Chinese Flea Market

A "non-office" highlight this week was a visit to a Taiwanese flea market! Okay, it was pretty much like any other flea market, with lots of interesting stuff we didn't buy and some real junk. Our adventure was courtesy of an older sister in our ward who wanted to take us to this flea market and then to lunch. On Saturday, she ordered a taxi and picked us up at the mission office. We drove right to the sprawling outdoor (under a cover) flea market, but the driver convinced her that there was a "better one" further on. After he dropped us off there, we found that it was a sprawling fish and meat market. We had a look around - they were selling every kind of ocean-dwelling creature and meat you can imagine!. But, we weren't in the market for fish or meat, so we left and tried to get a taxi. Even after calling on the phone for one, we couldn't get one. So, we finally took the bus back to the flea market. Sister Wells found some flip flops she liked, and bought them. Eventually, we left and caught a bus back to the office. Trouble was, we caught it going the wrong way. So we rode this bus a long way - to the bus garage. Since we had to get off, we did. Eventually, another bus left the garage and took us all the way back, past the flea market, and to the office. We walked to a nearby noodle restaurant and had large bowls of suan la tan (hot and sour) soup, and steamed dumplings. It was a fun, but tiring and a little frustrating, outing.

Other highlights:

 - Monday, we took the mission president's car to a detailing shop to shine up a bad spot on the door.

 - Wednesday, we took the mission van to the dealer for new tires and alignment. This involved loading our bikes in the van, driving to the dealer, unloading our bikes, riding 3 km back to the office in time for English Connect class, the repeating the steps backward until the chore was finished. Oh, and we stopped to buy and deliver groceries to the Turners (still in quarantine) on the way!

 - I worked on a second training video, this one for how to inspect a car. Exciting topics such as 'how to check the oil' and 'how to check the tire pressure are covered.

 - We taught English class Tuesday evening, and taught them the song, "Mother, I Love You". They sang while Sister Wells played piano in the room behind the partition.

 - We spent a few hours fellowshipping with Jeff, a single member and participant in our English class, who just loves to be around missionaries. Jeff is super nice, and enjoys doing kind things for other people. He brought us a couple of Taiwanese specialty cakes - think very eggy, soft pound cake, which we enjoyed while we visited at the office. The leftovers worked well cooked in butter, like French toast!

 - Sister Wells also got a haircut, as you can see from the picture above. The stylist got a bit carried away, but justified his work by saying he could have cut it shorter - like mine! Here she is, in the chair.

 - I finally got my petty cash to balance - by entering an amount for "cash shortage." Oh, well, "nobody ever said I was over-blessed with brains!"

Finally, there was Mothers Day. Sister Wells received a wonderful video of all the grandchildren saying "Happy Mothers Day, Nai Nai!" She adored it. In turn, we put together a video of all the mothers and children in the family. It was well received. For my part, I had to hold back the tears during the time I spent editing the slides and music into a video. We love the children, their spouses, and the grand kids so much! We are grateful to Heavenly Father every day for sending such wonderful spirits to bless our lives!