I hate good byes!! - people, pictures and hair

I hate saying goodbyes.  Wednesday 2/15/17, We took Alicia, Stan and baby Mila to Kowloon Station and drop them off to catch the Airport Express MTR.  It was a lot more convenience than riding the hour long bus ride!  They have this system set up at the Airport Express station that you could check in your luggage so you don't have to carry it all the way to the Airport.  The fare is reasonable at $150 for two single tickets.  Stan and Alicia got to the airport in 30 mins.  Then more tender mercies happened.  I got a text from Alicia that said:

Heavenly Father is always a prayer away and a miracle happened! 

Got a picture from Alicia, Mila hardly slept on the plane and finally felt asleep when they got ready to deplane in Seattle.

The only good thing about good byes is the anticipation of our next union!  I am so glad Alicia and Stan and Mila got to come to visit us.  We sure have a great time with them here ... aww the memories:  Mila learned how to walk in the Church Adminstration building, and turned 1 years old here!

We have gotten so used to having a little baby running around the last 3 1/2 weeks, we came home to a very quiet apartment.  Glad that Ada sent pictures of this little one ... Can't believe she is two months old already and looking more like her mother!  I miss holding this little one!  I hope she will know me when I return!

This is Courtney Mae Greenhalgh.  She is looking more Asian.

Put up some picture on the wall, Kept it up for just 3 days and has to take them down because the tapes are leaving a mark on the wall.  Now I have to repaint the wall and hopefully the hotel won't know the different.  If the paint works well, I will put my pictures up again and then paint it before we leave.

So sad goodbye to my beautiful wall for now!

Then yesterday (Friday, 2/24/17), we say good bye to Elder Kim and Sister Linda Orton.  They are the Medical couple here.  Elder Orton the area Medical doctor and Sister Orton was in charge of all the missionary application that come thru the Area office.  Elder Wong asked that I help with being a Area Missionary Application Clerk until they figure out who (the Sellers - Medical doctor and wife will be coming in Sunday) will take over this.  In the meantime, I have been getting some training from Sister Orton before she left.  I thought I am doing okay until she left on Friday, everything just come in at once!  I couldn't call her because she is on the plane to US.  Some of it I will have to call her may be on Monday just to make sure I am doing it right!

Sister Orton is the tall on at the back right!

The weekend Alicia and Stan left, we walked the promenade home and found they had set up food truck.  We bought a Pineapple bun (with real pineapple and cream in the middle) and Salmon open toast.  This feels like home in Utah where we had gone and track down food truck for waffle etc.   

First perm since I leave the US.  They didn't do as good a job as my sister Florence.  He cut my hair very short in the back but I was okay with it because it kept me cool.  Hopefully the summer will not be as unbearable!  This perm is $500 HK (about US$70).  It includes perm, cut (trim) and shampoo  

Fun with the Varners

The Sunday before Alicia leaves, we took a short trip to visit the Sun Yut Sheng Memorial Museum, formally known as Kum Tong Hall.  This is the building the church used to own back 30 years ago and where I was baptized.  The church had sold the building back to the Hong Kong Government so they could preserve it into a Museum.  The baptism font is still there.  We also took the world's longest escalator ride up in Central to the mid level.  The escalator system is the longest outdoor covered escalator  system in the world.  It runs a length of 800 meters and climbs 135 meters in elevation.  The total time to ride the whole escalator is about 20 mins.  The ride was great but walking down was not as fun as we have to walk down steep hills with steps!!

Mila loves everything outdoor, she loves watching the "Ding Ding".

The Ding Ding are so closed you could reach over and shake hands with your neighbor in the other car!

Riding the world's longest escalator systems to the Mid level.

We are almost up to the top.  Very good view!

Baptismal font where I was baptized in 40 years ago, Kum Tong Hall.

Third level on Kum Tong Hall.  This floor used to be the cultural hall where we performed dances and cultural events.

Monday, we took our first trip to Macau with Alicia, Stan and Mila.  There was  a total of 9 of us going and we bought the 9:30 a.m tickets on the hydro jet over.  However, most of the group got onto the 9:15 jet ride instead.  We came to find out that no matter what time you bought the tickets, you could always ride any hydro jet before your actual time. However if you missed you own ride, you will have to be on a waiting list for the next one?!  I had stayed behind to wait for Alicia and Stan because it took them longer to go thru Immigration.  The rest of the group, all senior missionaries, use their HK ID card so they were able to get thru Immigration much quicker.  By the time the Varners and I got then, I saw our group got hurried onto a hydro jet, I was following them but got cut off because the boat is full, They told me to go to the 9:30!  That is when I realized the rest of the group had gone onto the 9:15 am ride instead!!!  We were able to visit the St. Pauls ruins, visited a nunnery, a garden across the church building and watch a show - it was a fantastic water dance show that wowwed all of us!

Getting onto the hydro jet

Only the 4 of use, the rest of the group took the earlier boat.

St Paul's ruin.  We ate Pork Chop bun at a store just from here!

Mila loves playing with her toes!

One of the indoor shopping, like the one in Vegas.

Mila is so tired but she was a good sport to stay up on our way home from Macau.

Taking the fly over to catch the shuttle to Kowloon Station.

Last MTR ride in Hong Kong.

I am ready for the long flight to USA!

Last picture with the Varners before they check in and ride the Airport express to the Airport.

Taiwan, Tai Chung - more pictures

I am always amazed at the tender mercies that we received so far.  Our trip to Taiwan we also received lots of tender mercies.  First, navigating in this big city is not easy!  We found a ATM and was able to withdrawn money in Taiwan currency; then taking the bus to Taipei Temple, we have no idea when we are going, just some written information copied from google.  Our smart phone is very slow over in Taiwan because we are only using data, but luckily we found someone that could give us the direction, at least walking in the right direction!

Some pictures for our trip, we totally enjoyed visiting the night market in Taiwan.  Got to try a lot of local food, :  Fried finger crabs, smelly tofu fries, Ted even tried the 'pig blood' cake - it was so dense that he couldn't eat it; double hot dog (a sausage inside a hot dog sausage in a rice bun).

Our last night we got to have the oyster cake that my parents used to made.  WE ate some potsticker for Justin.  Food in Taiwan is very inexpensive. Ted even got a haircut (5 mins) for 100 taiwan money which equals to less that US$3!!

On the flight to Taiwan, 2/2/2017

The MRT in Taiwan

The minute you step into Taiwan, it feels not as rush!

Lot of Mopad in Taiwan

Common sight

Found the Church, temple!!

Training YSA

Can you guess what animal?  Noah's ark

Night market:  Steamed "pig blood cake"

Smelly Tofu fries

Easy one bit crab

No sidewalk for pedestrian, so we walk on the road with the cars!

Justin's favorite pot stickers, we ate 5 for him!!

Sister Robert (Linsie"s second companion) next to me and Sister Yee on the back

Onion pancake

Leaving Taiwan

Walk way getting out of Taiwan

Back to Hong Kong

Bus ride on Tsing Yi suspension bridge

500+ gates at HK Airport, Taiwan

We took a short 5 days trip to Taiwan to support their first Young Single Adult (YSA) training meeting for the up coming For the Strength of Youth Conference in July.  We had no idea that the Hong Kong airport is so big!  over 500 gates, we had to go down and up and take a subway MTR to different section of the airport and than back up again to the gate.  It was a different experience traveling here than in the State.  This is also the first time we didn't have to use our American passport.  Just our finger print and our Hong KOng permanent ID to go out and when we come in we just scan our finger and use of HK ID!

WE met some very nice people in Taiwan, We flew in early in the day so we could go to the temple first, we met Elder and Sister Frenshen who served in the Area Office in Hong Kong about 2 years ago and was in charge of media.  They were thrilled to find our we now have their job.  We had a nice visit.  They are on their 4th mission, this time serving in the Taiwan Temple.

We took the 2 hours bus to Tai Chung and check in to our hotel about 10 pm, we spent the next few days first visiting the university where the conference will be held, then a almost 12 hours day doing meeting and training, we went to Church on Sunday and then met with the logistic people, Monday was a lay back day where we get to walk around town, Ted got a US$3 5 mins hair cut in Tai Chung!
WE met with the Online registration admin for about 2 1/2 hours Monday evening.  WE were going to meet up with Linsie who is serving in TouFen but with us not familiar with the bus route, we googled and found out it would take us 7 hours to see her and we would not be able to make it back in time to catch our flight.  We were sad we could not meet Linsie but run into Sister Roberts who was Linsie's second company in Taipei.

The Lee family- Robert & Bridget (FSY in Session Couple, YSA coordinator (Timothy Lee), Elder Kuan at the end on the left)