We said goodbye to our friends the Thalmans, who are returning back to America after many years serving in Taiwan. We will miss you! 
Some pics from last year... at our retreat in the MRT training center in Beitou
Kirt sent us this pic after they arrived back in Ohio :-)
'Tis the season to be jolly! Here's how we spent Christmas this year
At this year's annual ORTV Christmas rally. The theme was "Christmas and You"
Another annual tradition: The HOP Christmas Party at Pastor Kirt's house. We played the unwrap the present game, and had a white elephant gift exchange 
Christmas Eve was on Sunday this year, so there was a service at the House of Praise. The HOP has moved to a new location now, in the nearby district of Neihu. The Huguang Church has welcomed the HOP to join with them in this nice new building
Cute kids sing in the Christmas program
Pastor Kirt and Meilan share the message
Lunch was served on the patio afterward. Lily and Jenny smile for the camera
Benjamin and Nicholas
Christmas Day: After opening our presents at home in the morning, we popped over to Steve and Angus's house in the afternoon for a meal and some Christmas celebrating. Andrea, Melissa and Marci share the joy. Melissa flew in from London to visit before traveling to Bangkok
Angus, Gareth, Leo, Vance, Beth and Melissa
Vivian and Fiona find themselves caught between two love birds...
Fiona and Mikayla knock out a duet on the piano
Time to enjoy that Cantonese treat: Dim Sum (飲茶), or yin cha as they say in Mandarin.
我們的家庭小組在Nya離開之前，去兄弟飯店飲茶。因為有好吃的，Gareth和Fiona孟田也跑來插花。
Our dinner party, at the Plum Blossom Room in the Brother Hotel
Shao Mai (燒賣) -- steamed ground pork wraps
Gan Chao Niu He (干炒牛河): stir-fried rice noodle with beef
Hao You Jie Lan (蠔油芥藍) -- Chinese broccoli with mushrooms and oyster sauce
Xia Ren Chang Fen (蝦仁腸粉): shrimps wrapped in rice noodle
Cha Shao Su (叉燒酥): BBQ pork pastry
Cha Shao Rou (叉燒肉): BBQ pork
Luo Bo Gau (蘿蔔糕): pan-fried radish cakes
Kao Ya (烤鴨): roast duck
Zhi Ma Qiu (芝麻球): Glutinous rice balls with sesame, stuffed with sweet red bean paste
Funny faces in the tea pot看到那三張好笑的嘴巴嗎？由左至右：Nya、文璋和Gareth
Little Wenzhang gets his nose in 文璋滿喜歡他在茶壺裡的樣子！
This Saturday there was a HOP outing to Fulong Beach, one of the best attractions on the northeast coast of Taiwan. It was a hot and sunny 33C that day, but the water was cool and refreshing. 
Last weekend Gareth, Kirt, Michael & David visited Snow Mountain, Taiwan's second-highest peak.
After a 5 hour drive from Taipei, we arrived at the trailhead at 11 pm on Friday night, then hiked for an hour in the dark before getting to the Qi Ka Cabin
. After a not-too-comfortable night's sleep on the cabin's "beds" (tough plastic mats) we hit the trail at 9 am in the morning.
The trailhead was already 2300m above sea level, and by the time we hiked the 5 km to Snow Mountain's east peak, we were 3150m high. Time to stop for a rest and a meal.
The east peak afforded panoramic views all around. Mountain ranges rippled away in all directions. We could see the valley where we started, and also the road ahead to the summit. I delved into my overloaded backpack for a lunch of fruit, trail mix and a half-squashed tuna sandwich. After lunch we napped in the sun as the mountain breezes rolled across the peak.
True to its' name, the Snow Mountain summit was indeed snow-covered. But we did not scale the summit, since ice axes and crampons were required. It was also too far away, and our motley bunch simply wasn't cut out for it. But the day was still young, and from the east peak we walked another two km over to the next lodging post, the 369 Cabin. After a rest there, it was time to descend back whence we came. That evening we bunked once more at Qi Ka, enjoying some instant noodles and the starry view above.
