The Year of the Ox has Begun

It's the Year of the Ox! 新蔫快樂 to all our friends!  The Lunar New Year has officially begun with deserted streets and closed up shops. Everyone has 'gone home.' Much like our Thanksgiving tradition of being home with family, Taiwanese will shut down operations a week before the new year, and travel "home" to be with parents or grandparents. Depending on time off availability from work, they might just get a few days off, or more commonly, a week to ten days. It's the single most important and beloved holiday of the year.

Courtesy of flickr - Nicholas Chou

And this year it is the Ox. The Chinese zodiac cycles through 12 animals, one each year, with related symbolism that is supposed to be a key indicator of what kind of personality you will have. The Ox - hardworking, honest, low key and never looks for personal praise. They think logically and make great leaders. 

Are you an Ox?  According to Chinese tradition, you are if you were born in one of these years: 1925; 1937; 1949; 1961; 1973; 1985; 1997; 2009; 2021

An "ox", by the way, is anything of the Bovidae family.  It can be a cow, bull, steer, ox, water buffalo, etc. But usually it is depicted here as a water buffalo.

Let the celebrations begin!

The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei hosts an annual lion dance performance. The senior missionaries attended together and then were treated by the mission president to an amazing buffet lunch.

The dancing lion is very popular with the children - they all wanted to pet him. No wonder - he spews out candy!

A child rests on his mother's shoulders to get a better look at the dancing and leaping golden lion.

 This one spews out candy too! 

The pink cherry blossoms are out in full swing. People LOVE to photograph the blossoms. Wherever there are blossoms, you can find numerous photographers below their branches.

 

Food, of course, is an integral part of the Lunar New Year traditions. Lots of food. One meal was at a member's home who graciously fed 13 of us today, having already fed missionaries yesterday, and they came again today just as we were leaving - to be fed again. Members and friends will invite the missionaries to their homes for meals all throughout the Lunar New Year holiday. Some of the missionaries have up to 22 meal invitations - breakfast, lunch and dinner!  It's considered a "bringer of good luck" if you host family and good friends. 

Our host prepared over 12 dishes for our lunch today - everything completely homemade from scratch. Dumplings, thin pancakes to fill with thin slices of beef, vegetables dishes with pork, chicken, peppers, celery, cilantro, tofu, tomatoes and black rubbery fungus. Soup with squid balls and Chinese radishes. Red rose apples filled with tuna salad (!!). We were already stuffed when she brought out dessert - and what a treat - it was a Western dessert!  Large cream puffs filled with slightly sweetened cream and fruit. It was the perfect touch. THEN she brought out the cheese cake - as American of a cheese cake as one would ever find - absolutely delicious! THEN she brought out the walnut-filled dates and jujubes! We could take in no more. THEN, the final drink - a pot filled with lotus seed and white snow fungus drink. Actually, it was very good - fungus and all.    

We have less than 7 weeks left.  

Soon this will be just a memory. 

Not sure we have significantly changed anyone's lives for the better. 

But one thing is for sure - our lives are better for having been here. 

Especially during this COVID time. 

We've seen the gentle, kind, good people of Taiwan do their part.

We've seen missionaries, through the coming and going of COVID-run exoduses, demonstrate their faith and courage amidst an uncertain future. 

We've been in touch with some of the over 80 Taiwan-bound missionaries who were re-routed to other missions - whose pictures are still lined up on the board - a silent testimony to their faith that they are indeed ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ - and will go wherever He calls, even if it's not to Taiwan. 

We have been so blessed by just being here.