THE TAIWAN, TAICHUNG MISSION 2010 CHRISTMAS PICTURE

An "all mission" photo opportunity at Baguashan in Zhanghua. Elder and Sister Greene are tucked away in the back at far right. There are 150 missionaries here.

CHRISTMAS 2010

The Sister missionaries at the huge Buddha with Sister Bishop, Sister Greene in back at far right.

A group of young Chinese girls performing a dance at the mall where we sang Christmas carols.

The Greenes with Sister Morey and Sister King

Sister Ko, our fellow Idaho missionary.

A small Buddhist Temple in Lugang, Taiwan, where remains of ancient Chinese culture still exist. This is a popular place for tourists to shop in a multitude of small stores and from street vendors. It is fun to try many authentic foods, including an oyster omelet many missionaries love. Some shop keepers are willing to bargain a little and others not at all. An artist in Lugang is very popular for he paints pictures of LDS Temples on Chinese fans; he has quite a business going with missionaries!

AN ALL MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY

President & Sister Bishop with son Nick, his wife Christina & infant son, with the Greenes and all of the Taiwan, Taichung missionaries at the Taichung Steak House. All 152 could not fit into this picture but they all enjoyed a fantastic, all you can eat, dinner.

Sister Greene knocking at a door in the old section of Lugang where we spent a few hours seeing the sights and doing a little Christmas shopping.

Sisters Liu and Brownell on the bus heading for the Christmas dinner. It was surely something to smile about.

In front of a huge elaborate three story Chinese temple at Baguashan.

Our sister missionaries in front of the huge Buddha at Baguashan.

CHRISTMAS IN THE MALL

Christmas caroling in the mall while the crowds looked on and some joined in singing.

Sister Morey, the Bishops and the Greenes.

Feeling the real spirit and meaning of the Christmas miracle that we celebrate.

The Christmas DVD "Joy to the World" was shown on a large screen next to us.

Santa Claus is alive and ever present in Taiwan.

The beautiful tree was created with many thousands of little white plastic spoons

lit up by strings of blue lights.

PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS 2010

We spent an hour with about twenty five missionaries singing Christmas carols
and handing out information about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some of the missionaries helped decorate the mission office for Christmas, complete with raising the lighted star high above the office roof.

President Baclayon, our English Branch President, with his wife Melissa and their two children Emily and Bradley.

Jana and Kevin Hogan at a farewell dinner for them and as they prepared to leave Taiwan for their new job in Minnesota. Kevin was the 1st counselor in the branch presidency during the nine months that they lived in Taichung. They were a great blessing to our small branch and are missed by us all. We also bid farewell to Jake and Ariel Anderson who moved to Australia.

Sister Greene enjoying a casual stroll down the narrow street of the "night market" in Taichung, close to where we bring the new arriving missionaries for a "Dan Jones" experience.

MISSION GOODBYES AND PROJECTS

Sister Greene with missionary Sisters the day before they left for their homes. From left to right, Sisters Hampton, Lindley, Roper, Infanger and Crane. What a dedicated and spiritually powerful group of Sisters they are.

Elder Greene in one of the beautiful cactus gardens at the Chaing Kai Shek Memorial in Taipei.

A counselor in the Taichung Stake Presidency, Pres. Wu, with returned missionary Stephani Jian and Elder Greene. The stake held a humanitarian project teaching members of the church and 20-30 nonmembers how to make hand puppets. Parents (such as single mothers) of special-needs children will then be taught how to make the puppets to sell as money-making projects to help support family needs so their children could be kept in their own homes. About 200 attended the three-hour work session making about 300 puppets and then 700 puppet-making kits were given to the Foundation so local community project leaders can offer them to the parents of the children to assemble. It brought to mind the saying "if you give a man a fish it will provide food for one meal but if you teach him to fish it will provide food for a lifetime".

What a great project to teach the gospel principle of self reliance.

Our Mission President's wife, Sister Bishop with Sister Greene participating in the puppet-making project.

Elder and Sister Karl Wheatley, the Humanitarian Missionaries from Taipei, provided, through the church, one thousand kits and the other resources for the project and the stake organized the work day to accomplish the goals for which the event was held. Elder Wheatley and I were companions in the Southern Far East Mission in Hong Kong during the early 1960's and I couldn't have asked for a better example of what an obedient and dedicated missionary should be.