Single Adult Retreat

We enjoyed our time with the single adults gathered here for lunch.  It was quiet when we first sat down at our assigned table, but Bob was able to get them talking and laughing. They look young, but they are all over 25.   

The young man in the orange tee-shirt is an electrical engineer and so Bob teased him about his hair, and told him that his hair stood up because he put his finger in an electrical outlet at work.  He is getting baptized the end of September.

This young sister works for a company that designs new posters for the movies that come from the USA. So Bob asked her to draw something; and she drew a picture of the two of us in about 5 minutes.

Single Adult Retreat

On Sunday, September 9th we went to the East Coast with President and Sister Horner for their speaking assignment at the Single Adult Retreat for ages 25 and up.  This unusual crab looking water fountain was located at the entrance to the Resort. 

The retreat started Friday evening and continued through Sunday.  We arrived early Sunday for a 2 hour meeting and then lunch, and then the final good-bye picture.  It was extremely hot standing in the sun trying to get 200 people together for a picture.

We enjoyed the ocean view with a few of the local leaders, President and Sister Horner, and two other Missionary Couples.

This is Taiwan

No kidding, this Mother drove off into the busy traffic with her three children.  She turned her head when she saw the camera.

This certainly saves money.

Large power boxes painted and raised high off the
ground to create more parking and waking space.

Bullet Train Ride

We traveled on a bullet train to Kaohsiung in the southern part of Taiwan with President and Sister Horner to their speaking assignment at Stake Conference.  Bob quickly took a picture of 4 parked bullet trains. The bullet train traveled up to 191 miles an hour.  We traveled 300 miles in 1hr 30min with one stop.  

We are pictured with President and Sister Horner in front of the Stake Center - Kaohsiung, Taiwan

This is the Stake President, President Yang.  He graduated  from Purdue University in the USA, and he joined the church while at Purdue. Both he and his wife are from Taiwan. He is now a  University Professor in Taiwan.  He was leaving in two days after Stake Conference with his wife to Hawaii for their son's wedding in the Hawaiian Temple.  Their son's name is Brigham; so his full name is Brigham Yang.  Brigham served a mission in France, and is currently attending BYU-Hawaii.

More about Taiwan

This is the Mission Home directly across the street from the Church Service Center and the Temple.  The Church purchased this building from a company as it was being constructed about the time the Temple construction was to start in 1982.  The existing Mission Home had to be torned down for the Temple to be built. The Mission President was able to move in and watch the construction of the Temple from his home on the 7th floor.  Today the 6th and 7th floors are the Mission Home,  the 5th floor is the Temple President's Home, the 4th floor is the Mission Office,  the 1st through 3rd are Temple patrons housing.

On our day off we took a tour of the Taiwan Presidential Office.  President and Sister Horner were with us; and Preident Horner recalled the day when he was a young missionary in 1963 when Chiang Kai-Shek came out on the balcony of the third floor on the right and spoke to crowds of millions of people who had gathered to hear him. He spoke over large speakers, and President Horner and the other missionaries were about three rows back on the right and could see him and understand what he was saying.  President Horner has a very good memory and started to talk like Chiang Kai shek and give us a little bit of his speech.  Chiang Kai shek was one of the most important political leaders in the twentieth century Chinese history.  He left China because he disagreed with Mao wanting Communism for China.  In 1947 Chiang Kai shek became the first President of Taiwan, and died in 1975.  The President of Taiwan today, Ma Ying-jeou, went to Harvard and his roommate was a member of our church. That roommate, Brother Gifford, had served his mission to Taiwan and later became the Mission President for the Taichung Taiwan Mission; and was able to visit his old roommate, the President of Taiwan.