The Journey Begins!

After a three month delay due to the ongoing pandemic, we are finally on our way to Taiwan. We began our trip already exhausted from the preparations to leave, which included preparing our house for our grown kids to move back into while we're gone, purging 30+ years of unnecessary items, selling or donating most of it, and carefully storing the rest. It feels good knowing we will return to a house of order, but despite how hard it was to prepare the house, it was even harder to prepare our hearts as we said goodbye to our kids and grandkids. We know that the Lord will be with all of us as we serve Him, and trust that we will find creative ways to stay in touch. 

My favorite part of any journey is getting to know our fellow travelers. I'm naturally more of an introvert, so my preferred method of getting to know someone is usually to quietly observe. But thankfully I married an extrovert. Elder McCloskey is usually the first to strike up a conversation with a stranger and find out the details that quiet observation may miss. At the beginning of this big adventure we were able to meet and observe several people, the first of which was a young couple who recognized our tags and cheered us on as they told us they were returned missionaries who had also served in Taiwan.  Another couple told us their experience of serving as senior missionaries to El Salvador just a few years ago. Their wonderful and varied experiences included everything from teaching English and surfing lessons (yes, you heard that right!) to being asked to speak at engagements when the mission president couldn't make it. Although the man's health is failing and he is now confined to a wheelchair, you could tell from the light in both of their eyes that they cherished those memories. Seeing their enthusiasm for the work made us all the more excited to get started. 

                       Before    -     SLC                                             After     -    Taipei       

We made it! After 23 hours of travel time and two-plus hours getting through the Taiwan CDC and customs, we were greeted by our friends, President and Sister Peterson. Nearly 40 years ago Rick arrived at the same terminal as a missionary and was met by then President Miner and a young Elder Peterson, who was serving in the mission office at the time. Mike and Shelley Peterson are two of the finest people to ever know, and it will be a blessing to serve with them to bring the gospel message of hope and salvation to the wonderful and beautiful people of Taiwan.

These Elders were our traveling companions. Both had originally been called to Taiwan and were temporarily reassigned to Utah missions when the MTC closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Elder Lim, on the left, is from Malaysia and speaks 5 languages, which was very helpful as we navigated our way through the Covid checkpoints and Customs. Elder Tay had just recently found out he was being transferred to Taiwan, so he was understandably a little more stressed. Thankfully he had been able to practice his Mandarin in the field, serving in a Chinese branch in Ogden, so I'm confident that his five weeks of training in the MTC, combined with being paired with Elder Lim, will be a good start for him to begin teaching in Taiwan. The four of us must go through two weeks of quarantine, allowing us to practice our Chinese as well as get acclimated to the new time zone, but more on that in our next blog post. For now, here is a bit of wisdom about making the most of the journey we're on, and helping our fellow travelers in the process.

"Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of some less fortunate fellow traveler. Today you can make your life . . . significant and worthwhile. The present is yours to do with it as you will." Grenville Kleiser