Tuesday, January 14, 2014

1-14-14 Arrivals

Our missionaries, arriving unexpectedly one day early, surprised us at the Taoyuan International Airport late Tuesday night! Gratefully, President Day (MP of the Taiwan Taipei Mission) took his APs and office elders, picked all nine of them up, and took them to Taipei where they spent the night in temple housing. 
The next morning, I rushed to the temple with our APs, while President Blickenstaff remained in Taichung to train their trainers. When we got off the bus, they were watching for us! 
They were able to participate in several different ordinances that morning.
Lunch after the temple, across the street:
Perusing the Bountiful Living bookstore:
Making their way over to the bus:

 Bus ride to Taichung:
Finally, arrival at the Mission Home...
 and greeted by the Mission President and office staff!
 Welcome to our New Missionaries!
After a good night's rest, a brisk morning run:
 Contacting on the way back to the mission home:
Amazing how much more attentive they are during orientation after an extra day of rest!
 Hot pot lunch:)

Today the new missionaries were joined by two more that arrived a few weeks ago mid-transfer:

 Instructions by the APs:
 Learning new contacting skills with lots of practice, practice, practice!

Traditional Chinese banquet feast, featuring Beijing duck:
 Several missionaries were up for Sis. Blickenstaff's duck brain challenge:
 Brave souls...
 Wanting to be memorialized on the blog...
 This duck must have been a genious, had a whole lot of brain to go around...
 Second thoughts?
 Then after some history on Welsh missionary Dan Jones, their own Dan Jones experience begins!
After a good night's rest, up and out just as the sun was rising:
Stairs at the stadium:
 Buddha claps:
Mountain climbers:
 After a morning of training on Preach My Gospel missionaries and the First Twelve Weeks program, our new missionaries opened Red Envelopes with the names of their new trainer and first area!
Then lunch at Hawaii 51 with their new companions:


 Singing Happy Birthday to this elder who spent his birthday on the airplane!
 And they're off with their trainers to their new areas!

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for posting the arrival of our missionaries! Our family spans two continents so we had the clock covered for their transpacific transfer, so I know our family in the U.S. will love this when they awake! Sister King M.O.M. (Mother Of the Missionary - Sister Abigail King)

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  2. We have been eagerly awaiting news of the safe arrival of our son and the other missionaries, so thank you for letting us know and for the photographs. They have a story to tell already! Hurrah! Hurrah for Israel! (Peter Chapman, father of Elder Jonathan Chapman)

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  3. I love this blog and envy the adventure that awaits these new missionaries! My Elder will be home in a few short months. If he doesn't find a way to hide out over there! He doesn't want to leave this amazing country!

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