tamsui

on our last day, dad wanted to show us an area in taipei where he had served the last part of his mission and had always considered it the most beautiful area he served in. the city is about 20 minutes north of taipei and is well known for their fishing as the city is literally built on the shore of the bay that flows out to the taiwan strait. 

 

it was so neat to see him step foot in the city as it had been over 30 years since he was last there. 

it took him a few minutes to catch his barrings...

he quickly found his way and led us to the exact building he used to attend church in. ironically, it is now a tattoo parlor. don't fret, we later found out that the church has grown so much that they built a new chapel a few streets over. 

the best comes last. he was telling us about some of the people he served in this area and one family he mentioned owned a restaurant on the corner where all the elders would go to since the family would always treat them to free meals. without fully searching it out, we stumbled across the very restaurant! 

but wait, the story gets better. he decided to give it a shot and ask if the owners were still around. one of the workers dialed their home number and to our astonishment...

the owner's wife answered! within a few minutes they came down and were able to reconnect. it was such a neat experience to be a part of and see the love they had for dad. it was also so neat to hear that all 3 of their children are active in the church, their 2 daughters married members of the church and their son served a full time mission. what a wonderful church i am a part of and i am so happy to see others fully grasp the gospel and watch as the lord blesses them for their sacrifices.  

the rest of the day was not nearly as awesome as the beginning but it was a perfect day by the ocean. we took a small boat ride to the fisherman's warf with a beautiful scene

we were also able to visit an old dutch fort built around the 1400's to keep invaders from overtaking the dutch rule in taiwan. it was definitely european in it's looks and made mom and i antsy to visit europe again.

another perfect day!