LEAVING DEAR FRIENDS IN TAIWAN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011

LEAVING DEAR FRIENDS IN TAIWAN

With our departure a few weeks away many of our friends invited us to lunch or dinner with them.  Alexandra Liu and President & Sister Bishop at the Hawaii 51 restaurant.

A special evening dinner with many of our friends arranged by Brother and Sister Lin, Meng-Yi, standing in the center of the picture behind his wife who is seated.  He is a convert that we had the wonderful opportunity of teaching before and after his baptism.  Brother Lai, next to Elder Greene, is a wonderful contact that we have had the opportunity to teach as well.  We are sad that we will not be inTaiwan to continue teaching and hopefully attend his baptism.
                      
Saying goodbye to Geena Li and Maggie Jiang, a new convert from Harbin, China, at our last Sunday before leaving Taiwan.

Elna Tsou, a Filipino member, with daughters Lana and Sophia and the branch president's son and daughter, Emily and Bradley Baclayon

Our branch Primary teachers and leaders.  (Gerald Galbraith and Cameron Miller on the left.) The three sisters to the right of Elna are American English teachers in Taiwan and they are a great strength to our small branch (Kiri Manookin, Jenny Dompier and Katy Dalley.)

                                     Jenny is our Gospel Doctrine Teacher in Sunday School.

FRIENDSHIP - A PRICELESS TREASURE
The Lord has proclaimed in the scriptures that if we pay an honest tithe, not robbing God who has given us all, he “will open the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” [3 Nephi 24:8, 10 and Malachi 3:10] Of course, while the Lord prospers those who keep His commandments and sometimes in material ways, “windows” seem to be a symbol of light, suggesting the spiritual blessings that come through obedience.

These last few weeks we have been showered with so much love: visits from friends, hugs, gifts, dinners, kind thoughts, and so forth, that it almost seems more than we can receive and we think of the “windows of heaven” being opened and showering down blessings. We have just had to turn down 3 lunch/dinner invitations due to lack of time. Friendship is one of those blessings that means so much to us and makes us sad to be leaving Taiwan. If it weren’t for our wonderful family back home we’d just have to consider staying!