled with dirt and rocks by a front end loaded, though I can't see the filling operation. Pigeons sometime roost on the air conditioning equipment outside the window. Pretty exciting, huh? Our apartment is quite comfortable. The living/dining area is about 14' x 25' and has a nice big window. The tiny kitchen is just a 8' hallway with a fridge, sink, and cooktop along the side. There is very little room for dishes and food, so we'll keep a small larder. Which is fine, since we pla...

At long last, we've made it to Taichung, Taiwan! We had a great trip over. It started at 4:00 am on Friday, December 18, when we arose. With help from Mary and Matthew, we were on the road by 5:00 or so. Son John drove us to the airport. We appreciate their help so much! Here we are in Salt Lake City: We flew to San Francisco, where we changed to a flight to Taipei, Taiwan. It was a long flight, but with he help of free on-board movies and refreshments, the time went by pretty quickly. A short 14 hours or so later, we landed at Taoyuan International Airport.  After LOTS of quarantine paperwork, we were met by Stanley Yeh, a young Church employee, who helped us get government-approved (Covid compliant) transportation to Taichung, over an hour away. After our bags (and us!) were sprayed down with disinfectant, we began the last leg of our journey. Aside from a long delay caused by a car crash, we arrived without incident. We were dropped at our apartment building and, after some conf...