Ups and Downs

What a wild time we're having here in Taiwan! I named this post "Ups and Downs" because we've had some great times since I last posted, but also some trouble! Here's some of what happened since then: The young elders put together a nice Christmas pass-along card, which we got printed and distributed to all the Elders and Sisters. We had fun putting the packages together with Elder and Sister Turner!
But, coming home from the office, Sister Wells missed her pedal when starting out and went down, hard on her left hip. That reallyhurt! After a few days, the bruise surfaced, and it is not pretty. That was sure a "down!" We enjoyed the annual "Mission Tour", which was done virtually (of course) due to the Covid pandemic. (The pandemic has touch Taiwan only lightly, for which we are grateful.) Elder and Sister Tai held many meetings with various groups of missionaries, including one just for the Seniors. What delightful, inspiring leaders! Here's a photo of some of the missionaries during the general meeting. We love these wonderful fellow-servants!
One of the APs is going home this transfer, and he always wanted to visit the "Texas Roadhouse" restaraunt. On P-Day, we joined Elder Fairbanks and Elder Pearson, along with the Turners, for a wonderful meal there. It was just like being in the States, except when the all-Taiwanese staff came out in their cowboy hats, singing and dancing a country song!
After the meal, the Elders went back to work, and we Seniors visited beautiful Maple Grove, an urban oasis here in Taichung. A perfect day to enjoy a great time with good friends. 

Torrie, one of our good ward friends, was feeling unwell, so we got to watch her darling daughter, Ping An at Church. She's a sweet girl, and enjoyed coloring during the meeting. Afterward, we got to teach the Junior Primary class, as usual. Such cute kids!



The next day, Elder Lin came to the office and educated us about banana trees. Here is is, explaining to the men about how to tell when the bananas are ready to be picked:


Wednesday, we took a day off and, as guests of Brother and Sister Moses and Della Wu, visited the Xitou Nature Education Area. What a perfectly wonderful day that was! Never to be forgotten, this beautiful natural area is far from the noisy city of Taichung. We loved the Bamboo Cottage, the Giant Tree, the Sky Walk (three times!), and the University Pond with it's picturesque bamboo bridge. Here a just a few photos of this memorable outing:






But, after that "Up", we had another "Down!" Today, on the way to the office, Sister Wells was out front biking down Shaungshi Road, as usual. But, when she came to Jinzhong Street, a car suddenly turned in front of her! The driver gave a warning honk, but only just as she made the turn. That wasn't enough time for Sister Wells to, and she hit the sedan's right rear quarter panel.  She crashed hard on her left side. The impact tore a hole in her pants at the knee, and left an ugly scrape. She also bruised her side, hit her head (just below the helmet!), scraped her hand, and hurt her wrist. The young woman stopped and apologized, explaining that she was late for work. After the crash, we headed home to clean and bandage her scraped knee and change clothes. Always a trooper, she headed back to the office for a very full day of work. She is a great example of diligence and hard work! 

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