I'm trying a new thing. I know our newsletters get long. Granted. There's just so much to tell! Plus I'm a archivist by nature and I'm emotionally attached to all pictures. So here is my first attempt to summarize our adventures in Taiwan without worrying about length...as much. My goal is to give a rough summary of our week. Today's blog covers May 24-30, 2026.
Our week started with with church on May 24, which was also my dad's birthday. We, and a few others joined the membership of the church, Linkou International.
Right afterward we had a membership meeting complete with a yummy bento box lunch.
Samuel had stayed home with a fever and Ezra had brought him one of the lunches. On our way home we stopped for a special snack - some boba tea. This shop is directly across the street from our place and always busy.
Here is the poor guy hanging out with me while he played some games.
However, Samuel's fever got worse as the day went on. His ear really hurt. We'd been avoiding going to the doctor b/c of the language barrier and not knowing where to go, but finally decided it was time to be brave. The Taiwanese go to the doctor a lot. That's always the first question when someone is sick, "Did you go to the doctor?" They go back many times. And now I understand why. It was so simple! Even with the broken English and uncertainty, it was only 30 minutes! We worried, "How will we know when it was our turn?" Simple. They came and got us, probably b/c we're foreigners and don't understand Chinese. The exam and extra explanation took less than five minutes. Samuel had an infection in his ear canal - there was a scratch and pus over his ear drum. Turns out Samuel scratched it when he tried to clean it b/c it felt full as his head filled with gunk. Checking out took only a few minutes. We walked directly next door to the pharmacy who had our meds ready.
The pharmacist knew we were foreigners and tried to explain the drugs in English. We could not understand him. Terry started opening Google Translate and the pharmacist very clearly exclaimed, "I'm speaking English to you!" Ha! And now it's a new joke for us to yell that at each other. We felt so bad but seriously couldn't understand. I finally figured out he was saying Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen - long English names after all.
In the middle of our night Noah had lunch with my folks and Nathan and Ana's crew for my dad's birthday.
Monday morning I finally got my poop in a group and biked to Morrison to work out. I talked to my folks on the way there. I had taken a long break from working out after catching Ezra and Terry's dreaded cold. I had lost my voice completely for two days and was very hoarse for several more. That's what we thought Samuel had caught too.
That afternoon I made Evie come to the store with me b/c I knew I'd need help carrying groceries home. I made beef stroganoff that night and Korean beef rice bowls w a lot of veggies the next night. We loved eating at home!
That night Porky was chilling w me and Evie was messing with him. He hates getting pets after he has his before-nap bath. He's OCD and cleans wherever you pet.
Meanwhile at home on his Monday, Noah returned to the house after several days of cat-sitting for friends and Trouncer wouldn't leave him alone. Trouncer is the best cat ever. Sorry not sorry Porky.
Later in the day Noah went caving with Josh and his bible study that Noah has been attending. They're crazy and climbed down this hole in the ground.
They've done it many times before though so it was safe. Noah loved it.
Tuesday was a day I was trying to catch up with friends back home and I was sending a Marco Polo to Emily and showed her Porky. He had been asleep when Ezra had put that silly cat frog hat on his head.
It made us laugh so much.
Here's a picture from Terry's Wednesday run. Terry has been running a 5K every single day in the month of May. He met this former Ohio youth pastor and worship leader who does this every May. Terry participated at home and decided to do it again here b/c it gives him a goal. Without a goal, he won't run. He's seen a ton of our city running every day!
While he was running I went back to Morrison.
When I got home the kids were all playing chess on Duolingo together. Ezra has been playing a lot for months. Then he started playing Samuel in the app. Then he got Evie to participate - he's coaching her against Samuel b/c she doesn't know how to play.
We met new friends, with English names Abraham and Sarah 😆, through Ezra's final basketball tournament. Their son Isaac is Ezra's team and they gave us a ride to Taipei. I found out they're Cru missionaries and introduced Terry to them. They then invited us to come to their Wednesday Cru meeting. That's what this photo is - Abraham, the leader, and his protege George. They run a whole church service, basically for only a handful of students. The first week they also had Terry share his testimony. This week I shared.
After their meeting they try to engage students in conversation and evangelize. They met these two guys and Terry was able to share the gospel with them in English. We're praying about what next semester could look like.
Wednesday night we went to our co-worker Henry's place for a CBM team get-together. This was us crossing the busy road by bridge. Evie and Ezra was below us at the crosswalk.
Everyone was marveling at how tall Samuel is. He's just about to catch Terry!
Henry, Ruby, me, Evie, Mei, Samuel, Ezra, Terry, Alex, and Susan had dinner together.
We each picked a card that described how we were feeling, we shared why we chose that card, and we prayed for each other.
Thursday was an early start for the kid's "last hurrah" field trips. Evie and Samuel went to Waipoa beach and Ezra went to Leofoo Village amusement park (I didn't get any Ezra photos sadly). This is Evie and her homeschooled friend from Taipei named Moriah. Moriah is also from South Dakota!
That afternoon Evie and visited Mitsui, the big mall, and saw Terry cooling off (with coffee? 😂) from his run in the lobby.
Evie and I were looking for a gift for Ezra but we couldn't find one. But we did find some wide running shoes that will hopefully mend her sole blister developed from running in my commandeered shoes. We also bought a glass pitcher for tea for hosting bible study that night.
I made chocolate chip cookies to share (Oliver and Mveli ate FOUR!) and we had a great time discussing Romans 11. This was our first time hosting. Usually Pastor Nanson hosts but it was their first evening back in their apartment after bringing their baby girl home.
Saturday started early with an all-day summer camp youth leader training at the church office. 
I didn't have to go so I followed up on the aforementioned gift for Ezra. When I did leg day in our complex's workout room that was 85 degrees. Bruh. Terry and the kids got home and Evie and Terry promptly left to play tennis with his English student from our building, Justin.
We ended the day with pizza and Ezra's choice of a movie, since it's his birthday tomorrow. It was The Lego Batman movie for about the 20th time.
Sounds like a great week!! Happy early birthday, Ezra!!
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