Our Mission Statement: December 2009

DECEMBER! We're hearing about the cold and snow from friends and family in the States, and it's hard for us to believe we're not there, but here in Macau where the temps are in the 70's F. and the flowers are still blooming. As we were walking downtown this morning, Roland mentioned how funny it is to see Christmas decorations on the avenues with marigolds in the background! Actually we're experiencing a cold snap--it's only in the high 50's today.

We've experienced many things since our last post; Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving here is just another day, BUT, in the true American tradition, Roland announced in church one Sunday in late October that we would have a "Thanksgiving Feast, complete with all the trimmings" for the Branch. That was before he knew that turkeys are VERY scarce in China--in fact, almost un-findable. After many frantic contacts, he finally found out about a market in Taipa where we could order some. So, we took the Chinese missionaries, and placed an order for five turkeys. On the appointed day, I (along with four strong Chinese elders) took the bus to Taipa to pick them up--we then distributed them all over the place to people who had refrigerator room for them. The next problem was ovens to cook them in; people here just don't have ovens, and if they have one, it's usually just a little toaster oven. AND, the ovens are heated by gas which is in propane tanks a little larger than the ones used for barbeque grills in the USA. So, we not only needed ovens, we needed to make sure everyone had enough gas to do a turkey for four-plus hours. We did finally get them all done, but they were all over town and had to be carted to the church for the dinner. I won't even mention the pumpkin pie fiasco (other than to say that we ended up doing large pans of pumpkin bars because pie tins aren't to be found here, either)!

Our other "food" adventure worth mentioning was the evening the Chinese elders decided that we needed what they call a "cultural experience" and they took us to a "Hot Pot" restaurant. This is a place where each table has a section in the middle which is lowered and has a hot plate in it with a large pot of boiling water. You then order various things to be brought to the table (raw) and you put what you want to eat in the pot to cook it. There was much that we didn't recognize and couldn't pronounce, but there was choi (Chinese vegetable), wanton, several kinds of dumplings, fish balls, rice balls, little sausages, beef strips, and then the live shrimp (they dip them out of the tank at the front of the restaurant and put them in a basket with a lid on it--the antenna or whatever you call them on shrimp are poking out and moving around, and they try to "run" when you stick your chopsticks in to get one to put in the boiling water. I'm sure they scream when they hit the water and turn from their normal gray color to a lovely pink!) Oh, and don't forget the chicken feet. Yes, real chicken feet with the claws still on them. Roland tried one; I couldn't do it. The rules of the restaurant are few: you pay for the time you are there--not the food you eat, and you have to eat everything you order. They made big bucks on me, I'm sure, but the elders who were with us just loved it, and kept ordering and ordering (and ate it ALL)!
We made a couple of trips to Hong Kong this past month - one for the Mission Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day (That's a whole 'nother turkey story!), and on the 30th of Nov. for a Senior Missionary Conference at the Asia Area Office. That was a real treat, to be taught by our Area Presidency and their wives, also our Mission President (Pres. Chan) and Pres. Yip of the Hong Kong Temple. We enjoyed getting to know some of the other couples who are serving in this area in various capacities, and hearing their stories. We also enjoyed a trip together to Hong Kong Park (Zoological and Botanical Gardens and Aviary).We are looking forward to Christmas here in Macau; we have a very little tree with one string of lights in our apartment, but the spirit of the season is not in the decorations. It is in our hearts and the hearts and lives of all we have met and grown to love here in China. We are thankful for blessings unmeasured!