The Waiting Game

Well, we are still waiting on our visa (the stamp in our passports that allows us entry into Taiwan). The paperwork has been turned in and now it just has to go through a variety of government agencies. We had hoped to leave next Saturday the 24th. But, I don't think that will happen. We will keep you updated when we know an exact departure date.

Please remember our visa during your quiet time.

Ava Walking

We finally got some video of Ava walking. She just turned 9 mos old today.

Do you have the time to listen to me whine?

Yesterday we packed our crate and got a phone call.

The crate was the easy part. We loaded all of our earthly posessions in a crate bound for Taiwan. The crate will be stored in a warehouse until we leave for Taiwan and then shipped over the ocean. It will arrive about 3-6 weeks after we do. Until it gets to our new home, we will be staying in furnished- temporary housing.

The phone call was from the Taiwan economic office in Houston saying that they must send our application to a different government agency in order to be approved for a resident visa. So, while we and all our earthly possessions await the blessed "resident visa" we ask for you to remember us. We have an itinerary set for us to leave on October 24 but the closer we get to that date without a visa the less likely it is that we will leave as scheduled.

Jeff will be traveling for two weeks in early December. The longer we are delayed, the less chance there is that our crate will have arrived and we will be set up in our home before Jeff is gone. This can be a little more difficult in a new foreign country than it might be in a more familar setting. New language, new home, new surroundings, new places to find groceries- a whole new way of life. It takes an adult several months to adjust to all that change let alone two little kids. It would just be really nice if we were already setup in our permanent, stable dwelling before we were minus one integral member of the family.

But, regardless of how it all works out, we are going to have a grand adventure anyways.

Word Wednesday (on Thursday)

Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people than any other language in the world including English. It is spoken throughout China and Taiwan. Our family has the privilege and burden of learning this complex language over the next three years.

Here is your first lesson in the language:

"Nee Hao" pronounced "knee how"
This is the standard greeting in Mandarin meaning "Hello"

Our New Home

We haven't even left the country yet and we already have pictures of our new home. Of course, it needs some paint and some furniture (which we are ocean freighting this week). But, we are so thrilled to be living close to a huge park and can't wait to get moved in.

I ask you to remember our home during your quiet times. We desire for it to be an inviting, comfortable rememberance of why we serve the people.

This is the outside of the building looking up from the street level. We are on the 5th Floor. (There is an elevator. Whew!)

Here is our luxurious living room complete with a hole in the wall for an a/c unit. We are fortunate to have the same electricity voltage with the same plugs so we can bring cheaper ac units from the states to install when we arrive.

Master bedroom suite.

I know you are jealous of all my countertop space but you will just have to move overseas and get your own two-burner stove without an oven.



I saved the best for last. Spacious, eh?

Home Again, Home Again

Well, we are home again and buried under a mountain of laundry. Last week, Jeff and I were in Jacksonville for a wonderful sending ceremony. This ceremony made us "officially graduated" and ready to return overseas. Jeff's wonderful sister, Tina, watched the girls most of the week and we are soooo thankful.

This weekend we were able to spend it watching the rainfall in Branson, Mo. Jeff's family rented a lake cabin for a fun weekend on the lake and/or Silver Dollar City. We spent most of our time playing cards and watching movies thanks to the downpour the entire day on Saturday. It was great.

This week Jeff and I will be crating our stuff and finishing our visa and working on flight arrangements. Our tentative departure date is October 24 IF we get our visa in time.

And finally, look for an email update in your inbox this week.

Final Ceremony

Jeff and I are in Jacksonville, Florida and the girls are in Owasso with Aunt Tina. Tonight is our official send-off ceremony before going to Taiwan. We just received all of our authenticated paperwork and are now ready to apply for our visa. We're not real sure how it will take but we are hoping to board a plan headed for the other side of the world on October 24.





We have enjoyed our time in the states and reconnecting with family and friends.





You can expect to see changes coming to our blog soon. These changes include "what's the word? Wednesday" (Chinese vocabulary lesson) "Frightful Food Friday" (Chinese food experiences) "Rememberance Sunday" (Pics of places to pray for) and of course an update from us once a week which may include our new daily schedule, happenings in the girls lives, living conditions and pictures of places we have been.





I will also be sending out some email updates and newsletters as soon as we get our official travel date. So be looking for that in your inbox.





To get the new blog format started- let's go back to an oldie but a gooody from Thailand:

Frightful Food Friday

Anyone remember what this was?