Time Flies...

It's been several months since we've added to this blog - good intentions to keep up and document what we've been doing are lost in the daily 'busyness' of missionary life!  We are now (as of today) looking at 68 days left in the mission field.  68 DAYS!  Where has the time gone???  To quote Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much."
We experienced our last Chinese New Year on Feb. 3 (and the 15 days following),  and the Cheng Ming Festival in April.  One of our very favorite festivals is the Tam Kung Festival in Coloane (this year on May 10)--sort of a small celebration by Chinese standards, but great fun!  There is a parade through town, led by the Dragon Dancers and Lion Dancers, followed by Portuguese folk dancers, line dancers, fish carriers, flower carriers, scary-face guys, stilt-walkers and  children dressed lavishly as characters from Chinese legends or dieties being carried on poles on decorated platforms high above the crowd (they appear to be floating)--along with whatever groups want to dress up and participate!  The spectators join in and parade with everyone else - so of course we joined in!  Coloane has managed to keep its small fishing-village atmosphere and is a wonderful place to go to get out of hectic, noisy, crowded Macau and Taipa.
There is always so much going on in our Branch; always so much going on with the Mission and the other missionaries we have the opportunity to serve with; always so much to see and do!  We continue to LOVE Macau and the wonderful people we meet each day.
Our work in the Macau 2nd Branch is the most rewarding thing we've ever done - we laugh and cry and celebrate and worry and sorrow and hurt and trust right along with our beloved friends in all of their life experiences.  Our greatest joy is knowing that we WILL see them and be with them again as we are all faithful.  The gospel is true!

Macau 2nd Branch (May 8, 2011) - THE FAMILY

Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam OR Kai Kai and Xin Xin (depending on who is talking--the names put together mean "happiness" in either Cantonese or Mandarin) the giant pandas at Seac Pai Van Park in Coloane.  We actually caught them one day at snack time!

More "streets of Macau".  Not sure whether they're kissed by the sun or something else!

Who's minding the store?  (On the Rua de Tercena.)

Cutest rickshaw puller in town!

Lion Dance in San Mah Louh.

Tam Kung Festival in Coloane - Dragon Dancers at the start of the parade.

The Mandarin's House - Macau.  Now a landmark historic site, this was the home (complex) of Zheng Guanying (a celebrated author) and other family members during the late 1800's and early 1900's - a beautifully restored reminder of past times in Macau.

BEAUTIFUL MACAU!



A Brand New Year!

It's been over three months since our last post.  We have experienced the International Fireworks Competition, Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, Chong Yeung, the Lusofonia Festival, the Macau Grand Prix, AND Christmas and International New Year--plus so many other adventures we can't begin to name them all!
Missionary work is exciting and wonderful - as well as sometimes being routine, disappointing, and even hard - but we love it, and can't imagine being anywhere else and doing anything else at this time in our lives.
We have just passed the 16-month mark in our missionary service - and are actually able to think about some of the things we need to do before returning home in August.  There are so many things to do, and so many people to meet - and so little time!
We are looking forward to Chinese New Year - our last one in Macau. That is a sad thought...it makes us think we need to make the most of every day, of every experience because we don't know when, or if, we will have the chance to do some things again. So, we think we will smile a little more, spend a little more time on things that really matter, forget about things that don't really matter, and bear our testimonies more often. We are grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ - He lives - He loves us!

Festivities during National Day Celebration at the A-Ma Cultural Center, Coloane

Incense coils at the A-Ma Temple - Barra

Rabbit Lantern at the Mid-Autumn Festival

At the Red Market...

Black chickens (yum!)

Chicken feet (yummy!)

Flat ducks (yummier!)

Pig parts (yummiest!)

(We won't EVEN talk about all the other things there are in the Red Market...)

The postmen in Macau are our heroes!

How would you even deal with this?

AND, if there are no mailboxes, well...

More 'Streets of Macau'

Christmas Day at the Changs - and this was only part of the group! 
 It's a good thing we don't have much furniture!

New Year's Serenade at Flores Garden